Photographers love their affordable, fast, and easy-to-carry “nifty fifty” lenses that can be used to capture a wide range of scenes from landscapes and portraits to nature photos and more. When your images fail to meet expectations, and you’re not sure why, it’s likely because you’re making one or more common mistakes when shooting with a 50mm prime.

Instructor Martin Castein is a London-based landscape and portrait photographer with more than a few tricks up his sleeve. In this eight-minute episode he explains why images with a nifty fifty look a bit different, the big mistakes a lot of photographers make, and the best way to create great compositions with this standard prime lens.

Castein begins with a discussion of perspective and the variables you must understand for thoughtful, effective framing that differ from the approach you take with wider or longer focal lengths. As he says, by doing things right, “you can have the best of an 85mm telephoto and a 35mm wide-angle combined. And that’s why many photographers are so excited about the oft-ignored 50mm option.”

One consideration is that the closer you get to tall subjects, the more the angle tilts as you strive to include everything into the frame. Other problems occur, in reverse, when shooting down from a high camera position. Castein explains that, unlike with a normal lens, these converging verticals become visually acceptable and appear intentional when you get to a certain point with wide-angle photography.

On the other hand, short telephotos like an 85mm “force you to move back far enough so that these corrections happen naturally.” That’s because shooting from a greater distance tends to flatten out the perspective because you can often shoot straight on, rather than being forced to tilt the camera up or down.

Castein says the one big challenge with 50mm lenses is that “you’re slap bang in the middle, and what we get can be slightly off” unless you take advantage of the composition techniques that he recommends for taking advantage of everything that your nifty fifty can do. There’s nothing difficult to learn, except a slight shift in your mindset and the camera angles you choose.

There’s much more to learn about landscape photography on Castein’s popular YouTube channel, so be sure to take a close look.

And speaking of lens techniques, don’t miss the tutorial we posted last week from another landscape photography expert who demonstrates why every serious outdoor shooter needs a telephoto lens and how to use it to capture attention-grabbing images that stand out from the crowd.

The sky is  usually a critical element of nature scenes, landscapes, and many other photos you capture in the field, and here’s what post-processing expert Matt Kloskowski says about this matter: “Before we can even work on the sky, we need to understand how to mask it before applying various tools and enhancements.”

Matt is an accomplished photographer, prolific author, and Photoshop Hall of Fame inductee whose mission “is to create videos that simplify the process of shooting great photos and editing them to get the results you’ve always wanted.” This quick episode demonstrates which Sky Selection tool works best depending on the specific image at hand.

There are several methods from which to choose and they all work a bit differently and are useful for different tasks. A familiarity with various techniques provides you with another option to fall back on when the first attempt falls short of expectations. And these are exactly what you’ll learn in the next nine minutes.

Matt’s demonstration takes place in the Masking panel, and his tips work exactly the same in any Adobe Raw editor you use, whether it’s Photoshop, Lightroom, or Adobe Camera Raw (ACR). You’ll also see why it can be important to apply a few global adjustments to an image before introducing sky selections for local enhancements.

The Select Sky tool is the option that Matt typically reaches for first and he demonstrates how this approach works to enhance details in a lakeside scene with an overly bright sky. This includes  an easy method for using a b&w overlay to refine a selection that isn’t absolutely perfect. In this case he employs a small brush with a low flow setting to include a portion of the distant mountains within his mask.

When this approach causes problems your second line of defense is to is to apply a Linear Gradient instead, and Matt walks you through the simple step-by-step procedure with another landscape photo that poses other challenges. This technique works somewhat like a Graduated ND filter when your goal is to modify the sky without biasing the tones of everything that falls below.

This method allows you to easily feather an edge and control a transition from hard to soft. And simple sliders get the job done in a hurry. The foregoing illustrates just two of the Sky Selection tools available, and the remainder of episode is devoted to other methods worthy of your attention.

Once the video concludes you may want to check out Kloskowski’s instructional YouTube channel where you’ll find many more image-editing tips and techniques.

