How to edit northern lights photography without ruining the atmosphere
Learn a professional workflow for editing Aurora Borealis photos. How to avoid neon colors and create atmospheric images that look perfect on any screen.
Journal Archive
Journal Archive
Browse the full journal archive of field notes, tutorials, and case studies from the studio and the field.
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The Myth of the Perfect Shot. An Iceland Case Study
Even in Iceland, RAW files can look flat and boring. See how a lucky moment at Vík was transformed into a dramatic fine art print using color grading.
The Human Element. How to Add Scale and Story to Landscape Photos
Landscapes often look flat without context. Learn how adding a human figure creates scale, narrative, and emotion in your photography.
Mastering the Mood - How to Photograph Fog and Mist
Fog turns ordinary landscapes into cinematic masterpieces. Learn how to expose, compose, and edit foggy photos to create mystery and depth.
The Art of Silence. How to Create Minimalist Landscape Photos
Learn how to use negative space and long exposures to create powerful, minimalist landscape photography. Why less is often more.
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Why I Stopped Chasing the Golden Hour
Discover why the Blue Hour offers better light for cinematic, moody photography than the chaotic Golden Hour. Less noise, more silence.
5 Northern Lights Photography Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)
Are your aurora photos blurry or dark? Avoid these 5 common mistakes to capture sharp, cinematic Northern Lights images every time.
Cinematic Color Grading - Creating Atmosphere in Landscape Photography
Do your photos look flat? Learn how to use color grading to create emotion, depth, and a cinematic atmosphere in your landscape photography.
Behind the photography: Underneath the Surface
On a freezing night in Lapland, I stood neck-deep in icy water, waiting for the northern lights. After days of failed shots and little sleep, the sky finally lit up and I captured a photo that shows how nature and we are always changing. Underneath the Surface is the story of that moment and the journey it took to get there.
8 Ideas to Spark Your Creativity With Photography Projects
As a photographer, I have discovered that starting a project can help me channel my creativity and bring new dimensions to my work. A project can be a way to explore new techniques, themes, and perspectives, leading to personal and artistic growth.
Astrophotography
Star Photography Masterclass
A practical way to improve how you plan, capture, and shape stronger night sky photographs in the field.
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5 Tips to Capture Beautiful Photographs Nearby
In this post, I share five tips with you on how you can capture the unnoticed beauty around you.
Photography Challenge: A Journey of Discovery with Mikko
Discover the hidden gems in your local surroundings with this month's challenge. Can you capture the unnoticed beauty around you? See where the journey takes you. Let’s be creative together!
In the Solitude of Nature Exhibition in Helsinki shopping center REDI: 1st of August – 30th of September
I’m excited to announce my new exhibition, ‘In the Solitude of Nature.’ It’s an exhibition including my best photography from the Nordics of the past ten years of my photography journey.
The Art of Night Photography
What is the art of night photography? Why should you try out and develop your night photography? In this week’s tutorial, I share my knowledge about night photography and how you can create unique results by heading out in the dark.
Behind the Scenes: Morning Echo
Do you ever wonder what it's like to chase the perfect photo only to find out the real gem wasn't what you expected? I went out to Päijänne Lake in Finland, aiming for some night sky shots, but I ended up with something different. Come along as I share how I caught the "Morning Echo" photograph.
Night Editing
Borealis Presets
A calmer way to process aurora photographs without neon greens, muddy shadows, or overworked night skies.
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What's in my camera bag? Nikon Z7 II or Z8 for landscape photography?
Professional landscape photographers' gear: What's in my camera bag. I recently tried the new Nikon Z8, and it's a great upgrade in some parts... Which one Z7 II or Z8 will I choose?
The Best Preset Collection for Landscape Photographers: The EPIC Preset Collection Update
Making the best Preset Collection even better. Using the latest AI advancements and styling options, the EPIC Preset Collection has it all.
The Best AI Image Editing Tools for Landscape Photographers
Unleash the Power of Artificial Intelligence. The best AI image editing tools of for landscape photographers including Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, Luminar Neo, and Topaz Labs. Elevate your photography, enhance your workflow, and bring your creative vision to life with these powerful AI-driven solutions.
The Importance of a Beginner's Mind in Photography
Discover how embracing a beginner's mind has shaped my photography journey and how this powerful mindset can unlock your creative potential. In this post, we'll explore the importance of curiosity, stepping out of comfort zone, learning from mistakes, seeking feedback, and practicing mindfulness. Cultivate a beginner's mind to elevate your photography skills and find inspiration in every shot.
Capturing the Beauty of Everyday Landscapes
Discover Mikko Lagerstedt's tips for capturing the hidden beauty in everyday landscapes. Learn to create stunning photographs with creative perspectives, lighting, and storytelling.
Prints
Limited Edition Prints
Bring the atmosphere into a real space with signed fine art works for calm interiors, studios, and collectors.
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Behind The Scenes: Wonder
Join me on a captivating journey as I share the story behind my favorite landscape photograph, "Wonder." Discover the composition, equipment, and post-processing techniques used to capture this stunning image. Explore my photography blog for more personal insights and inspiration.
Behind The Scenes: The Storm
Discover the story behind my captivating photograph, The Storm, from my upcoming print collection in Swedish Lapland. I faced harsh and extreme conditions to capture this cinematic image, using specific equipment, camera settings, and editing techniques to convey the scenery as I saw it. Explore other breathtaking photographs from the same location in my print collection.
Behind The Scenes: Frozen Patterns
The story behind my stunning photograph, Frozen Patterns, from my upcoming print collection. Discover how I captured the beauty of the frozen sea on a cold winter day in the Finnish coast near Inkoo, with specific equipment, camera settings, and editing techniques. Learn how to capture a view like this and explore other breathtaking photographs from the same location in my print collection.
Have You Lost Your Inspiration For Photography? A Toolkit to Find Your Inspiration Back.
I provide a toolkit of ten tips for photographers and creatives who have lost their inspiration, including being ready for inspiration, trying new techniques or subjects, getting out of your comfort zone, finding new topics, journaling, seeking inspiration elsewhere, opening your mind, planning a trip, collaborating with others, and seeking new experiences.
Print Collection
Experience the majesty and power of the natural world with my new print collection, "In The Solitude." From the coastline of Finland to the snow-covered landscapes of Swedish Lapland, each photograph captures the emotion and drama of the natural world. Evoking a sense of awe and connection, these prints will transport you to magical places and inspire you to connect with the earth.
Astrophotography
Star Photography Masterclass
A practical way to improve how you plan, capture, and shape stronger night sky photographs in the field.
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Unlock Your Photography Potential
Set attainable photography goals to keep growing and improving. By setting specific goals, you'll stay motivated and inspired. Reflect on past experiences, break goals into smaller steps, and track progress in a journal. Experiment with different techniques and styles, and seek feedback to help you improve.
The Art Of Capturing Winter Fog Photography
I will guide you through capturing stunning winter fog photographs in this post. You'll learn about finding the right location, choosing the right time of day, using a tripod, experimenting with white balance and compositions, using a polarizing filter, and editing in Lightroom. Let's get started!
My Story
This week, I wanted to share a story about myself and my work. Why I create and what motivates me as a photographer. I hope you enjoy what I wrote. It was straight from my heart.
Editing Minimalistic Photography in Lightroom
Let's talk about how to edit minimalistic photographs in Lightroom. As you may know, I often use The Epic Preset collection to edit my photography because it saves me time and gives me a style I enjoy. But in this tutorial, I show you how I edit my minimalistic photographs in Lightroom if I don't use my presets.
