Some styles of photography cry out for specific types of lenses (although we’re strong proponents of experimenting beyond common conventions). Wide focal lengths, for example, are the primary choice of landscape shooters, while very few experienced wildlife photographers would venture out in the field without a long telephoto of 400mm or more.

Portrait photography, indoors or out, is a bit different because there’s a range of useful focal lengths that will get the job done, depending upon the specific look desired and whether or you want to inject a bit of creative distortion into a shot. This tutorial runs you through the most popular options and what to expect.

Instructor Mamad Hormatipour is a photographer, director and educator based in Stockholm whose long list of clients include notable brands like Coca Cola, Ben & Jerrys, and Hitachi Energy. His goal for today’s episode is to “explore the ideal focal length for taking mesmerizing portraits that will leave your audience in awe—so matter if you are just starting out or a more experienced portrait photographer.”

As Mamad says, “from wide-angle lenses to telephoto lenses we’ll cover it all and help you understand what works best for different portrait styles.” In short, this quick episode is a must-see for anyone looking to elevate their portraiture game.

Mamad begins with environmental portraits shot on the street with a beautiful model. He uses various lenses from 24mm to 200mm to capture the same basic setting, thereby illustrating how the appearance of the subject is rendered as focal length changes. Sometimes in a very good way, and other times, well, not so much.

There’s a list in the description beneath the video with the lenses, cameras, and other gear that Mamad prefers, along with links where the items can be purchased. That said, the valuable tips he provides in this video generally apply to whatever equipment you currently own.

There’s much more to learn about portraiture and other popular styles of photography on the Mamad Hormatipour YouTube channel.

Macro photography is another genre where focal length plays an important role. So be sure to watch the recent tutorial we featured that discusses lens choice, compositional tips, and recommended camera settings when closeups are the name of the game.

This comprehensive guide is designed to help you discover the magic of Blue Hour landscape photography and capture the best images possible during this beautiful time of day just before sunrise or shortly after the sun drops below the horizon.

Experienced outdoor photographers love shooting during these fleeting moments when soft shades of violet and blue paints the landscape. Today’s straightforward advice from Mads Peter Iversen will enable you to capture stunning, tranquil scenes as the sky transitions through a variety of cool and moody tones.

Iversen is an acclaimed Danish pro whose popular YouTube channel sets aside gear evaluations in favor of inspirational techniques for landscape shooters of all skill levels who want to infuse their imagery with a bit of artistry and emotion. He says his goal is to create instructional videos that are as timeless as possible.

Iversen covers a lot of ground in the next 12 minutes, beginning with a quick discussion about the differences between civil, nautical and astronomical twilight. Timing is crucially important for this subset of  landscape photography, so it’s important to have a pretty good idea of how long Blue Hour will last wherever you happen to be.

The discussion also provides recommendations for several key camera settings, including exposure setting for arriving at an appropriate compromise between shutter speed, aperture, and ISO as colors quickly fades from the sky. As you’ll see, deft framing skills also play a very important role .

Iversen then takes a deep dive into advanced techniques such as multiple exposures and time blending. He also explains how to use a polarizing filter on your lens to enhance images and accentuate the captivating Blue Hour effects.

Iversen’s popular YouTube channel has almost 250K avid subscribers who appreciate his game-changing landscape photography shooting and post-processing advice.

And speaking of visual storytelling and mood-packed photographs, be sure to watch the recent we posted with a 20-year veteran who explains how she unlocks “color power” in the camera to capture photographs full of emotion and compositional excellence.

Last month we brought you an interesting Lightroom tutorial demonstrating a unique method for using color curves adjustments to embellish mediocre landscape photographs with a beautiful soft dreamy twilight glow. This follow-up video provides an equally powerful tone curves trick that you’ll definitely want to try.

Today’s step-by-step lesson comes to us from Eastern Shore Photo Instruction, and our unnamed instructor makes this emphatic claim about what you’ll learn in the next 16 minutes: “Tone curves are Lightroom’s Magic Window for contrast adjustments.”

The episode begins with an overview of the basic functions and features of Lightroom’s transformational Tone Curves tool to target contrast, exposure, and color based upon very specific tonal ranges within the frame. As you’ll see, there are various types of curves available for accomplishing different tasks, depending upon the specific image at hand.

Our instructor says that for his purposes, the basic function of the tone curve is to increase or decrease contrast in photographs. In other words, we make light areas lighter and dark elements darker. You’ll see how doing so also has an impact on exposure.

Another important consideration is the fact that saturation can be an issue when contrast adjustments are made. In fact, “contrast modifications affect just about everything you can do to a picture depending upon how the tone curve is applied.”

The video proceeds with clear demonstrations of various curves functions, like when applying the Parametric tool, a Luminosity curve, or using the Refine Saturation slider—all the while protecting your primary adjustment points. The important RGB Tone Curve tool is also part of the conversation.

What makes this approach so interesting is that it can be accomplished globally, although our instructor insists that, “using the tone curve with masked selections is the most powerful processing option.”

Once you’re done watching don’t forget to visit the Eastern Shore Photo Instruction YouTube channel for more image-editing tips and tricks. And be sure to watch the tutorial mentioned above and learn how another post-processing expert employ’s Lightroom’s versatile Curves tool to achieve enchanting atmospheric effects.