We also encourage you to watch an earlier tutorial we featured with another post-processing expert who demonstrates several “insanely powerful” color-editing tools that anyone can use to create jaw-dropping outdoor photographs.

Lightroom is loaded with sophisticated tools that enable anyone to adjust colors to perfection. Unfortunately, many inexperienced users shy away from these transformational techniques because of a misconception that “advanced” means “too complicated for me.”

This comprehensive post-processing lesson with instructor Austin James Jackson will disabuse you of this common notion by explaining that the only thing advanced about these tools is the remarkable results they provide, and not any difficulty with putting them to use. Today’s 19-minute primer is demonstrated with Lightroom Classic, but Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) offers many of these tools and technique as well.

Jackson is a professional landscape photographer based in Southern, Utah. He’s also an image-editing expert and kicks of the video like this: “This workflow falls outside most of the basic tips you’ve heard elsewhere, and I’m going to explain Point Color and how make selective adjustments with the Masking tool to refine colors in all types of outdoor photos.”

Not all landscape scenes require the same approach, which is why Jackson illustrates his tips with images that have different color-balance problems that need to be resolved. His first example demonstrates why HSL sliders simply aren’t good enough to provide absolutely precise results. This is partly due to the fact that these global enhancement introduce the same tones through the entire frame.

It’s easy to resolve this familiar problem by understanding how Lightroom’s Point Color tool works with selections. In simple terms, this is the process: Click on the Eyedropper and sample from the photo to create a swatch. “Then, that’s the color that will be adjusted whenever you click on similar colors within the frame—even if they’re not adjacent or in close proximity.

You’ll also learn how to control Range, either broader or more restrictive, based upon the swatch you’ve selected. This technique enables you to refine hue, saturation or luminance (or all three). It’s important to remember that “these adjustments only affect the selection, not the entire image.”

The lesson proceeds with step-by-step directions for employing masks for other selective adjustments and culminates with a demonstration of how to employ your newfound knowledge “to make the color in sunsets photos “pop” while retaining a natural-looking result.

Jackson’s popular YouTube channel is full of instructional videos for everyone who shoots in the field and edits their results for optimum results.

We also recommend watching a tutorial we featured recently with another post-processing expert who demonstrates an “essential” preliminary editing step that many shooters ignore, thereby limiting the effectiveness of every adjustment that follows.

If you live in a perpetually pleasant climate, go outside and mow the lawn or something. Save this story for later, like when you take that Alaskan cruise, or when the Earth’s axis shifts 90 degrees. For the other 75% of us who experience cold, often snowy weather from December through March, here’s how to get optimal exposure when the ground is all covered in white.

Snowblind
Here’s the simplified, non-technical explanation we all learned at school—or at the local camera store when there were such things. The meter in your camera sets exposure based on the average brightness of the lightest and darkest areas of a scene. We call that “18% gray” (except in the UK where it’s “18% grey”) and it sits smackdab in the middle of the histogram.

Snow is so bright and reflective that it easily fools most cameras. Basing the exposure on the middle value frequently results in underexposure. Snow scenes have other complications, too; White Balance is often a mess, and the dynamic range of the camera can be taxed worse than a homeowner in New Jersey. And don’t forget that snow can be a silent killer of cameras. More about that later.

Your camera may have a special “Snow Scene” mode. Cool. Try it. But be warned that the tips offered herein will likely do better when the fat flakes are falling.

1. Shoot Raw
Many people think that photos taken in Raw format are automatically better, but that’s not necessarily the case. However, shooting in Raw gives photographers an exceptionally high level of control over the final results.

For instance, you can make White Balance adjustments during post-processing instead of guessing in the field—and that’s a  critical advantage for snow scenes. The list of possible adjustments is very long and includes Color Grading, Vignette correction, Defringe, Clarity and Dehaze tweaks and ACR’s new Adaptive Profiles. Even if you seldom or never shoot Raw, try the Camera Raw Filter in Photoshop to get a taste of what’s possible.