Minimalistic Photography
So what does minimalistic photography include? Minimalistic photography is a style of photography that focuses on simplicity and minimalism. In this kind of photography, simple compositions, clean lines, and a limited color palette make it unique.
Night Editing
Borealis Presets
A calmer way to process aurora photographs without neon greens, muddy shadows, or overworked night skies.
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Winter photography – How to photograph in difficult Weather
In this post, I share my experience of capturing winter photographs in difficult weather conditions. I provide details about my camera equipment and clothing and share my location choices. I also share an example photograph, the equipment used to capture it, and the editing process in Lightroom using an EPIC Preset Collection.
A Year in Photos
I hope you are having a great start to the new year! Two weeks are gone in the year, but in this post, I want to focus on the year. I wanted to share a glimpse at one of my most challenging years. What did I learn, what did I accomplish, and what about failures? As I write this, I don't fe
How to become a successful photographer?
In this article, I discuss the definition of success and how it applies to photography. Success in photography is not just about financial gain or social media popularity. It's about waking up and feeling proud of your work. To achieve success, you must keep creating and find inspiration in one thing that moves you forward. You must also show up consistently, enjoy the process, and create luck.
Landscapes With Soul Book
I’m excited and proud to announce my photo book, Landscapes with Soul. This collection of imagery is my best work captured from the coast of Finland to the mountains of Norway. It's an ode to the North. You can experience the breathtaking landscapes and moody seasons in this premium photo book.
5 Steps to Create Dreamy Astrophotography Using A Dual Exposure Technique
Five steps how to create and edit beautiful and dreamy astrophotography using dual exposure technique.
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4 Easy Steps to Edit Astrophotography in Lightroom
In this tutorial, we'll use my EPIC Preset Collection, which has a dedicated section for night photography. However, you can still follow along and make the adjustments yourself.
4 Easy Steps to Capture Beautiful Astrophotography Landscapes
In this tutorial, I share my process for capturing beautiful astrophotography landscapes in four easy steps. I'll cover the essential gear needed for astrophotography, planning for astrophotography, capturing the astrophotographs, and using the dual exposure technique to take your astrophotography to another level. You'll learn a few tricks from this article whether you are new to astrophotography or an experienced nighttime shooter. So let's get started!
Why you need to update to the latest version of Lightroom?
Are you tired of making tedious selections with the brush tool to your photographs in Lightroom? I know I’m. Lucky for us, this week, Adobe released updates to Lightroom CC, and Classic introducing new features, which I think will be extremely useful for most photographers. This article goes through
Six ways to improve your landscape photography instantly
In this tutorial, I'll be sharing with you six simple and effective ways to improve your landscape photography instantly, all of which have been put together by the talented Mikko Lagerstedt. This tutorial covers a variety of topics, including how to plan for your photoshoots, why it's essential to take your time to explore the location, how to make the most of a tripod, the best camera settings to use, and some great tips for improving your composition and editing skills.
Get Out of a Creative Rut and Reignite Your Creativity
A self-development guide for creatives who want to reignite their love for art and overcome a lack of motivation. In this guide, I share the steps that helped me and other photographers overcome creative ruts. The guide delves deep into self-development and finding inner motivation. I wrote this guide to share my experiences and teach solutions that worked for me so you don't have to make the same mistakes. I also share my favorite books in the last part of the guide for further research.
Editing
EPIC Presets
Built for atmosphere, restraint, and a stronger cinematic finish when your RAW files feel flat or unfinished.
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How to create and use color profiles In Lightroom CC and Camera Raw?
How to create and use Lightroom Color Profiles inside Lightroom and Camera Raw?
How to create EPIC colors in Lightroom CC & Camera RAW
How to create EPIC colors inside Lightroom CC and Camera Raw. A quick guide with all the steps to create a beautiful and striking sepia-toned EPIC photography edit.
Create EPIC photographs – Introducing The EPIC Preset System
Hey everyone! Since my back surgery six months ago, I haven’t been able to photograph much, but I’m getting better slowly. While I have been more inside than out, I have been working on a system that will boost your creativity while editing your photographs. We all struggle with creativity and findi
Why I haven't been photographing?
Hey everyone. I hope you had a wonderful summer. I wanted to write this post for a long time, and finally, I have some energy to do it. It’s been a long summer and quite difficult for me. In May, I felt that I needed to take a break from photography, as the Spring season is not really inspiring to m
Photography Monitor BenQ SW321C Review
For the past month, I have been using the BenQ SW321C -monitor. And I have to say that I have been pleased with the display so far. So far, I have been impressed by how good the display is. When you get the box, you can sense that it is a top-quality product. The box is enormous; no won
Night Editing
Borealis Presets
A calmer way to process aurora photographs without neon greens, muddy shadows, or overworked night skies.
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How to photograph minimalist landscapes?
I love to capture minimalist photographs, and it often comes naturally to me. A Zen-like view is more pleasing to my eye than a whole lot of mess in the frame. I always search the scenery to look for the main subject and how I could frame the composition so it would be simple and beautiful. In this
Find your style in photography
There are excellent guides where you can learn techniques and compositional rules in photography; however, there are not many guides that give you advice on how to create a unique style. That's why I decided to write this tutorial from the experience I have had in photography. I believe that anyone
How to Create a Moody Photo Manipulation
For my photographs, I use Lightroom 90 percent of the time so, it's not often I create photo manipulations, but recently I created a one because I felt inspired to do so. I guess it is a representation of hard times. Since the whole creating process is fresh in my mind, I want to share what goes int
Intuitive Editing Workflow for Photographers
Organizing and going through your photographs after each shoot is one of those less focused aspects of photography, but I believe it is wildly overlooked. It’s an important part of the entire editing process. You must have an excellent system to approach editing intuitively, and that's why I wrote t
Six Common Mistakes Most Photographers Make
I know a lot of photographers that have made most of these mistakes, and I certainly am one of those. So, I decided to share them with some insight on how you can avoid them. 1. You don't realize how much time and work goes into creating beautiful images. Yes, it's common to think that it doesn't
Astrophotography
Star Photography Masterclass
A practical way to improve how you plan, capture, and shape stronger night sky photographs in the field.
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How to Photograph the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis)?
I love to capture the northern lights, and because I get questions from people on how to capture them, I decided to share my experiences on the topic. I’m sure it is possible to photograph some kind of shots of the northern lights with our phones. However, when talking about a decent quality image,
10 Creativity Boosting Habits for Photographers
In this article, I talk about habits that, in my experience, boost creativity. Some of these habits I have learned from dozens of self-help books. Some are my own experiences from trials and errors in the past decade. I also tell you what my typical day looks like as a landscape photographer while I
Nikon Z7 mirrorless camera for landscape photography? One year Later.
I'm not sponsored by Nikon to make this blog post; these are just my thoughts of the camera after using the camera a little over a year now. The setup I have been using for the past year: Nikon Z7 Sony XQD 120 GB Nikkor S 24–70 mm f/4.0 FTZ-adapter Nikkor AF-S 14–24 mm f/2.8 G
What I learned after six months off from photography and social media?
