Outdoor Photography How To

Let's face it: Some scenes are far more compelling when captured in b&w, or when you convert a color image to monochrome during post processing. Today we're going to welcome beginners to the elegant world of b&w photography with some great advice from instructor Mike Rogala.

If you’re just getting started in landscape photography, or you typically shoot something else, it’s important to learn the basics for capturing impressive images the next time you venture into the great outdoors—whether that’s on vacation, while hiking, or visiting a local park or nature center.

If you're unfamiliar with Lightroom's powerful masking filters, you've come to the right place. That's because these easy-to-use too will make a huge difference in the quality of your post-processing results.

Macro photography in winter? You bet. Opportunities abound this time of year, from snowflakes, berries, and pinecones, to frozen dewdrops and barren tree branches covered with sparkling frost. If you’re new to close-up photography, the quick tutorial below will help you get started.

If you’re tired of hearing photo purists claim that, “you’re not a real photographer unless you shoot in Manual,” join the club. That’s simply a lot of bunk, as numerous pros of all genres regularly shoot very effectively in Aperture or Shutter Priority modes.

The quickest way to fall into a creative rut is shooting the same types of images over and over again. Landscape photographers shoot landscapes, portrait specialists concentrate on people … well, you get the idea.

So what exactly is an “Adjustment Layer” in Photoshop, and what does it enable you to do? According to Adobe it’s “a layer that lets you apply color and tonal values to your image without permanently changing pixel values.” In basic terms, you can use various layers to experiment with color, tones, and more.