Bonus Cool Benefit of Raw
Many camera manufacturers provide editing/decoding software that works with their Raw image files. In most cases, you can invoke the Special Effects options offered by the camera. It’s much more convenient (and clear-cut) to decide to use a certain creative effect during post-processing instead of being committed to the decision you make in the field—which is what happens when you shoot JPGs.

2. Use Base ISO
Your camera has a Base ISO that is optimized for normally-lit subjects. It’s usually ISO 100 or ISO 200. Instead of following the common advice that recommends you “use a low ISO,” use the Base ISO. A sensitivity setting below base can create images that have objectionably high contrast.

3. Bracket Exposures
Nearly all cameras, including many aging point-and-shoots, have some form of automated bracketing. When set to Bracket, the camera makes consecutive exposures based on the parameters (number of exposures and change in exposure) you select. With one snap you can get -2, -1, 0, +1 and +2 corrections, five in all. Using a tripod is recommended, and it doesn’t work with moving subjects for obvious reasons.

If your camera does cannot bracket by itself, manually bracket by shooting underexposed, normally exposed and overexposed images. That’s how we did it in the old days.

4. Overexpose & Chimp
No time to bracket? Or too lazy? Overexpose and chimp. “Chimping” is the mildly disparaging term photographers apply to people who check the LCD after every shot. If bracketing is not an option, overexpose the scene and examine the results. Trial and error gets you to the right place.

5. Shoot HDR
HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography has a purpose and life of its own, but it also has an application in snow photography—in fact, in any situation where there are strong components of very bright and very dark elements. Many cameras have automated HDR setting; with others you must bracket and compile the HDR in post.

What the Heck is HDR?
Here’s a simple example. Instead of one shot of a scene that has very bright highlights and very dark shadows, the HDR scenario captures one or more images based on the exposure value of the shadows, one or more images based on the highlights, one based on the average, and then combines all of the data to render the best overall exposure. Sometimes. Other times it’s just a goofy looking high contrast image that looks like crap. But no matter, because the camera saves the intermediate images in addition to the one it compiles. So in a very real sense, the automated HDR setting equates to excellent bracketing technique.

6. Use an ND Filter
An ND (Neutral Density) filter limits the amount of light it passes to the sensor without adding color, contrast, saturation or any other bad stuff. An ND filter with a value of 0.3 (sometimes called an “ND2”) reduces exposure by one f/stop, i.e., by 50%. A 0.6 ND (ND4) by two f/stops. Buy both flavors; when you stack them together you have an ND8, 0.9, and that cuts three stops. That’s a pretty good kit.

Aside from snow piles, ND filters are useful any time you want to use a shutter speed slower than the scene permits—catching the full motion of a flowing waterfall, for example. Or at the beach when the camera asks for 1/8000 sec at f/22 at ISO 100.

7. Try a Graduated ND Filter
What if the sky is beautifully blue but the foreground is too bright for a decent shot? Graduated ND filters have a gradient of density that starts very dark at one end and becomes less dark until it reaches transparency at the other end. Often these are rectangular to provide more control, and require a filter holder. Slide the filter up and down in the holder to correctly position the horizon.

If you think this might be for you, check out this Cokin set that’s sold by B&H Photo. It contains 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 graduated ND filters, three in all, and a Cokin filter holder. Unless you’re already into Cokin you’ll have to buy an adapter ring—but that’s actually a plus. If you own lenses with different filter thread sizes, you can use the same filter set with all of them just by buying the right adapter. Much better than having to buy multiple filters.

If you’re tempted by the Cokin-type knockoff filters sold online for less than the price of a peanut butter sandwich, get over it. I tried them for you. The samples I tested were very inconsistent in density and quality, and many were not plano-parallel (that is, they were thicker at one end than the other) a huge no-no for decent optical performance.

8. Polarizers Cut Exposure by at Least One Stop
The polarizing filter you may already own is by accident an ND filter. Although the specifications change from brand to brand, you can count on at least one f/stop of light reduction (0.3 or ND2 equivalent) and often more. Okay, there are a couple super-expensive polarizers that absorb only 2/3 of a stop, but most are in the 1 to 2 stop range.

