Photography Theory

Master the fundamentals of photography and improve as a photographer. Take better photos by learning about exposure, composition, lighting, and more.

All Theory content:

  1. 10 Critical Points for Strong Photography Contracts

    10 Critical Points for Strong Photography Contracts

    Tutorial Beginner

    As you begin to make the jump from amateur to professional, it is extremely easy to overlook the business and legal side of photography. However, if you're...

  2. The Olympus XZ-1: A High-End Compact taking on Mirrorless Hybrids

    The Olympus XZ-1: A High-End Compact taking on Mirrorless Hybrids

    Tutorial Beginner

    The new Olympus XZ-1 shows that big-sensor hybrids still haven't killed off conventional high-end compacts. But is it really a serious alternative? DSLRs are...

  3. Light & Photography: Exposure and Tonal Range Considerations

    Light & Photography: Exposure and Tonal Range Considerations

    Tutorial Beginner

    In today's article, we're going to delve into some of the thinking and theory behind dynamic and tonal range, exploring what these terms mean and how we can...

  4. How to Create a Photography Website With WordPress

    How to Create a Photography Website With WordPress

    Tutorial Intermediate

    While photo sharing websites like Flickr can be a fun way of putting photos online, I'm sure that most photographers would like to have their own personal...

  5. Pulling the Eye: Visual Mass and Composition

    Pulling the Eye: Visual Mass and Composition

    Tutorial Beginner

    In a world dominated by Photoshop, it's easy to think that any mistakes you make when you take a photo are easy to fix in post-processing. In reality this...

  6. A Brief History of Photographic Flash

    A Brief History of Photographic Flash

    Tutorial Beginner

    How is a photograph created? Through light. Actually, every aspect of photography is dependent on light: light is what is captured by the film, light...

  7. Planning a Wedding Shoot: Organisation and Paperwork

    Planning a Wedding Shoot: Organisation and Paperwork

    Tutorial Beginner

    Weddings represent one of the most stressful and daunting tasks a photographer can undertake. The environments vary considerably, and the pace is often...

  8. A History of Photography Part 3: Going Digital

    A History of Photography Part 3: Going Digital

    Tutorial Beginner

    Until modern times, photography was quite a difficult hobby to maintain. One had cameras, different lenses, manual focus, and complicated settings. With the...

  9. 5 Professional Photography Website Services Compared

    5 Professional Photography Website Services Compared

    Tutorial Beginner

    Getting a photography business off the ground can be exhausting and expensive. Most professional photographers have both a website and a portal that allows...

  10. A History of Photography Part 2: The Growth

    A History of Photography Part 2: The Growth

    Tutorial Beginner

    The first part in our "History of Photography" series took a look at Camera Obscura, the invention of the camera, and introduced us to some of the very first...

  11. Friday Photo Critique #50

    Friday Photo Critique #50

    Tutorial Beginner

    Friday Photo Critique is our weekly community project, where we publish a photograph submitted by one of our wonderful readers, then ask you all to offer...

  12. The Basic Recipe for Taking Great Pictures

    The Basic Recipe for Taking Great Pictures

    Tutorial Beginner

    Sometimes when you take a photo the result isn’t quite what you expected, it could be overexposed (too much light), underexposed (too dark), or simply is out...