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Learn to understand the “rules” so you know when and how to break them

Photography is packed so full of “rules”. Well, they’re more like guidelines, really. But the “rules” seem to tear photographers up into two camps. The first wants everybody to strictly adhere to them and the second wants to shoot whatever and however they like. There’s nothing wrong with either approach, really, but the two are not mutually exclusive.

Some of the best images out there break the “rules” of photography. But as this video from Craig Roberts at e6 Vlogs explains, whether you choose to follow them or not, understanding them and why they exist can make for much greater impact when you choose to break them.

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How to get your images published in magazines

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Perhaps not a goal, but a desire for many photographers is to see their work published in print. Even if they’re a hobbyist and have no wish to become a professional photographer, it’s a nice validation of one’s efforts. And, no, paying for a feature doesn’t count. You weren’t published, you bought advertising.

In this video, Craig Roberts of e6 Vlogs explains what you can do to help increase your odds of being published. He talks about how to approach publications, as well as how to figure out which publications you might want to approach.

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How to crop your photos for impact and creativity

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One of the big selling points of high resolution cameras like the Nikon D810 and Canon 5DS are the ability to “crop in post”. Typically when people say this, though, they mean their lenses aren’t long enough and they want to be able to crop into the detail. Or, they’re tracking a moving subject that would be difficult to follow if they were trying to fill the frame.

But there’s more to cropping than just closing in on a small part of the image. Many cameras today are a 3:2 aspect ratio. Some mirrorless ones are 4:3. But there are so many more formats out there that give a different look and feel to your final shot. This video from Craig Roberts at e6 talks us through where they come from, and what they can imply to the viewer.

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A guide to prime lenses and why you should use them

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After getting one’s first camera and kit lens, the first question that inevitably follows is “What lens should I buy next?”. For any given manufacturer, there’s such a huge variety. And that’s before you even consider the 3rd parties who produce lenses for that system. And, barring speciality glass like fisheye, macro and tilt shift, they generally fall into two categories. Zoom or prime.

Understanding the advantages that each has over the other can help you to make a more informed decision. This video from Craig Roberts at e6 Vlogs goes over those differences. What advantages they offer over zooms, as well as their pitfalls. With this information, it should help you narrow down your choices to at least a type of lens.

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The dos and don’ts of landscape photography

I find landscape photography to be a fun but challenging subject. I just often feel let down that the image just doesn’t do justice to the location. Part of the problem I think is that I don’t think a photograph ever can ever really compete with the experience of actually being there. Although, it may just be that I’m just not destined to be a landscape photographer.

Photographer Craig Roberts, on the other hand, likes shooting landscapes. And he’s rather good at it – certainly better than I’ll ever be. In this video, Craig goes through his “Dos” and “Don’ts” for landscape photography. And you may not agree with all of them, but that’s ok. Some of them boil down to personal preference.

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