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Photo by: @framed.by.riks Composition & Framing What works well: The framing by the arch is really great. It naturally pulls your eye into the scene and immediately sets up a strong focal direction (especially since it is ‘stronger’/more pronounced on the left and thus → ‘leading’/’turning’ the frame to the right). The stairs act as powerful leading lines, guiding your eye upward toward the person standing at the top + the concrete walls on both sides subtly reinforce those l

The Importance of Layering in Photography And How To Do It Layering is one of those things that completely changes how people see photos. Once you started paying attention to it, your photos will stop feeling flat and started feeling more immersive, almost like you could actually step into the scene. And it truly is not complicated, it really is just about being aware of what is happening in front of your subject, behind it, and how all of that works together in one frame. A

Photo by:@framed.by.riks

Light Leaks in Photography Light leaks are one of those things that people either love or hate, usually because they have only seen them done badly. But when they are used with intention, light leaks can add emotion, nostalgia, and a lot of atmosphere that is really hard to fake/create any other way. Let us now take a look at how you can achieve tasteful light leaks. What Light Leaks Actually Do A good light leak adds feeling, and is not just not ‘decoration’. It can suggest

Photo by: @throughlucaslens

Photo by: @beansmeanshiorns Composition & Framing What works well: Leading lines here are definitely strong. The train tracks are the main ones, but the platform edges and overall station structure also pull your eye straight toward our subject. The repeating shapes and lines, especially overhead to the left, add a lot of visual rhythm and complexity, making the photo feel rich, layered and overall just visually more appealing (there is just more to look at and explore). The

Alternative Compositional Techniques Most of us grow up/start our photography journey with the rule of thirds drilled into our heads. And yes, it works. But after a while, everything starts to look the same. Same subject in the same spot, same visual rhythm, same predictable balance etc. There are a few alternative composition systems (shown below) which offer ways to break out of that and start shaping your photos with a bit more intention, flow and ‘professionalism’. Golden

Photo by: Sascha Brach @pictures_by_sash

Photo by: @mark.fearnley Composition & Framing What works well: The leading lines are very strong. The architectural lines of the building and the shadow lines on the ground all start from the right and converge toward the centre-left, guiding your eye directly to the area where our subject is. The placement of our subject works really well, they are small, isolated, and perfectly positioned against that bright architectural element that creates basically a sphere/halo around

How to Get Crystal Clear Reflections Clean reflections are great to have because when they work, they add symmetry, depth, and sometimes this ‘‘parallel universe’’ look. When they don’t, they just feel messy and distracting. Let us now take a look at how you can shoot reflections effectively: Calm Surfaces Are Key This sounds obvious (and it is), but it is the most important part → reflections only look clean when the surface is calm. Any movement breaks them apart. Wind, rip

Photo by: @dmnk.visuals Composition & Framing What works well: The composition is pretty good. The strongest element is the natural tunnel created by the trees. All the branches arching over create a nice frame that pulls your eye deeper. The trees themselves act as leading lines, starting from the left foreground, the trunks and branches guide you naturally toward the person standing further down the shoreline. Another great leading line is the subtle corner of the river ban

Lens Diffraction Recovery → Do Not Be Afraid of f/11–f/16 (And How to Recover Lost Sharpness in Post) One of the most common pieces of photography advice you will hear is to avoid small apertures because of diffraction. And while there is some truth to that, I think a lot of photographers end up worrying about diffraction far more than they should. The reality is that sometimes f/11, f/16, or even smaller apertures are exactly what the photo needs. Landscapes, architecture, c

Photo by: @santiagoduarte_sydney_

Photo by: @beansmeanshiorns Composition & Framing What works well: I think the first thing that stands out here are obviously the leading lines. We have the bright/lit up platform edge/strip, the train itself, the roof structure above and even the repeating train windows all guide us toward the person (in that case, a Japanese ‘oshiya’ (train pusher) who helps people onto packed trains) in the distance. The curve of the train is particularly effective here because it feels ve

ETTR → Using Expose To The Right to Maximise Dynamic Range and Minimise Noise If you have spent any time reading about exposure techniques, you have probably come across the term ETTR, or Expose To The Right. Like a lot of photography concepts which I have covered, it often gets explained in a way that makes it sound much more complicated than it really is. At its core, ETTR is simply about capturing as much image data as possible without blowing out important highlights → th

Photo by: @marcuscederberg

Photo by: @d.grade Composition & Framing What works well: The composition itself is definitely very strong, especially with all the leading lines/elements → The stairs, railings, escalators, walls, lift-tower, reflections, handrails → almost every line points/converges toward the middle section on the ground floor. Your eyes basically have no choice where to go (the only obvious issue however is that there is nothing that ends up catching your attention in that convergence po

Back-Button Focus for Street Photography → Decoupling Focus From the Shutter to Switch Instantly Between Zone Focusing and Precise AF Back-button focus is a techniques that maybe sounds a bit complicated when you first hear about it, but once you understand it, it becomes second nature + you will find it very difficult to ever go back. So, the idea is → You remove focusing from the shutter button and move it to a separate button on the back of your camera. That small adjustme

Photo by: @teply.visuals

Photo by: @moumarion Composition & Framing What works well: Compositionally this photo is pretty strong because almost everything naturally funnels us toward our subject → the sidewalks, road markings, parked cars, reflections and even the slope of the street all pull your eye downward toward the person with the umbrella + then even further thanks to that incredible San Francisco slope → and this gets exaggerated even more by the wetness of the road and trams tracks → all thi

The Zone System After Ansel Adams (And Fred Archer) The Zone System is one of those photography concepts that sounds intimidating at first, mostly because people often explain it like a complicated mathematical formula. But the core idea is actually pretty simple → It is about controlling tones before you take your photo instead of trying to fix everything afterward. Created and popularised by Ansel Adams and Fred Archer, the Zone System was designed to help photographers und

Photo by: @snapbyzuza

Photo by: @jorgemchagas Composition & Framing What works well: Framing is definitely very strong. It almost feels like you are ‘secretly observing’ this little moment through the layers of the city. The blurred foreground elements on both sides create a natural tunnel effect that pulls your eye directly toward the man. The cobblestone street itself acts as a subtle leading line, guiding you inward through the alley → to our subject → and beyond. Depth is also pretty good. We