How to Create Actions in Photoshop to Make Your Edits Pop
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How to Create Actions in Photoshop to Make Your Edits Pop

Photoshop Actions are a convenient feature. An “action” is a series of tasks you can save and apply to any file you want to edit. You can use this feature to automate some repetitive workflows and get more consistent results when editing images in batches. Photoshop comes with some predefined actions, but you can create…

Master Image Culling: How to Use Photo Mechanic
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Master Image Culling: How to Use Photo Mechanic

If you regularly take hundreds (or even thousands of photos), you know all too well the frustration of sifting through the images. But what if we told you there was a way to make this task more manageable with a tool called Photo Mechanic? You may be reluctant to add another photo application to your…

What are the Best Nikon Lenses for Portraits?
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What are the Best Nikon Lenses for Portraits?

Who doesn’t love a classic portrait? When you want to snap the ideal shot, you definitely need the right portrait lenses for your camera. For those of you shooting on Nikons, finding the best Nikon lens for portraits could feel like a challenge, but there are plenty of choices to land you that dream portrait….

What is a Contact Sheet and How Do You Make One?
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What is a Contact Sheet and How Do You Make One?

Making a contact sheet isn’t complicated, but whether you’re going through Windows or using options like Contact Sheet II through Adobe Photoshop, creating contact sheets does require a few steps. Here’s your step-by-step guide to how to make contact sheets. Photo by rpavich licensed under CC BY 2.0  How To Make A Contact Sheet Here’s…

Find Your Focus Podcast: Episode 28
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Find Your Focus Podcast: Episode 28

Make More, Shoot Less: Successfully Switching to In-Person Sales with Chris Scott [fusebox_full_player style=”dark” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_linkedin=”true” social_pinterest=”true” social_email=”true” ] Episode 28: Show Notes. Today we are talking to Chris Scott from Swift Galleries and The Print Maker System, both of which help photographers run a successful IPS or in-person sales business. Chris started out…

Best Lens for Landscape Photography – A Buyer’s Guide for Beginners
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Best Lens for Landscape Photography – A Buyer’s Guide for Beginners

Almost every photographer I know, even those specializing in portraits or action photography, has a soft spot for landscapes.  There’s just something about nature and sunsets and vistas that captures our imagination and prompts creativity.  Even if you just dabble in landscape images, you’ll want a lens to help translate that vision before you into…

How to Apply Sun Rays in Photoshop
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How to Apply Sun Rays in Photoshop

The sun’s rays are one of the most beautiful details about an early morning stroll or a beautiful sunset. Yet despite their beauty, light rays are often challenging to capture with a camera alone, which is why many photographers resort to adding in rays with Photoshop during their editing process.  Creating rays in Adobe Photoshop…

11 Types of Lenses Explained!
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11 Types of Lenses Explained!

Ever get confused when it comes to the many types of lenses? Let’s make it simple! Even if you’ve been in the photography world for years, you may not be experienced with many types of camera lenses. The truth is, many lenses are expensive, so we often choose a type of photography and then pick…

How to Make a Panorama in Photoshop
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How to Make a Panorama in Photoshop

Panoramic photos are a cool way to showcase seamless images of more expansive physical spaces. Traditional panoramic views are typically of landscapes and cityscapes, but you don’t have to limit your photos to just those.  Most photographers create these wider images by stitching together several photos horizontally or vertically from different angles using Adobe Photoshop…

How to Open Raw Files the Easy Way
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How to Open Raw Files the Easy Way

Since the early 2000s, the raw file format has produced some of the highest quality images possible. Digital cameras typically produce images in the JPEG or raw format. Many programs recognize JPEG, but to view raw files is a different story. A raw image is large and stores more information. Different camera brands produce varying…

Nikon 24-120 mm f/4 lens review: Love it or Leave it?
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Nikon 24-120 mm f/4 lens review: Love it or Leave it?

Full-frame glorified kit lens or budget-friendly professional choice?  I weigh in on whether to love or leave the Nikon 24 120mm f/4G ED VR. When I upgraded to a full frame camera, I had the option for purchasing the Nikon 24 120mm f/4G ED at a deep discount if I bundled the Nikon 24 120mm…

Best Noise Reducing Software for Photographers
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Best Noise Reducing Software for Photographers

All photographs have noise that affects the quality of the picture. Whether you’re a beginner, amateur, or professional, knowing how to reduce noise in your photos is essential.  Even if you minimize noise when taking a shot, you may need to use the best noise reduction software to enhance your image. There are several noise…

Software for Photographers: Best Duplicate Photo Finder
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Software for Photographers: Best Duplicate Photo Finder

Looking back on old photos, it’s sometimes hard to believe you ever thought it was a good idea to take so many pictures of the same thing. Sure, having duplicate photos is helpful at the time; it gives you the chance to pick the best of the bunch of photos to print, send, or post. …

The Nikon 200-500 mm f/5.6 lens: A budget wildlife/sports lens?
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The Nikon 200-500 mm f/5.6 lens: A budget wildlife/sports lens?

Thinking about a mega zoom?  Here’s a Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6e lens review If you’re a wildlife photographer, nature photographer, or sports photographer, sometimes you want to fill the frame with your subject.  Problem is, you can’t always get closer to your subject. That’s where super-telephoto lenses or a mega zoom like the Nikon 20- 500mm…

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Understanding Overexposed vs Underexposed

If you’re new to photography, one of the concepts and terms you’ll hear constantly is exposure.  You might be reading a tutorial about getting scenes exposed correctly or you may get feedback on a photo you share saying it’s overexposed or underexposed. Proper exposure is a fundamental concept of photography.  Understanding what it is will…

Find Your Focus Podcast: Episode 10

Find Your Focus Podcast: Episode 10

Taking the Full-Time Leap: Becoming Your Own Boss and Calling the Shots in Your Life with Kate Guertin. Episode 10: Show Notes. Today, I’m going to be talking to Kate Guertin, a mentor at Cole’s Classroom and the owner of Sweetest Things Photography. She decided to quit her corporate job and jump full-time into professional…