Category: Uncategorized

Exposure Compensation Explained

One of the questions I received recently asked me to explain exposure compensation. In this article, I will answer the 4 essential questions on that subject. What is Exposure Compensation? Exposure compensation is your ability to change the exposure values from something different than what the camera sets for you. Let’s back up to explain… Continue reading Exposure Compensation Explained

Using a Tilt-Shift Lens to Maximize Depth of Field

A Canon tilt-shift lens. Note the tilting controls.

You want to maximize the depth of field of your images. You understand, however, that shooting at very small apertures can negatively affect image quality because of diffraction. You also know that the “sweet spot” for most lenses is somewhere in the range of f/5.6 – 8.0. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could use… Continue reading Using a Tilt-Shift Lens to Maximize Depth of Field

Buying a Graduated Neutral Density Filter

Elsewhere, we have covered how to deal with extreme dynamic range problems in outdoor photography. We have looked at solutions involving post-processing and even spent some time on HDR techniques. But what if there was a way to deal with the problem of dynamic range in-camera? Turns out, there is. It is called the graduated neutral density filter… Continue reading Buying a Graduated Neutral Density Filter

Creating Realistic HDR Photos Using Photoshop

This is the same photo used in other HDR tutorials. This example shows it after it was tone mapped using Photoshop and a basic Lightroom edit.

You should not overlook using Photoshop to create HDR photos. First of all, it is software you likely already have,so it costs you nothing. Further, it does a really good job of tone mapping your pictures. In fact, perhaps the most realistic HDR photos are created using Photoshop. Tone mapping with Photoshop is extremely simple.… Continue reading Creating Realistic HDR Photos Using Photoshop

The Critical Importance of Composition in Photography

I will start this article by stating my belief that composition is the most important aspect of photography. I don’t think composition is “an” important part of photography.  I think it is “the” most important aspect. It is what we should all spend a disproportionate amount of time thinking about. We Worry About Everything But… Continue reading The Critical Importance of Composition in Photography