When all else fails, and you’re out of fresh ideas, here’s something fun to try for photos that are different from those you’ve made in the past: Take a tour of your town and give architectural photography a try.

Numerous opportunities abound, from soaring skyscrapers and majestic mansions, to cute cottages and more. You can even try your hand at interior shots by visiting museums and other public buildings where photography is permitted.

You won’t need any special gear, but some professional advice always helps, and that’s what you’ll find in the tutorial below—designed for photographers of all skill levels who are new to this genre. After watching the episode and practicing what you learn, you’ll soon be able to add “architectural photographer” to your list of specialties.

Steven Brooke as an award-winning architectural expert and instructor who has photographed over 40 books on this topic—nine of which he authored himself. In this 10-minute episode he has synthesized three decades of experience down to five “essential” rules for those new to the craft.

Tip number one is to “align the verticals” so they’re not skewed. As Brooke puts it. “Nothing separates professional looking photos from everything else more than this basic rule.” He provides both interior and exterior images to demonstrate why this rule is one you simply can’t break, whether you’re shooting a cottage, mansion, high-rise, or interiors big and small.”

Rule #2 is to “use axial compositions with horizontals parallel to the frame to bring stability and order to your photographs.” He notes why the wider the lens, the more important this technique becomes—primarily because distortion become more prevalent as focal lengths become shorter.

Next comes a tip that pertains to most forms of outdoor photography but is particularly important to this particular genre; namely “control the shadows.” Hence, the importance of planning your shoot to take best advantage of sun angles and seasons. Brooke illustrates how taking this approach “will create depth, rhythm and articulation in your photos.”

You’ll have to watch the episode for more details on the foregoing, and to discover Brooke’s other two rules. Suffice to say, they’re all super easy to accomplish, and deliver great results. See what you think, and then get out there and give these tips a try.

If architectural photography strikes your fancy, head over to Brooke’s YouTube channel where you’ll find more in-depth lessons to help you progress. And don’t miss the related tutorial we posted earlier from a French pro in Paris, with seven composition tips for epic cityscape photos.

One factor that differentiates great photos from those that miss the mark is achieving accurate colors that faithfully represent a scene. Last week we featured a primer with the best White Balance camera settings to use for various situations, and today you’ll learn how to get the job done when fixing problem photos in Lightroom.

If you watched the earlier tutorial, you know that proper White Balance involves adjustments that make sure white subjects appear white in your photos. Once you do that, the other tones in the shot typically fall into place. The secret to this technique is being mindful of the quality of the light you confront, so photos are neither too cool nor too warm, i.e., neither too blue nor too yellow.

The tutorial below from instructor Anthony Morganti demonstrates several methods for adjusting White Balance in Lightroom, with some very helpful suggestions for getting the best possible results. There’s the conventional approach, along with methods Morganti prefers, and the latter can be far more effective (without a lot of extra work).

Morganti opens Lightroom’s Basic tab and explains why Camera Simulation modes don’t always delivery satisfactory results. He then demonstrates the easy approach—namely, moving the Temp (color temperature) and Tint sliders. Unfortunately, easy is always better, and this technique also often falls short as well.

You’ll also see how these sliders work differently, depending upon whether you’re working on a Jpeg of Raw file, primarily due the less expansive range available in the former. This may lead you to believe that working in Raw is the way to go when using these two basic sliders, but you’ll see why that’s not exactly true.

Morganti demonstrates a few ways to extend the “throw” of these sliders for somewhat more control, but he strongly recommends using the better options that follow if you want really precise results.

One choice is with a dropdown menu that provides a variety of options from Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, and Shade, to Tungsten, Fluorescent, Flash, and Custom. When selecting each of these defaults you’ll see the specific Color Temperature (expressed in Kelvin) to the right of your choice.

Morganti has a few other tricks up his sleeve, and he moves on to the technique he uses most, and many experienced photographers do the same. This involves employing  Lightroom’s Eyedropper tool, and he reveals a trick that simplifies the process without sacrificing quality and precision.

After watching the video pay a visit to Morganti’s popular YouTube channel, where you’ll find many more helpful tips and tricks. And don’t miss the related tutorial mentioned above, explaining how to change a camera’s White Balance settings to modify the look of your photographs.

