We’re all taught to avoid shooting outdoor portraits in direct sunlight, and some photographers shy away from using flash to fill in shadows and balance the tones. In this quick video you’ll learn how to capture beautiful portraits in “bad” light” without supplemental light.

Instructor Marco Castro is a Miami-based pro who definitely has the technique down. You’ll follow him in this behind-the-scenes lesson as he captures beauty portraits of a pretty model with available light. You’ll pick up several powerful techniques as he shoots at the beach, on the street, and at other outdoor locations that each require a slightly different approach.

The lesson begins with a discussion of wardrobe and styling for the session, carefully matching attire and accessories to each destination. His model is experienced and he relies upon her input for this as well as later in the shoot when posing and composition come into play. Castro always treats models with respect, which is why he brings a “dressing tube” so they have privacy while changing clothes.

Now it’s time to address the light, and Castro demonstrates a variety of possibilities as his model poses against a tree while directly facing the camera. Another way he collaborates with the model is showing her the photos he captures to determine which shots she prefers—an effective way to gain trust and keep a subject comfortable throughout the shoot.

Castro also reveals the gear he prefers for this type of portraiture and you’ll find a complete list of his equipment in the description beneath the video. You’ll also see how he often reshoots an image with a light tweak or two after hearing what the model has to say.

The shoot then moves on to other locations as Castro switches up his vantage point, camera settings, and employs a variety of other poses that work really well for his style of environmental portraiture. Sometimes all it takes to get a great shot is to have the model recline or sit on the ground. Other times including a found object or interesting foliage in the background can greatly heighten interest and help tell a story.

Another way to capture compelling portraits in bright light is to use a longer lens or move in closer for a much tighter framing. The approach requires a different types of poses, and the position of a subject’s hands and her facial expressions can be extremely important.

After taking a short walk and trying a few other locations, different clothing, and appropriate techniques, the session concludes on the beach where he shoots several images with an enticing swimwear look. You can find more videos like this one by visiting Castro’s popular YouTube channel.

We also strongly suggest watching the related tutorial we posted earlier that illustrates 50 quick poses for shooting alluring female portrait photographs. This one will be a big help when photographing inexperienced subjects.

The primary goal when editing images is to do a thorough job so they look as good as possible. But if there’s a way to speed up up the process while still achieving great results, that gets us back out in the field quicker doing what we love most.

The use of keyboard shortcuts is a great way to accelerate the process without sacrificing image quality and this five-minute tutorial reveals the favorites of landscape pro Mike Rogala. He began with film in the 80’s and is now one of our go-to sources for digital imaging shooting and editing techniques.

We suggest taking a few notes for future reference because Rogala’s tips fly by in a hurry. He illustrates  how “these shortcuts will enable you to navigate Lightroom more efficiently so you can spend less time bringing your creative visions to light.” Before the lesson concludes you’ll see how to download all of the shortcuts to keep them handy.

The first shortcut is the G key (preceded by the appropriate key depending upon whether you’re using a Mac or PC computer). This command takes you to the Grid view in Lightroom’s Library module. Rogala says “this screen is perfect for browsing through your photos and determining the one(s) you want to edit.

Next up, once you’ve selected a photo to process, is the D key that instantly jumps you into the Develop module where “all the magic happens.” It’s here where you can adjust a variety of settings like Exposure, Contrast, Saturation, and other essential attributes for perfecting the appearance of your photos.

Sometimes it helps to have an enlarged view when making certain adjustments and the E keyboard shortcut switches to Lightroom’s Loupe view so you can take a closer look. This enables you to make a detailed inspection of a specific portion of the image at hand.

There are also instances in which you to focus on the image without any distractions on the screen, and that is easily accomplished with the L key that activates what Rogala refers to as the “Lights Out mode.” Press it once to dim Lightroom’s interface, and twice for a completely black background.

There are six more keyboard shortcuts on Rogala’s very helpful list, and once they become familiar your Lightroom workflow will be faster and more effective than ever before. After watching the video take a look at Rogala’s instructional YouTube channel where you’ll find many more great imaging tips and tricks.

And on a related note, we encourage you to watch the earlier tutorial we posted to see how another pro enhances his outdoor photographs by using four hidden Lightroom tools that will simplify your life.