Outdoor Photography How To

Here’s a distressing problem that we’ve all encountered in the past: You come across a beautiful scene at the right time of day, the light is gorgeous, you brought the right gear, and can’t wait to view the “epic” shots on your computer. But alas, even though you nailed exposure and composition, all your images are unsharp.

Nothing spoils an otherwise great shot more than failing to achieve precise focus. You can compose a scene properly, nail exposure, and capture beautiful colors, but if the image is soft all is for naught.

One common concern when photographing outdoor photos under challenging light is that the images we capture don't appear as impressive on the computer as the scene we witness through the viewfinder. If that sounds familiar today's five-minute Lightroom tutorial will set you straight in a hurry.

Let’s face it. We all do our best to capture compelling photographs, and sometimes it’s difficult to be objective about the results. In fact, one of the challenging aspects of our craft is determining whether a photograph is worth editing or if it should be trashed.

Some photographers think all that’s involved is a decision to frame a scene in either a vertical or horizontal orientation. But as you’ll see in the tutorial below, there’s much more that factors into the equation. One is creative cropping, and another is whether to modify the native aspect ratio of the camera you use—which varies from one model to another.

The skies have been a source of fascination for humankind since our earliest days. But only in the past 100 years or so has photography provided tools to enable people to capture, view, and enjoy the astonishing images astronomers were privileged to see in their elaborate telescopes.

We’ll let you in on a little secret about all those spectacular photos of starlit skies that you wish you could take yourself: Astrophotography is easier than you think—especially if you learn the eight tips in the one-minute video below.