Niepce Hotel thinks it’s a gallery – and so does the photographer who own this lovely boutique hotel.

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The Olympics regenerated a London city. What will the games do the same for the sporting spirit of the Parisians?

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One of the most exciting aspects of landscape photography is that we’re never sure what to expect from Mother Nature. Sometimes calm, sunny days quickly transform into  dark and foreboding scenarios with threatening clouds and other eye-popping atmospherics that make for awesome imagery.

Unfortunately, our results don’t always match the impact of what we saw through the viewfinder, and that’s usually because we didn’t nail exposure. Other times there seems to be a promise of dramatic weather that fails to materialize no matter how long we wait.

In either case, there are post-processing techniques that will significantly enhance the impact of a shot—either by accentuating photos captured on a stormy day or by creating the appearance of dramatic weather when none really existed. This tutorial from the PHLOG Photography YouTube channel demonstrates how to give Mother Nature a helping hand with a few simple adjustments in Lightroom.

Instructor Christin Mohrle is a very accomplished landscape pro from Germany, and he includes a link to the sample Raw files so you can follow along and mimic his 12-minute process as the steps are explained. He’s working with a panoramic image, so he begins by explaining how to merge eight photos he made of the scene.

Next come a few basic global adjustments to prepare his merged image for the selective enhancements that follow. He changes the profile from Adobe Color to Adobe Standard which immediately lessens contrast. Then he slightly drops overall exposure, further cuts highlights to accentuate details in the sky, and slightly increases the blacks.

After a few more simple tweaks the fun part begins, using masks to make selective adjustments to pump up drama in various portions of the shot—particularly in the sky where he creates a very ominous effect. His description of this process is a good refresher for the next time you employ masks for other types of edits.

The transformation concludes with careful sharpening and simple color grading. A quick glance at Mohrle’s before/after images confirms the power of this quick technique. There’s much more to learn about shooting and editing landscape images on Mohrle’s instructional YouTube channel so be sure to pay a visit.

We also suggest watching the tutorial we featured with another accomplished pro who explains why the f/stop you choose has a huge impact on the look of your photographs, and how to select the best aperture for various situations.

Top-Notch composition skills can make the difference between good photographs and great ones, especially when shooting landscapes and other outdoor scenes. Today you’re going to learn five “essential” framing techniques that pro Sean Gallagher says contribute to the impact of his stunning imagery

Gallagher is an environmentally conscious documentary photographer who has travelled the globe producing compelling work for National Geographic, The Guardian, the Pulitzer Center, and other top-tier outlets. He’s also been a Fellow at the prestigious UK Royal Geographic Society for the past 20 years.

Whether you’re just getting started or a more experienced shooter Gallagher’s proven techniques will level up your composition skills in barely 12 minutes. And all this really requires is viewing the word a bit differently and taking a more thoughtful approach. In essence, this lesson is all about creating order out of the chaos we often confront when pursuing our craft in the field.

Gallagher’s first suggestion is one with which you’re likely familiar; namely, the popular Rule of Thirds. There’s no need for us to summarize it here because we’ve covered it the past, other than to note that it’s one of the most basic fundamentals of photography. If you think this common “rule” is too basic for publications like National Geographic, think again, because Gallagher says this: “The Rule of Thirds often underpins so many of those great photographs you see.”

A less familiar approach is to use patterns and shapes when framing up a shot. Here Gallagher notes that “the human eye and brain are especially attuned to recognizing patterns and shapes.” His point is that as photographers we can tap into our natural appreciation of these important elements to make images with more impact and interest.

The use of symmetry is another powerful technique for drawing a viewers eye into an image, as is what Gallagher refers to as “The Power of Three.” He also demonstrates his thought process behind “Filling the Frame” and why there are times when your images aren’t good enough because you’re simply not close enough.

Gallagher’s tips are illustrated with beautiful images that will provide you with a heavy dose of inspiration and encouragement to expand your photographic vision. So take a close look and put these straightforward techniques to work. Your image library will thank you for sure.

We also recommend watching another tutorial from Gallagher that we featured in the past, in which he demonstrates how to capture Golden-Hour landscape photographs with a unique and breathtaking look.