Outdoor Photography How To

Correct technique is essential for fast and precise focus, and sometimes it's necessary to give your camera some help. That's because if you focus on the wrong spot within the frame, all is lost before you snap the shutter—even if you use a high-end pro camera with a premium lens.

Toma Abonciu is a pro landscape photographer with some really helpful tips on shooting and editing nature images. In the quick video below he discusses six essential accessories he says should be in the arsenal of every photographer who is serious about shooting the great outdoors.

One powerful method for accentuating the key subject in an image is to blur other areas within the frame, and today's tutorial from Lori Lankford provides a trio of techniques for getting the job quickly and precisely in Photoshop, Lightroom, and Adobe Camera Raw (ACR).

Guess what? Even professional shooters screw up on occasion; so don’t feel too bad about making mistakes. The trick is to not make the same error twice, and one way to avoid that is to learn from the foibles of experienced pros.

In 2004 I was out late one night for a walk on the beach, as I often did to de-stress from a long day at work. This night was particularly beautiful, with a full moon shining overhead, so I decided to bring my camera and tripod along to take some oceanscapes. I found the perfect location, set up my gear, and opened the shutter of my camera for a long exposure. While the exposure was running I accidentally bumped my camera. When I checked the image and saw that the light from the moon had left a streak going across the sky I had an epiphany. My mind raced at the possibilities of using my camera and the moonlight to draw images in the sky, and from that moment on I was a light painter.

Whether the view before you is an expansive vista, a majestic mountain scene, or a stunning seascape, there’s a good chance you’ll reach in your bag, pull out a wide-angle lens, and mount it on your camera. But that doesn’t guarantee a great image unless you avoid a few common errors.

We're all looking for new ways to expand our repertoire and b&w infrared (IR) photography is a great technique for capturing awe-inspiring images with an otherworldly look. Today's quick tutorial with instructor Richard Herzog demonstrates how easy it is to get the job done in the camera.