Photography News

Instagram has started testing an "AI creator" label, an account-level badge that tells viewers a profile "posts content that was generated or modified with AI." It is clearer than the vague "AI info" tag Meta already sprinkles on some posts, and it reads like a step toward honesty in a feed increasingly clogged with synthetic images and video. There is one detail that undoes all of it. The label is entirely optional.  

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Pancake lenses are a niche obsession, but they solve a real problem: full-size image quality in a package small enough to actually carry. Most of them cut corners on sharpness to hit that tiny footprint, but a handful genuinely don't. 

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Fringing around hair and fur is one of the most stubborn problems you'll run into when cutting out subjects in Photoshop. No matter how clean your layer mask looks, switching to a new background can expose a halo of the original background color that ruins the shot. 

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Shooting landscapes in the rain sounds miserable, and sometimes it is. But the difference between a wasted day and a productive one often comes down to how you adapt when conditions refuse to cooperate. 

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Photographing a tiny chapel on a rock off the northwest coast of Spain sounds straightforward until you factor in tides, unpredictable weather, and a composition that may or may not even be physically possible. The difference between a shot that works and one that doesn't here comes down to a very specific water level on one of the highest tides of the year. 

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If you've been wondering if you should purchase a telephoto lens, here are 7 reasons why, we think, they're a worthwhile investment. Still not sure? Have a read of our lens buying guide and we also have a top list of telephoto lenses that's well worth a peruse. 

 

1. Out Of Focus Background

 

Telephoto lenses are useful for producing shots that have a shallow depth of field which means your backgrounds will be nicely out of focus allowing all attention to fall on your subject.

2. Capturing Portraits

 

Shooting portraits with longer lenses means you still fill the frame with your subject's face without making them feel uncomfortable by invading their personal space. Longer focal lengths also give a more pleasing perspective and the good bokeh they create, as mentioned previously, helps isolate your subject so they 'pop' from the frame. Finally, the compression longer lenses offer, especially when you're using a wide-ish aperture, helps flatter their features – something all subjects want.

3. Shoot Landscapes

If you have distant and foreground interest you should pull out your longer lens from your bag. Just make sure you're using a small aperture as you'll need front to back sharpness in your shot. This works well with interesting rock formations, trees etc. but also consider using an object such as a fence or path that can lead the eye from the front of the image to a point of interest in the distance. The perspective longer lenses create also mean you can almost stack distant and objects closer to your lens so they appear to be much closer to each other than they are, adding impact and extra interest as you do. This can work particularly well on misty mornings when distant hills can be turned into lines of stacked shapes.

If you have a lot of open, boring space between you and the mountains you want to photograph use the longer focal length to pull the mountains to you, removing the empty foreground as you do. You can also pick out detail such as a waterfall, tree or distant structure that a wide-angle lens wouldn't be able to capture in the same way.

 

4. Photograph Buildings

 

Longer lenses will help you highlight patterns and shoot interesting detail you'd miss with a wide-angle lens. It also means that if you can't access the roof to get close to the statues/carvings that sit around the building you're photographing, you can use the longer lens from the ground to bring the detail to you. Do remember though that when longer lenses magnify distant objects the tiniest of movements can create a large amount of blur in your photograph so make sure you stick to quicker shutter speeds when possible and carry a lens that features vibration reduction. For more stability work with a tripod.

 

5. Capture Shots Of Wildlife

 

Try and get close to a lot of wildlife and they'll have ran or flown off before you've got your camera out of its bag. Instead of playing a game of cat and mouse all day, find a spot that you won't scare the wildlife off from and use the pull of a telephoto lens to bring the animal/bird to you. Using a longer lens will also mean you're not putting yourself in danger if you're trying to capture shots of something known to bite!

6. Photograph Action / Sporting Events 

Unless you have a press pass, getting close to the action at many sporting events isn't possible so you'll need your long lens. For tips on shooting action take a look at ePHOTOzine's technique section.

 

7. Shoot For The Moon

 

If you try and photograph the moon without a telephoto lens (you may also need a teleconverter too) it will just like a small bright circle sat against a blanket of black sky. For tips on shooting the moon take a look at our previous articles in the technique section.