Improving your snapshots or transitioning from a smartphone to a digital camera is easy if you follow these tips.

A friend of mine recently stepped up to a high-end Canon point-and-shoot digital camera, a PowerShot SX600 HS to be exact. It’s not a new model, but it features a 16-megapixel CMOS sensor, superb 18X, 24-450mm zoom (35mm equivalent) with Image Stabilization, Smart Auto with 32 scenes, Wi-Fi connectivity and a handsome 3-inch LCD. It also has a Creative Shot mode of limited value, but that doesn’t detract. In short, it is fully-featured.

I’ve used this particular Canon model and gotten excellent results, so my advice is based on experience, not theory or generalizations. Moreover, I know the camera is capable of creating stunning images with very little coaxing.

Initial Camera Settings
If you’re relatively new to digital photography, or if you haven’t used your camera for a while, make sure the battery is fully charged and the camera is set correctly.

These are my recommended initial camera settings, followed by the corresponding page number in the Canon PowerShot SX600 HS owner’s manual. All can be set by pressing the FUNC SET (Function Set) button on the camera back.  
• Program Mode (page 52)
• Evaluative Metering (page 53)
• ISO Auto (page 54)
• Auto White Balance (page 55)

1. Hold Steady
The number one reason for disappointing photos is camera movement during exposure. Even the slightest jiggle can cause unsharpness. The Canon PowerShot SX600 HS has built-in Image Stabilization that compensates for some slight motion. It’s a great assistance but not an absolute solution to camera shake.

Whether you’re focusing on the LCD on through the viewfinder, hold the camera firmly with two hands and glue your elbows to your sides. Imitate the body posture of a Tyrannosaurus rex—steady trunk, short little arms. Breathe in, out, in and then hold the breath. Gently press the shutter release button. Repeat the process in case the first try turned out to be unsuccessful.

Tripod? A good idea, especially table top tripods (see below), but don’t let it become an obstacle to casual, spontaneous shots. After you’ve mastered the ability to hold the camera steady you’ll have plenty of time to explore new tricks with a tripod.

2. Read the Manual
Yeah, yeah, we’ve heard all the cutting remarks about Americans never reading manuals. That’s not true; Americans read manuals when they hit a snag, but rarely before then. When you’re in a jam, reading the manual becomes an emergency sprint, not an educational stroll.

Sit down with your camera and the owner’s manual, which these days is usually a PDF rather than a printed booklet, and scan page by page. Read the advice about battery charging and storage, memory cards and general precautions—like avoiding rain and dusty conditions. Although you may not realize it, you’re accumulating knowledge via the “spiral learning” process. Even if a section of the manual seems unfathomable at first, rest assured that it will be understandable later on when you encounter it for the third or fourth time.

While you’re at it, read the section on White Balance. Auto WB is recommended for many situations, but learning how to set a Custom White Balance can make a world of difference on indoor shots under artificial lighting. Canon explains the procedure on page 55 in the PowerShot SX600 HS manual.

Later, after you’ve mastered Custom WB,  I encourage you to do something really crazy. Intentionally set the wrong White Balance. Find out what happens when you set WB for indoor lighting and take pictures outside, and vice versa. This accomplishes two things. First it makes it easier for you to understand why some shots fail. Second, it teaches you a way to create a bluish or brownish mood if so desired.

3. Concentrate on One Subject Initially
Collaborate with a pet or partner that can sit still for 10 or 15 minutes, preferably outdoors in good lighting, and ideally on an overcast day where shadows are muted or absent. Start at a comfortable distance and carefully frame the subject on the LCD, practicing the T. rex method of holding the camera steady.

Change your position, camera angle and composition frequently. Try various zoom settings. Rule to remember: the farther out you zoom, the more difficult it becomes to handhold the camera. But try the longer zoom settings, too, just to learn what to expect. Shoot at least 40 images, examining each briefly as you shoot.

Don’t expect any masterpieces, but you might get some strong shots while practicing.

