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Slow Shutter Speed Technique (After Alexey Titarenko) This technique is inspired by the work of legendary photographer Alexey Titarenko, known for his haunting long-exposure photos of people (often crowds) that dissolve into ghost-like forms while the architecture around them remains solid. Up top I included some photos from other photographers recreating his technique, if you want to see the real thing however (highly recommended) you can visit Titarenko’s website here. The

What Is Shutter Drag Photography? Shutter drag photography is a technique that combines a slow shutter speed with a flash to capture both motion and sharpness in a single shot. The ambient light records movement and blur, while the flash freezes the subject at one specific moment. The result you get is an image that feels dynamic and alive (lights streaks, motion trails, energy in the background) but with a sharp subject/subjects inside all of it. You will see/can use such sh

What Is Whip Pan Photography? In cinema, a whip pan is a fast camera movement used to create a streaked, blurry transition between scenes. In still photography, the idea is very similar, however, instead of transitioning between shots, you are using a slow shutter speed combined with a sudden camera movement to capture motion blur inside a single frame. The result is a photo that feels energetic and cinematic, where light stretches across the frame and the subject is frozen i

Soft Focus Photography Soft focus is when you intentionally reduce sharpness (just a little) to get a gentle, glowing image. It smooths out textures (especially skin), reduces contrast, and gives your photo a kind of, let’s say ‘ethereal’ look. It is often used in portraits, dreamy landscapes, artistic/fine art work, vintage-style shots or even editorial fashion photography It is not the same as being out of focus. Good soft focus still has structure in it. You can usually te

Median Stacking Photography Median stacking is basically a way of combining multiple photos of the same scene to remove anything that moves. People, cars, waves, clouds, birds → if it is not in the same place in every frame/shot you take, it fades away (well you will make it go away). What is left is a clean, quiet version of the scene that often never actually existed in real life. It is how photographers get those empty tourist spots for example (that are usually packed and

Abstract Firework Photography The new year is right around the corner, making this an optimal time to brush up on your firework photography skills. However this time, lets do something a bit different, lets focus more on ‘Abstract firework photography’, where you are not trying to show exactly what the fireworks looked like, you want to be using them as raw material to create shapes, textures, and motion that feel closer to painting than photography. A Different Approach Most

credits: Fujifilm The Golden Ratio Technique The Golden Ratio compositional technique is one of those ideas that sounds intimidating at first, but in practice it is really just a way to guide the viewer’s eye through an image in a smooth, natural flow. It has been used for centuries in art, architecture, design and of course photography. The Golden Ratio helps create balance that doesn’t feel forced. Instead of splitting a frame evenly, it places visual weight slightly off-ce

What is the Black Card Photography Technique? Black card photography is a technique that feels almost too simple once you understand it. The idea behind it is straightforward, instead of using an expensive graduated ND filter to balance the exposure between sky and foreground, you use a matte black card to manually control how much light hits different parts of the frame during the exposure. If you think about it, it is basically dodging and burning, but done in-camera while

What Is Panning Photography Panning is a technique were you are trying to match your camera’s motion to someone (/something) else’s movement, with the goal of hitting that perfect moment where everything lines up, the subject’s speed, your own rotation, your shutter etc. The key thing here is relative motion. Your subject stays sharp because, for a fraction of a second, you are essentially moving with them. Meanwhile, the world behind them sort of smears into streaks because

credits: Adobe What is duotone photography? Duotone is just what it sounds like, a photo that uses two tones/colours, typically one for the highlights and one for the shadows. It strips away the full-colour spectrum and replaces it with a simplified, stylised colour combo. In general you can use duotone photography with any scene and subject, however the most popular use cases are portraits, posters, album covers etc. How to create a duotone image Technically, you can just sh

What Is High-Key Lighting? High-key lighting is a style where everything in your photo, so the subject, background, and shadows, is evenly lit and bright. You reduce contrast as much as possible, so there are few (if any) deep shadows. In the end you get a photo that feels light, fresh, minimal in a sense, and often very polished. A lot of times you see it in fashion, beauty and product photography, but it also works outdoors, especially for landscapes and nature shots (a lot

What Is Exposure Stacking? Exposure stacking, sometimes called exposure blending, is when you take several photos of the same scene at different exposure levels (one brighter, one darker, one in between) and then you merge them into a single photo and you keep detail everywhere. Basically, instead of picking one “correct” exposure, you take a few and get the best parts from each. It is a very close cousin of HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography, which I have covered before, b