When we decide whether a photo is good or not, we apply subconsciously a set of principles that make the image appealing. Understanding those helps us better grasp why some photos work better than others.
Most commonly, blurry images are caused by either poor focus or the wrong shutter speed. Here is why that is so and what you can do about it.
There's more to running a successful professional photography business than just taking good pictures. True success lies in how effectively you run your business.
Many photographers head out with their cameras expecting to get sharp photos. Yet when they load them onto their computer, they are disappointed to find that part of, or all of, the photos are blurred.
Bird photography is one of the most rewarding and yet challenging genres of photography. Here are some tips for better avian photos, along with why photographing birds is good for you.
In landscape photography, we usually want to capture either the grandeur or the subtlety of the natural world, and sometimes both at once. It's the light that dictates the scene's atmosphere, and planning for it is all-important.
Bird photography demands technical skill, patience, and respect for wildlife. However, the rewards of capturing their grace, power, and beauty in their natural environment make the challenge worthwhile.
Usually, we photographers are looking at new things that have come on the market. However, historically, some fabulous books were published that are still full of incredible information.
Just walking out with your camera and hoping for the best reduces the chances of getting good photos. With a little forethought and the right tools, however, you can take fabulous shots. Landscape photography requires planning.
Discover how and why controlling color is essential in photography.
Photography has everything to do with light. Therefore, the more we know how it behaves and interacts with our equipment, the greater the chance of getting a successful photo.
Landscape photography is arguably one of the most popular genres. However, it comes with one of the biggest challenges that you may never overcome.
The secret to a good photograph lies in your eye for composition and in how you see light interacting with both the world and your camera. In this, the first of a series of articles on light, we look at how its interactions with subjects can affect the feel of our photos.
As technology has advanced, so too has noise control. Here's the basic information about why noise appears in your photos and how to deal with it.
Abstract photography is one of those things that you either love or hate. Either way, it’s a genre worth dabbling in, as you can learn a lot about your camera from it.
There’s more to photographing the sea than many people realize. Here are some handy techniques for safely photographing one of the most exciting and evocative subjects on our planet.
Social media was once the backbone of marketing for photography businesses. However, we now have strong reasons to leave it behind and adopt a different approach to photography. Why did my recent behavior change prove this to be true?
When we print, we usually want colors and tones to be as accurate as possible. What appears on the paper should match what is on our screens. There are important steps to achieving that.
Printing is the ultimate step in the photographer’s workflow. Getting to grips with the basics is essential, and there is more to it than meets the eye. In my first article, we discussed the printers and inks. In this second one, we examine the paper.
Photographers often embrace beauty and the sublime, unlike the current trends in other arts that downgrade their importance. There are good arguments for both rejecting and embracing aesthetics in our images.
Do you print your photos? If not, it’s something you should consider because it is much more rewarding than just posting pictures online.
We can quickly acquire tens of thousands of photos. Therefore, managing them effectively is essential. Equally, we are becoming more demanding of our development and editing software. Recently, the most effective way of managing our workflow has changed dramatically, making our lives easier.
For professional photographers, there’s more to it than just composing a photo and exposing it correctly. It's great fun, but any photographer can set up a business and benefit from it.
Street photography documents contemporary life. If done well, it can be one of the most compelling genres for viewers. It is also a regularly debated genre of photography, and opinions differ on what exactly is street photography.
I often refer to photography as a blend of art and science. However, our cameras' lack of adherence to scientific principles can lead to confusion. Both our photographer ancestors and the camera manufacturers are to blame.
We all want to become more successful at photography, don’t we? Of course, success is a personal thing and can be defined in many ways. If you want that as your New Year’s resolution, there are ways to go about it.
An understanding of colors and how they can transform our photography is a skill we photographers must master. Therefore, getting to grips with the strangeness of color is essential for understanding how to take better photos.
Claims made about the golden ratio in nature are often overstated or romanticized. In fact, it is more often a useful model than it is a universal law,
It may be commonplace to you, but your audience members may be unfamiliar with the things in your life. Consequently, to them, your ordinary subjects may seem exotic and unusual. However, there are other good reasons to photograph the commonplace repeatedly.
Originating in the early part of the last century, Gestalt Theory revolutionized the understanding of perception. It emphasizes how humans perceive what they see. So, how can we use it to improve our photography?
Learning photography is a never-ending quest. Most of us are hoping to make our photos appealing to our audience. So what follows are five approaches we can employ to help achieve that.
As photographers, we often concentrate on technical perfection and the compositional layout. However, arguably more important than either of those is adding meaning to your photos. It can be challenging, but adding meaning can genuinely elevate your photos to the next tier.
There have been significant improvements in photographic technology over the last 50 years. Although it helps us get ever-better photographs, there is an essential reason for going back to basics.
The most compelling photos are those that break away from the mundane. Therefore, you can achieve better results by photographing at atypical times of day and weather conditions. Here are some hints for doing that and avoiding some risks.
Depth of field refers to how much of the picture is sharply in focus. A skill you should hone is precision, because it can make an enormous difference to the success of your photos.
Digital photography is at a disadvantage when it comes to creativity, I argue; at least when compared to painting, drawing, sculpture, or music. However, there are lessons from history you can apply to overcome the hindrances we face and learn ways to help us grow creatively.
The holiday season is not far off, and photographers may be thinking about what they want as a gift. Here are some gift ideas for photographers of all levels of experience and budgets.
There are different types of color contrast, and how we use them radically changes the look and feel of our photographs. An often-overlooked aspect of photography, the various types of contrast play an essential role in creating our images. What are the different types, and how can we use them to improve our pictures?
Previously, I wrote about five elements of art and how they can impact our photographs. However, there are three more elements that work in conjunction with points, lines, shape, and form that can elevate your photography further.
Merging multiple images into panoramas is a feature available in many editing programs and it is surprisingly easy to accomplish.
Understanding the roles of the fundamental elements of art allows photographers to create compelling compositions. These elements are not merely aesthetic choices but tools for creating structure in your photography.
Travel photography is one of the most rewarding genres, as it allows you to use your image skills in new and exciting environments. But there is more to it than just creating vacation snaps. Here are some of my approaches to better travel photography during a recent visit to beautiful Albania.
The design of an image is one of the most important aspects of photography, but composition is a vast and complex subject on which much ink has been spilled. It is well worth coming to grips with composition fundamentals, as they will transform your photography.
There’s much more to exposure than just correcting for light. It’s one of the most powerful tools you can use creatively.
Is our pursuit of exquisite photos inconsistent with what is expected in art? Or is beauty something we should continue to strive for?
In this, the second in a series of articles about autofocus, we will look at different focusing modes and their practical applications.
There’s a lot more to focusing than many novice photographers realize. When they delve into it, it can seem complex. However, it is easy to master once you have found your way around your camera.
There are small pieces of information that can make a big difference to your enjoyment of photography and your success at taking better pictures.
All great photographers in the past and present have had creativity at their core. There are proven links between personality traits and creativity. Therefore, modifying your actions can improve your photography.
Choosing the correct shutter speed is imperative. Here’s how it works and why you should take it into consideration when shooting any photograph.