Fundamentals

What is a 35mm Lens Good For?

by
Featured image for article on what 35mm lenses are good for

35mm is my personal favorite focal length for photography. It’s wide but not overly so—in many scenarios it’s just wide enough. It also has an uncanny ability to make intimate and personal images. So what is a 35mm lens good for? That’s what I explore in this article. Street Photography The 35mm focal length is …

Read more

What White Balance to Use for Night Photography

by
Photo of the New York City skyline and the lights from the building being reflected in water as an example of white balance for night sky photography

First of all, there are many different settings you’ll want to be familiar with before going out to shoot the stars. You can certainly check out my article on “Nightscape Photography,” to see some of this information, but there are many other sources to learn this information. Most importantly though, photography in general, and certainly …

Read more

Should You Go Full Frame?

by
high resolution example image of a landscape for a blog post answering the question, should I go full frame?

There’s a lot to like about cameras with full frame sensors: they have excellent image quality, work well in low light situations and are capable of producing shallower a depth of field than digital cameras with smaller sensors.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean that a full frame camera is the optimal choice for photographers across the board.

Read more

What Are DSLR Cameras Good For?

by
Example of a DSLR strapped around woman for what are DSLRs good for? post

At one point, DSLR cameras had all the advantages in their favor. But as of this writing in November 2017, the advantages that DSLRs once had over mirrorless cameras has dwindled significantly.

But regardless of how mirrorless camera technology has improved in recent years, DSLR cameras still have a lot going for them in terms of performance, as long as you can deal with the size and weight.

Read more

The Blurred Background Effect in Photography

by
image of a monkey as an example of a blurred background effect

If you’ve paid close attention to pictures before, you’ve probably noticed that some have a lot in focus whereas others it’s the opposite, resulting in a blurred background effect. This blurred background effect, also known as “bokeh” among photographers, named after the Japanese word for “blur” can be done in a very tasteful way that enhances images by drawing the viewer in.

Read more

What is a Candid Picture?

by
image showing a street photography image of a candid picture in london england

If you’re new to photography, you may be asking yourself, “what is a candid picture?”

Many of us have known inherently what a candid picture is for most of our lives because we’ve heard the expression before but that’s not the case for everyone.

Read more

5 Indoor Photography Tips Without Using Flash

by
Image of a nook taken with best setting for indoor photography without flash

Doing photography indoors without a flash can be tricky. You may not have a flash handy or just want a natural light look.

However, shooting without a flash indoors presents us with some issues as photographers because there’s less light present than when you’re out in open sunlight but we’re not using flash to help illuminate the scene in this instance.

Read more

2 Simple Steps to Blur the Background of a Picture Using Just Your Camera

by
Image of a dark-haired women shot up close with a blurred out background

I think it’s safe to say that pictures with blurred backgrounds can be extremely impressive and inspiring.

I know that a lot of photographers just starting out assume that it’s done in post-processing in Photoshop or whatever. But there’s a far better way to achieve a blurred background than by editing it in.

The best blurred background results come from knowing good technique and getting the effect directly in-camera.

Read more

3 Reasons Why Your Pictures are Blurry

by
Image of party-goers out of focus

It can be annoying to have your pictures turn out blurry and not know the reason why.

The good news is that there are only a few reasons why photos turn out blurry, so it’s easy to correct course by by adjusting some aspect of how you’re using your camera.

Read more

DSLR Vs. Mirrorless in Photography: Which Should you Choose?

by
Image of a DSLR and mirrorless phone camera to show choice between mirrorless or DSLR

The DSLR vs mirrorless debate has been going on for several years now in the digital photography industry.

While in the past the choice between the two was obvious for professional photographers, the two are on far more equal footing today.

Up until recent years, mirrorless was not a viable option when it came to investing in a camera system, at least for serious/professional photographers. And it’s not just that the ones available were low in quality, it’s that camera manufacturers weren’t even offering them.

Advancements in mirrorless technology in recent years however, has been swift. Mirrorless technology just a few years ago was unfit for professional use but has gotten to the point where it rivals that of DSLRs. As a result, the choice between DSLR or mirrorless is not as cut and dry as it once was.

Read more

A Beginner’s Guide to Understanding Depth of Field

by
Picture of yellow flowers in flower pot next to a fence, showing shallow depth of field

Understanding depth of field is an important part of being able to control the outcome of your images in photography. The look of any given image will be strongly influenced by the depth of field of that image.

So in order to be able to consistently have control over your pictures, it’s important to be able to control your depth of field.

So this article will be about defining depth of field but also about how to control it and when to implement certain types of depth of field.

Read more

A Guide to Understanding Shutter Priority Mode

by
Camera Mode Dial Set to Shutter Priority

Shutter priority mode is a semi-automatic camera mode in which the photographer chooses one component of the exposure triangle (shutter speed), the camera takes a meter reading when pointed at a given scene and does the rest of the work for you by choosing the aperture value that it thinks will get the most accurate exposure.

Shutter priority mode can also be used in conjunction with auto ISO so that the camera chooses everything for you aside from your shutter speed. In order to set your ISO to auto, you likely will need to go through your camera’s menu, which varies from camera to camera.

Read more

A Guide to Understanding Aperture Priority Mode

by
Image showing the aperture blades of a len's opening

Getting your exposure right while also achieving the depth of field you’re looking for can be tricky at times, especially if you’ve got to get some exposures off quick or you’re in a hectic situation.

Luckily we have several camera modes at our disposal to make our lives easier as photographers in these situations, and one of the most useful ones is aperture priority. It’s used a good deal by both professionals and hobbyists alike.

Read more

P Mode in Photography: When and How to Use it

by
Image showing a mode dial set to P mode

Just got your first camera and wondering what that ‘P’ on your mode dial is? Understanding program mode is one of the first steps in the natural evolution of getting out of auto mode and learning to take control of your camera.

While program mode does have severe limitations compared to manual mode, learning to use it will help you to basically take a baby step through the process of going from fully automatic mode to manual mode.

Read more