 

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    It's well-known in the photography community that you can go to certain locations and expect to see tripod holes in the floor where photographer after photographer has set-up to capture a popular shot so how can we, as photographers, do something a little bit different? We answer this question, and more, below. 

 

1. What Gear Do I Need? 

1. Zoom lens - it's easier to carry just one lens
2. Support - A support that's lightweight and compact is easier to carry and this could be a tripod or monopod, depending on your preference. 
3. Camera bag - An everyday backpack which is strong, can carry various pieces of kit and is easy to access is perfect for this type of photography. A rucksack style distributes the weight of kit more evenly, which means you'll be more comfortable when walking for long periods of time. 

 

2. What Research Should I Do? 

Having a look through online photo galleries and in travel guides will give you an overall picture of how the landmark(s) you're planning on visiting have been captured before. You'll also be able to find out if there are any costs and the opening/closing times so you can plan your trip around the crowds of tourists that will no doubt flock to your photographic subject. When you arrive at your destination have a look around the tourist information office as you'll find plenty of postcards that feature photos of landmarks and other important buildings which can be a great source for shooting ideas.

 

 

3. Is Clichéd OK?

There are shots that every photographer and his dog have taken of well-known landmarks, but this doesn't mean you should avoid them. A good, postcard style shot of a landmark is something you should try and get early on in your trip then spend the rest of the hour, day or week looking for angles that mean the landmark is still recognisable but the shot you produce is slightly different to what someone would usually expect to see.

 

4. When Should I Plan My Visit For? 

The problem with landmarks is they're popular with tourists so unless you want them in the shot, you'll have to arrive early or stay late to avoid them. Of course, changing your angle or working a little closer to the structure will mean tourists become less of a problem. If it's a really busy day, including them in the shot can add an extra element of interest. Particularly if you use a slightly slower shutter speed to blur their movement around the bottom of the structure you're photographing. Just remember to carry your tripod as you will need it if you plan on playing with slower shutter speeds. Panoramas can work particularly well in busy places too. 

There's probably a couple of local landmarks that may not be as popular with the tourists but are important to the people who live there so consider capturing them too if you want to work somewhere that's slightly less busy.

 

 

5. How Can I Be Different? 

Use your feet and take a walk around to find a unique take on the landmark you're photographing. How does it look from underneath? Can you crouch down and shoot up? Or climb some steps or a hill that's close by to give you a little more elevation. Working from a slightly higher angle can help reduce the convergence you get when shooting tall structures too. When you've finished with the front of the structure have you ever considered photographing it from the back? No? Well, not many tourists do either so you'll be able to capture a unique photo.

 

You've read the technique now share your related photos for the chance to win prizes: Daily Forum Competition

The view from a window seat at cruising altitude is one of the few genuinely unique perspectives available to anyone with a camera and a boarding pass. Mountain ranges, river deltas, coastlines, city grids, cloud formations, and weather systems reveal themselves at a scale and angle that no drone, helicopter charter, or hiking trail can replicate. The light at altitude behaves differently than it does on the ground: cleaner, less diffused by low-altitude haze, with color gradients at the horizon that shift from warm gold to deep indigo across a span of sky you cannot see from the surface

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The best camera upgrade you make this year isn't a new lens, side grip, or lens filter. This camera upgrade makes you a better photographer because it gives you more control over how you see.

 

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One of the benefits of the Micro Four Thirds system is that there are many, many lenses to choose from to get the job done. If that job is specifically portraits, look no further than this deep dive into almost a dozen of the options available for the system. 

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Growth in photography often feels like a series of overwhelming choices. We look at different genres and techniques, trying to find a starting point that feels right. But the most effective roadmap for development is found in a classic idea you've probably heard: great artists don't just copy, they steal. 

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Most Lightroom Classic users stick to the same handful of tools and never dig into what the software can actually do. The masking system alone, when used to its full potential, can give you precise, layered control over every part of an image that most basic edits can't touch. 

