Advanced If you shoot landscapes – especially scenes containing water, such as waterfalls, oceans and lakes, you probably already know something about using a neutral density (ND) filter. The neutral density filter is the go-to tool for any photographer who wants to take a long exposure during daylight hours. All those stunning images of misty [...]

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There’s nothing like a snowy day to inspire your inner photographer. Snow-capped peaks, the sunlight reflecting off ice crystals, kids throwing snowballs at each other – almost everything about the snow begs for photographs. But wait! You can’t just grab your camera and start shooting. Snow creates tricky conditions for photography, and if your photos [...]

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Whether they’re coming off a ramp made of snow or concrete or hanging at hundreds of feet in the air, extreme sport athletes are fun to watch. Flying through the air, twirling, or landing the stunt, the crowds are engaged and photographers are clicking away hoping to catch that great shot for their portfolio. Whether [...]

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When you think about your favorite landscape photos, the images that come to mind are probably classic shots of forests, mountains and natural rock formations. And they are probably daytime images, too, with an occasional sunset and sunrise thrown in for good measure. We don’t really see a lot of landscape images shot at night, [...]

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Metering is one of those subjects that makes hobby photographers put their hands over their ears and sing “la la la, I can’t hear you.” That’s because metering is a bit of a complicated subject. After all, who wants to talk about the way your camera estimates exposure? Shouldn’t that stuff happen behind the scenes, [...]

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As a general rule, most of the pictures you take during the day are shot with a short exposure. And why not? There’s plenty of light during the day, and a long exposure might create unwanted motion blur and maybe even put you at risk for that dreaded camera shake. With the right equipment, though, [...]

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How many times have you run into the following situation? You’ve flown across the world to visit some beautiful location, but once you get there, it’s packed full of tourists. You try to wait for the perfect opportunity to take a person-free photo, but it just doesn’t happen. Isn’t that always the way it is [...]

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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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Once you go with RAW files, it seems like you never go back. I’ve said before that RAW photography isn’t for everyone. Even so, I feel that there comes a time in every photographer’s life when making the switch to RAW just makes sense. For me, it came just after my purchase of a high [...]

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If there’s one point I keep mentioning over and over again, it’s this. Automatic mode doesn’t always give you the best images. It can get very close to what you want, but because it can’t gauge the light perfectly, you sometimes end up with images that are either too bright or too dark. Your subject [...]

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I remember the first summer I got my digital SLR. Back then, I was just getting into everything you could do with, and I was positively fascinated with sunsets. I wanted to capture all of the colors, the reds, the purples, the in-betweens. The light at sunset is like nothing else. I remember religiously dropping [...]

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We recently did a tutorial on the multiply blend mode and how you can use it to correct an image that is too bright. If you followed the tutorial, you no doubt realized that Photoshop Elements has quite a few options for blending layers. One of them is the direct opposite of the multiply blend [...]

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No matter how much we try to make our images just right, sometimes we mess up. That doesn’t mean we have to give up, however. With some simple editing in Adobe Photoshop Elements, you can bring color back into your overexposed images and possibly save them from ruin. Just follow these simple steps.

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Have you ever wanted your pictures just a little bit brighter or darker than what your camera gives you? Sure, you can always go into Photoshop Elements and adjust it after the fact, but shouldn’t the camera allow you to do it as you’re taking the photo? Why can’t you just pick an exact shutter [...]

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From day one, we’re taught to avoid motion blur in our photography. That’s because most motion blurs are unintentional. They are the result of you shaking the camera ever so slightly as you press the shutter button. What results usually doesn’t look all that interesting because there is no underlying theme. With that said, there [...]

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