Choosing the proper aperture setting is a fundamental aspect of all genres of photography, especially when shooting landscapes with both near and far elements in the scene. The f/stop in use has a major impact on depth of field, which is why many outdoor photographers prefer leaving their Mode dial set to Aperture Priority.

Today’s comprehensive tutorial breaks down and explains what aperture is all about and reveals which f/stop settings are best for different situations. You’ll also learn why the sharpness of an image depends upon aperture, and the various effects you can create with different settings.

Instructor Mads Peter Iversen is a Danish pro who regularly shares shooting and editing tutorials with eye-opening secrets to the stunning images in his portfolio. This episode is a behind-the-scenes video where you’ll watch Iversen to his thing, and along the way he discusses everything you need to know about aperture and how it enables you to capture different images of the same scene with a totally different look.

This lesson runs almost 19 minutes and covers a lot of ground, so we suggest taking a few notes for future reference. As you’ll see, Iversen has some great advice for doing things right, as well as several warnings about common mistakes.

Aperture is one of the three components in the familiar Exposure Triangle and that’s where Iversen begins. You’ll see how the f/stop in use interacts with the other two variable (shutter speed and ISO) to arrive and a correct exposure with exactly the look you want. He also discusses the critical concept of depth of field and how aperture factors into the equation.

Proper focus is another key consideration, and in some cases the goal is to have maximum sharpness throughout a landscape scene. Since the smaller the aperture the greater the zone of sharpness you may wonder why it’s a mistake to always shoot at f/22 when light levels permit.

This is Iversen’s answer: “It comes down to an optical phenomenon called diffraction which explains why the more you stop down the aperture the more light is scattered through the smaller and smaller hole.” In essence, this results in softer images with compromised optical quality.

Other topics of interest include the relationship between aperture and vignetting, along with a variety of optical mistakes to avoid. You’ll also learn what to do when f/22 is absolutely necessary, an editing solution known as focus stacking, and the impact of aperture on creative effects like sun stars and others.

Be sure to pay a visit to Iversen’s robust YouTube channel, especially if landscape photography is your thing. And check out the tutorial we featured from another accomplished pro, with a beginners guide to using fill-flash to brighten shadows in outdoor photographs.

Converging vertical lines can spoil all sorts of photos, whether you’re shooting in the city or out in the field. The problem occurs when it’s necessary to point the camera upward to include the top of tall objects in the frame.

This happens in situations in which you’re unable to back up far enough to shoot the subject with the camera flat to the horizon. Similar things occur when your lens isn’t wide enough to point the camera head on. In other words, converging verticals result from the angle of the camera’s sensor relative to the scene you’re photographing.

Today’s instructor, Barry Beckham, specializes in tutorials for beginning Photoshop users. Today’s episode demonstrates how fix to those vexing verticals in barely nine minutes. Here’s how he explains the challenge with his demonstration image: “I was in front of some interesting high-rise buildings, but the width of the beach in front of them wasn’t really enough for me to get far enough back.”

He captured the scene with a wide-angle lens and the result is the extreme convergence in his image. There’s a common way to correct converging lines when they’re less acute but watch what happens when Beckham tries that method with the image at hand. As you’ll see, a significant amount of  the photo is lost in both lower corners of the shot.

Beckham jumps into Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) and demonstrates the solution. He chooses the Guided option within the ACR’s Crop panel and defines the edges of the left and right buildings that need to be straightened (those in the middle will fall into place). Then he draws a line across the horizon so that isn’t skewed during the process.

He also wants a bit more space in the frame above the spire of the tallest building, but that creates problem at the top similar to the empty space in the lower corners. Before reaching for the crop tool and employing his amazing fix, Beckham makes a few minor edits to enhance the appearance of his shot.

Now it’s time for Beckham to “bend the rules a bit” to arrive at his magical transformation. He walks you through the simple steps while taking advantage AI. There’ are many more easy Photoshop tips and tricks on Beckham’s instructional YouTube channel, so be sure to take a look.

And be sure to check out the tutorial we posted earlier with a simple post-processing technique for beginners that an accomplished pro says he uses with almost every photograph he edits.

Expansive vistas often include a variety of tonal values that can make it difficult to nail exposure and get colors correct in the camera. This tutorial from the popular PHLOG Photography You Tube channel illustrates how to use Target Adjustments to achieve proper balance throughout the frame without merging multiple shots and time-consuming image-stacking techniques.

This method relies upon simple Lightroom adjustment tools and straightforward masking to achieve a perfect result—especially when the scene’s key elements need to be accentuated because they diverge from the rest of the shot. In other words, Targeted (otherwise known as Selective) Adjustments need to be made.

Instructor Christian Mohrle is a notable German landscape photographer and a very adept post-processing expert. He makes it very easy to follow along and make the changes yourself as you watch him explain the steps by including links to the demonstration Raw file in the description beneath the video.

The goal is to bring attention to different area in the image, and Mohrle always begins his edits with a few basic enhancements to the overall scene to prepare it for the masking with Target Adjustments that follow. For this shot he starts by fixing the skewed horizon caused by his ultra-wide lens, and he walks you through the simple process.

Other preliminary adjustments for this contrast-rich scene include changing the profile from Adobe Color to Adobe Neutral, modifying exposure, bringing up the shadows to reveal more detail, correcting White Balance, and a few other quick-and simple tweaks that imbue the photo with a “sunrise feeling.”

Now the image looks significantly better and some photographers might stop here. But now is where the magic just begins, as Mohrle demonstrates straightforward masking methods that really provide the WOW factor.

The transformation then continues with a bit of important color grading and very subtle sharpening. We’ll bet that you’ll be duly impressed when you compare Mohrle’s before/after images that almost appear like two different shots.

If you are interested in landscape photography and more lessons like this one, just pay a visit to Mohrle’s instructional YouTube channel where you’ll find a wealth of helpful videos.

And be sure you didn’t miss the recent tutorial we featured in which a professional journalist demonstrates a different approach for capturing stunning Golden-Hour landscape photographs with a unique look that demands attention.