It has been a long while since the last time I wrote a tutorial or a longer post. Here is a short story of what I learned by taking over six months off from photography and social media. I have been photographing for over ten years and using social media for the past eight years, so I thought I pr
ATMOSPHERE eBook
I’m proud to release a new eBook ATMOSPHERE How to create atmospheric photography. I took all my knowledge about how to create evocative photographs and combined them into the eBook. If you want to learn how I approach mood in photography and editing take a look, and I believe anyone can learn s
Astrophotography
Star Photography Masterclass
A practical way to improve how you plan, capture, and shape stronger night sky photographs in the field.
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Moonset
Whenever I force myself out of bed at 3 am to catch the sunrise and mist. I never feel disappointed with the time I spend outside. I might feel tired and frustrated if I don't find anything to photograph, but I always try to learn something from these situations. It's not easy by no means. Sometimes
Heart of The Storm
In Finland and northern Europe, the summer weather has been hot, and it has lasted far longer than the typical summers. I fell in love with the warm mornings. Waking up early in the morning has its advantages, and in Summer when the sun rises around, 4 am you need to be early to catch it. F
Breathe
One of my favorite mornings has to be this one. I shared last week a view captured on the same morning. Old Ghost was taken just a few hours before the picture in this post. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw this old pier floating in the mist. You ca
Old Ghost
It doesn't matter if you go out to photograph landscapes or portraits there is always a story to be told. Here is a short story about the "Old Ghost" photograph. Woke up at 2 am feeling tired yet excited. Got my gear and drove to the coast. I didn't have a plan for what to photogr
Stay Inspired – Create a Catalog of Inspiration
How to feel more inspired? What inspires me? It's good to ask yourself these questions. For me, it's a collection of things. I have always loved to view paintings, drawings, watch movies and listen to music to feel inspired. Of course, there are plenty of ways to stay insp
Guidance
Mentoring
For photographers who want direct feedback on editing, sequencing, or finding a stronger personal direction.
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How to find inspiration for your photography?
In this weeks tutorial, I’m going to talk about the forever relevant subject: inspiration. Have you ever been uninspired to take photographs? I sure have been. And as I was talking with my photography friends yesterday, it’s quite common to lose interest and inspiration to take pictures. When you ar
Represented by Aspen Gallery, New England
I’m very excited to share that a selection of my work is now available through Aspen Gallery, New England, US. Aspen Gallery was founded by Johnny Patience, one of my fellow fine art photographers I have known since the days of Flickr when I first started photography. When Johnny introd
Set goals for your photography – The first step on becoming a full-time creative
In this weeks tutorial, we are talking about how to set goals for your photography, and what it takes to become full-time creative. As I said earlier in one of my previous tutorials " How to keep yourself motivated and take better photographs " asking questions is crucial if you
How to add a glow to photographs in Photoshop
In this weeks tutorial, we are adding a glowing effect to photographs in Photoshop. I received a wonderful comment from Melissa, one of my readers regarding that it would be interesting to see a tutorial for Photoshop. So I thought why not share one of my favorite tricks on how to create glow in Pho
Masters of Landscape Photography
I'm honored to announce that I was selected as the Master of Nighttime for the new Masters of Landscape Photography book by Ross Hoddinott. It includes photographers such as Art Wolfe, Daniel Kordan, Marc Adamus and many more. The 176 page-book includes interviews with ten selected phot
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Day & Night Video Course
I'm happy to introduce my new video course called Day & Night. It's a mash-up of my favorite techniques put into one video course. You can learn how to create jaw-dropping landscape photography. It's on sale for under 48 hours, so go and grab yours!
How to create atmospheric photographs part II
Last week I promised a tutorial to show you how to create an atmospheric photograph in post-processing. The editing will be done mostly in Lightroom, but there are a couple of steps that I decided to do in Photoshop. The processing decisions are made from the notes I captured in the scenery. My goal
How to create atmospheric photographs part I
The goal of this tutorial is to make you more aware of the process behind your photographs. I'm going to tell you the process I use to create work that inspires me. I talk about how to capture and edit atmospheric photographs. The thing about photography I find so fascinating is that you ca
How to keep yourself motivated and take better photos?
As I'm looking back to my ten-year journey in photography, I realize that I have had my ups and downs. The thing that I have found out to be one of the keys to my success and for the other photographers I spend time with is perseverance. It's not a surprising thing, but how many of us o
Lonely Tree - A beautiful day on the coast of Finland
For the past couple of weeks, I have been photographing all over Southern Finland. Last week I visited Emäsalo, Finland for the first time this winter and it sure was a beautiful day. I captured one of my favorite trees there while it was snowing and ice was gathering on the shore. I coul
Editing
EPIC Presets
Built for atmosphere, restraint, and a stronger cinematic finish when your RAW files feel flat or unfinished.
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New Video Tutorial - Day & Night
Happy New Year everyone! For the past two months, I have been working on my first pro video course Day & Night. In the tutorial, you will learn how to capture, create, edit and produce ideas for fine art photography and manipulations. It will be fast-paced, straight to the point learning exp
First Snow
Feeling inspired by the first snowfall of the season, I headed to one of my favorite spots near our home. There is always something magical about the first snow and how it lights up the landscape.The heavy snowfall and the beauty of the landscapes with calm water made me appreciate the moment. In th
Vacant Beach
Vacant Beach is a series of images captured one August night after summer season on the deserted Yyteri beach, Finland I visited Yyteri Beach a couple of weeks ago. After walking down to the beach first thing I noticed was this bright source of light in the distance of the beach. It was a new resta
Photography for Nokia 8
I'm honored to have another of my images chosen as the main image for Nokia. This time for the new Nokia 8 smartphone. The image was created using my Vision of Depth technique, I teach in my eBook: Star Photography Masterclass. More about the photograph can be found here.
Flow - Portugal
You might know that I love to capture night sky near a coastline. I traveled to Portugal to capture the beauty of night sky and the Atlantic Ocean. I was blown away by all of the little gems and beautiful seascape views in Portugal. This picture was captured near Telheiro a small beach. I spent my d
Night Editing
Borealis Presets
A calmer way to process aurora photographs without neon greens, muddy shadows, or overworked night skies.
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What's in my camera bag - Edition
The most typical question I get is what do I currently use for my photography. So here is the version of the gear I use daily in my photography and also some unusual stuff such as my favorite books at the moment. Camera Bag Let's start with the obvious, the camera bag. I have used p
How to Match Colors in Lightroom
In this tutorial, you will learn how to match two photographs colors in Lightroom to create a composite image. We will take advantage of the new Reference View in the Lightroom CC Develop Module to see the images side by side. I chose cold colors to give this final image cool atmosphere.
Star Photography Composite Tutorial
We released a new tutorial in collaborating with JuusoHD. The tutorial contains information and step-by-step process how to blend night and day images together using Lightroom and Photoshop. You can view the tutorial here. YOU WILL LEARN How to Create Composite Milky Way and Night S
Distant Land
Last year I had the pleasure to visit Chile and the Torres Del Paine national park with Konsta Punkka and the crew. We stayed there for eight days and shot a mini-doc series Exploring Earth's first episodes. If you haven't seen the series, check it out here: Exploring Earth – Patagonia.
Photography for the New Nokia SmartPhone
I'm proud to see one of my pictures selected as the new Nokia smartphone default background! You may have seen it in various places. There is an addition of another of my images in the catalog of the phones backgrounds. The mobilephone actually sold out in a minute in China! Here is a vie
Night Editing
Borealis Presets
A calmer way to process aurora photographs without neon greens, muddy shadows, or overworked night skies.
