Glass—a photographer’s worst enemy. It’s usually best to just avoid it. But what if you want to immortalize your favorite fish in an aquarium? Or photograph your brother with a tiger behind glass at the zoo? There are loads of situations like this.

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.

By mastering work with artificial light sources, and especially flashes, you break free of several exposure limitations that hold you back when you’re taking pictures in natural light. Using flashes also gives you much sharper pictures, because the flash is so short that it eliminates motion blur.

The major advantage of artificial light sources over natural light is that you have them fully under your control. There are many tools for changing their characteristics. Artificial light lets you photograph topics that would be impossible to handle under natural light.

Work with natural light has simpler equipment demands than work with artificial light, but on the other hand, you don’t have the light fully under your control. But you can still direct and enhance the light, using reflectors and diffusion panels.

Your basic light for photography—available to you free of charge—is natural light. But when you’re using that light, you usually don’t have many ways to fully control it, and so you’ll often have to adapt your exposure and your scene to the light. You’ll learn to perceive light and take advantage of its characteristics with some practice…

Taking pictures in the Golden Hour is one of the most fundamental and simplest recommendations for taking better pictures. The Golden Hour is actually not one, but two hours daily: after the sunrise, and before sunset. During these hours, the light is softer, the shadows are longer, and the light temperature is significantly warmer. Read on for a few tips on why and how these everyday, but still extraordinary, time periods can be used for photography.

Occasionally as a photographer you’ll find yourself in a situation with bad light. Modern cameras can handle poor light, but they still sometimes need a little help from accessories. Read on and learn to overcome bad light using your equipment (and skills).

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.

Silhouettes. Striking photos where the subject is only hinted, not shown. Despite this—or because of it—they are well-loved, and they are real attention-getters. Come join us for some inspiring silhouette photos and for tips on how to make your silhouettes even better.