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While some of us were indoors spraying Windex on our groceries during the COVID-19 pandemic, others took the time to explore how to visually relate to that time through passion projects. Photographer and author John Lazzaro did just that, spending those years and then some exploring, photographically, the history of sanatoriums in the United States to produce his latest book, Sanatorium. 

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Converging lines in photos of buildings and trees are one of those problems that seem minor until you can't unsee them. Lightroom Classic's Transform tool can fix most of them in minutes, and knowing how to use it correctly saves you from spending thousands on specialized glass. 

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Today, I'd like to have a chat about Nikon's latest version of its workhorse 70-200mm zoom lens, the NIKKOR Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S II. 

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The Nikon ZR is built around the Nikon and RED collaboration, and on paper it looks like a specialist tool most people would pass on. But Matt Day's hands-on experience with it over several weeks raises real questions about whether it punches above its weight, even for everyday use. 

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Post-processing has long been the most time-consuming part of a photographer's workflow, and the numbers back that up. According to the 2026 Zenfolio State of the Photography Industry report, about 70% of photographers spend between 26% and 75% of their working time on editing. Only 5% of photographers surveyed feel they are managing the stress of running their business well. 

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Lightroom's share feature is one of those tools that sounds simple but has enough depth to change how you deliver photos to clients and subjects. If you photograph people and want them to walk away with easy access to their images, the built-in sharing and QR code system in Lightroom is worth understanding fully. 

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Not having the horizon in the right place or focusing so much on other aspects that you forget to check that the horizon is actually straight is an easy mistake that many will hold their hand up to making.

This doesn't mean you can't experiment with horizon angles but if you do, you need to make it obvious as a small tilt will just look like you didn't check the viewfinder before hitting the shutter button. The same goes for the positioning of the horizon as if it's positioned badly, it can distract the viewer as well as spoil the composition of your shot.

 

1. How To Keep Horizons Straight

 

To stop your landscapes looking like they're going to slide out of the side of the frame, consider investing in a small spirit level (if your tripod doesn't already have one) that can be attached to your camera or, if your camera has one, use the grid intended for helping with the rule of thirds as a guide as even though this isn't really what they were designed for, they're made up of straight lines so can be helpful when struggling to tell what level is.

  2. Where To Put The Horizon?

 

It's important that your horizon doesn't cut through the centre of your image If the sky's more interesting move it down and if the land's what the viewer should be looking at move it up. That way, they'll know where their focus is meant to be.

If you're at the coast, shooting the sea and the sky has particularly interesting cloud formations or it's an amazing sunset, lower the horizon so the sky fills most of the frame. But if you want to include some foreground interest or create the sense of distance in your image, move the horizon up. Just remember to use a small aperture so you get front-to-back sharpness.

Of course, there are times when breaking the rules do work, such as when your photo includes an eye-catching reflection in a lake, so don't dismiss putting your horizons in the centre of your images completely.

There may be a time when you're shooting a landscape where the shapes and patterns of the land are enough to hold the viewer's attention so removing the horizon completely from the shot would work, too. 

 

3. How To Adjust The Horizon's Position

 

You can either tilt the camera, move its position higher or lower or take your shot as normal and crop the image later when you're in front of your computer.

If you have lots of vertical shapes such as trees and tall buildings in your shot, tilting the camera can cause perspective problems. However, if you're at the coast without a building in sight you should be fine.

To give your camera more/less height adjust your tripod's legs. Just make sure the locks are secure before you start taking your shot as you don't want your camera to start sliding down while you're trying to frame-up. If you need more height you can adjust the centre column but do adjust the legs first before doing this as the legs offer a more stable base to work with.

 

4. How To Fix Horizons In Old Photos

 

If you do take your shot and get home before you realise it's slanting to one side or you look back at landscapes you've taken previously and notice the horizon's not quite right don't worry; a simple crop in Photoshop will have your image back upright. You can also crop your shot to shift the position of the horizon, too.
 

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Everybody has different ways of traveling, and that's why bags, tripods, and even camera gear come in different shapes and sizes. Peak Design took note of that and has come out with more options.

 

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