4. Experiment with Special Features
Virtually all high-end point-and-shoot cameras are loaded with special features that must be discovered if you’re going to derive full enjoyment from your camera. Canon calls them “Special Effects” and describes a few of them on pages 42-50.

A good way to learn what these effects do is by paralleling tip 3 above. Choose a stationary subject (plant, vase of flowers or tree) and shoot every special effect from the same distance and with roughly the same composition. Not all effects are applicable for all distances, but try them anyway. Shoot at least 40 images, examining each briefly as you shoot.

Although not a special effect per se, the Close Up setting, sometimes labeled “Macro,” allows you to get closer to your subject. As with the telephoto, moving closer increases the chance of unsharp images, so brace yourself or use a table top tripod. Check out our recent story, Table Top Tripod Roundup Review for some buying advice.

5. Give Yourself Assignments
Walking around looking for suitable subjects is great—in fact, it’s recommended—but sometimes you should narrow things down a bit and focus on a self-assignment instead of a perchance encounter. For example, when visiting a familiar area, commit yourself to capturing “something purple.” Or perhaps, “make a moving object appear to be standing still.” Nothing too complicated, nothing impossible.

Shooting food is always fun and often productive. If in a restaurant, sit near a window for better lighting. Use the table to support your hands for a steadier shot. Do not get pasta sauce on the lens; it leaves a mess.

By removing the pressure to find a “great shot” you free your mind to instinctively discover, compose, shoot and review.

6. Shoot and Save, Don’t Delete
Next only to the immediate gratification digital cameras deliver, the ability to delete bad shots is their biggest advantage over shooting film.

But don’t delete.

Even the worst images can teach you how to shoot better ones. Download every image to your computer and carefully study each one. If it’s a great shot, ask yourself what makes you think so. If it’s terrible, try to figure out what went wrong. Sounds like a lot of work, but it’s the only way to improve. If you have a partner or friend who has reasonable photography chops, get a second opinion—but only if they know what they’re talking about and provide honest, objective appraisals.

A year from now, maybe sooner, revisit the then-older images and conduct the same examinations. You may be surprised by how much you’ve developed your technique and creativity.

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Adobe Bridge is an oft-ignored component of Photoshop, and it’s capable of much more than some photographers realize. In fact, it’s possible to do a full photo edit within Bridge as you’ll see in the quick tutorial below.

We regularly turn to instructor Anthony Morganti for quick and helpful advice on less-familiar image-processing techniques, and this eight-minute episode is for Photoshop users who want to streamline their workflow and get great results.

For those unfamiliar with Adobe Bridge, it has pretty much the same functionality as the Library module in Lightroom Classic. Because Bridge is essentially a Library module itself, it doesn’t have any editing capability on its own. Thus, Morganti says, “To edit with Bridge you have to use it in conjunction with Photoshop”—specifically Camera Raw which is part of Photoshop.”

If you have plugins on your system, you can use them with Bridge as well. In barely eight minutes Morganti walks you through the step-by step process for taking advantage of everything bridge can do.

Morganti opens a seaside photo in Bridge, using the Filmstrip workspace he prefers. Like with Lightroom, the filmstrip appears at the bottom. The first step with this approach is to get the photo into Camera Raw. There are several ways to do this and Morganti demonstrates the two he uses most. One is to right-click on the image and select Open in Camera Raw from the dropdown menu. The Second is to simply double-click on the image in the filmstrip.

Now that you have everything set, it’s time to process the image, which is accomplished in a non-destructive manner. That means a re-do is always possible if you make a mistake or change your mind.

Morganti accomplishes the edit within the Develop module without a lot of explanation, because his adjustments are pretty obvious by watching how he moves various sliders in the panel. You’ll see him drop the Highlights, open up Shadows and Whites, and drop the blacks. He also bumps up Clarity, Texture, and Vibrance.

Because the image looks a bit too cool, Morganti turns to the Curves tool to add a bit of yellow to the blue Curve. A few more simple tweaks and the transformation is complete using an easy technique that you may want to try yourself.

After watching the video pay a trip to Morganti’s YouTube channel for more straightforward editing advice.

And check out an earlier tutorial we posted from another processing expert, explaining how to use what he says is “the best new Photoshop tool” (and it’s not Generative Fill).