Here’s an enlightening Lightroom tutorial from the Dream Life YouTube channel that kills two stubborn birds with one stone. On the one hand you’ll learn a tried-and-true method for exporting high-quality images. The bonus is that this method accomplishes the task while saving considerable space on your hard drive.

Instructor Tom Woods has been a full-time pro for two decades, and his vast expertise is readily evident when discussing the technical, creative and, practical aspects of our craft—with more than a bit of inspiration thrown in for good measure. This episode is his response to a query from one of his followers who asked, “What resolution do you suggest for keeping good pictures that don’t eat up too much space on a drive.”

There’s a link beneath the video to Wood’s previous tutorial, when maximum quality is the goal. Today’s video, by comparison, is geared toward space-saving tips that still provide good enough quality for most common purposes. Be sure to watch until the end, when Woods concludes the tutorial by explaining how to easily automate the process and streamline your workflow.

Woods pull up Lightroom’s Export window and illustrates the configuration he recommends. He first selects the Resize to Fit option, and then inputs the appropriate dimensions for using the images in a variety of ways. You can always increase or reduce file size depending upon whether you intend to post the shot on social media sites or if you intend to print the photograph.

Another key consideration is specifying the name of the file and the folder in which you want the export to reside. Both of these simple steps are essential because they’ll help you avoid wasting valuable time when seaching for a particular image.

Once the foregoing is accomplished it’s time for another timesaving trick that involves creating a preset for automating the configuration you chose. This way you don’t have to type in the various options and criteria every time this particular export configuration suits your needs.

There’s much more to learn on the Dream Life Photography YouTube channel, and we suggest taking a close look.

We also recommend that you check out a Lightroom tutorial we featured recently from another image-editing expert who demonstrates an unusual White Balance technique that delivers photographs with perfect colors.

We are thrilled to announce the winners of GuruShots‘ “The Art of All Black” photo challenge! The talent and creativity displayed in this competition were truly remarkable, making the selection process both exciting and challenging. 

Don’t miss the full slideshow gallery at the end of this article, featuring more exceptional entries. Also, check out GuruShots’ newest app AI Art Master. 

Without further ado, here are the winners:

Winning Images

Runners Up

Full Gallery

Street photography is a popular genre that relies upon many of the same techniques that are so familiar for shooting landscapes, cityscapes, environmental portraiture and other outdoor imagery. It’s also an accessible fallback when you can’t travel far from home because most of us have a nearby city or town where numerous photo opportunities abound.

This nine-minute episode from British photographer Roni Sidhu demonstrates five easy techniques for capturing the essence of urban life with dramatic b&w street photos that convey an engaging minimalist look. You’ll discover how simplicity and contrast will transform everyday scenes into powerful visual stories that jump off the screen.

This compelling style celebrates the impact of simplicity and very deliberate composition, and Sidhu explains the technique like this: “To create minimalist photography we want to use just a few elements, uncluttered backgrounds, and negative space to create powerful images”  of scenes that are typically crowded with passing cars and bustling pedestrians, bright signs, and other distractions that fill the frame with clutter.

Sidhu’s five tips are designed to help you create order out of chaos, with images that are not only different than most but very difficult to ignore. Along the way you’ll learn the optimum camera settings required, the best gear to use, and framing techniques that diverge from those you employ for other styles of photography. Sidhu’s superb imagery also provides a heavy dose of inspiration.

The overarching concept can be described in three words: less is more, and Sidhu begins by demonstrating how to accomplish this goal by choosing a simple background and then doing this: “Adjust your camera settings and wait for the right thing to happen.” That’s why patience and anticipation are critically important.

Another key consideration involves understanding how highlights and shadows contribute to effective high-contrast images, and Sidhu’s examples include captions with the exposure settings used to make the shots.

Sidhu also explains the value of thoughtful preparation: “Having a rough idea of what you want to capture before it actually happens will ensure you’re ready to go at a moment’s notice to capture a great photo opportunity when it occurs.”

The foregoing is just a small taste of the techniques and tools you’ll learn in this lesson, and we guarantee that your street photography skills will grow by leaps and bounds when you follow Sidhu’s straightforward suggestions. Then head over to his instructional YouTube channel for more great advice.

And for those of you who prefer shooting in color, we recommend the earlier primer we posted, demonstrating how to transform dull daylight scenes into photographs with a spectacular Golden-Hour effect.