There’s lots of tools out there for landscape photography, but not everyone wants to carry them all on a hike—or even buy them. If you’re not sure what equipment you’ll need for your nature photography, read on and learn what makes sense to take.

We’ve probably all tried to photograph a small animal at some point, perhaps a cat, a dog, or a tame squirrel in the park. But many photographers make basic mistakes here that leave their pictures with no spark. So let’s take an illustrated journey through the usual defects.

Having at least some part be sharp in every photo is a goal for most photographers. But it doesn’t always work out. After all, there’s a number of things that can prevent sharp photos.

You’ve probably run into the title question in practice. The answer is: there’s not just one best length. Unlike in portrait photography, nearly every lens works for landscapes. It’s just that each one lets you present the landscape a bit differently. So let’s explore the differences among them via an example landscape.

Practically every photo is vignetted at least a little. Sometimes you want this, other times you don’t. But either way it’s not a curse, because there are tools for suppressing vignetting—or even adding it. Do you know how and when to use them?

Today’s cameras are so technically advanced that pictures have lost the atmosphere that lenses once provided. One way to give them some charisma is through clever use of a blurring effect.

Winter’s here, and it’s brought early sunsets that handicap outdoor photography. But there’s plenty of opportunities indoors. Candles are a natural here. They’re easy to get, and around Christmas they’re often right at hand. Read on to learn how to handle the technical aspect of a shoot like this, plus some ideas for arranging the candles.

Every photographer was a beginner once, unless they’re a beginner right now. Every photographer has their style and their angle, but in general beginners share a lot of similar habits that could be called mistakes. Maybe you’re making some of them?

No more walking the mountaintops waiting for better weather! You’ll find scenes for macro photography everywhere around you—or you can create them on your own. Miniature abstract compositions don’t demand any complicated ideas, and yet they can still be a delight to the eyes.

Digital photo processing opens up huge possibilities—everyone is free to edit photos to match their taste and their mood of the day. But this freedom can sometimes tie you up by leaving you with so many variants that you can’t even choose among them. Or at least, I know it happens to me—all the time.