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(Photo: Forest Woodward)
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10 Tips to Up Your Photo Game

Thanks to new camera and photo editing technology, it鈥檚 never been easier to create professional-quality photographs

Published: 
Image
(Photo: Forest Woodward)

The right inspiration and a few essential tools are all it takes to capture more perfect moments and bring the best out of every shot. Here are ten quick and easy聽suggestions for taking and making extraordinary photos.

1. Set the Scene
The best adventure photographs provide a sense of place. They explain to viewers where the photo was taken and help bring us to that location. If you鈥檙e photographing mountain bikers in Arizona, step back and show the ruggedness and beauty of the desert. If you鈥檙e following climbers in the Himalayas, give us a sense of the steepness and enormity of the mountains they鈥檙e on.

(Forest Woodward)

2. Follow the Light
We all know a good photo becomes a great photo with beautiful light. Get up early and stay out late to shoot when the sun is low on the horizon and most directional. Take a nap in the middle of the day to avoid the noonday sun. Pro tip: If you have to shoot when the sun is high in the sky, don鈥檛 be afraid to use a reflector to fill in shadows on your subjects.聽Profoto聽make a series of reflectors that throw different shades of light. They鈥檙e durable, light, and easy to use.

3. Find the Moment
Sometimes the most important storytelling moment happens at the end of a race聽when people cross the finish line and start celebrating. Sometimes it happens right in the middle when the subject is exhausted, frustrated, and wants to give up. Don鈥檛 be afraid to show people struggling鈥攔eal human emotion is at the heart of everything, because we all know that the best adventures usually involve some hardship.

(Forest Woodward)

4. Pack Light
Don鈥檛 carry unnecessary gear. If you鈥檙e weighed down with lenses you don鈥檛 need and can鈥檛 keep up on the trail, you鈥檙e going to miss the photo. There are several well-designed photo packs to choose from that will help you comfortably shoulder your load and not get left behind. One of the best is the聽F-Stop Loka UL, a lightweight backpack with a bomber construction and a great harness. It offers聽easy on-the-go access to all your gear through a zippered rear-entry storage pocket.

5. Use What You Have
As the old saying goes, 鈥淭he best camera is the one you have with you.鈥 We couldn鈥檛 agree more. That鈥檚 because moments matter more than megapixels. When a beautiful piece of light peeks through the clouds, start shooting with whatever you have in your pocket or around your neck.

6.聽 Know Your Camera
The best skiers don鈥檛 think about the dimensions of their skis. They just make turns. The best riders don鈥檛 worry about the geometry of their bikes;聽they just pedal. The same goes for photographers. You want the camera controls to be second nature so you can stop worrying about buttons and focus on what鈥檚 happening in front of you. Practice makes perfect. Get out there and snap away so when the big moment happens, you nail it.

7. Keep It Organized
After you鈥檙e done shooting, you鈥檒l want to edit and manage your take. Adobe鈥檚 Creative Cloud Photography plan lets聽you do so right on your phone or camera. Any actions you take鈥攆lagging, rating, or even editing鈥攁re automatically聽synced across all your devices, making it easy to edit on the fly and seamlessly pick up where you left off back at your computer. Sound handy? Sign up for a free, 30-day trial聽Creative Cloud Photography plan .

(Forest Woodward)

8. Make Them Sing
Images聽that come straight from iPhones and DSLRs alike often need a touch of editing to really make them pop.聽Thankfully, Adobe Lightroom, as part of the Creative Cloud Photography plan, allows you to adjust things like聽exposure, color, and tone in just a few clicks.聽聽If you shoot a landscape, for example,聽and want to add a little drama to the sky鈥攅specially the clouds鈥攊t鈥檚 easy to experiment with tools that fine-tune聽the color gradient or bump up the contrast. The best part? If you don鈥檛 like what you did, you can revert back to the original with just one click.聽Adobe聽provides detailed 聽on its site for everyone from beginners to pros.

9. Go Black and White
Some photos look better in black and white, especially if they were shot in low light. A simple click of the button聽is all it takes to聽convert a photo in Lightroom. A slider tool makes it easy to make custom聽adjustments, allowing you to enhance the depth or add drama to an image.

(Forest Woodward)

10. Add and Erase聽
How many times have your pictures been ruined by power lines running through the sky? Too often, probably.聽Photoshop鈥檚 lasso tool does exactly what you鈥檇 think: Use it to聽draw a circle around the lines, and鈥攑oof!鈥攖hey鈥檙e聽gone without the background being affected. On the flip side, some lens flare in the sky聽can add a touch of drama to certain photos. If you weren鈥檛 able to add it with聽the camera聽or would like to enhance the subtle flare you did capture, just a聽few keystrokes will聽add lens flare or聽adjust the brightness of an existing sunburst.

Lead Photo: Forest Woodward

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