Feeds: Our Picks

This article provides you with 10 photography self-assignments that you can use to get your own creative juices flowing. They’re designed to help you grow in skill as a well-rounded photographer while helping you build your portfolio at the same time. Many of these projects are best executed over a period of time, rather than in a single session.photo by Nikos Koutoulas1. The Park BenchTake your camera and a tripod to a park, and find a busy park bench. Set yourself up some distance away with... READ MORE

We’ve all seen stunning portrait photos that have a blurred background while the subject of the photo is perfectly focused. When done correctly, these photos can be very dramatic. However, it might seem hard to accomplish, especially if you’re not familiar with the proper techniques. A faster prime lens (with greater aperture capabilities) will give you an edge in this technique, but even an off-brand lens, such as a Sigma 85mm lens will give excellent results if you follow the tips in this article.Shooting pictures... READ MORE

‘Tis the season! With Christmas just around the corner, friends and family are anxious to upload holiday photographs featuring Christmas lights of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Whether you’ve been the working behind the camera or simply observing the festivities of others, you may have noticed recently that capturing strings of lights doesn’t seem as easy as it once was.This isn’t your imagination. The problem is primarily rooted in the fact that incandescent lights have largely been replaced by their LED counterparts. While this is great... READ MORE

The holiday season is upon us and Christmas lights are everywhere. What better time for capturing great bokeh shots? If you’ve never really paid attention to bokeh before or haven’t ever tried it, there’s honestly no better time to learn how. Check out this video by photographer Gavin Hoey from Adorama and give it a try:Bokeh refers to the way a camera lens renders out-of-focus points of light. If the blurred shapes are pleasing to the eye they’re considered “good” bokeh, and if they are... READ MORE

The holiday season is upon us! For any of you photography enthusiasts out there, this is the perfect time to put those cameras to good use. Use photos to show and tell people about your holiday traditions, whatever you celebrate this time of year. It’s the perfect time to take advantage of the free on-camera talent that you have: your family and friends!photo by John MorganHere are some tips on how to capture your next holiday celebration.Photographs Tell StoriesThe whole point of documenting an event... READ MORE

A Milky Way panorama is the sort of image that every photographer probably wants to have in their portfolio. The more dramatic, the better. While the choice of location is up to you, there’s much more to getting a great shot. Milky Way Mike shares the basics of stitching a Milky Way panorama and other technicalities post-processing:How to Stabilize Your Camera for Milky Way PhotographyA steady tripod, a slightly heavier variety, will keep the weight firmly down and secure the camera.If your tripod comes with... READ MORE

Photographing the moon can be tricky. Last year I had a go at it, and it was a complete disaster, with the moon looking like a big, bright, blurry mass in the sky. After a bit of trial and error I discovered how to take nice shots of the moon.Photo by Jon BuntingThe right lensThe first thing you need is a powerful zoom lens. The moon may look big in the night sky but when your camera takes a photo of it, the moon will... READ MORE

Learn how to create this surreal mountain landscape in Photoshop. In this tutorial you'll learn how you can create a mountain scene and how to add creepy trees to your scene without making the selections. You will also learn how to create shadows, lights, work with layer mask, adjustments layers and much more. What you'll […]... READ MORE

A while back, one of my students asked “Where can I find the Keywording panel?” I answered, “It’s in the Library module’s right sidebar.” She replied, “No it’s not…” Sure enough, the Keywording panel had gone missing. What gives? Viewing panels There are several methods that can hide and reveal panels. In this tutorial I’ll […]The post Hiding and showing Lightroom Classic panels appeared first on Photofocus.... READ MORE

I received an email from a reader saying he followed our advice and created a copyright preset in Lightroom Classic. He is excited that all future images will now have his copyright information embedded in the image metadata, and wished he’d done it years ago on his older images. I told him there’s an easy […]The post Fixing an unknown copyright status in Lightroom Classic appeared first on Photofocus.... READ MORE

What You'll Be CreatingWhat are Photoshop Actions? Why should you use them and how? This 60-second video will show you why Photoshop Actions should be an important part of your workflow.What Are Photoshop Actions?Photoshop Actions are some of the hottest selling items available on Envato Market. These actions provide an easy way to create a complex graphic effect with any image in a matter of moments. They often include built-in controls to enable you to customize the appearance of the final effects. In this quick video... READ MORE

I saw a post from a fellow light painter that grabbed my attention. It implanted itself into my brain and I haven’t been able to let go of it. He pondered “We know that by looking at painters brush strokes how they were feeling at a certain time. In light painting, we “paint” with light. […]The post This is how I photographed my emotions with light painting appeared first on DIY Photography. ... READ MORE

In this video, I’m going to show you how to shoot and edit ‘layflats’ using only a mobile device. I’m going to be sharing three quick colorful setups where I will discuss the shooting and lighting process. At the end of the shoot, I will show you how to edit your images for cohesion and style.The lighting we are going to be using is very simple, available to everyone, and most importantly free: window light. So let’s get started![THE SHOOT] @ 00:36 – 1:35To shoot... READ MORE

