Photography can feel overwhelming when you're just starting out. There are countless techniques, tools, and tips to explore. But after years of trial and error, I've narrowed down the three essential tips that made my life as a photographer much easier.

Mastering Composition

Composition is the foundation of a great photo. One of the easiest ways to improve your composition is by turning on the grid lines in your camera.

These lines help you line up your subjects and landscapes, making your photos more balanced and visually appealing.

Understanding the rule of thirds is key when composing your shot. If you start looking at leading lines, natural lines a curves of the composition, start by lining up those natural lines to your grid lines. Once you start getting into the habit of using your gridlines, taking photos now has a story.

Remember, it’s not just about what you include in your shot; sometimes, it’s more important to think about what to leave out. Simplifying your composition can often make your photos more powerful.

Harnessing Natural Light

Lighting can make or break a photo. Shooting during the golden hours—sunrise and sunset—gives you soft, natural light that can enhance your images.

Look into what the weather is doing, clouds, wind. Everything plays a huge part when it comes to landscape photography. As much as I hate to do it, or say it. Sometimes you just have to have a 4am wake up call to get that perfect golden hour light.

The warm tones during these times can add a beautiful glow to your subjects. Understanding how to use natural light to your advantage is key to capturing stunning photos.

Learning how to properly use Lightroom

I would spend hours editing a photo, pushing every slider in Lightroom, I would crank up the saturation slider to bring in more colour. Play with all colour mixer sliders and push them to their limits

But when I learnt how each adjustments affected the photo, and learnt how to mask properly, it was only then I started to edit for the photo and not against.

What I mean is editing a photo to far from what it naturally looks like can create banding, colour noise, and overall just make the image look fake.

But with the right colour adjustments, you can bring your photos to life without making them look overly processed.

I've learned a lot about editing over the years, and I’ve put all that knowledge into my LPD Studios presets. I’ve spent hours upon hours, tweaking every slider so you don’t have to. So if you're looking to improve your photography, you can download my presets and start editing like a professional in the matter of minutes.