The eye-opening tutorial below begins with a question from instructor Simon d’Entremont: “Do you find that some of your photos aren’t as good as you hoped, but you’re unsure exactly what’s wrong?” Maybe they’re blurry, lacking in detail, unsharp, or simply uninteresting. We’ve all faced this dilemma at one time or another, regardless of our skills.

According to Simon, a Canadian pro and Canon Ambassador, the culprit may be your failure to understand the top five beginner mistakes that photographers make, and he admits to being guilty of these mistakes himself. In fact, we all get things wrong on occasion, but the trick is learning the errors of your ways and not making the same mistake more than once.

Overexposed highlights are at the top of Simon’s list and show up in your photos as pure white areas that are completely devoid of detail; otherwise referred as “blown out.” Simon explains that this occurs “because your camera photosites (the light-collecting elements on a sensor) are exposed with so much light that they’re over full beyond the maximum amount of photons they can capture.”

Unfortunately, there’s no way to recover this lost detail, and if you try dropping exposure during post processing you simply get a darker white—a “solution” that’s not really a solution at all. The moral of the story is this: it’s essential to use correct camera settings to “expose whites that appear white but stop short of being blown out.” It’s easy to do this by following Simon’s advice.

Another major issue is inaccurate focus acquisition. Or as Simon says, “part of the image may be in focus, but it’s not the main subject of the photo.” As you’ll see, this may or may not be your fault because many older cameras don’t have sophisticated subject-tracking capabilities, eye-detection, or other modern features that help lock onto a subject with speed and precision. But once again, there are several things you can do with whatever camera you own.

The lesson continues with three more image-killing mistakes and effective solutions. One involves careless camera movement, another is failing to understand the limitations of certain lighting scenarios, and the third occurs due to a lack of effort in choosing the best angle from which to shoot.

There’s a lot more to learn about shooting and processing wildlife, nature, and landscape photographs on Simon’s instructional YouTube channel.

And be sure to watch the earlier tutorial we featured with an accomplished Australian pro who demonstrates several straightforward secrets for capturing stunning high-key bird photographs with a unique, minimalist look.

Outdoor photographers go to great lengths when editing photos for perfect color, and there are a variety of common methods for accomplishing the task. This tutorial from the PHLOG Photography YouTube channel cuts through the grease by explaining “the difference between Lightroom’s two most important color grading tools.”

Instructor Christian Mohrle is a highly acclaimed German landscape shooter whose straightforward how-to videos are among the most popular that we share. Today’s episode compares Lightroom’s Color Mixer tool to the renamed Color Grading tool (formerly known as Split Toning). In less than 15 minutes you’ll understand the best approach to take depending upon the specific image at hand.

Feel free to download Mohrle’s demonstration image with a link in the description beneath the video if you want to follow along and make the adjustments yourself as they’re explained. He begins with several basic global adjustments to prepare his photo for the transformational selective enhancements that follow, and the first step is merging a five-shot HDR file.

Mohrle then expands Lightroom’s Basic panel and changes the profile from Adobe Color to Adobe Landscape which instantly boosts Saturation. The next steps include increasing overall exposure, slightly dropping Highlights, and opening Shadows to achieve greater detail in the darkest portions of his scene. He also modifies White Balance to fix an unnatural green cast.

Mohrle completes the preliminary adjustments with an increase in Texture and Clarity for a sharper look and a slight decrease in Vibrance. The fun part now begins by employing masking to introduce a variety of local enhancements to balance out all the tones, and the first step is a very simple sky selection to darken the top half of his shot while taking care not to bias a majestic building that extends above the horizon.

Now it’s finally time for Mohrle’s to explain the difference between Lightroom’s Color Mixer and Color Grading tools so that you understand why, when, and how which approach is most effective. He completes the impressive edits with a bit of calibration and vary careful sharpening. Check out the before/after images and you’ll agree.

