Photo How To

Ira Block can best be described as a cultural documentary photographer. He uses his camera to document cultures around the world, recording how lives are impacted by changing norms, practices, and traditions. The changes are most often gradual, which is why he returns to a location time after time after time. He captures the shifting sands, one grain at a time, helping us see these changes and appreciate them through his eyes—and through social media.

If you were befuddled by a description of the “Exposure Triangle” in your first photography class, you’re not alone. This relatively simple concept can be a bit difficult to explain; unless, that is, the instructor has some red Kool-Aid and a few glasses handy.

Longer story short: With a high-flying imagination and no shortage of necessary technical skills, Ali Jardine turned a creative hobby into a creative business by networking the new-fashioned way—with Instagram, Snapchat, Flickr, Facebook, and probably some other social sites she didn’t have time to list or mention.

Swiss photographer and digital artist John Wilhelm has a unique, whimsical style all his own, and in the visual Q&A below he uses his photographs to explain the essence of his stunning work.

Kaylee Greer is an award-winning professional pet photographer known for her whimsical portraits of dogs being dogs. Her pet portraits delight dog fanciers everywhere, and also display a great mastery of her craft.

Most photographers understand the interaction between aperture settings (f/stops) and shutter speeds for arriving at proper exposures. But in the basic tutorial below you’ll learn why aperture settings also play an important role in composition, setting up your shot, and much more.

The first time I came across a reference to bokeh in a lens review I found it a bit pretentious. Bokeh may sound like a Japanese dessert, but it’s actually the out-of-focus behavior of your lens. The term is said to come from the Japanese word “boke,” which translates as “blur” or, in some cases, “senility.” Confused? It’s understandable.