Videos

Rubidium Wu of Crimson Engine identifies traits that make a photograph feel like a film frame: low-key skin tones kept under fifty per cent, non-naturalistic colour grading like teal and orange, subjects immersed in a real environment with out-of-focus foreground and background, and light motivated by a visible source.

Mike Browne applies Einstein's line, that changing how you look at things changes them, to photographers who master exposure yet struggle to see pictures. He turns a no-parking sign on a white gate and an unremarkable house into pictures by moving, exploring angles and waiting for the decisive moment.

Karl Taylor's overriding compositional rule is keeping the viewer inside the picture, since an image succeeds only while it holds attention. Laying an acetate grid over his photographs, he shows how the rule of thirds, central symmetry with leading lines, complementary colour contrast and framing serve that aim.

Paul from Photo Genius favours the viewfinder over live view: it stays visible in sunshine, holding it to the eye with elbows tucked reduces shake, and saves battery. He turns the dioptre dial beside the eyepiece until the viewfinder numbers look sharp, half-pressing the shutter to wake the camera.

Andrew Boey picks apart common photography advice: that one or two expensive lenses cover every genre, when different genres need different glass like shoes for different jobs; that only primes are worth using, when zooms save time on rushed shoots; that upgrading is unnecessary; and never collecting booking deposits.

Andrew Boey, drawing on twenty years of teaching, lists mistakes photographers repeat: shooting to impress other photographers rather than the paying subject, fretting over EXIF data, defaulting to high ISO, and firing burst mode to look like a sports shooter when it only suits fast action or stability bracketing.

Christian Tudor lists ten mistakes holding beginners back: believing photography is complicated, fearing others' opinions, thinking expensive gear is essential, giving up before ten thousand frames, photographing nearby objects instead of seeking stories, assuming professionals never miss, misjudging harsh sunlight, believing in talent, fixating on equipment and hoarding work.

Paul from Photo Genius runs through ten mistakes beginners make: leaving image stabilisation on when the camera sits on a tripod, pushing ISO so high that noise appears (he defaults to 200), shooting from eye level instead of getting low, and getting closer than a lens's minimum focusing distance.

Joshua Cripps condenses photography into seven principles for any camera: fill the frame and ditch clutter, simplify and exaggerate via colour or scale, use rule-of-thirds placement, build near-far depth with wide angles, connect elements with leading lines, shoot from unusual heights, and favour sunrise, sunset or shade over midday.

Karl Taylor calibrates a drifting lens with a whiteboard, ruler and tripod. He draws a line, focuses the central point on it at f/1.2 after manual defocus, lays rulers at 20 centimetres and shoots; when 21 and 22 look sharper, he dials minus 15 in AF micro-adjustment and reshoots.