Photography tutorials and how-to articles

Articles aimed at helping you improve aspects of your photography

There are a growing number of entirely free tutorials and ‘how to’ articles on this site. This page provides links to all of them.

They range from photo composition to ‘photo-hacks’ or building your own specialist lenses from discarded camera equipment.

Many of our articles and reviews are also written to help explain how and why you would use different equipment and techniques, not just a list of a product’s functionality.

If you think of something that might be useful, please let Keith know – many articles have come from questions asked by readers.

Specialist index pages

• Keith’s photo blog
• Articles and Reviews
• Camera and printer rumours
• Digital Black and White
• Colour Management
• The business side of photography
• Gallery of some of Keith’s prints
• Some of Keith’s travel blogs
• Some of Keith’s link choices

For even more detail, check the category listings and search box at the right of the page

The sections below split all the articles into three broad categories.

Editing your photos. Tools and tips

• Macro photography for a trade stand Macrophotography setup for producing photographs of small electronic components for the Electronica trade show. Photographs of components along with brightly coloured gummy bears on a polished metal surface.
• Print of a photo of a sunset from my loft Photographing an interesting sunset out of the loft window at home. How a simple photo, basic processing and printing produces a 22 inch by 33 inch print. Why any problems in making great prints probably doesn't come from deficiencies in equipment and software.
• Tutorial: A large black and white print of the harbour at Staithes Looking at the whole process, from photography to printing, Keith's tutorisl shows how he produced a 22" x 43" wide angle view of the harbour at Staithes in N. Yorkshire. Includes details on image stitching, B&W conversion and using masked adjustment layers.
• Better scenic and landscape holiday photos Keith was recently asked for a few quick and -simple- tips for better scenic vacation photos by a local business group. A few basic ideas that have stood the test of time and help create better looking landscape photos.
• Kaiser tabletop photo kit review 'Easyfit' tabletop product photography kit with shooting table and two continuous lights with diffusers. Basic product photo setup and examples of use.
• Basic Photoshop Elements tutorials Basic image adjustment tutorials with Photoshop Elements. Using just the most basic tools that are essential parts of image editing
• Why I use the Fisheye-Hemi plugin Fisheye lenses are great, with their extreme wide angle and their distinctive perspective, but sometimes you want a bit more. The Fisheye hemi plugin provides some interesting variations
• Making a giant print from an 11MP image Producing a very large 3m x 2m print from an 11 megapixel camera image. Looks at the whole workflow, and how different types sharpening at different stages is vital

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Using equipment in non-standard ways. Hacks and mods.

• Techart EF lens to Fuji GFX lens adapter Techart EF lens to Fuji GFX lens adapter with AF functionality. Lens aperture can be set from the camera control dial. Firmware is updateable
• DIY Telecentric macro lenses Joining various old lenses together with filter rings and cardboard makes a range of specialist lenses that normally cost thousands of pounds. Simple experiments with telecentric macro lenses.
• Canon 5Ds is fine with old lenses Despite worries that many more megapixels might mean old lenses needed replacing, some tests with a 5Ds show that it benefits all lenses. A rising tide floats all boats
• Canon EW-73C lens hood from modifying an EW-73B Lens hood for the EF-S 10-18mm F4.5-5.6 IS Modifying a cheap third party EW-73B lens hood to match a Canon EW-73C lens hood at a fraction of the price.
• Zeiss MC S 135mm f3-5 on Canon 100D Testing an M42 screw fit Zeiss MC S 135mm f3.5 manual focus telephoto lens on a Canon 100D/SL1 crop sensor camera with an M42-EF adapter.
• Photosniper 300mm with Canon 100D Using the Russian Tair 3 phs Photosniper 300mm f4.5 lens and rifle stock with a Canon EOS 100D/SL1 DSLR. Includes modification to use external trigger
• Cleaning Canon printheads – iPF8300 – PF05 Cleaning and replacing the printheads - on a Canon iPF8300 large format printer, with the PF-05 printhead. Canon large format print heads are a user replaceable part. Whilst cleaning might help, it could be that you need a new print head.
• Using old lenses on a modern digital DSLR camera Lens adapters allow you to use old lenses on a modern digital DSLR camera. Many old lenses work very well if you can live without autofocus. Performance varies, but it's possible to learn lot of use for the rest of your photography

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Ideas for developing photographic skills and aspects of photographic composition.

• Architecture and the Sigma 12-24mm Using an ultra-wide zoom lens for architectural photographs. Testing the Sigma 12-24mm F4 DG HSM Art lens on a 50MP Canon 5Ds DSLR for architecture photography
• A shift lens at 50mm Using a shift lens at 50mm - adding rise and fall to a standard focal length. Tilt/shift lens use at longer focal lengths. A Mamiya medium format lens used with a shift adapter
• Moving back to film photography Returning to film? Rediscovering old film equipment offers a simpler more direct world of photography. Is it time for Keith to buy some camera batteries and rolls of film?
• Ultra high resolution view of Leicester city centre An ultra high resolution view of Leicester city centre from the roof of St George's tower, that you can zoom in to and explore - approximately 4700 megapixels
• The changing light at sunset – photographing buildings Photographing buildings as the sun sets - an experiment to look at the changing light, and how a few minutes makes all the difference. A series of photos taken after the sun sets gives a feel for the range of lighting variation you can use
• View from St. George’s Tower, Leicester A 300 megapixel view of Leicester city centre from St. George's Tower. Looking northwest along Charles Street towards the city. Image can be zoomed and panned to explore the view
• The art of the big photographic landscape print What makes for a great looking large 'fine art' print? What differences do you need to consider when deciding to make larger prints (A2 and above). Larger prints are that work are far more than just more megapixels, sharper lenses and big printers.
• Where is your photography going next year? New equipment may be fun, but it's making less and less of a difference to the quality of many people's photography. Some thoughts on how to go about improving what you do and just as importantly why you do it. Photography resolutions for next year

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Training – for companies

These are aspects of training that I provide (on location, not at our offices) as part of Northlight’s business.

We also have a training directory that is freely available for any professional photographer who offers training.

It’s arranged by location, so as long as you are a pro photographer, a free link is available

Other areas of our site that may be of interest...

All the latest articles and photo news items appear on Keith's Photo blog .

We've a whole section of the site devoted to  Digital Black and White photography and printing. It covers all of Keith's specialist articles and reviews.

Categories include Colour management and Keith's camera hacks - there are over 800 articles/reviews here...

If you start your buying of anything whatsoever from Amazon (not just what's listed) via one of our links below, it helps myself and Karen to keep the site going.
We really do appreciate this - thanks [link for Amazon UK | Amazon US]