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Beginner Photography Tips

Beginner Photography Tips

Beginner Photography Tips

Storytelling Photography Tips

Beginner Photography Tips

Slow Photography Inspiration

Beginner Photography Tips

Editing Tips & Tutorials

tips for landscape photography

7 Great Tips for Landscape Photography: A Beginner’s Guide

Tips for Landscape Photography Welcome to the wonderful world of landscape photography, where you can capture the awe-inspiring wonders of nature with fantastic landscape photos. This genre offers a unique opportunity to connect with the world around us and...
luminar neo review

Luminar Neo Review | Your Images, Your Way

Luminar Neo Review For the past few weeks, I've been testing new editing software based in part on artificial intelligence. My in-depth Luminar Neo review walks you through the workflow, pros and cons, AI-powered tools, ethical...
post-processing for beginners

Quick and Easy Steps to Start Post-Processing for Beginners

Post-Processing for Beginners Photography is a trade where almost every part of the process is equally important and plays an important role in getting the best result. Post-processing is the last step and one of the game-changing steps of getting the perfect...
silhouette photography

Powerful Silhouette Photography in 5 Simple Steps

Silhouette Photography Silhouette photography is a beautiful and dramatic way to capture a scene or subject. By taking advantage of the contrast between the subject and the background, you can create striking storytelling images that emphasize shape, form,...
indoor portrait photography

Creative Props and Accessories for Indoor Portrait Photography

Indoor Portrait Photography Indoor portrait photography allows you to capture striking images of your subject in a setting that is free from the distractions of the outdoor world. However, taking beautiful and creative indoor portraits requires a little more...
Top 8 Candid Photography Tips for Natural Photos

Top 8 Candid Photography Tips for Natural Photos

We all know how to make a selfie or to pose in front of a landmark. Smile when told to and jump when prompted. And it’s great to have those posed pics from the one and only time you did that awesome hike with your newly found friends. Nothing wrong with that. But having authentic shots from your friends and family while you’re traveling is …….. well I would say even greater.

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4 Ways to Creatively Embrace the Blur in Photography

4 Ways to Creatively Embrace the Blur in Photography

Guest blogger Stacey Hill encourages you to embrace the blur in photography. When asked why I enjoy photography, my reply is always “It’s the perfect blend of technology and art.” For those who want to geek out about focal lengths, f-stops, and the other technical aspects, photography has plenty of space for that.  However, if you want to explore more creative ways to use your camera, then there are lots of ways to do that.

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5 Simple Mindful Photography Tips to Be Present in the Now

5 Simple Mindful Photography Tips to Be Present in the Now

Mindfulness is about slowing down, being fully present in the moment, and receiving that moment. The exact same words apply to the process of making photographs. For me, to photograph is to be fully present in the moment. Because when I photograph nothing else enters my mind. I’m in a state of flow where worries, the past, and the future have disappeared.

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5 Easy Steps to Quick & Safe Camera Sensor Cleaning

5 Easy Steps to Quick & Safe Camera Sensor Cleaning

Understandably, diy sensor cleaning can feel a little intimidating because your sensor is such a fragile part of the camera. And I get it. But I also think it’s good to get to know the insides of your beloved camera and be able to take care of it outside and in. When you follow these steps and guidelines you have a solid plan for how to clean your camera sensor.

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25 Lightroom Hacks That Will Save You Loads of Time

25 Lightroom Hacks That Will Save You Loads of Time

With this list of awesome Lightroom Hacks, I want to dive deeper into Lightroom and reveal some features you’re probably not aware of. These Lightroom tips are gonna make your editing life so much easier. They range from simple keyboard shortcuts you really should be using every time you edit to more advanced features that will save you time and frustration while keeping your edits consistent.

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7 Fantastic At Home Photography Ideas to Ignite Your Creativity

7 Fantastic At Home Photography Ideas to Ignite Your Creativity

I’ve compiled a list of 7 at home photography ideas designed to honor the mindful nature of the photographic process. All photo projects have one ingredient in common. They revolve around the art of seeing and will, therefore, develop your observation skills. Examining your outside and inside world allows you to get into that much-desired mindful state.

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My 15 Favorite Photography Quotes from Master Photographers

My 15 Favorite Photography Quotes from Master Photographers

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. But sometimes we need words to give expression to what we think and feel around a single photograph or photography in its entirety. So I actually feel that pictures and words go hand in hand most of the time. When we see a photo there’s an infinite number of reactions to that single image. We need words to articulate our reaction.

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Creative Photography Project: 9 Different Photos of the Same Object

Creative Photography Project: 9 Different Photos of the Same Object

Whenever I feel lost, I pick up my camera and start to photograph. The simple act of picking up my camera in the midst of what feels like chaos creates a little overwhelm free island of time. I’m focused on creating something and when I’m photographing there’s not much else that can enter my mind. It’s what I call the mindful nature of photography and it’s healing.

