Photography tips & techniques for every skill level

Video Tutorials

Getting Started with Photomatix Pro 6: A Step-by-Step HDR Workflow from Lightroom

HDR photography has a bit of a reputation problem. Mention it in certain circles and someone will immediately picture those over-cooked, hyper-saturated skies from the mid-2000s that looked more like a video game than a real place. But here’s the thing: HDR done well is invisible. It’s just a photo where the sky isn’t blown out and the shadows aren’t a muddy mess. That’s a goal worth chasing, especially when you’re shooting in tricky light, which, if you’re anything like me, is basically every time you’re outside during golden hour.

October 12, 2026

Video Tutorials

Edit Your Travel Photos on the Go: A Beginner's Guide to Snapseed

I’ll be honest with you: some of my most-shared photos were edited entirely on my phone. Not because I planned it that way, but because I was standing somewhere beautiful, the light was perfect, and by the time I got back to my laptop the moment had already passed on everyone’s feed. Mobile editing isn’t a compromise. It’s a legitimate part of a working photographer’s toolkit, and the sooner you get comfortable with it, the more opportunities you’ll actually be able to act on.

October 12, 2026

Video Tutorials

How to Give Any Photo More Punch: Lessons from Peter McKinnon's Live Editing Sessions

One of the hardest things about learning to edit is that most tutorials show you perfect photos and perfect results. You rarely get to watch someone work through a real, raw file from a real photographer and make judgment calls in the moment. That gap between “here’s how the tool works” and “here’s how I actually think when I sit down to edit” is where most beginners get stuck, and honestly, it’s where I got stuck too when I was starting out.

October 12, 2026

Video Tutorials

Chasing Mood Before the City Wakes: What Gosse Bouma Taught Me About Light and Atmosphere

Every Sunday morning I’m out the door before 6 a.m. for my weekly photo walk, and for a long time I couldn’t explain to people why I insisted on going so early. The light, yes, but it’s more than that. There’s a quality to a city before it fills up with people and noise that almost no amount of technical skill can fake in post-processing. You either captured it or you didn’t.

October 12, 2026

News

Expanding Your Photography Toolkit: The Guide to Importing International Camera Phones

Opening New Creative Possibilities with Global Technology As a photography enthusiast and educator, I’ve noticed an exciting trend among serious mobile photographers: they’re looking beyond their local market to find devices with superior camera capabilities. International smartphones often arrive with cutting-edge imaging sensors, advanced computational photography features, and software optimizations that won’t reach US consumers for months—or sometimes never. The appeal is clear. If you’re committed to smartphone photography, accessing these tools earlier can genuinely elevate your work.

October 12, 2026

Video Tutorials

Five Small Edits That Turn a Flat Landscape Photo Into Something Worth Printing

There’s a particular kind of frustration I know well: standing at a gorgeous location, nailing the shot in the moment, and then opening Lightroom to find the image looks… flat. The sky is washed out, the horizon tilts just enough to be annoying, and the whole thing lacks the punch you felt when you pressed the shutter. That gap between what you saw and what the file shows is exactly the problem this tutorial addresses head-on.

October 11, 2026

Video Tutorials

How Learning to See Without the Sky Made Me a More Versatile Landscape Photographer

There’s a trap I fell into for years, and I didn’t even know I was in it until I looked back at a whole season’s worth of location shoots and realized I had basically taken the same photograph forty different times. Same wide composition, same sky-heavy framing, slightly different light. It felt productive in the moment because I was out there, putting in the time. But the results told a different story.

October 11, 2026

Video Tutorials

How a Custom Hat Maker's Product Photos Went From Kitchen Snapshots to Magazine-Worthy Shots

There’s a particular kind of frustration that comes with knowing your product is excellent but your photos don’t show it. I’ve seen this with so many small business owners I’ve met over the years — talented makers, bakers, and craftspeople who undersell themselves because their photography looks like an afterthought. The good news is that the gap between “embarrassing snapshot” and “wait, is that from a magazine?” is usually a handful of intentional decisions, not a $5,000 camera body.

October 11, 2026

Video Tutorials

How to Create a Beautiful Wax Seal: A Step-by-Step Guide to This Timeless Detail

There’s a version of my job that lives entirely on screens. Editing in Lightroom, scheduling posts, resizing for Instagram, answering emails. It’s efficient, sure, but somewhere in that workflow the tactile joy of making things can disappear entirely. That’s why I’ve been genuinely obsessed lately with bringing small physical details back into my creative practice, and wax seals are one of the best examples I’ve found. They photograph beautifully, they make gifts and letters feel intentional, and honestly, the process of making one is just deeply satisfying in a way that no filter can replicate.

October 11, 2026

Video Tutorials

Scout Like a Pro: Peter McKinnon's Framework for Shooting High-Stakes Live Events

There’s a specific kind of pressure that shows up when you’re photographing something that cannot be repeated. A live stunt. A wedding ceremony. A sunrise that’s only happening once. I’ve felt it standing at a waterfall at 6 AM, soaking wet, telling myself I had one shot before the light moved. No reshoot, no “let me just try one more angle.” That pressure either makes your prep airtight or it exposes every shortcut you took.

October 11, 2026

News

Keeping Your Photography Workflow Front and Center: Mobile Notifications That Matter

Keeping Your Photography Workflow Front and Center: Mobile Notifications That Matter As photographers, we’re constantly juggling multiple tasks—monitoring battery levels, checking weather conditions, tracking delivery schedules for new gear, and managing client communications. Our smartphones have become essential tools both behind and in front of the camera. That’s why I’m excited to explore how modern mobile devices are helping us stay organized without constant distractions. The Challenge of Real-Time Information I’ve noticed that many photographers struggle with managing notifications while working.

October 11, 2026

Video Tutorials

How to Plan and Execute Multiple Photo Shoots in One Weekend (Without Losing Your Mind)

Every few months I hit a wall. Not a technical wall — I know my camera settings, I can read light reasonably well, and I’ve been doing this long enough that the mechanics are mostly muscle memory. The wall I hit is creative. The photos start feeling safe. Predictable. Like I’m just going through the motions on my Sunday morning photo walks without really seeing anything new. That’s exactly why this Mango Street tutorial stopped me mid-scroll.

October 10, 2026