DANGER: Fear Precipitation Like its Rabies and You’re a Puppy
Words like “Splashproof” and “Weather Resistant” make us think an electronic device is super safe in any weather, but we might be overthinking it. These vague terms, which are marketing hyperbole, assume that everyone uses their products in a smart way.

I’m not convinced. I’ve seen too many products ruined by poor usage choices. Don’t just believe the advertising hype. Take a closer look at the facts and separate the truth from the exaggeration. Learn the science behind it all.

International Standard IEC 60529 delineates the criterion to measure a device’s resistance to the ingress of solid foreign particles (dust) and water under various conditions. To be certified, a product must be tested by an approved lab. Learn the IP ratings of your cameras and lenses. Call the manufacturers if necessary. You might be surprised in an alarming way, which is way better than a “it’s too late, dammit” disastrous way.

This story more fully explains the meaning behind the IP rating scale: Is Your Weather Resistant, Splashproof, Waterproof Camera Impervious to Water & Dust?

SNOW! How to Capture it Accurately in the Camera (VIDEO)
How To Have Photo Fun In The Winter
BOUDOIR Photos in the Snow? Here’s How (VIDEO)
Is Your Weather Resistant, Splashproof, Waterproof Camera Impervious to Water & Dust?

AI Acknowledgement
Plenae revelationis. All images illustrating this article were created using AI software from Remix, ImageFX and/or Adobe Firefly. Which begs me to say that when accumulated snowfall exceeds your height, and temperatures are in the teens, stay home and make some AI creations instead of venturing outdoors. They’re not photos, and they’re not really even art, but they are fun, and they provide good fodder for post-processing practice.

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—Jon Sienkiewicz

Everyone loves a stunning silhouette, but do you understand how to capture one with precision? If not, stay tuned because that’s what you’ll learn how to do in this tutorial from the experts at C4 Photo Safaris— a group of guides, photographers and workshop instructors based in Botswana, Africa.

Instructor Danielle Carsons is a professional wildlife photographer who designs and leads photo tours in the African outback for shooters of all skill levels. This episode demonstrates how to make eye-popping silhouette photos under a wide variety of lighting conditions throughout the day.

Carsons explains her six tips in the contest of wildlife photography , but everything you’ll learn in the next eight minutes is equally useful for other genres like landscape, street scenes, and unique environmental portraiture. Her simple goal is to help you replace those bland versions of what you saw through the viewfinder with “dramatic well-defined silhouettes.”

The video covers five powerful shooting techniques for exposing backgrounds accurately, subject separation, camera angles, perspective, dealing with strong backlighting, and accentuating interesting shapes. Thoughtful composition is also on the agenda. Be sure to watch until the end when Carson runs you through all the appropriate camera setting that are important to understand.

Carson begins with a sort of obvious note about background brightness; namely, that your key subjects must be significantly brighter that what appears in the distance. And here’s an interesting observation: “Many photographers believe they have to be facing the sun to get a silhouette, but that’s not true.” In other words a bright background can be anything from water and mist, to those featureless white skies that usually avoid.

As the lesson proceeds you’ll learn how to deal with dark background areas, what Carsons means by saying “shape defines subject,” and how a small shift in your vantage point can pay big dividends in terms of composition. There are also tips for attaining impactful subject separation, and those all-powerful  camera setting mentioned above.

Be sure to visit the popular C4 Safaris YouTube channel where you’ll find many more instructional videos for shooting in the great outdoors.

And on a related note, we recommend watching our earlier tutorial with another accomplished pro who demonstrates how to capture perfectly exposed photographs in difficult light by using your camera’s “foolproof” Spot-Metering mode.

Skillful composition can make or break a photo, no matter how impressive a subject appears, and this fact holds true whether you’re shooting landscapes, environmental portraits, macro imagery, and just about anything else. This quick tutorial reveals several powerful framing techniques employed by several shooters who really know their stuff.

Instructor Mitch Lally is a notable Australian pro whose work has taken him across the globe, “making a living doing what I love.” He typically illustrates his how-to videos with impressive images he’s captured over the years, but today’s video switches things up by using spectacular imagery made by other elite shooters to demonstrate framing methods that considers to be particularly powerful.

