Photo How To

Conventional wisdom is that if you’re serious about photography you should always shoot in the Raw file format and reserve JPEG files for less important tasks such as emailing and posting images on the Internet. But this ongoing debate isn’t going to end any time soon, and in the video below you’ll see why one pro says he’s shooting JPEGs more and more often.

Q. In the July 2017 issue, one of the questions dealt with processing black-and-white images in Lightroom as opposed to shooting black and white in camera. One of your suggestions was using add-on programs in Lightroom such as Nik’s Silver Efex Pro to “open up a whole new world of black-and-white possibilities.” How much more benefit or advantage do you get from using an add-on program versus just learning the advanced features of Lightroom and creating the effects yourself? Is it worth spending the extra money on the add-ons or should you just learn to use Lightroom more efficiently?

Sometimes all it takes to turn a good photo into something special is a slightly different angle, creative cropping, or an unconventional choice of lenses. In this quick tutorial, you’ll see how to really boast the impact of a photograph by including “emotional tension” in the scene.

Selling a home isn’t easy in today’s challenging real estate market, so an enterprising young couple came up with an eye-catching concept they thought might attract attention to a home they were selling: They wanted the main photo for their listing to have an attractive model levitating on a magic carpet.

Shutterbug reader Steven M. Richman made this beautiful image of the Jama Masjid mosque in Delhi, India, this past December. Because it can be challenging to capture the entire mosque from within, he decided to focus on only part of it. 

Fun, cheap and creative: That’s what camera hacks are all about. And in the video below, you’ll learn eight awesome ways to create unique images without spending a dime.

Most photographers love their state-of-the-art cameras and premium glass, and they strive to capture perfectly exposed images from the best locations possible. But according to one top pro, all of that is meaningless unless you have the patience to wait for the decisive moment before snapping the shutter.