A Photographer’s Guide to Brightness: How to Read Lighting Intensity

If you’d like to know more about the essential role that light plays in photography, then you’ll love our course, A Photographer’s Guide to Light. In this lesson, you’ll learn why brightness is the most important quality of a light source. Noticing Brightness If a light isn’t bright enough, photography isn’t possible. At least, not regular… Continue reading A Photographer’s Guide to Brightness: How to Read Lighting Intensity

How to choose the perfect time for your shoot

Karl Lundholm loves shooting on the water half an hour before sunset, while Ryan Locknecker has a passion for watching the sunrise in the mountains. Ueli Frischknecht prefers twilight—“that brief moment right before sunrise.” Daniel Casson likes shooting in the morning because of the combination of fog and sunlight, while Elsa Bleda feels drawn to… Continue reading How to choose the perfect time for your shoot

A Photographer’s Guide to Colour and Lighting Temperature

If you’d like to know more about the essential role that light plays in photography, then you’ll love our course, A Photographer’s Guide to Light. In this lesson, you’ll find out why white light isn’t actually white. A Photographer’s Guide to Light: Noticing Colour Cameras and Eyes and Brains (Oh My…) A camera system functions in… Continue reading A Photographer’s Guide to Colour and Lighting Temperature

[Photo Keywording Tips] How to add effective keywords to help your photos get discovered

You’ve taken the perfect shot, uploaded it to 500px, and are ready to license it. But how can you be sure your image will be seen by buyers? Keywords! Tagging your image with the right photo keywords will increase the photo’s visibility by ensuring it appears in relevant search results. The wrong keywords—or worse, too… Continue reading [Photo Keywording Tips] How to add effective keywords to help your photos get discovered

Does bird detect AF really work?

Common Tern. ISO 1250, 1/2000 sec, f/6.3, @ 600mm. © Marie Read We like to say it’s not about the gear, that a photographer with any camera can create good photos. And in most situations that’s true. Then there’s bird photography. To get the ultimate photos of feathered subjects you need special equipment: zoom lenses… Continue reading Does bird detect AF really work?

Seven tips for curating and editing down your Licensing portfolio

One of the most common reasons great photographs are rejected from commercial Licensing boils down to one simple fact: the images are too similar to each other. There are a few explanations about why this might happen. Maybe you didn’t get enough variety while on location, and you got home to find all your photos… Continue reading Seven tips for curating and editing down your Licensing portfolio

Tips from the pros: 3 keys to taking better bird pictures

A great grey owl. ISO 1600, 1/200 sec, f/5.6 @ 70mm. Michael Cummings/Getty Images This post on better bird pictures has been updated. It was originally published on June 3, 2015. At once challenging and wondrous subjects, birds are fast, elusive, biologically diverse, and can be stunningly beautiful. “There are about 10,000 species of birds… Continue reading Tips from the pros: 3 keys to taking better bird pictures

10 tips for dynamic waterfowl photography

Vicki Jauron/Getty Images This post on waterfowl photography has been updated. It was originally published on December 17, 2008. You don’t need to trek into the wild to create incredible waterfowl photography. City parks and wildlife sanctuaries are ideal for photographing ducks, geese, and swans. Not only are they easily reached, but in these spots,… Continue reading 10 tips for dynamic waterfowl photography

How to Reduce the Intensity of a Preset on a Photo in Lightroom Classic

Lightroom presets are powerful, one-click tools to transform your images. Presets capture visual styles and can help you borrow styles from other talented photographers. But sometimes, presets are just a bit much. You like the look and feel of a preset, but want to tone it down. That’s where the Lightroom plugin The Fader becomes so useful. From left… Continue reading How to Reduce the Intensity of a Preset on a Photo in Lightroom Classic