Summer is fast approaching – in the northern hemisphere, anyway, and if that’s the half of the world where you reside you might benefit from some summer photography tips. (If not, then photographing winter landscapes might be more your thing.) To photographers, summer is first and foremost a time of sun. Sun of course means [...]

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Do you know what the difference is between a good photographer and a great one? It’s light. Or rather, the way the photographer uses light. A good photographer knows how to compose an image, how to angle her camera so the viewer gets a completely unique perspective of an object, how to capture an event [...]

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You’ve heard me talk oh-so many times about that magic hour, the time just after sunrise and just before sunset when the light has that beautiful, magical quality that can transform a dull, flat scene into a stunning photograph. What you haven’t heard me talk so much about is twilight. Twilight could be called something [...]

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A few weeks ago, we discussed all the elements of visual design and how to apply them to your photography. Think of each one of these elements as an assignment, a place to start when you need some inspiration. Now let’s take a quick look back at each of the design elements and the ways [...]

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If you’ve spent much time working in black and white, you already know how important it is to understand contrast. Contrast is what keeps your black and white images from looking flat. Contrast adds dimension, and dimension can go a long way towards making a photo more engaging. It invites the viewer into the image. [...]

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Color is one of the six classic design elements, which also includes shape, form, line, texture and space. Like the other design elements, good use of color can evoke emotion and give the viewer something to think about. Color is one of those things that was see all the time but often don’t notice, at [...]

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What’s the difference between a snapshot and a photograph? Between an ordinary photograph and a great photograph? It may surprise you to hear that even in modern photography, the answer to those questions can be found in design principles that are centuries old. All great photographs contain at least one of six elements that great [...]

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In our last tutorial on RAW images with Photoshop Elements, we touched on some of the things you can do with using the bundled software known as Camera RAW. There are a number of reasons why you might want to start taking your photos in the RAW format. For one, it allows you to go [...]

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Whenever you take a photo, your digital camera’s sensor captures information about the colors coming in from the outside world. What most people don’t know is that you can choose the level of color detail your camera records. A bigger color space captures more colors than a smaller one. In this article, we’ll take a [...]

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What makes an image beautiful? For many, it’s color. But your camera isn’t going to give you great colors out of the box. It’s a ‘dumb’ piece of equipment. Even with all of our sophisticated computer technology, your camera is still guessing which settings will reveal the best photo. Most of the time, it’s wrong, [...]

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How many times have you taken a picture near sunset or twilight, only to get back a much darker image than the one you originally envisioned? It’s so common that I thought I’d a share a photo from a fellow reader with the same problem. Jimmie Lee wonders why his Fujifilm camera keeps giving him [...]

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I think I have a pretty good grasp of what people think of me. You can always tell from their engagement level. If someone is really getting into your work, they’ll offer a dozen reasons why they like what you’re showing them. If they’re not really into it, and believe me this has happened more [...]

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There’s a term photographers use when discussing the finer points of framing and composition. For many, it’s absolutely critical to making your photos interesting and well-designed. That term is “visual weight,” and it’s everywhere you can find it once you notice it’s there. For example, the red jelly bean on the right carries more visual [...]

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Ah, the elusive photographic eye. Is it something you’re born with, or is it something you develop over the years? I’m inclined to believe the latter. I know that with enough practice and understanding of what makes a good photo “good,” you will soon start hearing that coveted compliment from your friends too. It’s not [...]

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This time of year you’re probably looking out the window and wondering when the sun is finally going to come out. It’s the dead of winter, the holidays are gone, and guess what? You’ve gotta return to your job. The first week in January is consistently voted the most depressing in the northern hemisphere, but [...]

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