Experienced photographers sympathize with the plight of those of you who are just getting started because all recall the early days when none of our images seemed to meet expectations. Today we’re enlisting the aid of long-time Australian pro Lachlan Garutti to shortcut your learning curve in a big way.

Garutti specializes in travel and adventure photography while driving through Europe in the van he calls home. Subscribers to his YouTube channel know him as “Lockie G” and appreciate his no-nonsense gear recommendations and no-fluff shooting tutorials. This eight-minute primer for beginners reveals what Garutti says are “six practical tips I wish I had learned sooner.” And you can start using them to boost your confidence today.

Don’t worry too much about digesting a bunch of technical stuff, because this lesson is more about mindset, process, and habits that will set you on the path toward success. Or as Garutti says, “just honest advice that will make you a better photographer

Garutti begins by listing a bunch of excuses you may have uttered yourself in frustration: How about, “there’s nothing around me to photograph,” or perhaps “I don’t live anywhere exciting.” And there are many, many more. If any of the excuses sound familiar it’s time to put them away for good.

Instead of searching for a non-existent quick fix, we suggest you follow Garutti’s six tips that all involve training your eye to see a good photo, “the number one skill that all new photographers need to improve.” His number one tip is simply to find more time for photography. Depending upon circumstances, this could mean getting up early and shooting before work, a willingness to get out there in less-than-ideal conditions, joining a camera club, or shooting sparkling cityscapes late at night.

Another solid bit of advice is to focus less on the technicalities of equipment whether you shoot with a DSLR, mirrorless camera, or even a sophisticated smartphone. At the onset there are other more pressing considerations in terms of refining how you view the world around you and the many opportunities it provides for capturing striking imagery with simple gear.

There are six tips on the docket, and by the time you’re done watching you’ll be well on the way to developing the “art of seeing.” And those three words mean better photographs are coming soon. Be sure to visit Garutti’s unique YouTube channel that focuses on inspirational how-to videos for elevating your skills with whatever gear you own.

We recently featured a beginners guide from another popular instructor who explains why you shouldn’t believe everything you’ve heard about controlling depth of field when shooting photographs in the field.

Inexperienced Photoshop users take note: There’s actually a simple process for selecting and cutting out objects in a photo, and it’s perfect for achieving impressive edits and making attention-grabbing composites. This simple workflow from Sandra D Imagery can become yours in the next five minutes.

Sandra is an experienced photographer, digital artist, and Adobe Community Expert who leverages her skills to create easy-to-follow lessons like this one. Her sample image is a creation of a young munchkin sitting atop a stone wall, and we suggest downloading the file with the link beneath the video so you can follow along and mimic her moves in real time.

As with most Photoshop tasks there are various ways to cut this little boy out of the background and today’s fuss-free method delivers very effective results. Sandra begins by unlocking the first layer with the quick click of a button. Once you do that a contextual toolbar appears at the top left of the workspace, and Sandra says, “these are my go-to tools.”

Sandra describes how Photoshop’s Selection tools have evolved significantly throughout the years. She gets going by clicking on the Remove Background option to let Photoshop do the initial groundwork.

The resulting selection is surprisingly good, although Sandra says, “If I was looking for something that looked a little more detailed, I’d spend time masking to get the edges perfect.” But this is cutout is intended to small within within a composite so it’s fine as is.

Sandra zooms in on the cutout to illustrate the nice detail that already exists and admits there are a few things she could do if she wanted to go beyond the basics—one of which is using a Gray Layer to fine-tune masking. And she provides a link beneath the video if you want to take a deeper dive into this technique.

The next step is extracting her cutout of the boy and saving it as a PSD file or TIFF at your preference. Sandra explains that, “I do this because it has the mask attached. So if I put this on a background I can do a bit of simple tweaking.”

The remainder of the lesson walks you through a step-by-step process for getting the job done to create another eye-catching composite. There’s much more to learn on the Sandra D Imagery YouTube channel, so be sure to take a look when you have time to explore.

And on a related note, don’t miss a tutorial we featured recently from another post-processing expert who demonstrates how to use the new AI-powered Remove Reflections tool in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR).

Are you struggling with overexposed or underexposed photos? If so you’ve come to the right place today, as instructor Anthony Crothers identifies three common errors made by beginners and then demonstrates how to fix them fast.

Crothers is a British pro with 35 years of experience and two decades of teaching others what he’s learned along the way. His straightforward how-to tutorials are designed to help inexperienced shooters build confidence and improve their skills in a fun and engaging way.

Today’s eight-minute episode is all getting the light right every time, and it begins with this promise: “Whether you’re stuck in Auto mode, confused by the Exposure Triangle or ignoring your histogram, this beginners guide will help you take control of the camera and start capturing the images you imagined.”

Be sure to stick around until the end for a confidence-boosting bonus tip on exposure bracketing before switching to full Manual mode. You can also download Crothers’ free photography e-book with a link in the description beneath the video.

Shooting in Auto mode is at the top of the list and Crothers says, “it may seem like the safest option, but here’s the problem: Your camera doesn’t actually know what you’re trying to capture. It sees only light and color—not the mood, subject, or your creative vision.” In other words, this may be fine for simple snapshots, but not for challenging scenes like snowy landscapes, Golden Hour portraits, and other scenes where Auto mode can easily get things wrong.

Crothers moves on to the Exposure Triangle that describes an interplay between aperture, speed, and ISO for creating  balanced exposures. The problem here, according to Crothers, is that many photographers only pay attention to one of these settings while ignoring the others. He explains how all three of these essential elements combines to enhance photos in different ways.

Ignoring the histogram is also a recipe for cooking up images that don’t meet their potential, and Crothers demonstrates how you can easily use this important tool to advantage. By following his straightforward advice you’ll be able to nail exposure every time.

The video concludes with tips for using Exposure Bracketing to increase your odds of success. Be sure to download the free e-book mentioned above, and then visit Crothers’ instructional YouTube channel for more helpful tips and tricks.

Be sure to watch another quick primer we featured recently with a popular instructor who demonstrates how easy it can be to greatly improve photographs by following her practical advice for using on-camera flash.