[opinion] Instagram is a popular photo sharing tool on the web, and Facebook just bought it for $1 Billion. This an unprecedented move for Facebook. They’ve never made such a purchase, and they may never do it again. What intrigues me more than anything is that Instagram is nothing more than a simple photography tool. [...]

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Let me start by saying something I think we can all agree with. Clichés are victims of their own success. Something only becomes a cliché because it looks good and people like it. The only problem is that the theme gets overdone, and it loses its originality. Now that’s not necessarily a bad thing. You [...]

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There are a number of filters on the market today. You’ve probably heard of polarizers, warming filters, and cooling filters, but what about neutral density filters? The language sounds overly complicated, but rest assured it’s not. If you’ve ever wondered what one these filters does, and how you might use it in your own photography, [...]

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When the light outside is less than perfect, the right photographic filter can help you get the colors you want. There are filters for just about any shooting situation you can imagine, from sunsets to mid-afternoon, and everything in between. If you’re just getting started, and you want to learn more about the photographic filters [...]

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If you own a digital SLR camera, or are thinking of purchasing one, you may have heard of prime lenses. Unlike zoom lenses, prime lenses don’t allow you to zoom in or out while taking pictures. This has led many to wonder what they’re good for. If they do less, why purchase one? I’d like [...]

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Have you ever seen some of those intentionally old looking images? Chances are they were taken with a digital camera, but the photographer knew a few things about Photoshop, and more importantly, textures. With the right combination of textures and skills, you can take a decent looking photo and accentuate it for a more interesting [...]

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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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Do you feel like you’ve gotten into a rut with your photography lately? It’s something we all go through. We like to take pictures a certain way, and we often fail to see all of the possibilities. The sad part is that there are so many different things you can do as a photographer. Try [...]

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Here’s a fun effect to play with. If you’re old enough to know who Andy Warhol is, this image should strike a chord. We’re going to use a few simple tools in Photoshop Elements to transform an ordinary digital photo of a banana into something with a little more panache. Let’s get started!

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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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Some photographic effects will never go out of style. If you’ve ever seen those gorgeous photos of silky smooth waterfalls, you’ll know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, you’re in for a treat. It doesn’t take that much knowledge or equipment to create this effect. All you need is a waterfall, a tripod, a [...]

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Still having trouble figuring out shutter speed? Some images simply require a certain shutter speed in order to be possible at all. Shutter speed doesn’t just control the amount of light that gets into your camera, it is also used to freeze motion, create silky smooth waterfalls, or blend light trails. If you’ve always wondered [...]

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Have you tried out slow sync flash yet? Well you should. It’s a really fun digital photography trick that never fails to produce some interesting results. I like to think of it like extended exposure with a few extras. You can create a neat effect that combines the motion blur from the night lights with [...]

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Your camera is so full of settings that it often takes years for most amateur photographers to figure them all out. One of those is bulb mode. It’s hidden deep within the recesses of your camera’s shutter speed settings, and it can help you take some amazing pictures of the stars at night. In this [...]

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Your camera has many automatic modes to make your life as a photographer a little easier. Each of these automatic modes was designed to isolate one or two of the many variables and settings you’ll encounter while taking pictures. Today, we’re going to look at Shutter Priority Mode, an automatic mode that isolates the shutter [...]

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