There was a time when lens flare was considered a negative attribute of photos shot outdoors. Often caused by using a lens with inferior coatings (or no coatings at all), flare can also result from failing to use a lens hood when shooting on sunny days (depending on your position relative to the sun).

These days intentional flare has become popular among some photographers who like the interesting look it gives an image. In the quick tutorial below you’ll learn how to avoid lens flare or use the effect to advantage. The choice is yours.

Florida-based photographer Booray Perry is also an adept instructor, who specializes in short-and-sweet videos that explain common tasks. He’s also popular with Shutterbug readers for his uncommonly humorous approach.

In this eight-minute episode Perry discusses why lens flare occurs, and offers straightforward advice on how to use it or lose it depending upon how you want your photos to appear. As he says, “Lens flare is one of those things that seem really simple. But the more you look at it the more interesting it becomes.”

Perry puts it simply: “Lens flare is light getting into your camera in a way that you don’t usually want it getting in your camera.” That may be the result of shooting at certain angles relative to the sun (especially when not shielding the lens with a hood, your hand, or anything else that’s available (like a hat).

Another cause of flare is shooting directly into the sun. In this case even the best hood is of no value, and lens coatings can be “overwhelmed.” Under these conditions bright light enters the lens and “bounces around” among lens elements with flare being the result.

Bottom line: You have to make a choice—either to embrace (or even accentuate) flare, or take measures to eliminate it. And Perry has some very effective advice for doing one or the other, depending upon your preference and the shooting conditions you encounter.

After watching this quick and helpful lesson, head over to Perry’s popular YouTube channel for more of the same.

And don’t miss the discussion of another lens attribute in an earlier tutorial we posted, explaining how to use bokeh for photos that grab attention.

Last week we brought you the premiere episode of a free online photo editing masterclass from our friends at the PHLOG Photography YouTube channel. That one demonstrated Lightroom’s most basic tools.

Today’s second episode, explaining how to use masks, is far more detailed, so we suggest jotting down a few notes for future reference. In the 16-minute tutorial below you’ll learn everything you need to know about using “Lightroom’s most powerful tool.”

Instructor Christian Mohrle is a German landscape photographer and image-editing expert. He introduces Part 2 of this important series like this: “Learning how to use Masks in Lightroom will drastically improve your editing skills,” and he promises to go through every key aspect of masking in detail.

In short, if you’ve been uncertain about how to harness the power of this “essential” technique, that’s about to change now. Before getting started we urge you to download the demonstration image using the link in the description beneath the video, so you can follow along in real time as Mohrle walks you through a myriad of masking methods.

Masking is particularly important when editing landscape photos that typically contain a wide range of tones from bright highlights to deep shadows. Unlike more basic global adjustments, masks enable you to selectively make precise modifications to different parts of an image to arrive at the perfect balance.

As you’ll see, by using a variety of Lightroom’s tools, you can create masks that target specific colors and tones in an image for a spectacular result that would be difficult (or impossible) to achieve with any other method.

This comprehensive lesson explains the difference between linear and radial gradients, how to create sunlight and vignetting effects, using Luminance Range masks for enhancing shadow and highlight detail, and techniques for improving a sky. This is just a small smattering of what you’ll learn about using masks to greatly improve your images, so take a close look.

There’s much more to see about shooting and editing outdoor photographs on Mohrle’s popular YouTube channel. So be sure to pay a visit and subscribe.

And if you missed last week’s first episode in this amazing instructional series, you can find it here.

When manufacturers design a camera’s menu they do so without knowing the type of images you shoot or what style of imagery you prefer. And that’s why it’s important to modify the default settings so they meet your specific needs.

Put another way, camera settings that are ideal for portraiture can be totally inappropriate when shooting landscapes, portraits, wildlife, or sports. So if you want optimum results, it’s time to dig into your camera’s menu system and make a few changes now.

The tutorial below from Canadian nature and wildlife photographer Simon d’Entremont has an emphasis on the best way to configure a new camera, but his tips are equally valuable for those who’ve never changed the defaults on a camera they already own.

As Simon says, “I’ll take you through the settings you should always set intentionally and not rely on the defaults in your camera.” Some of his suggestions could even be considered “universal” if you want to make the most of whatever camera you use—new or old.

Best yet, you’re less likely to face any surprises when reviewing images on the computer by changing the 10 settings he recommends. Simon begins with a discussion of file formats, which he considers “one of the most fundamental settings on any camera.” He explains the difference between Jpeg, Raw, and Compressed Raw so you can select the best option for you.

It’s also important to tell the camera how you want autofocus to work; namely One Shot vs. Continuous AF. This setting is greatly dependent upon the type of subjects you photograph most, and whether they tend to stationary or in motion. The terminology often varies by brand, but the necessary settings are easy to find and modify. He also covers the horizontal level and composition grid options on a camera’s rear LCD and in the viewfinder.

You’ll learn everything from the number of focus points to select for your style of shooting, the option to rotate photos shot in vertical orientation, and various sounds settings, to file naming/numbering, and much more. So pay close attention and tell your camera exactly how you want it to work.

Be sure to visit d’Entremont’s YouTube channel where you’ll find a wealth of advice on gear, shooting techniques, and editing your photos.

And don’t miss the tutorial we shared recently, explaining when overexposing landscape photos can yield better results.