It’s an inspirational six-minute clip that you don’t want miss, and everything you’ll learn falls into the category of shooting with intention in a way that will draw viewers into every photo you capture. He says that “one of the big reasons these photographers are able to do this is that they understand why our eyes love contrast so they know where to look.”

In other words, frame up your photos so that the area with most contrast is relevant to what you’re attempting to convey. This is a very effective method for simplifying complicated scenes. Another key consideration is the appropriate use of colors that can be contrasted by hue, like a thoughtful combination of blue on yellow or green on orange. The effective use of color also involves concentrating on complimentary juxtapositions of brightness and saturation.

There’s also a link in the description beneath the video for using the ubiquitous Color Wheel to learn which colors are complimentary and others that are not.  He also illustrates the power of “layering  darker colors over brighter colors, and then brighter colors over darker colors.” As you’ll see, these basic concepts are equally important when shooting in b&w.

Lally also notes why and how proper balance contributes to great imagery. One example is composing an image with a subject on one side of the frame, and other key elements of equal size or weight in the other side of the scene. In other words, look for complimentary subjects as well as colors.

The lesson proceeds with other powerful compositional tools that are easy to emulate whether you consider yourself a beginner or a more advanced photographer. You don’t need any special gear; rather, it’s all about a different mindset and your willingness to view the world differently that you have in the past.

Lally’s popular YouTube channel offers many more instructional videos that are sure to help elevate your skills.

Be sure not to miss a related tutorial in which another accomplished pro demonstrates how he composes landscape photographs captured with a telephoto lens to make attention-grabbing images with an uncommon look.

Earlier today we featured a post-processing tutorial demonstrating seven pro tips for achieving cleaner, sharper landscape photos. But what if the root of your problem is a dirty senor in your camera? You’ll learn a safe, quick, and straightforward remedy in this 10-minute explainer from the Camera Store TV YouTube channel.

Many photographers are rightfully apprehensive about tackling this important maintenance procedure because we’ve all heard horror stories from folks who didn’t know what they were doing. Feel free to set your nerves aside because you’re about learn a safe and effective method for getting the job done in the next 10 minutes.

This episode is hosted by photographers Dave Paul and Evelyn Drake, with Drake asking pertinent questions and Paul supplying the solutions. They first explore why removing sensor dust can be so daunting, along with a few pitfalls to avoid. Then you’ll learn a “foolproof” step-by-step method for proceeding with confidence.

The discussion includes “essential” tips for proper swab usage, other best practices, and the affordable accessories you need  to get started. There’s no reason to experiment with the process until you first determine that a sensor is actually dirty. So how do your do that?

Paul recommends shooting two or three different shots of a bright blue sky and looking for black dots or blotches that appear in the same place of the shots. If so, it’s time to grab your cleaning kit and proceed by following the simple instructions—rather than attempting to remove these ugly distractions during post-processing.

You’ll begin by pulling out a blower brush and giving two or three quick puffs of air while holding the camera upside down so grime falls down on your table rather than up into the camera. It’s also very important to avoid touching the sensor with this tool or anything else—especially your fingers. In some cases with lightly contaminated sensors this is all you have to do.

When dust and dirt is more stubborn or plentiful there are a few more steps required to get the sensor perfectly clean. Rest assured that these are equally easy and effective with the techniques you’ll learn. The good news is that after your maiden voyage the process will be a no-brainer in the future.

The Camera Store TV YouTube channel is a great destination for gear reviews, shooting techniques, and insightful tips on a wide variety of imaging topics.

And don’t forget to watch the tutorial mentioned above so you’ll understand what to do if post-processing is necessary for achieving cleaner results—especially when the problem has nothing to do with the sensor in your camera.

We’ve featured post-processing tutorials for cleaning “dirty” photos, and others explaining various sharpening techniques. This helpful tutorial from the PHLOG Photography YouTube channel does double duty by demonstrating a Lightroom workflow that tackles both tasks in one quick-and-easy edit.

