Pro secrets to dramatic digital photos free download

Going to a neighborhood or big city fireworks show? Follow the advice in this excellent article and you'll be taking amazing fireworks pictures in no time! Stephen guides you through various techniques that will result in crystal clarity, vibrant deep colors and exciting composition. Get professional results with your fireworks photography. Click on the picture to the left or HERE for the article.

Help us get to the top of the "Photography Top List" Top List. Our newest Photographer Profile features Matthieu Alexandre. What drives Matthieu is a love for humanity. Working on photo assignments in over two-dozen countries, including hot-spots such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Cambodia and the Congo, this is a seasoned photo-journalist.

Take a sample reading away from the sun. Or take a series of shots with varying and increasing exposures … two to three f stops should handle it. Moving into macro mode has its rewards, not least of which is the opportunity to limit focus to essentials. Two pictures of the Cincinnati, Ohio riverfront, photographed from the bank of the Ohio River on the Covington, Kentucky side of the state border.

Although the two pictures are generally similar in content, they effectively demonstrate how the time of day can impact the depth of the sky's tone and shade. In the first image to the left, the camera is facing north; the sun's overhead position tends to wash-out the blue sky. Later in the day, the sun is beginning to descend into the west-southwest sky; the camera lens is pointed toward the North and the result is a far deeper sky. Professional photographers know and use these secrets, and now you can too!

In no time, you'll be creating deep blue sky effects just like the pictures on the right side above! If you want to know how to get a dark or black sky effect in monochrome photography, check back soon for our next "How To" update. All rights reserved. Reproduction, storage, copying, publishing, manipulation, digitizing or selling of any of the text or photos on this website is strictly prohibited. Under no circumstances shall any part of the content on this website be plagiarized or referenced as the work of an author or photographer.

The photo manipulation tutorials listed below have been carefully screened and picked to suit different skill levels. Some are for beginners and some are more advanced but one thing is for sure and that is you will learn and have fun at the same time.

What photography gear is essential for capturing landscapes? The short answer is that only one or two things are essential — a camera with some type of lens. There are, however, quite a few pieces of photo gear that will make your experience shooting landscapes much more fruitful. In the below video, landscape pro Mark Denney highlights six pieces of gear he feels have improved his photography.

And yes, gear does matter…to an extent. Watch below as he explains why each of these items has been critical to his landscape photography.