In my salad days I posted some supremely unflattering selfies. I was a photo newbie, a bearded amateur mugging for the camera. I'm happy to say that the results of my self-portraits (shared below purely for educational purposes, of course) have improved through experience, but if I had a ruthless robot telling me where I was going wrong it would have been a lot easier. Luckily, the magic of machine learning is now upon us, and it's here to tell us how to take a good selfie.

The sensor of a digital camera is one of the most delicate parts of the device. While lenses can be replaced, a damaged sensor poses a significantly trickier repair job. But, from time to time, you're going to need to get in their to clean the thing and when it comes to the mirrorless variety, you don't have to get yourself into a tight ball of anxiety in preparation.

You might have your selfie game down pat, but making a living as a photographer requires more than picking the right Instagram filter. Fortunately, you can master the essentials of taking stunning, gallery-worthy photos with the Ultimate Photography & Photoshop Bundle.

I guess Apple got fed up with all the other guides on the internet explaining how one takes photos with the iPhone. Well, the iPhone 7 specifically. So, the company has gone to the trouble of putting together a series of tutorial videos to make sure people can take great mobile shots, while satisfying their inner hipster.

As a solo traveller, it's challenging to capture my adventures: I want to include myself in the picture and I'm not about to use a comically long selfie stick. I also rarely feel comfortable handing my camera or phone to strangers. But that doesn't mean I'm about to miss out on social media-worthy moments. Instead, I re-imagined how I took selfies.

Most of us don't look like Instagram models (we all know those semi-famous people with a constant stream of flawless Instagram poses), but that doesn't mean we can't look as good in our photos as they do. You just have to have a few tricks up your sleeve when your friend whips out their phone and says, "I'm 'gramming this!"

I shoved my phone in my husband's face to show him a picture I'd taken of the New York skyline. "It's good, right?" I asked, way too proud of myself because, frankly, it was not good. "Well," he said. "Imagine how good it would look if you knew what you were doing." I rolled my eyes but took him up on his offer to teach me about exposure.

A general rule of photography is the faster the subject, the faster the shutter speed. That's all good and well, but cameras are precise devices. You can stuff around with shutter speeds and aperture settings until you get the result you want, but why not start with a good baseline and work from there? This handy chart from Phototraces will get you most of the way.

Especially if you're new to photography, you might not know what to expect from different lenses. This online tool lets you compare lenses according to actual pictures photographers have taken with that lens.

There is only one place on the internet that is nice. There is only one place that does not add to my anxiety and actually alleviates the low level dread that comes with the ubiquitous awareness of being online all of the time. That place is Instagram.

When it comes to landscape photography, shooting weather is one of the trickier things to capture. A sunny day? Sure, that's not hard. But how about a storm — lightning strikes in particular? There are a lot of factors to consider, beyond the quality of your gear.

A shaky camera means blurry photos, and while some cameras and lenses come with built-in stabilisation, it doesn't hurt to make sure you're holding the camera the right way to begin with. This video shows you how it's done.

Shooting decent video is more than pointing a camera at something and hitting record. If you want to transform your videos from mediocre to great, here's what you need to work on.

When you're over in the US, one of the best things to do is visit the famous national parks where you get to see the preserved natural wonders; each park offers unique views. Recently a former National Geographic photographer visited every national park and tabulated the ones most likely to take your breath away.

Your camera's angle can completely change the look of your photo. When you shoot subjects from a low angle, they tend to look larger and more powerful. In this video, photographer Ted Forbes explains how it works.

Photography is an appealing hobby because there's no barrier to entry; you can just grab a camera and hit the pavement. That also means budding photographers who are just learning as they go often make the same mistakes. Here are three such mistakes common to inexperienced photographers.

Video: If you're looking to take slick photos of small items, whether they're toys, product shots or things you're looking to sell online, it's pretty easy to make a little photography studio using nothing but household items.

If you have old instant camera photos lying around, here's a fun way to repurpose them. In the above video, photographer Matt Day shows you how to do an emulsion lift so you can transfer those photos to paper for a vintage, distressed look.

Dear Lifehacker, My 15 year old son has really started getting into photography - it has quickly become one of his favourite subjects at school. I'd love to get him a decent camera (under $1000) that can grow with him and his skills, for a few years at least. What's the best direction to go in?