Photography tutorials and how-to articles

Articles aimed at helping you improve aspects of your photography

There are a growing number of entirely free tutorials and ‘how to’ articles on this site. This page provides links to all of them.

They range from photo composition to ‘photo-hacks’ or building your own specialist lenses from discarded camera equipment.

Many of our articles and reviews are also written to help explain how and why you would use different equipment and techniques, not just a list of a product’s functionality.

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If you think of something that might be useful, please let Keith know – many articles have come from questions asked by readers.

The sections below split all the articles into three broad categories.

Specialist index pages

• Keith’s photo blog
• Articles and Reviews
• Camera and printer rumours
• Digital Black and White
• Colour Management
• All about using tilt and shift
• Photography book reviews
• The business side of photography
• Keith’s ‘gear list’ for his work
• Gallery of some of Keith’s prints
• Some of Keith’s travel blogs
• Some of Keith’s link choices

For even more detail, check the category listings and search box at the right of the page

Editing your photos. Tools and tips

• Close up macro – the Canon MP-E65 lensA short review of Canon's specialist macro lens the MP-E65. Offering up to x5 magnification. Tested on a Canon 1Ds mk3 full frame camera
• 3×3 quick tips for improving your black and white photographyA collection of quick tips that can help improve the quality of your black and white photography. Simple steps to better monochrome pictures
• Photographing tiny thingsPhotographing small electronic components with a macrophotography setup. TS-E90mm lens and extension tubes
• When Hyperfocal focusing is no goodWhy hyperfocal focusing often fails to give the depth of field that some suggest. A much simpler method that can be of more general use
• Printing greyscale images and removing unwanted colour tintsAddressing problems with black and white printing. Some subtle changes in print colour casts with lighting changes, and removing colour tints from monochrome prints.
• Which side of the paper to print onSome fine art papers look almost the same on each side. How to tell which side to print on if you are unsure
• Photography training directoryPhotography training directory - professional photographers who offer photography training and courses. Submissions welcome
• Full width printing Epson 3800 and OSX 10.6Solving full width (17") printing problems with the Epson SP3800 and Mac OSX 10.6 (Snow Leopard). tested with Epson Traditional Photo Paper

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Using equipment in non-standard ways. Hacks and mods.

• Deactivate the ink level counter on the Epson 4000Ensuring that ink cartridges always read as full on the Epson Stylus Pro 4000 17" printer. Turning off the ink counter is an alternative to using a chip reset device.
• Swap black ink on the Epson 4880 PrinterA different way of swapping black ink types on the Epson 4880 printer that reduces ink waste compared to the official technique. Use with care
• Modify Canon tilt shift lensChanging the shift axis alignment for Canon TS-E lenses, TS-E 90 modification shown. Similar for TS-E45 and TS-E 24 (mark 1 version)
• Maintenance tank in Epson large format printersLooking at the maintenance tank in some large format Epson printers. How to reset it when full so that it can continue to be used. Use this technique with care, since overflows are very messy.
• A Canon MPP view camera adapterMaking an adapter to fit a DSLR camera to the back of a 4x5 (5x4) view camera, using the existing lens and camera movements. Construction details and parts used. learning about camera movements
• Ultrachrome inks in an Epson 10000 large format printerConversion of an Epson SP10000 dye based ink printer to use Ultrachrome pigment based inks and carts from an Epson 10600. Changing ink types
• A digital pinhole camera using a Canon 1DsConstruction ideas and sample images for several different designs of pinhole adapter for a Canon full frame DSLR camera. Digital pinhole photography experiments at different focal lengths
• MonoChromePro pigment inks for black and white printingReview of the MonoChromePro pigment ink set for black and white printing. Includes custom profile curve creation procedures for using QuadToneRIP (QTR). Making use of black and diluted black (grey) ink sets for monochrome photo printing

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Ideas for developing photographic skills and aspects of photographic composition.

• Just what does ‘Pro’ mean for camera equipment?Does the 'Pro' label make camera equipment any better - how will it help me take better photos? The camera really does make a difference when you are earning a living, but how often should you believe the marketing?
• Photographing tiny stuffMacrophotography reveals an unfamiliar world - sometimes more common objects are needed in the frame to give a sense of scale. Photographs of tiny things that help you realise just how tiny they really are
• Industrial photography in a foundryPreparation and subsequent image processing required when taking photographs in a working foundry. Also looks at how final size affect image editing
• Making a 14 metre photographic printThe GigaPan photography and image processing and editing needed to make a 14 metre panoramic sequence print of Leicester city centre at dusk
• Prints on a wallPhotos showing the mounting of a new 14 metre long print of Leicester City Centre at dusk. The print is on view at the Leicester People's Photography Gallery throughout May 2012
• Black and white from ColourLarge collection of methods and techniques for converting colour images to black and white. Photoshop techniques and references to specialist plugins
• Is your printer OK for black and white photography?Choosing a good printer for black and white photography is nowhere as easy as it is for colour. Keith looks over some of the options, including getting better black and white out of your existing printer.
• Are the camera companies looking backwards?Photography shows are meant to give an idea where the industry is going - does anyone really have any idea though? Trade shows are not showing the direction

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Training – for companies

These are aspects of training that I provide (on location, not at our offices) as part of Northlight’s business.

We also have a training directory that is freely available for any professional photographer who offers training.

It’s arranged by location, so as long as you are a pro photographer, a free link is available

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Other areas of our site that may be of interest...

All the latest articles/reviews and photo news items appear on Keith's Photo blog 

Keith explains tilt and shift lenses

Keith has written a book that looks at the many ways that tilt/shift lenses can benefit your photography from a technical and creative point of view.

ISBN 9781785007712

Book now available

There is also a specific index page on the site with links to all Keith's articles, reviews and videos about using tilt and shift.

We've a whole section of the site devoted to  Digital Black and White photography and printing. It covers all of Keith's specialist articles and reviews. Other sections include Colour management and Keith's camera hacks - there are over 1200 articles/reviews here...

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