Mohrle’s instructional YouTube channel is a great source of shooting and editing information for all outdoor photographers, so be sure to take a look and explore.

We also encourage you to watch a behind-the-scenes tutorial we featured recently with an accomplished pro who demonstrates how to create attention-grabbing landscape photographs in the camera by including spectacular sunstars in the scene.

Need an emotional pick-me-up? A study commissioned by Fujifilm suggests that nearly 80% of those surveyed responded that viewing old photos brings happiness and calm emotions, with more than half experiencing reduced anxiety. Over 70% agree that taking photos increases the enjoyment of an activity.

If you’re a photographer you know that there is a nearly indescribable rush of joy that floods your brain’s pleasure receptors when you review a particularly satisfying photograph that you captured. We don’t need science to convince us that this is true—we experience it firsthand.

But it’s fascinating to confirm that this emotional response is universal across our ilk.

Fujifilm partnered with clinical psychologist and mental health expert Dr. Lauren Cook to create Frame of Mind, a survey conducted by MarketVision Research last winter among more than 2,000 US-based respondents representative of the U.S. general population. Along with other findings it reveals photos are powerful tools in promoting positive emotions, connection and resilience.

“Photos act as emotional anchors, grounding us in moments of happiness and connection,” said Dr. Cook. “What we’ve found here is that taking a few minutes a day to look through our photos or snap some pics can be a great form of self-care and bring us more joy than things we’ve turned to in the past like shopping, reading, gardening or even journaling.”

Additionally, 72% of respondents indicated they use photography as a form of self-expression and enjoy capturing and sharing their unique perspectives. 65% of respondents find comfort in photos during times of grief and 42% say revisiting old photos is a go-to strategy for cheering themselves up. Also, 8 in 10 people believe displaying photos in their living spaces contributes to greater happiness and comfort.

Conclusion
What they’re saying here in so many words, at least in my opinion, is that photographs are memories and memories make us feel good.

Artificial Intelligence, for all its power and guff, will never replace photography. It’s lacking one essential ingredient: the memory we experienced.

Photography is a safe and creative hobby that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and skill levels. For some, it’s a passion. For others of us, an obsession.

No matter where you fit on that spectrum, go out and take some pictures today. It might even make you feel better about the world.

∞ Jon Sienkiewicz

Our colleague David Schloss at Imaging Resource, the sister site of Outdoor Photographer, is known for breaking down complex photography concepts into clear, easy-to-understand explanations. His latest video on global shutter technology, embedded at the bottom of this post, is a must-watch for photographers and videographers.

Titled “Global Shutter Explained: Pros & Cons for Photographers and Videographers,” this in-depth video covers everything you need to know about this cutting-edge camera technology. Learn how global shutter sensors compare to rolling shutters, their advantages for capturing fast-moving subjects, and why they’re a game-changer for photography and video.

“Curious about the pros and cons of global shutter technology for photographers?” Schloss asks.

“In this in-depth report, we break down everything you need to know about how global shutters revolutionize digital cameras. From eliminating rolling shutter issues to offering smoother creative workflows for fast-action photography (such as when capturing wildlife), global shutters are a game changer—but they come with trade-offs.”

Here are few of the main points Schloss discusses in the short but informative video below.

• Discover the benefits for real-world testing, like improved performance with fast-moving subjects.
• Explore what’s new with the Sony A9 III and how it handles wildlife photography.
• Learn about key drawbacks, including lower dynamic range and potential noise, and whether global shutter fits your photography gear needs.

In particular, Schloss notes that global shutter can be very helpful for bird photography or for capturing any animals that are moving at a high rate of speed.

“The other day I was photographing seagulls and, thanks to global shutter in the Sony A9 III, I could pan back and forth with the seagulls at 120 frames per second with no worries, at all, about having rolling shutter issues,” he concludes.

The post Global Shutter in Cameras: What Every Photographer Needs to Know appeared first on Outdoor Photographer.