We all love a bargain, especially when the object of our desires performs far above its pay grade. And that hold true for cameras, lenses, and other photo gear. Today’s case in point is the TTArtisan 25mm f/2 APS-C manual focus lens that delivers remarkable results for less than the cost of a couple cheap ND filters.

Reviewer Mark Wiemels’ popular YouTube channel is devoted to budget gear that “delivers pro results,” and this episode may encourage you to pull out your wallet after watching the video. He puts it like this: “For me there’s almost no better experience than buying a cheap lens, spending a day shooting with it, and then coming home and being shocked at the quality of the photos I captured.”

That was exactly his experience with TTArtisan’s $64 dollar wide-angle lens. It’s available in various configurations, including Sony E-mount and Fuji-X and there’s links beneath the video where you can purchase it online.

The lens features a fast f/2 maximum aperture for shooting in low light with less noise and beautiful bokeh. Equivalent to 37.5mm in full-frame terms, the TTArtisan 25mm is light and small enough to fit in your pocket. And it’s a perfect choice for landscapes, street photography, and shooting small objects as lose as 9.8 inches.

Here’s how Wiemels summarizes his experience after putting the 25mm f/2 through its paces: “The images coming out of this cheap lens were honestly amazing and in some situations the photos were on par with lenses I have that cost $1,500 to $2,000.” He admits that the lens isn’t perfect but insists that its few flaws certainly aren’t a dealbreaker—especially for $64.

Weimels explains why he appreciates the versatility of this particular focal length for shooting still photos and video. He provides a number of practical example of images captured on the street and inside spectacular buildings that illustrate the “incredible” image quality you can expect.

For this purpose Wiemels loves the 25mm focal length because “you’ll be able to capture  photos of people that fill enough of the frame so that the viewer’s eye is drawn to that person.” At the same time, you’ll have enough context of the background to tell a story with your shots—a key aspect of great street photography.

Wiemels recommends the aperture settings he prefers when using this lens, depending upon the task at hand. And along the way you’ll pick up valuable tips on composition. He also discusses how the TTArtisan 25mm f/2 can be expected to perform as a general-purpose lens, while traveling, and shooting at night.

After watching the video, and before going shopping, be sure to take a look at Wiemels’ popular YouTube channel where there are reviews of other budget glass.

And speaking of new gear, don’t miss the recent tutorial we posted, explaining what you should do when getting a new camera before going out to shoot.

The first thing that often comes to mind when using Selections during the editing process is removing, and then replacing, a background. It’s true that Photoshop’s powerful Section tools work great for this purpose, but there’s a lot more they can do as you’ll see in the tutorial below.

Instructor Brendan Williams regularly posts tutorials on making the most of Lightroom, Photoshop, and Lightroom Mobile—designed to help photographers level up their skills in less time. In today’s eye-opening episode he puts aside background removal and reveals “three must-know ways to use Selections in Photoshop.”

The first technique Williams describes is used for selectively changing colors in a photo when it’s difficult to isolate a color range. This method works really well, for example, if you want to change the color of an object within the frame or the clothing of a portrait subject. As Williams says, “there’s an issue you may run into when modifying colors without selections.”

Williams demonstrates the conventional method for switching the color of a dog’s beanie to illustrate potential shortcomings of the common approach. He then illustrates how employing a Selection in Photoshop will deliver far superior results. It’s super simple to do, and any minor refinements are also a breeze.

The second example involves two photos; one is an environmental family portrait and the other is an empty frame. Williams’ goal is to place the first image into the matted frame. Each image has a different aspect ratio, and the trick here is to use a Selection to crop a layer so that the portrait is a perfect fit.

Most folks would simply grab Photoshop’s Crop tool, but you’ll see why this isn’t the best way to get the job done. Williams employs the Rectangular Marquee tool instead and demonstrates the step-by-step process while providing the necessary settings for Feathering and other key attributes.

You’ll also learn a non-destructive method that enables you to move the portrait within the selection area until you’re happy with what you see. Like with the other two methods described in this lesson, Williams includes keyboard shortcuts to speed up the process.

The lesson wraps up with an effective method of employing a Selection for precise object removal. This technique is especially helpful when the object you want to remove is partially covered by an edge that you want to retain. As you’ll see, this task can be extremely difficult to achieve with a manual approach.

There’s much more to learn about post processing on William’s instructional YouTube channel, so make it a point to take a look.

We also suggested watching a tutorial we posted with another image-editing expert who explains how to use Lens Corrections in Photoshop to eliminate distortion and chromatic aberration that can ruin a photo.