Discover Digital Photography

HDR photography can create some absolutely jaw-dropping effects when implemented correctly. This type of photography, however, can be extremely difficult to perfect. Due to the nature of HDR composite shots, the finished piece can often look artificial and contrived – in short, you can tell that it is an HDR shot. If you want to achieve perfection and create magnificent HDR photos, the finished piece should look natural, and people should not be able to tell that it has been edited.

Landscape HDR photography presents additional challenges due to the high level of contrast in the composition. Let’s look at an example – you have hiked to Malham Cove in the Yorkshire Dales and want to take a shot of the rocks and surrounding countryside. The only issue is that the sky is hugely over-exposed, whilst the rocks and fields are under-exposed and wreathed in shadow – due to the extreme contrast, an HDR composition of this particular scene could look unnatural.

So how can you achieve perfection and improve your HDR photography? How can you capture stunning landscape photos and create a final effect that looks both beautiful and natural? If you follow the simple steps and guidelines we have formulated below, we are confident you can improve your HDR compositions ten-fold!

The plamp is device designed for holding stems of plants steady without crushing them while you photograph the plant. Its name is a contraction of 'plant clamp'. However, it can also be used for other related tasks such as holding a small diffusion panel over the plant, giving you nicer lighting than harsh direct sunlight.

I was kindly sent a Plamp 2 and accessories by Wimberly to review. Having previously used the first version of the Plamp, in this review I'll cover the differences between the two products, and how the Plamp could be useful for your photography.

Surrealistic photography has been around almost since the invention of photography. Where techniques used to involve in-camera tricks, special processing techniques in the darkroom, and even cutting up and re-arranging of photos, many surreal effects can now be achieved much more easily and quickly using image editing software.

In this article we'll look at five different techniques for taking a normal photo and making it into something surreal.

Color contrast can be used in color photography to help a subject stand out, or alternatively, blend in, with a background. It's also important for black and white photography as an item that stands out due to a strong color contrast may disappear into the background in black and white.

In this article we'll look more at color contrast - how it can help or hinder, and how you can control it.

While film photography and digital photography do have a few differences, of course they share a great deal in common. Composition, light, camera settings, and (in many cases) even the way the way the camera is operated are the same whether you're shooting film or digital.

However, there are some things that are not strictly restricted to film photographers, but film shooters tend to think about or deal with much more than digital users. In this article I want to look at ten of these points, and how thinking about / considering these things can improve your digital photography.

Reasonably often in these articles I suggest taking your photos using RAW image format, especially when discussing editing of photos. The same advice is given in many other articles and discussion fora across the web - if you're serious about photography, then you should probably be shooting RAW, not JPEG.

However, like all guidelines in photography, RAW format is not always the best choice. Depending on your photography style and workflow, JPEG format may actually be more suitable than RAW. In this article, then, we'll look at the various benefits of shooting straight JPEGs and avoiding RAW altogether.

Tonal contrast refers to the difference in brightness between different areas of an image. While important for all photography, tonal contrast is particularly important for black and white photography, since there is no color contrast to be had.

Understanding the differences between high and low tonal contrast and the feelings different levels of contrast can contribute to an image are quite important for good photography. In this article we'll look at this in more detail, also covering how you can affect contrast to get the look for your images you want.

There are a large number of different software packages available aimed at photographers. Deciding which one is right for you can be a tricky business. Different software is good at different things, and the right software for you may not be the right software for another photographer.

So, I'm not going to tell you what the best photography software is, as that depends on you and your workflow. But in this article I'll cover the main points you should consider when looking at photography programs. This will help you evaluate what features are most important for you and which aren't needed, so you can make a more informed choice when deciding what software to go for.

Photographs are 2D captures of our 3D world. Yet we can still understand the form of items in photographs thanks to depth cues. In some cases, such as abstract and trick photography, it may actually be preferred to avoid anything in the photo that indicates depth.

Understanding the different depth cues that can be used in a photo can help you make stronger photos. When you know these cues you can ensure you include them to make an image more '3D', or ensure you don't include them for a flatter '2D' look.

The vast majority of photos look better with some post-processing, and this is particularly true for landscape photos. Often landscapes can come out with colors that look quite dull compared to what we remember, or flat and lacking in contrast. Thankfully, this can be remedied through a bit of careful processing.

You might even want to make more extreme changes, in order to more strongly evoke a feeling with the image, rather than just give an accurate portrayal of what you saw.

In this article we'll cover several post production techniques that can be very useful for landscape photographers. You can use them minimally to enhance what was captured, or make stronger adjustments to completely change the mood of an image. How you use the techniques is up to you.