If you show up at a promising location for landscape photography, how do you choose which direction to start walking and exploring? It’s not always obvious, especially if the landscape in front of you is something like sand dunes or salt flats where you can go any direction.
Composition and Art Category Archive
Understanding Texture in Photography
There are many tools in a photographer’s “emotional toolbox” – the things you can do in photography to shift a photo’s emotional message in your preferred direction. The one I’ll be talking about today is texture.
Timing and Direction in Landscape Photography
Landscape photographers would have a much easier time if only we could move the sun to suit our whims. (We’d make sure to put it back afterward.) Alas, unless you’re an unapologetic Photoshopper – or maybe a Luminary these days – you can’t do much to change the natural light.
Best Books About Composition for Photographers
Whether you are a new photographer learning the basics of composition for the first time, or a more experienced photographer looking to improve your photographic composition there is a book on this list for you. The one thing the books on this list all have in common is that they...
The Best Photography Books You Should Read in 2021
A good photography book an enjoyable way to pass the afternoon, and it's often the perfect antidote to a creative rut. Whether you've been photographing for years or you're a beginner looking to take your work to the next level we're going to take a look at the best photography...
The Elements of Photography
I was consumed by the technical aspects of photography during the early days of my career in photography. Getting a sharp image was all that I had in mind. "Which shutter speed should I use to capture birds in flight? Which ISO will give me images with less noise? What...
Compose Better Photos with Gestalt Theory
One of the better-known theories of perception is Gestalt Psychology. It deals with the way we organize information (usually visuals, but not always) into wholes. While Gestalt Theory isn’t mentioned very often in discussions about composing good photos, I think that’s a mistake.
Behind the Shot: Blue Hour in Iceland
In today’s article, I’ll go into the story, camera settings, and post-processing behind this photo I took of Iceland’s Vestrahorn Mountain. From a technical standpoint, it wasn’t too hard to take, but a decent bit of luck went into this photo as well.
The Almost Portfolio
I’ve always enjoyed seeing alternate versions of famous photographs. Maybe frame #22 is the photo everyone knows about, while frames #18-21 have faded into obscurity – despite showing the same subject with minor variations. Of course, it’s not just famous photographers. Every photographer out there has an “almost portfolio.”
Photography from the Heart and Head
In my opinion, a bridge exists between the heart and the head in photography, just as it does in many other areas of life. I use “bridge” rather than a word like “battle” because they aren’t really at odds with each other. They’re just two parts of the photographic process.