Today’s interesting tutorial with pro Scott Davenport demonstrates how strategic cropping can dramatically enhance the impact of landscape images when less-than-ideal composition compromises the impact of a beautiful scene. As he says, “a tight crop can remove distractions and direct the viewer’s attention straight to the most important part of an image.”

Davenport is a very accomplished shooter whose portfolio is full of outstanding landscape, nature, and seascape imagery. This episode is powerful but brief because he demonstrates the concept of tight cropping with a single image that provides the only inspiration you need to dig through your files and apply the technique to significantly improve photos that you captured in the past.

The sample image is beautifully lit, with gorgeous colors and appropriate focus. Unfortunately, there’s too much dead space in the top of the frame. This framing might work great for a book cover but for other standard purposes, well, not so much. But watch what happens when Davenport changes the aspect ratio to eliminate unnecessary details to enhance emotion and storytelling.

In other words, a tighter crop will help define the message of a photo by accentuating subtleties like the soft glow of sunlit mist or silky fingers of water that might otherwise be lost in a larger frame. Or as Davenport puts it, “By homing in on such elements, landscape photographers can craft more intimate, compelling images that draw views in and make a lasting impression.”

There’ no need for us to summarize the lesson further because Davenport illustrates everything you need to understand in barely two minutes. If you’re interested in the gear he prefers, there’s a complete list in the description beneath the video. Bottom line: Forget about adhering to standard aspect ratios, and crop to your heart’s content.

There are many more straightforward shooting and post-processing how-to videos on Davenports popular YouTube channel, so be sure to pay a visit when you have time to explore.

And on a related note, be sure to watch the tutorial we featured recently in which notable a British outdoor shooter demonstrates how he creates artistic landscape photographs by removing the horizon line during post processing.

Printing and framing your best photographs is a great way decorate a home or office and present thoughtful gifts to family members and friends. Today’s tutorial from an expert shares his time-proven technique while debunking what says are “the most common photo printing myths.”

Instructor Adam Karnacz is an accomplished British pro who specializes in landscape, nature, and macro photography and insists that “printing is the final most-exciting step in photography even though many photographers either avoid it or don’t see the value of this practice at all.” In the next 15 minutes you’ll learn his list of best practices for getting the job done to perfection.

Karnacz begins with a bold claim that may appear controversial until you hear him out; namely that when it comes to printing “megapixels are a lie.” In other words, you don’t really need big resolution to make excellent prints. He’s owned and used camera’s with mammoth resolution and medium-format sensors, and he says there’s only one practical reason for this “insane” capability; namely, “if you want to make huge prints that maintain high detail when viewed very closely.”

There’s no doubt that prints like this are amazing, but here’s the rub: Under normal circumstances there’s no need for massive resolution, because as you step back to an appropriate viewing distance a gigantic level of detail is no longer required. And your expensive high-capacity hard drive will fill up more quickly.

Another misguided complaint is that printing is far too expensive when you factor is the cost of consumables; namely ink and high-quality paper. Here’s how Karnacz responds to this familiar refrain: “While printing is certainly not cheap, I think what people mean when they say this is that printing their photos isn’t valuable enough to justify the cost.”

He quickly debunks this silly claim by discussing the value and satisfaction that occurs “when we bring our photos into the physical world.” Karnacz then provides several tips for keeping your costs under control.

The other myths described in this lesson are equally unfounded, like the claim that ordering prints from lab is preferable to outputting images at home. He also addresses  the notion that glossy prints are always more appealing than those made on other types of media.

And if you’re interested in monetizing the love of photography, forget what you’ve heard from those who say, “prints don’t sell.” There’s also the fact that one of the best ways to elevate your shooting skills is by carefully scrutinizing good-sized prints of your best work. There’s much more of interest to photographers on Karnacz’ instructional YouTube channel.

Of course you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, just like you can’t make great prints from lousy photos. So be sure to check out the earlier tutorial we posted, explaining four methods for banishing ugly color casts during post-processing to achieve perfectly balanced and realistic tones.