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Milky Way & Aurora
A couple of weeks ago I went on a six-day road trip with Sami ( @samiheiskanen ) from Helsinki to Utsjoki to all the way up to Varanger, Norway. Even with over 4500 km's of driving we had an excellent photo journey there. For the final day in Norway, we had a chance to watch the Northern
Way Of Light
Driving around Western Finland in pitch black night I found myself looking at train tracks to the horizon. Focusing on getting the settings perfect while the train sounds were breaking the silence of the night. It was a feeling to remember. While I was nowhere near the upcoming train, the moment cer
Glow
Capturing Perseid Meteor Shower is one of the things I try to shoot each year. This year we had luck with the weather and we headed to the coast with Konsta and Juuso. I set my time-lapse rail to a place I thought might work and set it to shoot for four hours. While my other camera was capturing the
Descent
After the bright summer nights, I'm excited that the astrophotography season has started in Finland. A couple of weeks ago I made a trip to Emäsalo, Finland. It's one of my favorite seascape places in Finland. I ended up going there four nights in a row to capture some time-lapse footage and still i
The Show
Last week I was photographing with Konsta Punkka ( @kpunkka ) and Juuso Hämäläinen ( @juusohd ). We had an amazing experience after a long beautiful summer day in Kasnäs, Finland. The clouds drifted away from the mainland and were greeted with a grandiose display of stars and storm clouds. I used tw
Prints
Limited Edition Prints
Bring the atmosphere into a real space with signed fine art works for calm interiors, studios, and collectors.
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Invisible by Day
Visible During the Night – Stars. I created a new set of images on Behance. This set includes photographs from Finland and Iceland. If you want to learn how my images are created visit the Learn section.
Summer Morning Dream
Even though I love to capture the stars and the Milky Way, I love summer mornings. In Finland, summer is so bright that you can't see the Milky Way. I have been photographing mostly on summer mornings and nights recently, and I found that they are full of mystery and beauty. Mist crawling to a field
How to find your vision in Photography
How to find your vision in photography, art, and life? One of the most common questions I get from people is: What should I do to find my vision as I'm just starting in photography? In this guide, I have gathered some tools you can start to use straight away. Without further ado, let's cut to the ch
Eight key things that make you stand out on Social Media – Major PING Alert!
Here is something a bit different from my regular posts. However, I believe it's something you will enjoy and learn from, whether you are a photographer, business owner or a freelancer. Last year I had the pleasure to teach a workshop in PING Helsinki (maybe you saw this post back then), which wa
The Abandoned World - Plane wreck in Iceland
There are plenty of unique views in Iceland, and while I visited the country, I knew this plane wreck was one of those sights I wanted to visit. Walking around this iconic plane wreckage in the darkness of night was one of my favorite and most emotional experiences in Iceland. The wind made the wrec
Prints
Limited Edition Prints
Bring the atmosphere into a real space with signed fine art works for calm interiors, studios, and collectors.
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Vast – Vík, Iceland
After driving to Vík for my first night in Iceland, I decided to head out and capture the beautiful night sky. I drove to multiple locations and one of which was Reynisfjara. This beach is a gem even in the daylight. I wanted to focus on the beautiful sky and vast landscape, so I ended up taking mul
Storm - Vik, Iceland
In January, I visited Iceland for the first time in my life. It was a magical experience to drive around the beautiful country. I'm sure I will return there some day. Here is a brief moment captured in Vík when the clouds gave. Equipment & Exif Nikon D810, Tamron 70–200 mm f2.8
My Favorite Equipment Part I - Everyday Gear for Star and Landscape Photography
Since I get a lot of questions about my photography gear and tools I use, I decided to create a new series of equipment. As many have said – gear doesn't matter! However, if you have decent gear, it can inspire and help you to create more! I look at gear as tools, when it works great it works with y
Dimension - Kilpisjärvi, Finland
I visited Kilpisjärvi in February and while I was there I had the pleasure to go out and explore the landscapes. I had a vision how I wanted to show the landscape. I captured this photograph on my first evening there. It was a quite windy, cold yet quiet environment. Standing in this beautiful scene
Presets Collection Saga
After a long wait, I finally present you the new fine art landscape and night sky Lightroom Preset Collection Saga! If you want to add a unique look to your night and landscape photographs the Saga Presets are perfect for you! It includes over 180 presets to suit your style with my post-processing
Astrophotography
Star Photography Masterclass
A practical way to improve how you plan, capture, and shape stronger night sky photographs in the field.
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View from Iceland
Hi, everyone. I hope your year has had a fantastic start! I had the pleasure to visit Iceland for the first time. It was an amazing place to travel. I will be creating a series of photographs from there, here is a teaser from my first night there. I'm currently working on a new set of Presets for st
in Pictures
Happy New Year everyone! A year has gone by and what a year it has been. I feel grateful that I can continue to do what I love! Thank you all for the support! As always I have gathered my favorite pictures from the previous year.
Winter Night Photography Checklist
It's that time of year when the temperature drops and snow covers landscapes. Winter is my favorite time to shoot landscapes. You can almost hear the silence from snow covered landscape photographs. The light is low and beautiful almost the entire day but as you know me I enjoy to photograph at nigh
How to capture sharp star photographs
Thanks for the email responses for my last tutorial. I got a couple of questions about how do I manage to get sharp images at night of the stars. In this tutorial, I have listed the key elements you have to master when you want to capture most crisp images at night. 1. Focus If you want
5 Steps to Work Like a Pro in Lightroom
In this tutorial, I show you how you can set up your Lightroom to optimize and quicken your workflow. I hope you enjoy the tutorial. 1. Use Collections and Smart Collections instead of Folders Creating a collection based catalog is the first thing I recommend to everyone who is starting to use Lig
Astrophotography
Star Photography Masterclass
A practical way to improve how you plan, capture, and shape stronger night sky photographs in the field.
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5 Steps to Boost Milky Way in Lightroom
Five steps how to boost stars and Milky Way in Lightroom. First you need a photograph captured in a dark situation pointing towards the Milky Way. Here is an example image captured in Yyteri, Finland. There are many things you need to know and consider before you can shoot these type of sce
Moonlit Road
I had the pleasure to witness this beautiful night view near Loviisa, Finland. The moonlight and fog created this unique atmosphere. This road is by far one of my favorite roads in Finland! Exif & Equipment Nikon D810, Nikkor 14–24 mm f/2.8 G ED, Sirui Tripod 30 sec. ISO 1000, f/
Dimension of Night
We have had a several beautiful clear nights over the past couple of months here in Finland. I captured this photograph in Meri-Pori, Finland. The photograph is a combination of two pictures. The first taken after sunset and the second one a couple of hours later from the same point of view. This te
Nikkor 14–24 mm f/2.8 G ED Review - Night Photography
I have now been using the Nikkor 14–24 mm f/2.8 G ED lens for the last month. As promised, here is an overview and review of the lens for the type of work I do. I have also included some photos taken with it in the daylight to show full-size unedited photographs. Introduction Nikkor 14–
Stillness of Night
I have been fortunate to photograph at night for the last couple of weeks. This is one of my favorites from the time. I used my Vision of Depth technique from my Night Photography Masterclass. You can learn it here: Star Photography Masterclass. Equipment & Exif Nikon D810, Nikon 14 - 24
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Searching For The Horizon
I had a great time last week in Yyteri, Finland. I walked down the beach and found a perfect spot to capture the Milky Way with reflections. This was one of the first photographs I took with the Nikon 14 - 24 mm f/2.8 lens. It's a fantastic piece of glass from the first impressions! I'll be writing
Star Photography Masterclass
As you may have noticed, it has been quite some time from my last post. Finally, after countless hours of work, I present to you my new eBook, Star Photography Masterclass. Here is a quick intro about the Masterclass. Learn more here. Essential Guide to Star and Milky Way Photography H
Apart
A night to remember in Mallorca, Spain. I was driving around the beautiful mountain roads Mallorca has to offer. It was a rainy evening, but I decided to go out anyway. As the clouds started to disappear behind the mountains I stopped the car and wanted to capture this view of road reflections of th
Visions of Depth
I created new series of photographs, Visions of Depth on Behance. It was just released and featured in Behance. As you may have noticed, I have updated the website and will be adding all of these works to my print shop as well. I'm currently working on my Masterclass Night Tutorial, and
Featured on Instagram
I feel honored that my work on Instagram was selected in April for a feature by Instagram. You can see the interview and my work here: Instagram Feature - Mikko Lagerstedt After the feature on Instagram I was also featured on multiple sites, you can see the list below. Thank you, everyone, for
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Bring the atmosphere into a real space with signed fine art works for calm interiors, studios, and collectors.
