Nature Photography How To

Conventional wide-angle lenses are usually the weapons of choice when shooting landscape photos and other expansive vistas. The more specialized ultrawide options are less well understood and require a different approach for optimum results.

Here's a tutorial from one of the world foremost post-processing experts who demonstrates how easy it is to use Photo Merge in Lightroom Classic to combine bracketed exposures into a High Dynamic Range (HDR) DNG file that contains all of the quality and flexibility of a Raw file. If you've avoided this editing method, thinking it was beyond your skills, that's going to change in the next six minutes.

Just about all Lightroom users know that the software includes a variety of timesaving presets for creating numerous effects and quickly dupicating specific edits you made in the past. In addition to the built-in presets there are others you can download at nominal cost, and even create some of your own.

The Color Wheel is a simple but oft-ignored tool that that enables photographers to visualize the interplay between various tones and how be they can be combined to increase the impact of an image. If you don't understand this important concept and how it works, today's video will get you up to speed.

There are numerous reasons why experienced landscape photographers avoid shooting wide open and prefer stopping down the aperture to f/8 or f/11— even if that means bumping up the ISO setting. So why does a German landscape pro advocate for faster glass when he rarely shoots at maximum aperture?

Today's tutorial from the PHLOG Photography YouTube channel demonstrates how easy it is to use a Color Balance adjustment layer in Photoshop to refine colors in outdoor photographs and create a spectacular yet realistic look. Be sure to download the sample Raw file with the link beneath the video so you can follow along and make the changes yourself.

Bright sun-filled days are great for a trips to the beach but when it comes to outdoor photography, well, not so much. These high-contrast situations make it very difficult to capture impressive images, whether you're shooting nature scenes, landscapes, sports photos, or even environmental portraits without supplemental light.