Photo How To

Optimum image quality is the holy grail of all photographers regardless of whether they shoot portraits, landscapes, wildlife, or just about any other type of images. And when photos fail to meet expectations, it’s easy to blame our gear or the shooting conditions we confront.

(Editor’s Note: Exploring Light is a monthly Shutterbug column featuring tips, tricks, and photo advice from professional photographers in Canon Explorers of Light education program. This month's column is by Bob Davis, with great tips for shooting sharp photos of wildlife and birds in flight.

Street photography is increasingly popular these days, in part because of all the small, high-powered cameras available for serious shooters. In the tutorial below you’ll learn why taking a “photo wait” instead of a “photo walk” may be the best way to get the perfect shot.

The first thing most landscape photographers do upon arriving at a location is pull a trusty wide-angle lens out of their bag. It's true that telephoto lenses are growing in popularity for this purpose, but today's tutorial is all about making the most of whatever wide-angle prime or zoom that you own.

Here's a unique tutorial from bird photographer Shelley Pearson who treats us to an uncommon mix of information, gorgeous imagery, and inspiration for nature and wildlife shooters. In the next five minutes you'll learn how to unlock the beauty of backlighting effects.

Just about all cameras used for serious photography, and even many point-and-shoot models, enable users to choose how light in a scene is measured. The video below will help you understand the options available, and when one works better than the others.

If you’ve never used a hand-held light meter, the difference between incident and reflected exposure readings may be unfamiliar. It’s a very important distinction that helps explain why many photographers invest in a hand-held meter, despite the sophisticated exposure capabilities of today’s advanced digital cameras.