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Featured on Amateur Photographer
My work, tips and interview were featured in Amateur Photography Magazine. You can view the information here: Mikko Lagerstedt - Amateur Photographer Magazine.
Fine Art Print Shop
We have received numerous print inquiries, so we have worked long for an option to purchase my work directly from this website. The shop is now live! You can choose three different Hahnemühle fine art papers and various sizes for your preferred artwork. You can learn more about the printing
Artwork Collected to US Embassy
Last year I received information that the US Embassy had chosen two of my artworks to the Art In Embassy project here in Helsinki, Finland. I feel honored to have my work selected and displayed there amongst great artists. I will post some behind the scene footage once I have visited the US Embassy
How to Create A Night Panorama With Lightroom CC
Adobe released the new Lightroom CC couple of weeks ago and I wanted to write what are the new features it includes. Lightroom 5 had some great features and new updates like advanced healing brush, spot removal and radial gradient tools. In Lightroom CC, there are some new features as well. The new
Tranquil Night
I have always loved to photograph water. There is something magical about the planet we live in, and I have always enjoyed being around water, in fact, Earth surface is 75% water. I have plans to enjoy more places like this in the Summer. I captured this seascape in Cyprus. Do you have
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Bring the atmosphere into a real space with signed fine art works for calm interiors, studios, and collectors.
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The Lost World
New work created using my Lightroom Presets ( Phase Collection ) and a couple of my photographs. I had this work sitting on my computer for a long time, somehow I felt that now was the perfect time to share it. I hope you enjoy my new work! Exif & Equipment: Nikon D800, Nikon 14
Illuminated Night
We were fortunate to capture the Northern Lights couple of weeks ago when they hit the South of Finland. Here is another view of those beautiful lights dancing in the sky. For this photograph, I was there standing on a rock captured in Porvoo, Finland. Equipment and Exif Nikon D800, Samy
PHASE - Adobe Camera Raw Presets
I'm happy to announce that the new Phase presets available now in Adobe Camera Raw. The Fine Art Presets work best with Photoshop CS 5 and newer. I have now added a 5 Inspiration Exercises to Create Inspiring Photography -guide included in the Lightroom and Camera Raw Phase prese
Glowing Light
I captured this on the same night as my previous photograph. The Northern Lights were the strongest on this night when I captured this one. The silence and reflected green light made this an extraordinary moment. Sometimes you are in awe of nature, and this was one of those moments. I hope you enjoy
Workshop at Ping Helsinki
I'm happy to announce a new workshop about Atmospheric photography. This time it will be in Finnish, but there will be new workshop announcements later this year, so stay tuned! Tuleva työpaja: Tunnelmalliset valokuvat; järjestetään Ping Helsingin Eckerö Line Finlandian uudistuneessa kok
Guidance
Mentoring
For photographers who want direct feedback on editing, sequencing, or finding a stronger personal direction.
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Undefined Dream
Last night, as you may have seen - was an amazing show of the Northern Lights. Here is one of my photographs from the night. Exif & Equipment Nikon D800, Samyang 14 mm f/2.8 & Sirui Tripod R-4203L and K-40X 14 mm, f/2.8, ISO 6400, 15 sec. Basic editing in Lightroom Hop
Feature on Huffington Post & This Is Colossal
I have been really fortunate to be featured on several pages and magazines for the past month. To show my appreciation here is a list of the sites I have been featured on. If you wish to see the articles simply follow these links. Interview InMyBag Feature on
Edge - Portfolio Book
For galleries I want to send examples of my images and the best way to do this is with a solid portfolio book. As my old books were not suitable for this due to the heavy use, I decided couple of days ago to order a new portfolio book "Edge"&
How To Use Lightroom Presets Collection Phase
Hi everyone, I made a tutorial on how you can easily change the way your images look with the Phase Collection. The main idea of the Phase Collection is to save time with the editing and give you unique way to improve your photographs.
The Whole Universe Surrenders
Finally new work from just couple of days ago. I used two exposures to create this surreal effect. Remember to visit my exhibition Atmosphere open through 14th January to 8th of February in Pohjanmaan valokuvakeskus, Lapua. I was inspired to title my image by this q
Editing
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Built for atmosphere, restraint, and a stronger cinematic finish when your RAW files feel flat or unfinished.
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Exhibition Atmosphere - Lapua, Finland
My exhibition Atmosphere 14.1. - 8.2. at Pohjanmaan Valokuvakeskus (Vanha Paukku, Lapua, Finland).
in Pictures
It's that time of the year once again. I have included my favorite photographs from the past year. It has been a great journey in photography and I have learned a lot about myself and my photography. I was lucky to be published on the Telegraph, Daily Mail and Twisted
Preset Collection Phase
I'm thrilled to publish a completely new preset collection Phase. I believe it's the best editing solution I have ever created! It includes over 200 presets with a completely new system to work with your images, simple step-by-step work-flow. I hope everyone a wonderful
Winners of the Fine Art Preset Collection Phase
I'm happy to announce the Lightroom Preset giveaway winners, who have bought my previous Fine Art Lightroom Preset Collection. And the winners are... Bruno Melim Ari Pelkonen Julie Velky Congratulations to the winners! I will be sending the new Lightroom Phase Collecti
Everlasting Moment
A long night at the coast of Finland. For this photograph, I wanted to capture that everlasting and eternal feeling of movement and constancy. I captured this photograph on the same night as my previously published photograph Divided. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed to spend the whole nig
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Feature on the Daily Mail
I was very fortunate to have my photography series Edge published on the Daily Mail. Edge Print Collection can also be purchase from here: Print Collections.
