Outdoor Photography How To

We all strive to pull a money shot straight out the camera. But every so often it’s possible to turn a good photograph into a great one with a little post processing. This could be because you captured the image in flat light, the exposure wasn’t quite right, or the image simply needs something extra for maximum impact.

There’s nothing more disappointing to landscape photographers than traveling to what they thought would be a great location, only to find a scene that is just plain boring. Maybe that’s because of dull, flat light, or perhaps the spot just doesn't meet expectations.

You’ve no doubt admired beautiful landscape photos with soft flowing water and cotton-like clouds, and perhaps wondered how they were captured. The typical approach is to use neutral density (ND) filters that significantly reduce the amount of light entering the lens, thereby permitting very slow shutter speeds that create this ethereal effect.

This quick tutorial is all about idiot-proofing your camera by changing camera settings that can spoil your photos. The idea is to help you avoid mistakes, whether you just bought a new camera and you’re reviewing the defaults, or you have several cameras in your stable.

Unlike pros that get paid for their work, amateur photographers have limited ways to gain recognition for their images. One option is to enter, and hopefully win, photo contests. But there’s typically a lot of strong competition, so the images you choose, along with proper preparation, is really important.

Setting up a camera for a particular type of photography is one of the most underrated things you can do as a photographer. Most photographers get so comfortable using their cameras a certain way, they never stop to figure out whether there are some settings they should turn on or off.

There are few things worse than dull and flat monochrome images. After all, striking contrast and drama are two of the reasons many photographers forego color in favor of b&w. Fortunately, you can transform a photo from boring to dramatic with a few simple steps in Lightroom, Photoshop, or whatever editing application you use.