Discover Digital Photography

In recent years there has been a move towards smaller, lighter cameras. Some photographers have moved to using these cameras from much larger and heavier DSLR cameras, and so termed this use of smaller / less equipment as Nimble Photography or Minimalist (as in terms of gear) Photography.

It's not just about a reduction in the amount of photography gear they use though, it's also about a change in workflow. Spending less time behind the computer, more time shooting, and getting pictures out much faster is part of the movement.

Photography can be quite technical, with so many different camera settings and compositional guidelines to remember. Of course, with practice and experience you get much better at learning these things and putting them into practice without even having to think about it.

In this post I want to look at five important things that many photographers overlook. Some are actually quite important, others are more about optimizing the image making process as much as possible. But all five tips are things that can help you make (or display) better images.

Most photographers mainly work with color photography. Yet how often do you really think about color when composing an image? Color can be an important aspect in creating a strong composition. It can also lend a particular mood to an image. In this article we'll have a look at how you can use color to create strong images.

I've seen a few comments from some photographers stating that with the good high ISO performance from current cameras, there's no need to spend money on fast glass anymore. (If you're wondering what fast glass means, it means lenses with a large maximum aperture like f/1.4 or f/2.8, you can read more here: What does Lens Speed mean?)

In this article I want to take a look at this argument, and see if there is any truth in the statement.

A plain white or black background can be very useful for both photography and video. It gives a very clean look, without any distractions to take the viewer's attention away from the subject.

A plain white background also works well where the intent is for the image or video to blend in with a web page or printed page that is also white. (The same for black, though white is a much more common background).

A plain background is often used for catalog style product photography. And it can also work well for portraits, still lifes, and studio-style nature photos. In this article we'll look at a few different ways you can create a clean white or black background for your images or videos (the technique is the same for both).

If you own an interchangeable lens camera, you probably will have noticed that a lot of lenses sold for these cameras come with a plastic lens hood included. And for those lenses that don't include a lens hood, there are a wide variety of aftermarket designs available that you can purchase to add to your lens.

In this article we'll look at the benefits of using a lens hood, the different types of hood available, and also some disadvantages of hoods.

I've written before about the various advantages shooting RAW files with your camera has compared to shooting JPEGs. However, there is one big problem with RAW files that you are most likely to come across when you purchase a new camera.

This problem is that most camera manufacturers use a proprietary RAW format, and they change the file format with each new camera they release. This means that if your photo editing software is not up to date, then it won't be able to open the images as it doesn't understand the new format. In this article we'll look at this problem and how you can get round it.

There's more to getting a great photo than just being at a great location and getting the correct settings dialed in on your camera. In this article I'll cover five tips that can help you get great photos, even if you're not at a great location (but help you really show off the location if you are). And these tips require no technical knowledge of camera settings, so even if you use your in auto mode, they will help you get better photos.

Back button or Rear button focusing is a method of autofocusing used by many photographers. It decouples the autofocus from the shutter button, so a separate button on the back of the camera is used for focusing, while the shutter button is just used for taking photos.

In this article we'll look in more detail at the back button focus method. We'll cover why many photographers prefer this method over the standard half-press of the shutter button for autofocus. And also cover some situations where it doesn't work so well.

Photography can be quite an expensive hobby. Cameras, lenses, filters, and all the other accessories that go with it can cost a lot. So, in this article, I want to look at five relatively inexpensive items (under $30) that can bring a big improvement to your photography despite their low cost.