Black Friday & Cyber Monday Sale - Actions & Presets
My presets are now on sale until the 2nd of December only! -40% from my Fine Art Photoshop Actions and Lightroom Presets! I will also give away my completely new upcoming Lightroom Preset Collection called "Phase" (49€) to three lucky persons who&a
Lost In The Mist
For the last couple of weeks I have been super busy working on my Exhibition Atmosphere. If you are in Helsinki, please go and check it out! More info can be found on my previous blog post and from Caisa Gallery. Even though I have been super busy, I have managed to ph
From The Darkness
I have been photographing now every day for the past week and a half - it feels great. I have always thought, that my photography inspiration comes only time to time, but creating an old habit is far more inspiring to me. I have always loved to take long walks and enjoy fresh air and by taking my ca
Autumn Sale
It's my pleasure to announce Autumn Sale for my fine art Lightroom Presets and fine art Photoshop Actions. Enjoy your weekend! The sale will last until 9th of November! Lightroom & Camera Raw Presets Photoshop Actions About the Photograph Nikon D800, Samyang 14 mm f/2.8 3
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Atmosphere Exhibition - Caisa Gallery
I'm happy to announce my new exhibition Atmosphere. It will be held in Caisa Gallery Helsinki, Finland. The exhibition will be on 21st November to 18th December. The gallery is open from Mondays to Fridays. Visiting hours are 9.00 to 18.00. You ca
Feature on The Telegraph
I was honored to be featured in one of the largest newspapers in the world The Telegraph. It's a great reminder that I'm on the path that I should be and it inspires me to work more for my photography. My project Night II was also featured on the TwistedSifters.
Pathway
This was taken at Tuusulanjärvi, Finland on one gorgeous foggy night. Walking this boardwalk at the middle of the night was quite scary experience and while I was taking this photograph I heard some strange noises behind me.. Sometimes the best photographs come from the situations you have to push y
Dreamy Night
Here is another shot taken at Yyteri beach, Finland. It was a beautiful night to walk around the beach alone. I think the light pollution gives this photograph dreamy atmosphere. I hope you like it! Equipment & Exif Nikon D800, Samyang 14 mm f/2.8, Sirui R-4203L tripod  
Fine Art Actions
Finally after many hours of testing and working on my Action Collection, I'm happy to announce my new and shiny Fine Art Action Collection is ready! There are four types of different actions in the Fine Art Action Collection.
Astrophotography
Star Photography Masterclass
A practical way to improve how you plan, capture, and shape stronger night sky photographs in the field.
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First Row
I'm thrilled to show you another photo from the same night as my previous photograph: Divided. I had some fun in Yyteri, Finland walking down the beach alone, just mesmerized by the beauty of life. I tried to capture the beautiful sight I witnessed while sitting on the bench from a spectators pers
Divided
The weather has been quite bad lately, so after glancing at the weather report, and finding out it should be clear skies for couple of hours near Pori, I had to go and take some star photos. I had an awesome trip. I drove around the area and captured couple of photographs. Here is first fro
Print Giveaway Winner & Luminous Night
Finally I have an internet connection to share the winner of the latest print giveaway! But before announcing the winner here is another shot from the same night as my previous photo.
Path
I had this vision for a blurry photograph before I went out at last night. This is how it turned out. Hope you like it! Equipment & Exif Nikon D800, Sigma 50 mm f/1.4, Sirui R-4203L tripod with K-40X ball head. ISO 100, 50 mm, f/1.4, 5.0 sec.
Raasepori Castle
This one is from last year when I had the pleasure to visit this unique place Raasepori Castle. It was a bit haunting to walk around this area on a quiet autumn night. I spent there couple of hours trying to find a perspective I liked, and this one was probably one of the first ones I took from ther
Guidance
Mentoring
For photographers who want direct feedback on editing, sequencing, or finding a stronger personal direction.
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Evening Mist
Last year I had the chance to capture this shipwreck scenery in a beautiful evening mist. Now the shipwreck has been pulled to the shore.. The light from the left actually comes from a construction hall of some kind. The moon silhouette behind the clouds was a great detail in the final shot.&nbs
Print Giveaway XIII & Preset Sale
I'm overwhelmed and truly inspired to have such a huge following in social media. So to show my appreciation, it's that time again - giveaway time! I will be giving away one 76 cm wide Metal Print from one of my photographs! We have also updated the shop section on the site where you can
Moment of Elegance
A view of a beautiful night from last autumn. I was really enjoying this quiet moment. It is me in the picture - I had to adjust the perspective quite a bit to get it straight like this, but it was worth it. Equipment & Exif Nikon D800, Samyang 14 mm f/2.8, Sirui R-4203L Tripod and Hähne
Alone In The Light
While going through some of my photographs from last year, I came across with this one. A shot on a beautiful misty Summer morning, taken about a year ago. As the sun was rising I had my camera on my tripod and used my remote controller to trigger the camera. Equipment
In the Silence
I was searching for some misty landscapes and went to one of my favorite places here in Kerava, Finland. I used my Sirui tripod and then adjusted the self-timer in camera with 10 seconds timer and just ran to the scene. I try to never forget how I have made it to where I'm today - this photo represe
Guidance
Mentoring
For photographers who want direct feedback on editing, sequencing, or finding a stronger personal direction.
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Night Photography Master Class eBook
I'm just starting to work on a Night Photography Master class eBook. It will be available this summer, if nothing unexpected happens. The eBook will contain specific details on how to create similar work as in my Edge series and also containing files to practice the post-processing. Enjoy
How To Use Graduated Filters & Radial Filters in Lightroom 5
I made a short video tutorial on how to use Graduated Filters and Radial Filter to balance pictures and add colors. Hope you like it. Sorry that I sound bit weird, but I have the flu.:) Things I'll go through in the tutorial. Balancing photo with Graduated Filter Adding color with
Reflected
A view reflected from a water puddle. Photographed just few days ago. Somehow I was drawn to capture this hot air balloon from different perspective, I saw it more dreamy this way. Equipment: Nikon D800, Nikon 16 - 35 mm f/4.0 VR Post-processing: Lightroom 5.4: Contrast, Vignetting an
Highway
I went out for a shoot last week and as it was predicted, the sky was clear. After a long drive and couple of photos I started to pack my gear and head back to home. After glancing from my rear view mirror I saw this spot where the sky and the road merged. I stopped my car and put my camera on my t
Print Shop and FAQ
I'm thrilled to release my print shop and a section of the most frequently asked questions. From the shop, you can order limited edition prints of my recent photographs and my most popular work. If you have any questions or print suggestions you ca
Editing
EPIC Presets
Built for atmosphere, restraint, and a stronger cinematic finish when your RAW files feel flat or unfinished.
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Blue
Cold simplicity at the coast of Finland. This seascape image was taken last month, when we still had some snow and cold weather. It seems like Winter has gone quickly this year and we have early spring already. I hope you enjoy this view, I most certainly did. Equipment Nikon D800, Niko
Exhibition at Kuva & Kamera Expo
If you missed my exhibition Edge in Järvenpää-talo. Don't worry, you can see it at the Messukeskus, Helsinki on 7th to 9th of March. More info about the event: http://www.kuvamessut.com/ohjelma-paikka/ohjelmatila-x/ (Finnish)
Night Walk
So the snow has already melted and the evenings are dark and mysterious. Here is a shot I took about two weeks ago. Equipment Nikon D800, Sigma 50 mm f/1.4 ISO 1600, f/1.4, 1/80 sec. Used one of my atmosphere presets (Dark Blue) as a base edit for the image.
Print Giveaway Winner XII
This was my twelfth Print Giveaway, and now is the time to reveal the winner. Drum rolls... Sofie Løve Forsberg She will be getting a limited edition, 50 cm print of one of my photos printed with high quality Hahnemühle PhotoRag paper. Thanks to everyone who participated. Cong
Frozen Moment
A shot on a the same evening as some of my work from Edge II, check rest of these here. Equipment Nikon D800, Nikon 16 - 35 mm f/4.0 VR and Sirui Tripod R-4203L & Sirui Ball Head K-40X ISO 100, 18 mm, f/8.0, 30 sec.
