There’s a four-word motto that pretty much sums up the art of photography: Get the light right. Unfortunately that’s easier said than done—especially when shooting outdoors under dull or uneven illumination. If you’re willing to spend a few minute in Photoshop, however, it’s not difficult to enhance what’s there or introduce additional light of your own,.

Today’s instructor Sandra is a successful Australian pro who specializes in post-processing tutorials that anyone can use to boost creativity and give photos a variety of unique effects. In this episode she demonstrates how to use selections and adjustment layers like Levels and Curves to create images that really grab attention.

Sandra refers to this Photoshop technique as “sculpting light,” and she pulls up an unremarkable landscape scene with a pale blue bright sky and dull mountains on the horizon. But watch what happens when she works her magic by introducing light and shade onto the mountains using Levels and Curves adjustment layers.

As you’ll, see Sandra’s approach can be easier and more effective than the common method of dodging and burning. She describes the various selection tools available, why she chooses Photoshop’s Quick Selection option for this particular task, and then demonstrates how easy it is to use.

Next comes the equally simple process of creating the Layers and Curves masks that enable you to make selective adjustments to different portions of the scene without biasing surrounding areas. Then you’ll watch Sandra make a variety of local enhancements that transform her original photo into a far more appealing image.

The entire process is so straightforward that we’ll refrain from summarizing it here. Just watch Sandra demonstrate the steps and you’ll be duly impressed. Then check out her instructional YouTube channel for more user-friendly post-processing tips and technique.

And don’t miss the earlier tutorial we featured with another image-editing expert who demonstrates a remarkable Photoshop technique for removing distracting fences between you and your subject.

There’s nothing more frustrating than capturing a great scene and discovering that your photos lack critical focus. If this happens to you on a regular basis, pay close attention to the following tutorial from the E-Squared YouTube channel hosted by two twin sisters who post weekly videos with straightforward photography advice.

Emily is today’s instructor and she reveals five common reasons for blurry images and solutions for getting things right when shooting with a mirrorless camera or DSLR. She covers a lot of ground in barely 10 minutes, discussing everything from focus-mode mistakes and incorrect aperture/shutter speeds settings, to choosing the wrong focus point for the task at hand

The first topic of conversation is selecting the best focus mode for a particular situation, and Emily describes the difference between AF-S (autofocus single) and AF-C (autofocus continuous), and she explains why she “always, always” uses the latter. Many photographers switch to AF-S when photographing static scenes, but Emily ignores conventional wisdom and consider AF-C a set-it-and-forget-it choice.

Mistake number two comes down to shutter speed, and how the wrong choice will invariably result in soft photos unless your camera is mounted atop a sturdy tripod. Emily recommends 1/250 or higher as a safe starting point. You’ll also learn why she recommends shooting in Manual, and there’s a link in the description beneath the video to an earlier episode devoted to this.

Image stabilization settings are also part of the equation. Aperture settings are next on the list, and you’ll see why “too wide of apertures (like f/1.8) can cause out-of-focus and blurry images.” The culprit here is insufficient depth of field, and Emily recommends the best f/stop to use for various situations and conditions.

The lesson concludes with a thoughtful discussion of autofocus points, and you’ll see why focusing on the wrong spot within the frame is guaranteed to spoil an otherwise nice photograph. Once again, she describes various scenarios and how to get things nice and sharp by making an intelligent choice.

The E-Squared YouTube channel is a great resource for beginning photographers who want to quickly take their imagery to the next level.

And on a related topic, don’t miss the earlier tutorial we posted that describes how to decide whether to use a camera’s optical viewfinder, electronic viewfinder, or shoot in Live View mode, and the implications of each for attaining precise focus.