Photo How To

Noise in digital photos can seriously degrade image quality, especially when shooting with budget gear, in much the same way grain is annoying in film photography. There are several editing techniques for cleaning up noisy shots, but today’s topic is banishing these ugly artifacts as much as possible in the camera.

There’s no doubt that many accessories are worthwhile. Some make photography easier and more enjoyable, while others actually enable you to capture better images. Still other others, while they may seem interesting at first glance, are eventually relegated to an ignominious spot in the back of your camera cabinet.

Improperly exposed photos are the bane of all kinds of photographers, especially those who shoot outdoors where a wide range of tones may exceed the density range of your camera. We posted a tutorial earlier today explaining a simple method to remedy this problem by using Photoshop’s Dodge and Burn tools to make dark areas lighter and light areas dark to arrive at a balanced result.

Adobe updates their software frequently, with powerful new headline-grabbing features and tools. That’s a good thing for all of us, with one exception: sometimes we get so excited about all the new stuff that we forget about tools we used with great success in the past.

As manufacturers continue to introduce cameras with higher and higher resolution, many photographers are confused by conflicting advice about the key differences been models with maximum megapixel count and those with more modest sensors. As a result, many shooters are unsure of what camera to buy next.

Some photographers shy away from employing presets when editing their work because of a misconception that they’re difficult to use. Nothing could be further from the truth, and as you’ll see in the quick tutorial below, you can even create your own custom presets with ease.

If you’re just getting started in landscape photography there’s plenty to learn for capturing dynamic images. The tutorial below will accelerate the learning curve with a very helpful checklist of the “best practices” to use.