How do I photograph children, pets and other moving subjects?
Shutter speed thresholds, continuous autofocus and burst mode, and pre-focusing where the action will be.
intermediate25 min3 min read
Practical Skills
The things everyone is assumed to know already.
355 guides in Lifestyle
How do I prepare and assemble miniatures before painting?
Mould lines, washing, sub-assemblies and the decision about how much to build before painting — the preparation stage that decides how good the paint job can possibly be.
beginner45 min5 min readHow do I restore an old piece of wooden furniture?
Assessing before you start, cleaning rather than stripping, fixing loose joints properly, and when restoring destroys the value.
intermediate8 hr4 min readHow do I sew stretchy fabric on an ordinary sewing machine?
The stitch that stretches, the needle that stops holes appearing, and why straight stitch snaps the moment the seam is pulled.
intermediate40 min4 min readHow do I sew up a knitted jumper so the seam does not show?
Mattress stitch worked one full stitch in from each edge, the order the pieces go together, and why blocking before seaming makes the whole job easier.
intermediate1 hr 30 min4 min readHow do I shoot video that does not look amateur?
Four habits separate watchable footage from unwatchable: a stable frame, a fixed exposure, coverage shot in separate shots, and sound recorded close to the source.
intermediate22 min4 min readHow do I start watercolour painting?
Why the paper matters more than the paint, working light to dark, and the water control that decides everything.
beginner1 hr3 min readHow do I stop my phone camera refocusing and changing brightness?
Autofocus and auto exposure keep re-deciding while you compose. Locking both to the spot you care about is one gesture, and it is the difference between a usable shot and a lucky one.
beginner10 min3 min readHow do I tune a guitar?
Standard tuning, tuning up to the note rather than down, and why a guitar that will not stay in tune usually needs new strings.
beginner10 min4 min readHow do I use a biscuit joiner?
Registering off the face rather than the fence, marking with a pencil tick rather than a measurement, and what the swelling biscuit is actually doing.
beginner30 min4 min readHow does a sewing machine actually make a stitch?
The needle never passes through to the other side. What actually happens is a loop, a hook that catches it, and a knot pulled up into the middle of the cloth — and knowing that explains almost every fault.
beginner10 min4 min readHow should I practise an instrument so I actually improve?
Playing through a piece is not practice. Isolating what you cannot do, slowing it below the speed of error, and the short daily session that beats a long weekly one.
beginner30 min5 min readThin or thick plastic cement — which one do I need?
Two products that look identical on the shelf and behave completely differently. Which one welds a seam invisibly, which one buys you time, and where superglue and PVA belong instead.
beginner10 min4 min readWhat is tension in knitting and why did my jumper come out the wrong size?
What a tension square is, how to measure it properly, and why changing needle size rather than how you knit is the fix.
beginner40 min3 min readWhat is the difference between a knit stitch and a purl stitch?
They are the same stitch seen from opposite sides — which explains garter stitch, stocking stitch and why stocking stitch curls.
beginner10 min3 min readWhich instrument should I start learning as an adult?
Four practical constraints decide this far better than musical taste — how quickly you get a recognisable sound, how loud it is, whether you can carry it, and whether you can play alone.
beginner25 min5 min readWhich lens should I buy after the kit lens?
Working out what your kit lens stops you doing, why a cheap fast prime is the usual answer, and reading the numbers on a lens.
beginner25 min3 min readWhich microphone do I actually need?
Choose by what the microphone must reject as much as by what it must capture. Room, distance and the number of people decide the answer far more than the price does.
intermediate20 min4 min readWhy do my dovetails have gaps?
The five places a dovetail gap comes from, how to tell which one you have from where the gap is, and what can honestly be repaired.
intermediate20 min3 min readWhy do my photos come out orange or blue?
Your eye adapts to the colour of the light and a camera does not. Indoor bulbs are orange, shade is blue, and mixed light is the case that defeats automatic correction entirely.
beginner14 min4 min readWhy have my mitre joints opened up?
A mitre that was tight when you made it and has a gap a year later is usually wood movement, not bad cutting — and the two look completely different.
beginner20 min3 min readWhy is my airbrush spitting, clogging or spraying nothing?
Read the spray pattern and it names the fault. Spatter, spidering, grain and no flow at all point to four different causes, and only one of them is the paint.
intermediate20 min5 min readWhy is my polymer clay still soft or brittle after baking?
Soft, brittle and crumbly after baking are three different faults with three different causes — and in almost every case the answer is more time at the correct temperature, not more heat.
beginner20 min4 min readWhy is my wood finish blotchy, sticky or streaky?
Uneven absorption, oil left to dry on the surface, and the recoat window — the three faults behind almost every bad finish.
beginner1 hr4 min read