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Red Dawn
A beautiful foggy morning from last summer. I shot this after a really long night photographing trip to Hanko. I remember I was really freezing here, because of the humidity and after a long night out. Equipment Nikon D800, Nikon 16 - 35 mm f/4.0 VR and Sirui Tripod R-4203L & Sir
Dream II
Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!
Lightroom Preset Giveaway
Happy Valentine's Day everyone! To enter in the draw for a Fine Art Lightroom Preset Giveaway, just leave a comment on this post! I'll release the winner tomorrow!:) Good luck everyone! UPDATE: And the winner is... José María Picón Congrats to José and thanks to everyo
Exhibition at Gallery Järnätti
My current solo-exhibition is up and running in Järvenpää-talo, Finland. If you are around let me know and I can meet you there. The exhibition will end on the 1st of March. The prints turned out absolutely fantastic. Thanks to Dialab Oy, Hahnemühle and Interfoto Oy. Here are few shots from t
How to Fix Light Leak in Lightroom
Occasionally when I use my Nikon D800 and Nikkor 16 - 35 mm f/4.0 VR lens, I get these light leaks in long exposure photos also when using high ISO. Here is a quick and easy way to get rid of the light leaks by using the Adjustment Brush. Before:
Prints
Limited Edition Prints
Bring the atmosphere into a real space with signed fine art works for calm interiors, studios, and collectors.
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Edge II
New project from my latest work: Visions from the Edge II
Print Giveaway XII
Thank you everyone for following me! I truly appreciate the feedback I get and this is a great opportunity to give something back to you. A gift to one lucky winner! This is also a great opportunity to celebrate my 2nd Solo Exhibition start in Järvenpää-talo.:) I don't like wh
Arctic Symphony
A beautiful evening at the coast of Finland. I loved how the mist made the horizon disappear. These moments are really those what I search for when I go out and take photos.
Alone & Forgotten
I have similar shot to this from my early days, but somehow I liked how this looks. I shot this last October on a beautiful foggy evening. Nikon D800, Nikon 16 - 35 mm f/4.0 VR, Sirui Tripod R-4203L & Sirui Ball Head K-40X ISO 100, 35 mm, f/4.0, 30 sec.&nbs
How To Install Lightroom Presets: Lightroom CC and CC Classic
A quick guide on how to install Lightroom CC and Classic Presets for desktop computers. Mac OS and Windows.
Guidance
Mentoring
For photographers who want direct feedback on editing, sequencing, or finding a stronger personal direction.
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Essential Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts for Photographers
Here is a essential shortcut set for photographers using Photoshop to make your processing faster. Work space: F Switch Between Screen Mode CTRL+0 Fit Image In The Screen or Window CTRL/CMD + Zoom In CTRL/CMD - Zoom Out CT
Frozen Echo
Quiet, cold and blue. It has been quite a change in the weather for the past two weeks. Cold and clear skies, now we just need this to continue so we can all enjoy it as much as possible! Here is a dual exposure vertorama taken at the coast of Finland merged together in Photoshop. Hope you like it.&
Silent Elegance
It was freezing cold in Emäsalo, Finland yesterday evening. Just when the sun had set I saw this beautiful frost covered rock in the sea. I had the 10 stop B&W ND -filter on and set the exposure to 90 sec. Hope you like it. Nikon D800, Nikon 16 - 35 mm f/4.0 & Sirui Tripod R-4203L,
How To Use Fine Art Lightroom Presets
Here is a short video tutorial on how to edit photos by using my Fine Art Lightroom Presets. For these examples, I used the Star & Milky Way presets and the Split Toning Presets.
Exhibition in Järvenpää-talo
I'm happy to announce that my upcoming solo exhibition will be held in Järvenpää-talo, Finland through 5th February to 28th February. Here is a link to the website of the place: http://www.jarvenpaatalo.fi/ (finnish only)
Night Editing
Borealis Presets
A calmer way to process aurora photographs without neon greens, muddy shadows, or overworked night skies.
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How To Organize Photos in Lightroom Using Smart Collections
My Lightroom Catalogue was such a mess few days ago.. And my backups weren't really up to date and after reading some horror stories on loosing your images I wanted to make this my priority number uno. It's not a sexy task, but definitely something I had to do. The Collections and Folders were unor
How To Process Fog & Mist Pictures in Lightroom
Hey everyone and Happy New Year! I thought I would give you insight on how I go through processing images taken in foggy situations. Here is a shot I took in Porvoo, Finland on one summer morning, just before the sunrise. Gear: Nikon D800, Nikon 16-35 mm f/4.0 VR, Sirui Tripo
Great Resources For Photographers
A collection of websites I find very interesting and great sources of inspiration. If you are stuffed with Christmas food and not ready to go out and take photos, you might want to check these sites out.:) Photography Inspiration 1x.com Curated photography gallery - a great source of ins
in Pictures
Hey everyone, here are my favorite photos published on. Thanks for the amazing year! Happy Holidays!:)
Giveaway Winners
So it's finally the day to announce the giveaway winners. I'm overwhelmed by the amount of people who participated! That's amazing! Thank you so much each and everyone! To thank you, I decided to give three Fine Art Lightroom Preset Collections! Lightroom Fine Art Preset Collection &
Astrophotography
Star Photography Masterclass
A practical way to improve how you plan, capture, and shape stronger night sky photographs in the field.
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Lightroom Presets Christmas Giveaway
Hey everyone, hope you are well and soon ready for the Holidays! I present to you my Fine Art Lightroom Presets which I've been working on for a long time. A collection of presets I have used for my work for the past few years. I made three categories: Fog & At
Print Giveaway
Today my Photography Facebook Page reached a benchmark I couldn't even believe my page could have. I'm really happy and overwhelmed by all the people following my work on various pages, for example Facebook, Google+ and now on my tumblr site. I truly appreciate the
The End
I had great time in Meri-Pori Finland last Sunday. Here is a picture from my trip there. It was great fun, but freezing cold in the very windy conditions. Luckily my tripod was solid enough for the windy condition. This is an addition to the series Edge. Equipment Nikon D800 Samyang 1
Dark Times II
It has been dark, rainy and we even had couple of foggy days. Here is a dreamy image from couple of my images. I included some detail shots on what lies in the image when you view it closely. I hope you like the image. Hope to have some light soon to this darkness.
How To Process Star & Night Sky Pictures in Lightroom 5 & Photoshop
So after a successful photo trip ( Top 5 Tips to Photograph Stars & Night Sky ) to take photos of stars, here are a simple process I use to edit the RAW files. These work both in Lightroom 4, 5 and Camera Raw. I edit my pictures in 16 bit mode with Color Profile of Pro Photo and File Format
Editing
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Built for atmosphere, restraint, and a stronger cinematic finish when your RAW files feel flat or unfinished.
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Night At The Park
Another view from the park - I sat down to enjoy the fresh air. Equipment: Nikon D800, Nikon 16 - 35 mm f/4.0 VR Sirui Tripod R-4203L + Sirui Ball Head K-40X Exif: 35 mm, f/4.0, ISO 100, 30 sec.
