The Ultimate Guide
to Learning Photography
Take that camera off auto mode! Our free photography tutorials for beginners to intermediate photographers are simple to follow. Learn how all the knobs and buttons work, so you can stop using your iPhone and start capturing photos on your DSLR with confidence.
Whether you’re new to photography or want to brush up on skills, our Ultimate Photography Guides will set you up for success.
Ready to share photos with family and friends? Follow our guides on simple software workflow tips to easily retouch images for pictures that impress.
LIGHTING
Even the most expensive camera is worthless inside a completely dark room. We've come a long way from the first room-sized cameras, the essence of photography has remained the same: light. Whether you are shooting film or digital, you cannot shoot anything without light.
POST PROCESSING
Opening Photoshop for the first time is like cracking open a fantasy novel that opens up an entirely new world of strange creatures, opposite natural laws and a completely new language. That new fantasy world is bursting with exciting possibilities, yet bogged down by so many unknowns.
WHAT IS APERTURE?
Beginner photographers are often intimidated by the term exposure triangle, and think that they missed a lesson in geometry class. But the 3 components of this triangle - aperture, ISO and shutter speed - are key when learning about the technique and composition of an image.
EXPOSURE BRACKETING
One of the hardest things to perfect in a photo is the exposure, as there are many pieces to bring together for the perfect image. Exposure bracketing allows you to take 3 images at 3 different exposures which gives you the security of knowing that one of them will have captured the light in the best possible way.
CREATING BOKEH BACKGROUNDS
Sure, a good photograph is all about the subject — but what about the background? What’s behind the subject (and what’s in front) can either give a detailed sense of the scene, or put more emphasis on the subject by blurring the distractions into dreamy shapes and colors known as bokeh.
What is Camera RAW
Every new photographer feels the same confusion when hearing about the differences between shooting images in RAW vs. JPEG (or JPG). In the past, most photographers used JPEG because you could get more images on your memory cards and the photos looked good.
COMPOSITION RULES
Creative stipulations may sound like it belongs on the list of oxymorons right alongside jumbo shrimp and bitter-sweet, but rules can either be restricting — or inspirational. Composition is full of both photography rules and techniques.
Shutter Speed
That characteristic sound that a camera takes as it snaps a photo? That’s the camera’s shutter. And while the shutter may move the same way every time you take a photograph, it doesn’t always move at the same speed.
FOCUS STACKING
Digital cameras are powerful tools — over the past few years, they’ve added megapixels while shedding weight and dramatically improving low light performance. But, there’s still only so much you can do with a single photograph.
HYPERFOCAL DISTANCE
If you’re trying to take a good landscape image, it’s usually hard to get both the foreground and background to appear sharp. That’s when an understanding of hyperfocal distance becomes important.
Long Exposure
Photography captures a moment in time — but who says that moment has to be a split second? Long exposure photography takes a single image over several seconds or even several minutes.
What makes a Good Photo
Is it a great subject? An expensive camera? High-end DSLRs have taken some crappy photos. Toy cameras have taken breathtaking shots. And amazing images have featured things as simple as a glass of water.
Photography Subject
What’s in a subject? Choosing a photography subject is essential to the process of taking a picture. Sometimes, the subject is selected by default or spur-of-the-moment inspiration...
How Does a camera Work?
Everyday, 1.8 billion photographs are shared on the web, pausing life and turning moments into digital pixels of information.
Composition Techniques
Photography composition and the Rule of Thirds go together like peanut butter and jelly — it’s nearly impossible to find one without the other in photography tutorials.
Aperture and Depth of Field
Most new photographers reach a point when they’ve mastered snapping an action photo without blur — yet at the same time, wonder how to add in a different kind of blur.