Instructor Christian Mohrle is a notable pro who’s been committed to making great outdoor images since 2009 when he set his sights on becoming the one of the best landscape photographers in Germany. Some would agree that he’s met this goal and has become equally proficient behind the computer.

Today’s 14-minute episode demonstrates seven time-proven editing techniques that anyone can use to create super clean and realistically sharp images with a bit of help from Lightroom. There’s a link neath the video for downloading Mohrle’s sample Raw file so you can follow along and make the changes yourself in real time as the simple steps are explained.

Mohrle begins by expanding Lightroom’s Basic panel where he changed the profile to Adobe Standard. This step has nothing to do with sharpness or “cleanness,” but he says it’s the best starting point for getting the job done. He then explains the concept of sharpness like this: “Sharpness is essentially contrast, meaning that by introducing contrast to this image we can make look sharper and cleaner.”

The next step involves slightly increasing exposure to reveal more details in the darkest portions of his shot, while dropping highlights to accentuate details in the brightest part of the background. These adjustments require refining contrast once again, this time with the Contrast slider, to balance out the tones with precision.

Mohrle then turns his attention to Lightroom’s Presence panel where you’ll find simple sliders for controlling Texture, Clarity, and Dehaze. He demonstrates his approach with these simple tools and explains the difference between Texture and Clarity, and when you should use them both despite the similarities in what they accomplish.

The image now appears significantly more compelling and Mohrle walks you through additional local adjustments that improve the photo further. And this point you’re only halfway through the transformation and the remainder is where the Lightroom magic really occurs.

The transformation proceeds with adjustments to Color Luminance, employing Lens Corrections, and a final bit of cleanup and sharpening. Take a look at Mohrle’s before/after images and you’ll be duly impressed. Then pay a visit to his popular YouTube channel where there’s an abundance of instructional videos of interest to everyone who shoots in the field.

And speaking of the great outdoors, don’t miss the related tutorial we featured with another accomplished pro who demonstrates why and how every landscape shooter should experiment with telephoto lenses to capture unique photographs in the field.

It can be extremely challenging to capture accurately exposed photos of scenes with a wide range of brightness values from white to black and everything in between. This tutorial from the My Photo Journey YouTube channel explains how to get the job done in the camera by selecting the oft-ignored Spot Metering mode.

Spot metering is a great choice for a variety of outdoor situations, like when shooting backlit portraits, when there’s a significant difference in tonal values between a key subject and the background, and or when attempting to faithfully capture a full moon in the nighttime sky. Once you understand exactly how this mode works, it’s almost impossible to get things wrong.

High-contrast scenes can easily confuse the light meter in your camera when using more familiar exposure settings. Spot metering works it’s wonders by limiting measurements to a small area in the center of the frame, therefore the reading you receive isn’t biased by darker or brighter surround areas.

Some cameras even allow you to move the metered point, and even make multiple spot readings of the same scene when a compromise is in order. Today’s instructor is a British pro known as Dawley Lad, and he explain everything you need to know in this behind-the-scenes journey through the historic city of Lincoln that’s steeped rich Roman Heritage.

Dawley presents his spot metering tips in the context of street photography after dark, but everything you’ll learn is equally appropriate for precise exposures of other types of images no matter the time of day. One apt example would be capturing a large, dark bird atop a tree with a very bright sky in the background.

The challenge faced by Dawley is a combination of bright streetlamps, brick walls that span an entire range of gradated midtones, and the mysterious darkness looming in the background. He explains his process like this: “I use spot metering to perfectly expose the highlights and, due to the warm cast of the lamps, I may convert some of my images to black and white.”

He also makes the most of picturesque Bight St. by taking two spot readings of a scene “to keep the lamp highlights under control.” Bottom line: They’ll be no more guesswork about getting the light right once you’ve mastered this straightforward technique.

Be sure to explore the content-rich My Photo Journey YouTube channel once this episode concludes.

And on a related note, be sure to watch the recent tutorial we featured with another expert shooter who demonstrates a unique Dodge and Burn post-processing trick for rehabilitating improperly exposed photographs.