Getting Started: If you’re reading this, you’re probably already interested in photography and probably have a camera – or perhaps this has interested you in photography and you’re considering getting a camera – or this has inspired you to get … Read More

Understanding Exposure Let’s start with the extreme basics. Photography is about exposing light to a light sensitive material (film or a digital sensor) in a controlled manner. (OK – you’ve got a program mode camera, and you’ve always had good … Read More

Metering OK, so now we know what ISO media we’re working with, we understand shutter speeds, and we understand apertures – but where do we base our exposure? We accomplish this by taking a measurement, or “metering”, the light falling … Read More

You understand shutter speeds, apertures and ISO settings, and now you know how a meter works, but how does it all combine to give me full creative control over my photographs? In a word: stops. The more you can think … Read More

What exactly is a camera “mode” and what’s the difference between them? Let’s go back in time a bit… Before the 1960s, just about all cameras were fully manual, but the advancements of electronics generated the first cameras with “Automatic … Read More

Buy a good tripod and use it religiously. Too many photographers feel that a tripod isn’t necessary unless shooting in a low light situation or shooting with long lenses. They tend to rely on the old “1 divided by the … Read More

Before we get into the mechanics of composition, let’s talk about why you’re taking the photograph to begin with. Something caught your eye enough to make you want to preserve the scene in a photograph – but are you photographing … Read More

OK – so something has caught your eye, and you’ve identified what that “something” is – now how are you going to compose the shot. Let me start off by saying that all composition “rules” are meant to be broken … Read More

Deciding where to place your subject within the frame is a great place to start, but there are several techniques that will help your photograph invoke the reaction that you want your viewers to experience. Is your image a dynamic … Read More

“Photography” literally translates to “painting with light” – without light, there is no photography. Being aware of the lighting quality of your images, and manipulating it at times, can turn a snapshot into a beautiful photograph. 1: Never Between 10 … Read More