Everyone has advice for you when you start taking photos. What “looks good,” what “gets likes,” or what you “have to do” to be successful. But following the crowd isn’t always the best way forward. Sometimes it’s more important to tune out the noise and trust your own direction. Here are five reasons why ignoring advice might be the best advice you ever get.  

Do you have a camera with a basic lens (like an 18–55 mm), love taking portraits, but still can’t seem to get that beautiful blurry background you see in other portraits? Let’s be honest—a portrait with a nicely blurred background just looks more professional than one where everything is in sharp focus. Don’t worry, you don’t need to rush out and buy an expensive lens. To start with, you can work with the gear you already have.  

Every photographer eventually asks themselves what they want to say with their photography. It’s not about chasing trends or what’s popular at the moment. It’s about you—what you know, what you feel, and what you want to share. Finding your photography theme isn’t something you can figure out overnight—it’s a long process.   

The best places for photography aren’t thousands of miles away. You don’t need to travel to the ends of the earth to take powerful photos. What matters most is often just a few steps from your front door. Powerful images don’t come from exotic countries. They come from the streets you know by heart. The places that feel like home. You just have to learn to see them with fresh eyes.  

Portraits are one of the most common genres. What photographer hasn’t taken pictures of friends, family, or themselves while traveling or at a party? But to take your photos to the next level, it’s important to understand how to find and work with the perfect lighting. In this article, I focus on working with light outdoors, look at specific real-world situations, and share my tips for getting the best possible light from the scene.  

Blowouts, also called blown highlights, are overexposed areas in a photo where detail is completely lost. They can easily ruin an otherwise great shot. Learn how to avoid blowouts both while shooting and during editing. 

It’s happened to many of us: you want to capture the cozy mood of a candlelit apartment in the evening, but your camera’s automatic mode brightens the image and ruins the atmosphere. Or maybe you’re trying to photograph children playing, but a slow shutter speed leaves you with a blurry shot. This is where manual mode comes in.  

Once you’ve mastered the rule of thirds, it’s time to try a more advanced composition technique that can elevate your photography: framing. It’s not difficult, but it’s something you need to keep in mind and use deliberately. It also helps to have a few examples in your head of what framing looks like. Let’s take a look at a few of these. 

Learn how to set your aperture, shutter speed, and ISO for a variety of shooting situations—from landscapes and portraits to sports and macro. You’ll gain confidence in handling your camera’s settings so you’re ready for just about anything. Manual mode gives photographers the most control. It’s not the easiest option, but it helps you understand the rules of photography so you can better decide when it makes sense to use manual mode and when another mode might serve you better.     

Distractions in your photos are among the most common mistakes beginners make. They draw the viewer’s attention away from the subject and ruin an otherwise good shot. In this article, we’ll show you how to spot distractions easily and eliminate them while shooting and editing. In the end, you’ll also see how cleaner compositions can improve your photos overall.