Hey friends,

Thank you for all the replies after last week's launch! Reading about your dream destinations and seeing your work was honestly the best part. Keep them coming.

Quick note for anyone new here: This is The Weekly Frame, where I share what's working in my photography, stories from the road, and practical tips you can use immediately. My goal is to help you level-up as a photographer and creator.

Now, let's dive in! I just got back from one of the wildest places I've ever been...

As I’m writing this, I just arrived home last night after 48+ hours of travel back from Socotra. It’s an extremely remote island in the Arabian Sea, so I had a few extra long layovers through Abu Dhabi, Doha, Seattle and (finally) back home to Utah.

It’s hard to put it all into words… Socotra is incredible. The people are so kind and humble (we had the best tour guides), the landscapes are massive and awe-inspiring, the coolest trees and plants I’ve ever seen that are endemic to Socotra, massive white-sand beaches, cliff-sides with insanely blue water… I could keep going and going.

To be blunt, Socotra is one of the most under developed places I’ve ever been. I returned home feeling an immense amount of privilege to be able to do what I do - and I’m so grateful to be able to share a glimpse of what it is like there with you all, so stay tuned!

We went with @travelingsocotra who treated us extremely well and made the whole trip seamless. If Socotra is on your bucket list, I definitely recommend them.

I already edited two fun teaser videos while I was traveling and posted them - I’ll add them below in the email for you to check out!

Everyone learns the basic composition rules like the rule of thirds, horizon on the top or bottom third, subject off-center, keep things balanced.

It’s so common while I’m shooting that I’m trying to think of an insane comp that no one else has ever thought of doing and I miss the reality that simple might be all that location needs.

One example of this in Socotra is dead-center composition - especially for the dragon blood trees. Symmetry is actually quite rare in nature so even though it might seem like a very simple composition, it actually is so strong when you find it happening naturally.

When I use symmetry or simply just center the subject:

The key word is intentional. There's a difference between accidentally centering something because you're not thinking about composition, and deliberately choosing to center it because it serves the image better.

Next time you're shooting, try both. Get creative and try to get that odd composition but don’t forget the strong compositions that are staring you right in the face :)

DJI drone ban update: December 23 deadline looming. For all my drone friends, the FCC recently voted to grant itself retroactive power to ban previously approved devices, and unless a U.S. national security agency completes a security review of DJI by December 23, 2025, DJI will be automatically added to the FCC Covered List. This means no new DJI imports or sales after that date. DJI drones already in your hands remain legal to use, but future firmware updates, parts, and support may become limited. If you've been eyeing a DJI drone (Mini, Mavic, Air series), now's the time - inventory is already thin and many retailers are sold out.

Lightroom's denoise just got better. Adobe rolled out improvements to its AI-powered noise reduction tool, and it's genuinely impressive for high-ISO landscape and astro shots. If you haven't tried it on your grainiest files, it's worth running a test. The detail retention is wild compared to traditional denoise tools.

I want to highlight a creator that has really inspired me with his photography and sense of creating insane scale!

Chris (@black.sail_) and I traveled around Socotra last week together, and it’s always amazing to meet someone in person who I’ve looked up to. His work is not only phenomenal but he is also an incredible person to create and travel with.

Chris blows my mind, he just sees the landscapes differently. I swear he has a 400mm lens attached to his eyes at all times. He picks these little pieces of the landscape, zooms in and BAM - banger photo emerges.

What I learned from Chris: Don't just photograph the whole landscape - find the story within the story.

I know most of us want to avoid thinking about this, but… winter is coming!

Because I live in Utah, and regularly shoot in even colder places like Alaska and Banff, these Rechargeable Magnetic Hand Warmers have been soooo nice.

(I literally want to die when I forget to bring them with me on cold trips.)

Cold hands aren't just uncomfortable - they make you clumsy with camera settings, slow to react to changing light, and more likely to stop when the best light is still happening.

These ones are really nice because they’re small enough to fit in your pockets and magnetically stay together so you’re less likely to lose one. They’re also pretty cheap (usually less than $30) and you can just grab them on Amazon.

(Full transparency: I earn a small commission if you grab one through this link. It helps keep this newsletter free and my coffee mug full. Thanks for supporting!)

I'm planning future emails and want to make sure I'm covering what actually helps you.

Hit reply and tell me: What is the ONE photography skill you most want to improve right now?

See you next Thursday,
Paige

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P.S. Interested in Lightroom Presets? Check out my Preset Packs below, made specifically for travel, landscape, & nature.