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8 Critical Steps to Get Tack Sharp Photos

8 Critical Steps to Get Tack Sharp Photos

Don’t you just hate it when you think you’ve taken a great photo only to come home and discover it’s out of focus? Getting sharp focus depends on your skills to get it right in camera. There’s no second chance and no do-overs in Lightroom. Although the term Auto Focus implies it’s done automatically it is not. For razor-sharp photos, you need to take control.

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10 Sure-Fire Tips for Stunning Sunset Photography

10 Sure-Fire Tips for Stunning Sunset Photography

There’s a universal quality to sunrise and sunset. No matter where you are on this earth, no matter your circumstances as long as you live you can be sure of 2 things. The sun will rise and at the end of the day, the sun will go down. It’s one of the many things that bind us all together. No wonder we want to capture the sun come up or go down in all its glorious beauty.

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The Ultimate Guide To Mastering Natural Light Photography

The Ultimate Guide To Mastering Natural Light Photography

Light is one of the key ingredients in a photograph. In this natural light photography tutorial, you’re going to learn how to make the most of the natural light that is so abundantly available to you. And to discover natural lighting is all about embracing the light. Using natural light is exciting because you cannot control it. It is what it is. Yet another aspect you need to adapt to.

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15 Badass Street Photography Ideas To Get You Started

15 Badass Street Photography Ideas To Get You Started

Street photography is unpredictable and spontaneous at its core. You can prepare all you want good things start to happen when the surprise element introduces itself. Being present and ready to receive the unexpected is all we can do in street photography. That is what makes street photography so challenging and exciting! There are a lot of ideas and misconceptions about what is ………

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7 Powerful Tips for Photographing Children in a Natural and Candid Way

7 Powerful Tips for Photographing Children in a Natural and Candid Way

The defining element in kids photography in a documentary style is your mindset as the one who is photographing children. Sure a nice camera helps but it’s you that makes it fun for them or not. It’s you who is documenting life as it unfolds. And how you approach that is what makes the difference between lifeless photos and the ones you’ll treasure 20 years from now. 

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4 Essential Principles of Composition in Photography

4 Essential Principles of Composition in Photography

Why learning a few rules of composition won’t make your pics any better and what to do instead. Composition is how you arrange all the elements in the outside world in your frame to make an interesting and appealing photograph. Photo composition is a very powerful tool. And the good news is you can improve your composition without even understanding anything about your camera.

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Nature Encourages Me To Click

Nature Encourages Me To Click

This month’s blog takes us into the wonderful world of India. More specifically, to a little village next to the Mahanadi River, called Athmallik. This magical village is the source of inspiration and encouragement for Arpita to document the mesmerizing world around her. Arpita´s home town is surrounded by hills, deep forests, and water. “I have been surrounded and inspired by this since my childhood.”……

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Are You Taking Or Are You Making?

Are You Taking Or Are You Making?

So, a funny thing happens every time I write about photography which is like on a daily basis. I make it a point to write Make Photographs and not Take Photographs because well, that’s what it actually is. A photo is made. But the spelling checker on my laptop keeps highlighting the word Make wanting me to correct it to Take. It annoys me because it’s wrong on so many levels and I always ignore the suggestion.

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9 Essential Tips on Capturing Motion in Photography

9 Essential Tips on Capturing Motion in Photography

Capturing motion in photography can be quite a challenge. When things are in motion you need to act quickly and go with the flow at the same time. But photographing movement can also be very fulfilling and exciting because it shows us aspects of life that are otherwise not seen by the human eye. There are basically 2 ways to go about capturing motion in photography. You can decide to …………..

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Come A Little Bit Closer…..

Come A Little Bit Closer…..

Photography Quotes to Inspire and Delight, a monthly series on Photography Playground. This month’s quote is by Robert Capa: “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough.” I’ve always believed this is true for the actual physical closeness to your subject. But there’s also a deeper level to his words. It’s about the connections you make with the people and the places you photograph.

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How to Best Edit Your Photos in Lightroom

How to Best Edit Your Photos in Lightroom

In the previous Lightroom photography tutorial, I walked you through the very important process of importing and selecting your files. If all is well by now you have a couple of pics selected that you wanna edit. In this Lightroom tutorial, I’m gonna show you how to edit photos in the Develop Module in Adobe Lightroom. Let’s first talk about why editing your photos is super important………..

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Photography Fulfills Me

Photography Fulfills Me

In our monthly blog about Obsessions & Fascinations Philine Bernard shares her fascination for nature, traveling and the outdoors. When she grabs her camera she can just shoot for hours. Photographing never bores her and she can lose herself in the moment completely. This creates calmness for her and she gets in a different headspace altogether.

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10 Top Tips for Wonderful Low Light Photography

10 Top Tips for Wonderful Low Light Photography

Don’t you just love a dark and moody scene out in the street or a low light landscape during sunset or a face illuminated by the warm light from a candle? It makes you wanna know how to photograph in the dark, doesn’t it? But shooting in low light without a flash comes with its own set of challenges. Like what are the best camera settings for low light? What’s the best camera ……….

