Have you ever wanted to do something a little different with your photographs? Not stop with the simple click of the shutter and turn it into an actual digital painting? That is what I am going to teach you in this article. I know not everybody is a painter and...
The Sin, the Evil, the Horror of Direct Sunlight
Any photographer will tell you - you do not take portraits in direct sunlight. It's ugly. It's much too contrasty. It wreaks havoc on automatic exposure and tests all sorts of other boring technical aspects of a camera to the limit. It's difficult to pose in, difficult to see in;...
The Magic of “7” in Composition
This article will no doubt be the shortest one I will ever write about image composition as it contains only one, very simple idea. And, that is the number “7”. If you’re like me and tend to see the world around you as shapes and angles when you have a...
Confessions of a Photo Sinner
WARNING – this contains adult humor of the PG-13 variety, sassy double entendres, and a bunch of my trademark puerile humor too – read at your own risk. A couple weeks ago Nasim climbed Mount Zeiss with his D810 and returned with Photography’s 16 Commandments (Nasim’s an overachiever, duh). Before...
Introduction to Black and White Nature Photography
What makes a good black-and-white photograph, how do I take one, and why should I try when I have this nifty hypersaturation preset that makes even my lamest photos look awesome? I’ll answer the last question first – your oversharpened oversaturated photos stink. Their gaudy colors may suck the eye...
Photowalk Revisited
Back in May of this year Nasim visited London and kindly invited local followers of PL on a photowalk. All the participants greatly enjoyed that experience and came away with pleasing images. Well, a couple of months ago, I met up again with one of those participants, Theresa, for a photowalk...
Improving Eye Flow by Creating Corner Exits
Back in the day when I was working in corporate life, I gained quite a bit of experience creating and managing advertising, usually print based. When we designed ads, it became second nature for us to constantly think about fundamental concepts like visual depth, dominating elements, and ad balance. The...
Central Composition is Brilliant
Central composition is considered by many as downright boring. Here is what I say in return: cliché. When used well, I absolutely adore central composition, there's nothing else quite like it. Of course, there is a strong reason why so many photographers, when giving advice to beginners, start with the...
Why Do You Enjoy Photography?
I have a simple question for you. Why do you enjoy photography? When I first asked myself this question, I thought, "Well, it's obvious, isn't it? It's what I do for a living! I never get tired of picking up my camera and "going to work." But this doesn't really...
Improve Your Photography
As with every skill, be it conscious or instinctive, your ability to choose composition for any given moment you wish to capture improves with time, practice and experience. And it's not just composition, of course, but the sense of light, peak moment, emotion. I strongly believe our photography, from a...