Quite some time ago I hired a non-photographer to delve into the three main controls in the exposure triangle, and write a full blog post on each topic. I wanted to have s non-photographer write this, because as an experienced shooter, a lot of information is simply taken for granted, and I was afraid that I would miss something that was very important, or that somehow I would not convey the ideas as well as someone who was just figuring it all out. Here is that exploration

I'm going to make a concerted effort to focus more of my advice toward beginning photographers. As I read through all the photography forums, including the Photographers Cooperative, I see lots of advanced techniques, and that's awesome... but for beginners, it really isn't that useful. So here are three very specific things to try in order to get better portraits, today! It's All About The Eyes! When you take a portrait of someone, the thing that needs to be SUPER sharp in

Depth-of-field is one the best ways to add creativity, interest, and style to your photography. Good news is that the principles behind your depth-of-field aren't too difficult. Depth-of-field refers to how much of a photograph is in sharp focus from foreground to middle ground to background. A photo with a deep depth-of-field will be sharp and in focus all the way from foreground to background. A photo with a shallow depth-of-field will have a sharp subject and blurred out e

Aperture is one of three settings any photographer should always be thinking about when creating a photograph. (The other two are shutter speed and ISO. All three settings comprise the "exposure triangle.") To understand aperture, you have to know that every lens has little blades inside that form a circle. If you look at the image above, you'll see a lens with six aperture blades forming a small hole or pupil. Depending on how you set your aperture, those blades adjust to ma