Some of our photographers have put together some pretty amazing tutorials. Read on to find out how you can start improving your photography techniques today…
GENERAL HOW TO
A How To Guide to Night Photography by CRAIG FERGUSON: As a photographer, what do you do after the sun has set? For some, that might be time to pack up, head to a bar and have a couple of drinks. Others may prefer to head home and upload their days photographs to a photo sharing website or blog. However, the setting sun doesn’t mean the end of the photography day. With a couple of simple preparations you can continue shooting into the night. Read more
Photographing Fireworks by CRAIG FERGUSON: With the lunar new year fast approaching, one thing you can count on seeing over the next couple of weeks is fireworks. Also, for those of you who live in Chinese cultures, the lantern festival takes place two weeks later. So how do you go about photographing fireworks? Read more
Travel Photography Tips by CRAIG FERGUSON: How many times have you returned from a vacation, looked at your photos and been underwhelmed? Have you ever wondered how to make great travel photos? Well read on after the jump because I’m about to give you a few tips that will take your travel photography from good to great. Read more
Ten Tips for People Photography by CRAIG FERGUSON: More often than not, it’s the people you meet that make travel truly memorable. It’s also the photographs of people that usually get the best reaction from family and friends when you return home. So without further ado – 10 tips for better people photography. Read more
How to Photograph Lightning by NEIL WADE: Photographing lightning is a misunderstood technique that’s actually quite easy to do… once you learn the basics. Most people seem to think that you have to have a quick trigger finger. They think that you wait to see the flash of lightning, then quickly press the shutter button. Truth is, this technique might actually work… I’ve never tried it but some forms of lightning seem to linger in the sky for 1/4 sec or more… so if you have a fast enough finger and camera you might be able to catch the tail end of the flash. But, if you want to learn the proper way to shoot lightning and get the whole flash!-boom!-bang!… Read on
LIGHTING
How to Use Natural Light with Portraits by NEIL WADE: Getting good natural light for portraits is an easy concept to understand. It can often be difficult to find the perfect location, but once you know what to look for, it becomes easier. This post is dedicated to helping you take good portraits and learn how to see and use good natural light. Read on…
Fresh by CRAIG FERGUSON: Today we’re going to look at a simple lighting setup that you can easily do at home to add a professional look to your still life shots, eBay ads, product photos and anything else you can think of. I’ve used the vegetables I just bought at the market for this, but the principles will be the same for anything you care to substitute. Read more
PHOTOSHOP TUTORIALS
Levels by CRAIG FERGUSON: For most people, the main objective after the picture has been taken is to either have it look good for posting on Flickr or sending as email, or to make an inkjet print at home, or a print at a photolab. The first thing you need to do is to adjust the tonal range so that the photo has a good, full contrast. In general, the biggest concern will be how light or dark the photo is – are the blacks black and the whites white? And for that, we can look at Levels in Photoshop. So lets start with an image that needs some adjustment. Read more
TECHNIQUES
Build a DIY Softbox by NEIL WADE: DIY photography gear being all the rage, and me being a bit of a Mr Fix-it, I decided to see if I could build my own soft box. I feel that I should start this blog by telling you that you can buy a mini-soft box for fairly cheap, but if you’re like me and like building stuff (or are incredibly skint), read on…
How to Use Off-Camera Non-TTL Flash Part 1 by NEIL WADE: Using an on-camera TTL flash (aka “strobe”) properly is one of the easiest ways to take your photography to the next level. Once you have a DSLR and a lens or two (or three), probably the next piece of photographic equipment you’re going to want to buy is a flash. Read on…
How to Use Off-Camera Non-TTL Flash Part 2 by NEIL WADE: Once you’ve mastered the on-camera flash techniques you might want to start thinking about how to take that flash off and get really creative. This article is dedicated to helping you figure out those first few steps. Read on… View example…
How to Photograph Smoke by NEIL WADE: It seems like everyone these days has a website dedicated to lighting techniques. I’ll start off with an easy one that I shot last night. I forgot to take a picture of the set up, but this is an easy one to visualize, so close your eyes and continue reading.
PRODUCT REVIEWS
Carrie Kellenberger writes about the advantages of using Black Rapid Straps in Black Rapid Camera Straps – A Revolutionary Camera Sling Strap System.