DIGITAL PHOTO MENTOR

digital photography tips to help you take pictures and expand your creativity

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Yes, you can learn to take better photos! It's my passion to help you learn photography and take better pictures.

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darlene hildebrandt photographer

My vision is to help you be a little more creative, expand your horizons, and maybe even push your boundaries a little.

I strive to provide a safe place to learn about photography and yourself as well as a chance to try new things and meet new people along the way.

Darlene

Beginner Photography

7 Common Tips for Beginner PhotographersYou don't really need a lot of fancy gear, just some good advice, and education. Here are seven simple tips for beginners that you can start doing right away to help you take better photos. Read More
12 Mobile Phone Photography Tips for More Dynamic ImagesThe best camera is the one you have with you, so why not use it to its full potential? Here are some tips to elevate your phone photography a notch or two. Read More
tripod mistakes - raised center column 9 Tripod Mistakes That Could Be Ruining Your Images and Putting Your Camera at RiskIn this tutorial, I will go through the dos and don'ts of using your tripod so you can avoid making these 9 common tripod mistakes. Get tips for how to set it up properly, how to use it, and even how to carry your tripod and camera safely and comfortably - the pro way! Read More

Photography Challenges

smugmug gallery page Build a Yourself an Online Gallery – Photography ChallengeThis month your challenge is to build yourself a small online gallery so you can share your images with friends and family and enter to win a prize as well! SmugMug is the sponsor this month and they've given us an annual subscription to their Power Plan. So make your galleries now! Read More
Hidden Treasures – Photography ChallengeGo on a treasure hunt for this month's photography challenge. Rummage around in your garage or basement looking for hidden treasures to find at least three objects that you can photograph. Then get creative! Read More

Intermediate Photography

Luminar 3 Tutorial – How to Create a Vintage Look with a Texture OverlayIn this video tutorial, I'll show you how to create a vintage look for your image using Luminar 3 and texture overlays in just a few minutes. Get ready to give it a whirl, you can do this! Read More
5 Benefits of Learning Portrait Photography Even if You Don’t Do PortraitsEven if you have no intention of ever doing portraits, in this article, I'm going to show you a few reasons why you might want to consider learning about it, to help improve all your photography. Read More
The Basics of Real Estate Photography for Interior PhotosIn this article, whether you want to do real estate photography professionally or just take photos of your own home, you will get some tips to help you out. This article was graciously written by a member of the Digital Photo Mentor community, David Adshade. He shared some of his fantastic real estate images and… Read More

Long Exposure Techniques for Creating Interesting Effects

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Locking your shutter open for an extended period of time can result in some really cool shots. Long exposure techniques can be used for things like car light trails, smoothing out water in waterfalls, rivers, etc, and can make clouds look like they’re moving and streaking across the sky. When needed, you can even make people disappear from your shot. Here’s how to pull of each of these long shutter speed techniques.

Fujifilm GFX 50S Field Test at the Venice Carnival

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in this field test, Italian photographer Ugo Cei takes the Fujifilm GFX 50S medium format camera to the Venice Carnival and puts it through the paces. Read about his thoughts on the system, who it’s for and who it’s not for.

Our Top 10 Travel Photography Destinations

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Want to know where to plan your next trip in order to get great photos? Check out the list of the top 10 travel photography destinations as selected by the DPM tour leaders. See why they are the best of the best for us and tell us which places make your list.