Outdoor Photography How To

Midway in my talk with Daryl Hawk about his travel photography, he mentioned that it was relatively easy for him to approach people and get their okays for impromptu portrait sessions. “I’m polite, I know something of their culture, and I spend time with them,” he said. Then he added, “And I speak a universal language.”

Skillful composition can make or break a photo, no matter how impressive a subject appears, and this fact holds true whether you're shooting landscapes, environmental portraits, macro imagery, and just about anything else. This quick tutorial reveals several powerful framing techniques employed by several shooters who really know their stuff.

Getting the light right is perhaps the most essential component of all great images, whether they're captured indoor or out. But there's another crucial component that can really add depth and impact to a photo, namely the thoughtful use of shadows.

It’s sort of a reverse magic trick: now you don’t see it—now you do.

Here's an eye-opening tutorial from one of our favorite landscape photographers for those of you who struggle when processing images in Lightroom. It's all about how Lightroom's Auto Settings can set you up for refining a shot further and can even "save your photos."

The two questions in the headline above have been debated for years, and the queries keep coming as new high-res cameras continue to be introduced with no apparent slowdown in sight. There's no one correct answer to either question, because it all depends upon the type of photos you shoot, how you typically use them, and a number of other key considerations.

Are you struggling to capture perfectly exposed photos with balanced tones, deep shadows, and highlights full of detail? It a common problem that we often address in post-processing tutorials. Today, however, we're taking a close look at how a camera's meter-mode setting will greatly impact the look and feel of every image you shoot.