Perhaps we’ve raised a few eyebrows with the headline above, since we constantly preach the importance of slowing down and taking a thoughtful approach when shooting in the field. But hold on for a moment, because the valuable advice you’ll learn in the tutorial below isn’t really a contradiction at all.

As you’ll see, there are a few things you can do to accelerate the shooting process, while still proceeding with calm and deliberation. Robin Wong is a respected photographer and educator based in Malaysia, and he provides five simple tips that you’ll wish you had thought of before.

One thing that can really slow you down is changing lenses when shooting in the dark. This can be particular annoying when using prime lenses because there’s only one focal length available, and it may not match the situation. The challenge when switching lenses in low light is aligning the red dot on the lens mount with the index on the camera.

Wong’s simple solution is to avoid the red dot and look at the electronic contacts on the back of the lens instead. That’s because they’re metal and thereby reflective—making them much easer to see in even a flicker of light. All you have to do is remember where they are relative to the index mark, and the problem is gone

Another trick Wong strongly recommends is to “leave your lens cap at home.” As he explains, interesting opportunities often pop up unexpectedly, and the small amount of time it takes to remove the cap and stash in in your pocket may cause you to miss the shot.

You can always keep the front element of your lens safe from damage by using a high-quality UV filter. Speaking of accessories, it’s important to not skimp when purchasing memory cards, because premium high-speed options are well worth the expense—especially if you frequently shoot in the Continuous Drive mode at fast burst rates.

Wong also explains how to speed up your photography by simplifying the shooting process. So take a close look, and then slow down and speed up the next time you’re out in the field!

Wong’s popular YouTube channel is full of great stuff, so be sure to take a look when you have time.

We also recommend checking out the helpful tutorial we posted earlier with some great ideas for capturing landscape photos close to home—where you thought there was “nothing to shoot.”

Have you heard the term “non-destructive” to characterize certain editing methods, but you’re unsure what it means? If so, we’re going to clear that up today. You’ll also learn how easy it is to get the job done using Adjustment Layers to process photos.

German landscape pro Rainier Hoffman is an author, educator, and a great source of information on a wide variety of imaging topics. In the tutorial below he explains all the ramifications of non-destructive editing in barely six minutes.

This enlightening episode begins with a comparison between destructive and non-destructive techniques to clarify the issue. Hoffman explains that conventional pixel-based methods are typically destructive; meaning, “the original tonal values of the pixels in the unedited file are over-written and can’t be recovered later.”

That’s why many photographers who use so-called destructive techniques make a copy or multiple copies of the original file—saving the backup in a safe place in case a do-over is necessary. But as you’ll see in this quick lesson, there’s a much better and faster approach.

You may have guessed by now that the “more elegant” way to process photos is with the non-destructive method demonstrated by Hoffman. He uses the Curves tool to illustrate the big difference between the traditional technique and employing Adjustment Layers while editing a wildlife shot.

With the latter approach you’ll notice a similar S-Curve as before, except there’s now a virtual Curves layer above the background layer in the panel. Hoffman notes that, “the new Curves layer simply contains the information of the Curves adjustment.”

So here’s the takeaway: You can switch the Curves layer on and off at will, but the original background layer remains unaffected. Furthermore, when you click on the virtual layer icon, your S-Curve pops up on the screen for further adjustments as necessary at any time.

Be sure to visit Hoffman’s instructional YouTube channel for more helpful shooting and editing advice.

We also recommend you watch the tutorial we posted recently from another processing expert, explaining how to unlock the power of Lightroom’s versatile Transform tools.

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Welcome to the first article in a series dedicated to wildlife photography. I’m going to respond to some common questions I’ve heard from wildlife photographers both online and in my workshops. I’ll try to give you honest answers about equipment, planning, settings, and the process of wildlife photography in the field.