Great Photo Tutorials | |
 | This free digital photography tutorial site will show you how to take better photographs. Each photo tutorial will help you turn your 'snaps' into a picture that will delight your viewers rather than bore the pants off them. Most of the content of these tutorials applies equally to either digital or film photography. Modern digital cameras, and film cameras, take care of the technical details for us, but because of this, rather than in spite of it, our brains are lulled into non-thinking, automatic mode, we think the camera is going to do it all for us. The most important pages of this site, therefore, are thephotography tutorials. |
| Tutorial | Description | Level |
| Equipment | ||
| Cameras | A short introduction to the types of cameras available and a discussion on what you need to look out for when buying a camera. |  |
| Tripods | More of a 'why you need a tripod' than a buyers guide, but it does include some tips on buying and using a tripod. | |
| Basic Photography | ||
| Selection | A short piece of advice on showing your pictures to others. | |
| Holding The Camera | How to hold the camera properly and why. Also illustrations of how not to hold the camera | |
| Camera Shake | What is it? What does it look like? What causes it? How to avoid it. | |
| Composition | ||
| Composition | An introduction to composition, explaining the 'rule of thirds' and the use of diagonals. | |
| Rule of Thirds | The most important rule of composition. | |
| Cropping | How to fill your frame with your subject. | |
| Viewpoint | Another important aspect of composition. | |
| Exposure | ||
| Exposure | Getting away from the auto settings. | |
| Shutter Speed & Apertures | An explanation of the mechanics of exposure and the side effects of choosing different aperture/shutter speed combinations. | |
| Exposure Compensation | Overriding the automatic metering system. | |
| Histograms | What they are trying to tell you. | |
| Bracketing Exposures | Setting up your camera to take a series of pictures at different exposures. | |
| ISO Speed | Another piece of the exposure puzzle. | |
| Reciprocity Failure | An explanation, strictly for the jargon heads. | |
| Lighting | ||
| Lighting | Introduction page | |
| Available Light | Getting the best out of the sun. | |
| Flash | Break away from the in-camera flash. | |
| Studio Lighting | An introduction to indoor lighting. | |
| Inverse Square Law | A bit of Physics for those who feel the need. | |
| Color | ||
| Color | Introduction page | |
| Color Temperature | An introduction to the color temperature scale. | |
| White Balance | How to set up your camera's manual white balance. | |
| Gray Card | Using a gray card for color balance and exposure measurement. | |
| Working with different subjects | ||
| Close-Ups | What you need and what to watch out for. | |
| Extended Depth of Field | For perfectionists. | |
| Animals | A few tips for the budding wildlife photographer. | |
| Buildings | Lighting and perspective. | |
| Fireworks | All the settings you need. | |
| Portraits | Techniques to help you capture those golden moments. | |
| Working with Models | Bribing people to sit for you. | |
| Sports & Action | Tips on how to capture fast action. | |
| Photo Editing | ||
| Photo Editing | Introduction page | |
| Size | Scaling your files. | |
| Contrast | Balancing those pixels. | |
| Levels | A short video showing how to use the lvels adjustment to control contrast. | |
| Curves | A short video showing how to use the curves adjustment to control contrast. | |
| Color | Dealing with color casts. | |
| Processing RAW Files | An introduction to Adobe Camera RAW. | |
| Processing RAW Files using HSL | Advanced use of Adobe Camera RAW. | |
| Sharpening | Using the unsharp mask. | |
| Using the Quick Mask | Masking parts of your picture to edit certain areas. | |
| Adjustment Layer Masks | How to build accurate layer masks. | |
| Straightening Horizons | A must for landscape and building photographers. | |
| Replacing Boring Skies | Using layers in Photoshop. | |
| Videos on Compositing | Video tutorials on using layers. | |
| Using the Channel Mixer | How to make a better job of changing images from color to black & white. | |
| Using Curves on Adjustment Layers | laying with contrast and tones to give a more dramatic effect. | |
| High Dynamic Range | How to shoot and process HDR pictures withPhotomatix Pro software. | |
| What to do with your Photos | ||
| Printing | Printing your own and sending them out. | |
| What Now? | What to do with your masterpieces. | |
| Selling your Photographs | The world of microstock | |
| Your Own Website | Have Your Own Photography Website | |
| Backups & Storage | Do it now before you lose all your photos. | |
| Recover Deleted Photos | For when you have lost all your photos. | |
In an effort to cater for different readers I have divided the knowledge into three distinct levels.
- Tips - appear in red italic text and are designed as the 'quick fix' department if you want to improve your photography quickly, with the minimum of reading and are prepared to take my word for the details, you could do worse than just follow all the tips. With such readers in mind I have produced the 'top ten photography tips' page.
- The main body of the text contains more detailed explanations and examples. This is the level at which you will get much more of the whys and wherefores to help the knowledge stick in your mind. I, personally, find it very difficult to retain a new concept if I do not understand why.
- Anything labeled 'Technical Stuff' is for the ultra curious and those with a certain scientific bent. They are there for completeness. Don't worry at all if you get lost in these bits or don't fully understand. Skipping these bits will not make you any less successful as a photographer.
