Photo How To

New York photographer Brandon Woelfel is a force to be reckoned with on Instagram, with a unique shooting style and over a million followers. Last week we shared a free Lightroom preset to give your images the “Brandon Woelfel Effect,” and in the video below you’ll learn how to mimic his style in camera.

You may be surprised to learn that long-exposure photography at night can be accomplished without any specialized equipment, and if you watch this two-minute tutorial from Mango Street you’ll be able to easily capture stellar images of starlit skies.

The practice of incorporating water reflections into your photography can create amazing effects and beautiful images. Water reflections can completely alter an ordinary image and create something deeper, more abstract, and artistic. 

Today’s modern DSLRs offer powerful video capabilities and even if your passion is still photography, shooting an occasional video can be a lot of fun—and sometimes addicting. To get you started, the basic tutorial below demonstrates setting up a camera for your first video shoot.

It’s a good idea for everyone to occasionally review some basic concepts of photography that are easy to take for granted. To that end, consider this brief article a refresher course in the rules of composition. In fact, if you place two photographers in the same location, pointed at the same subject with identical gear, chances are the resulting images will be surprisingly different because of how each shooter composes the scene.

For many photographers, working with “existing light” means shooting during the day and stashing the gear after the sun drops below the horizon. But if you take that approach you’ll miss out on a whole realm of moods, special effects, and creative possibilities.

Today’s digital cameras have become so adept at almost any shooting situation that, paradoxically, they can inhibit creativity by always delivering a technically perfect result. With little effort, a photographer can produce a sharp, clear, well-exposed image, color balanced and, well, a bit too perfect.