Browsing all posts in "Photography".

What is the Best Lens for Portrait Photography?

By Steve Russell Sometimes it’s fun to write articles about a subject that doesn’t have a “one right answer.” Not only does it make me really think about the subject before I start writing but it’s also usually somewhat controversial and garners a lot of comments. So for this subject please put in your “two [...]

Building a Photography Studio

By Steve Russell You’ve probably been wondering where I’ve been and why I haven’t been writing. Well, maybe not, but I haven’t had an article here for the last three weeks or so. And the reason is that we’ve been in the process of moving from Florida back to Texas. Still not settled in and [...]

Curves Explained

In Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3, you can use the Tone Curve panel to adjust the tone and contrast of your photographs. In the Develop module, scroll down to the Tone Curve panel: When you shoot in RAW and import to Lightroom, Lightroom automatically applies a “medium” amount of contrast to your photo. To quickly adjust [...]

Friday Deals!

We at Beyond Megapixels want to serve our readers in a number of ways. We want to offer insight and tutorials about photography techniques, provide inspiration and food for thought, and give you a great place to go for all of your photography questions. We now have an affiliation with the good folks of Adorama, [...]

Pet Photography 101

Fans of our Facebook Page heard the news that there would be no Beyond Megapixels article last Friday because my husband and I were in the process of rescuing a dog from our County animal shelter. While I don’t intend to turn this site into a forum for Public Service Announcements, I would encourage everyone [...]

Prioritize Photography

I work about sixty hours a week (between my “day” job and my freelance work). My schoolwork (yes, back to school I go!) occupies about 10 hours a week. I absolutely INSIST on at least 8 hours of sleep every night, so that’s 56 hours. Throw in another three hours a day for things like, [...]

RAW vs. DNG

The debate on whether to import and post-process files as RAW or as DNG (Digital Negative) is almost as heated – and opinionated – as whether to shoot with Canon or Nikon. The long and short of it is, “it depends,” and “it’s up to you.” There is no “right” answer. RAW files are digitally [...]

Your Weekend Photography Project – Get Low

I took this shot while balancing precariously with one foot a rock, the other foot on a branch, camera held down at a level lower than my feet. There was no way to look through the viewfinder to compose the shot, of course. So I set the camera on aperture priority (f/2.8), zoomed it all [...]

Lock in the Light

I was standing at the top of a mountain when I took this picture (click to enlarge). The wind was blowing, my hands were freezing (even in Arizona, it’s cold at an elevation of 7600 feet in January), it was about 4:30 in the afternoon, and I was completely blown away by this LIGHT. This [...]

Backgrounds and Backdrops Outside The Studio

By Steve Russell Last week, on the subject of backgrounds and backdrops, I focused on the studio environment; a place where the photographer is in control. I thought it would be good to complement that article with one where the photographer has less control; outside the studio. In doing so I’ve decided to list a [...]