How To Photograph Stars & Night Sky, Top 5 Tips
I got few emails regarding photographing the stars. So here are few of my tips to photograph stars and what I do to plan before going out. If you want to learn more about star photography, check out my eBook: Star Photography Masterclass 1. Location Scouting This is act
Aurora Borealis
I had the chance to witness these beautiful lights of Aurora Borealis on one Summer night in Hanko, Finland. Usually we don't see these many times in the Southern part of Finland, but this time I got lucky. Equipment: Nikon D800, Nikon 16 - 35 mm f/4.0 VR 35 mm, f/4.0, ISO 640
In The Spotlight
Hi everyone. Usually I try to find something storytelling on a location, but sometimes you find it out later. This was the fact here. I even moved the other bench, when I was there off from the picture to have a cleaner photo - after I saw this photo back from my camera, but the fact that the anothe
These Pieces Fit
I was driving through some places few nights ago and stopped on this park to see if there was something to shoot. This bench was nicely in the middle of these two trees. Some fog and light to make it interesting. Waiting for more nights like these. Equipment: Nikon D800 Nikon 16 - 35 mm f
Astrophotography
Star Photography Masterclass
A practical way to improve how you plan, capture, and shape stronger night sky photographs in the field.
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Award - International Photography Awards (IPA)
Hello everyone, I'm really honored to announce that my series Alone won the 3rd place in International Photography Awards ( link ). I also got three Honorable Mentions from two of my series and one image. I'm really excited to have been chosen from the numerous entries they had this year. 
Night Animals
Hey everyone! I'm excited to reveal a new small dreamy series of night animals wondering around the city while people are sleeping. Hope you like it!:)
Bridge
A shot I took about a month ago as the one I posted earlier here. Used the Ricoh GR to take this one with settings: f/2.8, 18.3 mm, ISO 100 and 1/10 sec.
Stars - Samyang 14 mm f/2.8
Hey everyone. I had great time photographing the stars few days ago near Kouvola, Finland. Here is couple of shots I shot while I was there. I used the Samyang 14 mm f/2.8 lens, which turned out to be excellent lens to capture the stars.
Moonrays
Fog and moonlight does wonders in the middle of the night. Here is one of my favorites from this night. Thanks for looking!:)
Night Editing
Borealis Presets
A calmer way to process aurora photographs without neon greens, muddy shadows, or overworked night skies.
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Something About a Tree
Autumn night's can be beautiful - cold, clear and foggy. I did a night long trip to Southern Finland and visited this special place I had never been at. After a long walk around this place I decided to capture this lonely tree standing front of mist.
Lonely Morning
Hey everyone! Since I have a lot of photos I need to backup I usually go through them once a month or so and occasionally I find something that I had missed. Here is a shot from last autumn. It was truly a beautiful morning. The fog in the background looks like mountains.
Night Flight
Excited to share this dreamy picture, made from couple of my photos. Click to view large. I'm really honored to get such a great feedback from everyone. I truly appreciate it.
Vision
A long exposure shot with the Ricoh GR - camera. I used the built in ND - filter for this to make the streaks longer and to balance the street lights.
Path
I search for beautiful light and fog while I'm out there - I think this was the case couple of days ago when I took this photo of a misty morning path. I also have a Winter shot of this place, attached below. Thanks for looking. Enjoy your week!:)
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Print Giveaway
Hey everyone. For the 10th print giveaway I arranged a 40 inch / 100 cm limited edition 1/5 print of my photo Detour - and the winner was Dan. I just received the Hahnemühle 308 gsm print myself and will shortly send the print to Dan. Here are few photos of the print. I
Noctilucent Night II
This was shot same place as the Dawn - photos. I love how the place looked completely different at the night, also how the mist added so much depth to the view. Thanks for viewing, enjoy your week! Equipment Nikon D800, Nikon 16 - 35 mm f/4.0 VR, Sirui Tripod R-4203L & Sirui Bal
Noctilucent Clouds
Another view of these beautiful noctilucent clouds. Reminds me of one of my early shots from this place. However the light seems in these two. Here are the both images taken pretty much 4 years apart. Hope you like both of these.
Noctilucent Night
Yesterday I had the chance to capture few photos with Noctilucent clouds. It's really incredible how much light comes from these clouds. Here is a self portrait I took. I used a radio trigger to take the picture.
Infinity
A foggy morning shot on a field. It was relaxing to be here after a long night photographing everywhere.:)
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Features & Suggestions
Hey everyone. Couple of my images has ended up in magazines. Here is few photos of those. If you have any suggestions for tutorials or posts, leave a comment here and I will try to make them.
Dawn
Sometimes when you go out and try to take pictures of something that you had in mind, you will end up with a completely different photo. I managed to be here for the perfect sunrise on this beautiful summer dawn. This was shot at Tuusulanjärvi, Finland shot with the Nikon D800
New Camera - New Photos - Ricoh GR
Hi everyone. I've been taking some pictures with the new Ricoh GR -camera and I'm very impressed by it's capabilities. Here are couple of simple shots I took with it. I hope to go out more and take pictures with this little beast and with my D800. If you have any questions drop them here.
Summer Night in Finland
A couple of weeks ago I spent an entire night driving around and searching for something interesting to photograph. I saw some fog in the field and stopped to see if I would see anything else to make the photo more interesting. These four cows were half asleep and I sneaked to take the shot and didn
Endless Depths
A self portrait I took about a week ago at the lake.. The night was quite chilly but the water was warm. Loved to be there. I hope everyone a great weekend and Happy Mid Summer to all my followers!:) Remember to check out the print giveaway on my facebook! Equipment: Nikon
Guidance
Mentoring
For photographers who want direct feedback on editing, sequencing, or finding a stronger personal direction.
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Alone - Photography Video
A short photography video I made from my series: Alone. It was something new for me to work on and fool around with. I hope you like the video! I'm planning on making another video in the future. There is a print giveaway in my Facebook page, you can take a part in it by liking my page and liking th
On My Way
I was driving through some interesting road, one night about a week ago. Stopped the car and took this photo. I find something really interesting about roads. Many would just say that it's just a road, but it has so many different meanings for me. Where are you going, wha
Dream - Advanced Photoshop Magazine tutorial
Hey everyone! I made an image for the Advanced Photoshop Magazine issue 110. Check it out, it should be available now! Hope you like the end result!
Photography video & print giveaway
Hello everyone, hope you are having a good week! I'm currently working on a photography video of some of my favorite photos. It should be ready in the next couple of weeks. I will be announcing a print giveaway at the same time, so stay tuned! Here is a sneak behind
Lili
Hey everyone, here is something quite different than used to this page. Here is a reason I have been slightly busy for the last couple of months. Her name is Lili and she is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. She is quite a princess and definitely has some character.:) Hope you like the p
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Lost in the shadows
A photo I just recently discovered while going through my pictures. I needed to pump up the contrast to get that lonely person even slightly visible in the image. Hope you like it.
Shipwreck
A long exposure of a shipwreck. I would be glad to get feedback what kind of tutorials would you like to see from me. Comment below if you have suggestions! ISO 100, 869 sec., f/10, 35 mm. Hoya ND 400 and B&W 10 stop neutral density filters. Nikon D800 and Nik
Dark times
It has been dark and rainy for the last few days. The snow is starting to melt and the spring is near, even if it doesn't look like it. The times seems dark and mysterious and to represent the time here is a new dreamy image.. Thank you for looking. Enjoy your week!
New blog
Hello everyone. After a website update I finally decided to go for a new blog page also. You can view all my old posts from my blogger page: mikkolagerstedt.blogspot.com New photos coming soon!