Photography
Use window light for a natural portrait
Make a comfortable indoor portrait with one window, a simple background and small changes in position that you can judge before taking the photograph.
25 practical guides
Photography
Light, composition and photographs with a purpose.
Photography
Stop your phone from overexposing a bright window
Keep useful detail in a window by choosing what matters in the scene, adjusting exposure deliberately and reducing the contrast before relying on an edit.
Photography
Choose a clean background before taking a portrait
Use small changes in camera position, subject placement and background detail to keep attention on a portrait without stripping away its sense of place.
Photography
Photograph a reflective product without a distracting glare
Control what a glossy object reflects by changing the surrounding surfaces and light position before trying to remove bright patches during editing.
Photography
Keep a small object sharp in a close-up photograph
Improve close-up clarity by respecting focusing distance, choosing the most important surface and stabilising both camera and object before changing equipment.
Photography
Make food photographs look natural beside a window
Use a window, a sensible camera angle and restrained styling to show the texture and character of food without filling the frame with unrelated props.
Photography
Photograph handmade products with a consistent scale
Build a product series that makes size differences understandable by fixing camera position, using a repeatable framing rule and including honest scale information.
Photography
Use a white card to lift shadows in a product photograph
Reflect some existing light into a product’s shaded side with a simple white card, then adjust distance and angle by comparing the actual result.
Photography
Get a sharper handheld photograph in low light
Diagnose camera movement and subject movement separately, then improve support, light and exposure choices before assuming that a dim scene cannot produce a clear photograph.
Photography
Choose a shutter speed for children who will not sit still
Start with the kind of movement you want to show, use a practical shutter-speed test and adjust as the activity changes rather than chasing one fixed setting.
Photography
Frame a building without cutting off its shape
Find a viewpoint that explains a building’s overall form, check the edges deliberately and leave room for any later perspective correction or alternate crop.
Photography
Photograph a small room without making it look misleading
Show a compact interior clearly by choosing an honest viewpoint, keeping proportions believable and including the features a viewer needs to understand the space.
Photography
Keep the horizon level when photographing a landscape
Use a real horizon or a trustworthy level reference, allow for uneven foregrounds and make small corrections without cutting away important parts of the landscape.
Photography
Use foreground objects to give a landscape depth
Choose a foreground that leads into the scene, keep overlaps clear and balance nearby detail with the distant feature that gives the photograph its purpose.
Photography
Find an uncluttered composition on a busy street
Simplify a crowded street photograph by choosing a clear subject, controlling overlaps and waiting for a useful arrangement instead of trying to include everything.
Photography
Capture a useful set of detail photographs at an event
Plan details that explain an event’s people, setting and activity, then photograph them with enough context to remain useful beside the wider coverage.
Photography
Take a group portrait where every face is visible
Arrange people in readable rows, check the view from the actual camera position and make a short series that accounts for expressions as well as focus.
Photography
Keep colours consistent across a set of product photographs
Control the lighting, keep a useful reference and compare products as a series so colour changes do not come from an inconsistent shooting or editing process.
Photography
Decide when to use portrait mode on a phone
Use background blur when it helps a subject stand out, but compare edge handling and context before making portrait mode your default for every photograph.
Photography
Clean a camera lens without grinding dust into the glass
Remove loose particles before wiping, use materials appropriate to the particular lens and stop when a mark needs more than routine external cleaning.
Photography
Read a histogram before bright highlights disappear
Use a histogram alongside the photograph to spot potential clipping, identify which bright areas matter and make a deliberate exposure adjustment before leaving the scene.
Photography
Choose between RAW and JPEG for a practical photo workflow
Match your capture format to editing time, delivery needs and storage rather than assuming that the file with the most flexibility always suits the assignment.
Photography
Select photographs for a small online portfolio
Build a focused portfolio by choosing the audience, removing redundant images and testing whether the sequence demonstrates the work you want to be asked to do.
Photography
Crop a photograph for several social formats
Protect the main subject across different aspect ratios by working from an original, making separate intentional crops and checking the exported images at their actual display size.
Photography
Scan an old printed photograph with a phone
Make a careful digital copy by keeping the print flat, controlling reflections and preserving an untouched scan before adjusting colour, damage or framing.