Outdoor Photography How To

You’ve no doubt marveled at spectacular landscape photos with depth of field that seems impossible to achieve with anything other than a tilt-shift lens or a large format view camera. Surprise: The same effect can be accomplished in post processing with a technique known at focus stacking. And it far easier to do than you may think.

Everyone knows that “blue hour” is a great time for photography; whether you’re shooting cityscapes, travel images, or other types of outdoor photos. Typically lasting 20-30 minutes, blue hour is that magical time immediately after sunset or just before sunrise. The exact timing of blue hour varies by location, and changes depending upon the time of year.

Last week we discussed the basics of depth of field, a key concept enabling you to capture better images. Today we’ll explore the topic further, through the eyes of an experienced pro.

Some photographers dread editing images, while others enjoy sitting behind a computer enhancing their work. Whichever camp you fall into, this tutorial will speed up the process and help you achieve superior results.

The idea here was...well, there were a few ideas. First, I wanted to do photography that was bright, cheerful, colorful—and different. With times being a bit harsh and stressful for many, I was looking for something light-hearted and, frankly, far from reality. Dreamy and summer-like came to mind. 

It may not seem like it, given the horrendous winter weather that swept across the country last week, but the onset of spring is barely a month away. And the new season brings with it a variety of interesting opportunities for macro and close-up photography.

Most of our tutorials involve tips, tricks, and techniques you can use to capture more compelling images. But today we’re going to switch things up by describing what NOT to do when shooting landscape, travel, and nature images.