Lighting How To

There I was, 20 years old behind the sideline barricade of an arena football game clutching to my now outdated Canon EOS 20D with a 200mm lens slapped on it. I raced back and forth behind the separating wall with a cluster of other photographers—feverishly snapping off images as the players sprinted up and down the field and crashed into one another and off the barriers. It was my first sporting photo assignment.

Maybe you're already a boudoir photographer and your images look like everything else out there. Or perhaps you want to get started with an easy technique that doesn't require a studio or complicated lighting setups. In either case, the video below is for you.

You've probably heard the term "Expose to the Right" (ETTR) but do you understand the benefits of this somewhat controversial technique and know how to put it to use? Today's tutorial from the Hoffman Photography YouTube channel will get you up to speed so you can begin using ETTR today.

Understanding exposure is an important part of the route that leads to creative photographs. Exposure in nature work is perhaps more challenging because there is no cookie-cutter approach when it comes to the outdoors; each moment is unique, as seen in this photograph of the moon (#1). Being able to expose the moon perfectly made it possible for me to focus on the task at hand—capturing one single bird flying across it.

Dodging and burning is a classic image-editing technique dating back to the heyday of film and the darkroom. Back then, dodging was used to lighten a specific portion of an image, while burning did the opposite.

Remember last July 4 while watching the Independence Day festivities, and you thought to yourself, "I wish I had taken time to figure out how to photograph fireworks because I really could make some great images tonight?" That turns out to be a common refrain, so we're go to help you prepare for next week in advance.

Electronic flash is a versatile photographic tool. From tiny units built into cameras to multi-head studio flash systems with separate power supplies, electronic flash is popular with photographers from snapshooter through pro.

Here are a few handy tips to help you get better photos with flash.