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How To Nurture Your Creativity Back To Life

How To Nurture Your Creativity Back To Life

This month’s quote is not by a photographer but by a writer. Oddly enough I never read anything by Maya Angelou but this quote has always had a special place in my heart. Because it’s so profoundly true. “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” The other day I was teaching a photography workshop with a deep focus on creativity. We talked about our relationship with creativity, memories ……

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Photography Is My Life

Photography Is My Life

This month’s interview is especially beautiful for me since the person being interviewed is not only an amazing, unique photographer, she is also my number one example in life. The person sharing her story today with you is Karin van Mierlo, an artist, a teacher but above all, my mom. She always had the feeling that she didn’t choose photography, photography chose her. 

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Shoot a Little Less, Think a Little More

Shoot a Little Less, Think a Little More

Photography Quotes to Inspire and Delight, a monthly series on Photography Playground. This month’s quote is by Henri Cartier-Bresson and is a shout out to think before you shoot. “We must avoid, however, snapping away, shooting quickly and without thought, overloading ourselves with unnecessary images that clutter our memory and diminish the clarity of the whole.”

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Looking at the World in a Different Way

Looking at the World in a Different Way

A lot of times, in a lot of situations, seeing the world in a different way is a consequence of taking pictures in a specific way. In Björn’s case, it’s the other way around. He always tries to look at the world in a different way and sees the details that most people don’t see. Approaching life already in this unique way is the reason why he’s interested and intrigued by taking pictures from different perspectives.   

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9 Travel Photography Safety Tips: How to Keep Your Gear and Pixels Safe

9 Travel Photography Safety Tips: How to Keep Your Gear and Pixels Safe

We all love to travel. And we all want to bring our cameras to create lasting memories of the wonders we encounter. But when we’re traveling we’re usually more relaxed and carefree making us an easy target for people with bad intentions. With these travel photography safety tips, you can develop some safety habits and come home with your gear and precious pixels.

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Manual Mode: 8 Good Reasons to Move Away from Auto Mode

Manual Mode: 8 Good Reasons to Move Away from Auto Mode

What if you actually knew how to take your camera out of Auto Mode? Would your pictures become better? Or would you mess them up? The answer is yes, they will get better…eventually! And yes, you’ll probably mess it up from time to time. But there are a lot of reasons to take the plunge and take the first step in learning to shoot in Manual Mode. Let me share 7 of them.

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Photography is a Way of Awakening Your Senses

Photography is a Way of Awakening Your Senses

For Tine Søby photography is not platonic but more so a way to awaken all her senses. To get impressions, to feel inspired, to see new perspectives. One of the most inspiring things Tine told me is that she gives space for the intuitive which does not necessarily come with logic. It rather comes with this cringing feeling of something that is hard to put into words but awakens your soul.

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Shoot What You Love, Love What You Shoot

Shoot What You Love, Love What You Shoot

Photography Quotes to Inspire and Delight, a monthly series on the Photography Playground. This months photography quote is by Burk Uzzle: “Photography is a Love Affair with Life.” There’s no other medium that’s so intricate and detailed in showing us the wonder of being human and alive on this planet. At its best, photography touches and connects us on a deeply human level.

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How to Create the Perfect Black and White Photos in Snapseed

How to Create the Perfect Black and White Photos in Snapseed

What is it about Black and White Photography that makes it sort of indestructible? It is as old as photography and although photography has been through many changes and developments Black and White Photography is still here. And it will never go away. By taking away color somehow the underlying qualities emerge. It stirs a feeling of timelessness and emphasizes the things we share over time and place.

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The Most Powerful Tool in a Photographer’s Toolbox

The Most Powerful Tool in a Photographer’s Toolbox

Photography Quotes to Inspire and Delight, a monthly series on the Photography Playground. I choose the quote for this month because it’s a belief that’s infused in my photographic blood. It’s the basis of everything I share and teach at the Photography Playground. “A camera didn’t make a great picture any more than a typewriter wrote a great novel.” by Peter Adams.

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7 Reasons Why Your Smartphone is the Best Camera for Travel

7 Reasons Why Your Smartphone is the Best Camera for Travel

As a photographer, I welcomed the opportunities a smartphone camera gave me. I can still remember the first time vividly. It was more than ten years ago so it was a crappy camera of course. The images were pixelated and blurry.  For most of the time, I still photographed with my DSLR. But there was something different about the images I took with my phone.

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7 Wildlife Photography Tips: How to Take the Best Safari Pictures

7 Wildlife Photography Tips: How to Take the Best Safari Pictures

Let me start off by saying that I’m by no means experienced in wildlife photography. I’m a people photographer. Yet, I have to admit that while doing the research my ambitious photography heart wanted to become a wildlife photographer. You know, no matter what field of photography I get into I want to be my best self. I was tempted to spend a fortune on the longest lens available.

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Snapseed Tutorial: How to Edit WOW Photos on Your Phone

Snapseed Tutorial: How to Edit WOW Photos on Your Phone

Last year I made an amazing journey sailing from Colombia to Portugal on the Nomad Cruise. On the way, we made one stop on Saint Maarten Island in the Caribbean. The island itself is not the most interesting place but I did want to go to the beach where the planes fly over. I’m always trying to take photos of this kind of touristic hotspots a little bit different.

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