Christmas festivities are just three weeks away, and many folks have already decorated their homes with colorful lights and interesting objects. This means it’s time to bone up on your skills and do a bit of practicing as the special season unfolds.

Even if you’re adept at shooting after dark, photography during the holidays is a bit different. That because of the preponderance of vivid bright lights, and the added challenge of darker elements that often should be included. This helpful tutorial comes from The School of Photography, a leading source of photo education in the UK.

Most of us have tried our hand at this challenging task, and disappointing results are not uncommon. But in barely nine minutes, instructor Marc Newton demonstrates several help techniques for getting the job done to perfection.

In this behind-the-scenes lesson you’ll watch Newton work his magic in London, while strolling through iconic locations like Regent St., Piccadilly Circus, and Oxford St. The tips he provides are easy to emulate, and you may even capture a few spectacular images that you can use for next year’s holiday cards.

Newton begins on bustling Regent St. with twinkling holiday lights, floating angels, and other beautifully illuminated decorations everywhere he looks. He didn’t do any advance scouting and came with no preconceived goals—other than relying upon his well-developed eye and a few simple technique to capture  festive photos with a creative flair.

One of the challenges with this genre of photography is arriving at balanced exposures, and Newton offers some great professional advice. He’s shooting handheld in Aperture Priority mode for reasons he explains, and he reveals the specific camera settings that work best for him (and will for you too).

Thoughtful composition is also a key consideration when shooting these type of scenes that are often cluttered and need to be simplified for maximum impact. Also you see, Newton regularly changes his focus point before reframing an image in various ways until he finds a look that he really likes.

Sometimes this means including people in the shot, while other times he concentrates on decorations and colorful lights to tell the story of this joyful season. And shooting from a variety of perspectives, and bracketing exposures is also part of the equation. The foregoing is just a taste of what you’ll learn by following Newton on his photo walk.

So pay close attention, get out there and practice, and you’ll soon be capturing nighttime holiday photos that really make you proud. There’s much more to learn about all aspects of our craft on The School of Photography YouTube channel, so be sure to take a look after watching this episode and check back often.

We also suggest watching a related tutorial we posted recently from another accomplished pro, explaining how to shoot breathtaking light trails on city streets after the sun drops below the horizon.

We’re all looking for a creative edge to imbue our landscape photos with a unique look grabs a lot of attention. In the quick Photoshop tutorial below you’ll learn four simple Photoshop effects that are easy enough for anyone to accomplish.

Instructor Austin James Jackson is an accomplished outdoor photographer based in Southern Utah. He’s also a very popular instructor who specializes in shooting and editing lessons for photographers of all skill levels. He kicks off today’s episode with this: “Knowing how to use Photoshop and what effects to apply can be one of the most difficult parts of editing your images.”

In barely eight minutes Jackson explains what he says are his most commonly used Photoshop effects that are sure to add impact to the images you make. He discusses the popular Orton Effect, a Curves adjustment trick, a foolproof way to give images more “pop,” and how to use Midtone Contrast to significantly improve the look of a photo.

Jackson is using Photoshop 2024 for this demonstration, but you should be able to easily replicate his tips with just about any version of the software you use. He begins with the eye-catching Orton Effect which can be created in a number of ways. The method you’ll learn here is designed specifically for landscape imagery.

This technique is designed to give highlights a glowing dreamy appearance, and Jackson walks you through the simple step-by-step adjustments. And like with the effects that follow, he provides helpful keyboard shortcuts for speeding up the process. He also explains why and how to the method he suggests in a way that’s optimized for the resolution of your camera.

Jackson’s Curves adjustment trick is equally straightforward, and it’ a very effective method for editing outdoor photos with a wide dynamic range. He says he regularly employs this edit “when I want to add contrast to a scene without the highlights getting too bright and the shadows becoming too dark.” His approach begins with a conventional adjustment, and then he adds an extra twist.

Third on the list is Jackson’s so-called “Pop Effect,” that’s particularly helpful with images that include a lot of details like his photo of a cascading waterfall against a dark background. While watching how this one works you’ll think of other types of landscape shots for which this can make a big difference.

This edit begins with Photoshop’s Unsharp Mask tool and Jackson explains the specific settings to use for best results in various situations. His initial enhancement looks a bit too strong, but you’ll see how to easily lessen the effect if need be.

Jackson concludes the video with a powerful way to use Photoshop’s Midtone Contrast tools to make images much more compelling, and you’ll have to watch the lesson to see how this works. When you’re done head over to his instructional YouTube channel for more tips on shooting and editing the images you shoot outdoors.

You’ll also want to check out the tutorial we posted recently from another professional landscape photographer who demonstrates a unique editing technique for creating dramatic landscape photos that stand out from the crowd.

Two leading supporters of protecting wild spaces, Peak Design and SITKA, have joined forces to create unique, limited edition styles of the Peak Design Slide Lite camera straps and Capture Clips in SITKA’s renowned low-visibility patterns and colors, Subalpine Optifade and Treeline Green. 

Just in time for the holiday gifting season, the new products are available exclusively from SITKA’s website beginning today.

Widely known and respected for ongoing support of environmental preservation efforts, Peak Design and SITKA will make a joint donation of $30,000 to the Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, a bipartisan advocacy group for land conservation. 

The Peak Design / SITKA limited edition Slide Lite is priced at $64.95. The Capture Clip costs $79.95.

“Our number one priority as a company is to purposefully make products that solve problems in our customers’ lives,” said Peak Design CEO Peter Dering. “We know that SITKA prioritizes product design similarly, which is why we’re so excited for this partnership.” 

The collaboration is just one example of the environmental conservation projects SITKA and Peak Design individually pursue. Peak Design is a Climate Neutral company that donates 1% of its revenue to environmental nonprofits through the 1% for the Planet program. SITKA funds various projects through its Ecosystem Grants program.

Although these exciting new products are available only via SITKA’s website, you can shop for other SITKA products online or locally. Click the SITKA authorized dealer locator for more information.

Peak Design operates retail stores in New York, San Francisco and Tokyo. Also, you can purchase most PD items online from their storefront at Amazon.com or from your local retailer. Explore the Peak Design dealer locator and support the camera shop near you.

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