The areas that I am specifically planning to improve on at this time include:

  • Portrait photography with controlled (flashes/strobes/etc) lighting. As I posted in a thread earlier I have a new niece and a new nephew whom I have been and will be doing portraits. So this will include creative lighting, positioning of the strobes, poses, etc.
  • Family portraits. Specifically, I want to get better at positioning people. I am learning a lot by mistake and would love to read up on it.
  • Science behind photography. I still find it fascinating that the focal length of a telephoto lens is longer than the lens itself. I might be able to figure it out if I sat down and tried, but learning and understanding things like that interests me.
  • I am always interested in good resources on capturing landscapes, waterfalls, or wildlife.


I'd probably lean toward intermediate and expert level references. While I do not consider myself expert, I do like to be challenged. And I tend to do best when I understand something on a fundamental level.

So, those are some specifics, but I would be interested in other people's favorites on any topic, hence the potentially vague initial question.

Or put in another way. If you had an average all-around photographer that wanted to learn the fundamentals on how to be a good to great photographer, what resources would you recommend?