The post How to Use Framing in Your Compositions to Improve Your Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Bond.Photos look great when framed on the wall, but that is not the only way to use frames in photography. The world is full of frames, and they can be used in your photos to make the composition stronger. In this article, you’ll learn how to find frames. You’ll also learn how you can work with frames to enhance your images.... READ MORE

There are few fundamental settings that have as big of an impact on an image then the shutter speed. Adjusting the shutter speed makes a huge difference and can, in most situations, make or break the image.A slow shutter speed, for example, can often have a positive impact on what otherwise would’ve been an average image; by lengthening the exposure time, your camera is able to register movement and create a sense of motion. This technique is often used when photographing seascapes, rivers and waterfalls... READ MORE

In the second of a series of follow-up articles to The Quality of Light, I have posted this article to share a series of photographs (along with the thought processes behind them) that captures the quintessence of a well-known and spectacular light display, often referred to as the “Secondary Sunset” or “Second Sunset”. As with many of my previous articles, my goal with this post is to encourage my fellow photographers to be inspired by light, composition, and mood, to spur them to explore their creative... READ MORE

With any DSLR, it takes time to get to grips with everything your camera can do. Often, the manual gets looked at initially, then only referred to when you get stuck. At times, whole features of your camera can get overlooked, and you might resign yourself to taking images that don’t look like you wanted them to. Needle sharp focusing, for example, is at the heart of excellent photos. If you know the difference between the focus modes on your camera, you can use them... READ MORE

When it comes to photographing your food, it’s all about setting the “right” scene. If you want your honey baked ham or apple pie to make your Instagram followers salivate with envy, well then expert food photographer, Andrew Scrivani has a few tips & props that will make your shots really look like you know what you’re doing.Ideal food photography props need to walk the line between neutral and nondescript, and personality-based and playful.“You don’t want your propping to distract from your food,” explained New York Times... READ MORE

Photoshop's tools are meant to make your life easier. And if you need to resize multiple images at once, then we have the solution for you! Check out the answer in this quick tip.Follow along with us over on our Envato Tuts+ YouTube channel:When There's More Than One...Resizing one image in Photoshop is simple enough, but what happens when you need to resize 10, 50, or even 100 images? You could go through the bunch individually, but this would cost you precious time that could... READ MORE

Have you ever been flipping through a magazine or browsing the internet and seen an image of an entrée that instantly made your mouth water? A good photograph of food can make your delicious dish look even more delectable than it already is. If you want to take high quality food photographs for your business—or just your blog—here are some tips to help you get better food photos.photo by julien halerStyle is EverythingThis may seem like a bit much, but “styling” or arranging your food carefully can make... READ MORE

Children are both photogenic and notoriously difficult to photograph. During a posed photoshoot, they can sometimes be shy or behave differently than usual, making the portraits seem ‘set up’ or inauthentic, or at least hard to shoot. That’s why some families choose to have a lifestyle photoshoot instead, aiming for candid rather than posed shots. […]The post Kids’ Photography Ideas: 30 Creative Examples appeared first on The Photo Argus. ... READ MORE

With still life photography you have complete control over the situation, including the subject matter. I’ve always found that taking photographs of still life to be a creative boost and charge. I enjoy taking ordinary objects, and looking at them in an extraordinary way.Still life photography doesn’t have to be only fruit and flowers. It could be a scene that grabs your attention as you walk past. As the photographer challenge yourself to capture an object or scene to show someone a different way to... READ MORE

This is an indoor portrait taken in near darkness, resembling a birthday cake shot.photo by Caitlin ChildsYou’ll need:A darkish room that doesn’t have a lot of stray light coming inOne or more candlesA willing modelCamera Setup:Mode: Aperture Priority (Often shown as Av on the mode wheel)ISO: 800 or so (there will be very little light)White Balance: CustomAperture: As low as your lens will go. Lower f-numbers captures the most light, and softens backgrounds.Watch out for: The shutter speed. In a dark setting in Aperture Priority... READ MORE

Part of the joy of landscape photography for me is standing around and waiting for the light to change. You put your camera on its tripod, compose a shot and wait, taking photos every few minutes, whenever the sky or light or whatever looks interesting. I caught the tail end of a storm in Santorini, […]The post How to blend two landscape photographs together in Photoshop appeared first on DIY Photography. ... READ MORE

Nail the focus in Night PhotographyNight Photography is a genre that has become more and more popular the last years. Photographing at night can give stunning results but it also comes with a few more challenges than “regular” daytime photography. The most normal challenge with nighttime photography is getting everything sharp and in focus.Let me tell you this: getting sharp photos during the night isn’t as hard as you may fear. In this article, we will look at a few techniques and tricks on how to get... READ MORE