When you photograph people under bright sunlight, they tend to scrunch up their face and look… silly. How can you avoid that? It’s simple—do these shots in autumn or winter. This works because the light in these seasons is much gentler on the eyes—the sun’s farther away, making it less intense. You can take pictures practically at high noon.

This isn’t the first time we’ve written here about photographing fireworks. But it can’t hurt to review the basics and get inspired (with some fiery photos from Zonerama) before New Year’s Eve arrives—by that time you’ll be busy with preparations all day, and you won’t have time to study guides like this one.

There’s a first time for everything. If you’ve only been shooting nature photos until now, and you’d like to start working with models, you may be a little nervous at first. In today’s article we’ll offer a few tips that can help you with these tough beginnings.

Does it sound crazy to you to use a black-and-white preview in your camera instead of color? Try it anyway. This preview will keep your eyes more focused on composition, making it easier for you to notice compositional flaws. That enables you to fix composition errors on the spot, instead of crying over your ruined pictures at home on your computer.

Today’s smartphones have quite decent cameras and quick Internet access from almost everywhere. It is an ideal combination that lets you keep snapping practically nonstop. And if you’re the kind of photography fan who has lenses instead of eyes and sees the world in compositions, then this will be a great opportunity for you to get even better and promote your work.

Every camera nowadays has a display. But you rarely see anyone using that display for taking pictures, especially on DSLRs, where they can use the viewfinder instead. But actually, shooting through your display opens up a lot of possibilities. You’ll discover them in today’s article.

You may have already heard the old cliché: photography is about the photographer, not the camera. And it’s largely true. So even with a cheaper, lower-quality camera, you can work magic and get great shots if you have good photography skills. Recently I had to handle my professional photography using one of the most basic cameras, so I had a very good chance to test my photographic abilities.

Cameras are sold ready for you to use them right away; about all you need to do after buying one is charge the battery. But over time you’ll find that there sure are some things you’d improve if you could. Maybe you can. Let’s take a look.