It has been 11 years since I bought the Think Tank Airport Security V2 trolley as my main bag for weddings. It served its purpose, and I’m still happy with the bag. In this article, I want to review the bag based on my findings from the first moment I bought the Think Tank trolley back in 2011.
Many thought vlogging would be a brief trend, but it's safe to say that was not an accurate prediction. Many content creators weave in vlogs as a way of engaging their audience further and more regularly. However, shooting and editing vlogs can be highly time-consuming unless you know what you're doing.
DJI recently released the Avata, and it's made quite the buzz around town. So, how did this experienced drone pilot find flying the DJI Avata for the first time?
Nikon announces another wide angle zoom to add to its lineup of Z glass: the NIKKOR Z 17-28mm f/2.8.
It’s one thing to plan a restaurant shoot or a client brief for a particular project, but how do you go about planning and photographing a much longer project, like a cookbook? In this post, I’m sharing my tips on how to photograph a self-published cookbook, but the advice holds true for a longer project like an e-book too.
In the past year, Fujifilm has been on a tear, releasing a wide range of powerful new cameras and versatile lenses. One such lens is the XF 18-120mm f/4 R LM PZ WR, which combines a do-it-all focal length range with a variable power zoom for filmmaking applications. This excellent video review takes a look at the 18-120mm f/4 and the sort of image quality and performance you can expect from it in practice.
Photoshop is a tremendously intricate and layered program, and it can often take several clicks to navigate to the function you want. Keyboard shortcuts can save you a lot of time and help keep you in the creative zone instead of trying to hunt down the feature you need. This excellent video tutorial will show you 19 lesser-known keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop that are sure to make you a more efficient editor.
Recently, Lewis Capaldi “took his clothes off and traumatized the general public all in the name of shameless self-promotion.” The conclusion was that sex sells. What does this mean for photographers who work in the advertising world? What does this say about the body of work you should have? Read on to find out.
Do you think the locations around you are boring and really not worth your time? This will help inspire you and breathe new life into your photography.
Viltrox has established themselves as a company producing extremely affordable lenses that nonetheless offer good image quality and respectable performance. For Sony, Fujifilm, and Nikon mirrorless APS-C shooters, the AF 13mm f/1.4 lens offers an appealing combination of a wide focal lens and wide maximum aperture, and this excellent video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in usage.
Looking for a competitively priced compact flash that will fit in your pocket and work with your Fujifilm X-T4, your Sony Alpha, and your Leica M6? Check out our review.
Fujifilm has recently announced the new and highly anticipated XF 56mm f/1.2 R WR. This lens is an update to the popular 56mm f/1.2 R lens, which has been a favorite of Fujifilm X users since it was announced in early 2014. But how much improvement can we see? Have the criticisms of the original lens been addressed? This fantastic video gives real-world insight.
We photographers love gear. If you're like me, you probably have a corner (or a basement) filled with modifiers, filters, lenses, lights, and more. The truth is that we don't need a ton of expensive gear to create dramatic results, and in my latest video, I will show you how to create a Rembrant-style portraits using one off-brand flash in a small modifier.
Working in Photoshop with multiple layers and then trying to navigate to those layers to make tweaks to your edits can sometimes be time-consuming and at times also very annoying if you have forgotten to name the layer.
Photography might well be the most gear-intensive pastime on the planet, which means that while there is some incredible gear available for purchase, there are also plenty of duds to waste your money on. Are these some of the worst photography purchases you've seen?
Yes, the video says it's for posing women, but it works for everyone. It's for posing, it's for comfort levels, and it will help you run a more successful set. Here are three of my tips for helping models have a more successful photoshoot.
Topaz Labs, creator of well-respected applications like DeNoise AI and Sharpen AI, has announced Photo AI, an all-in-one AI-powered image editor that combines the company's best tools into an "autopilot" editing program, allowing photographers to do everything in one app alone.
Editing images is no easy task to undertake. Using editing software such as Lightroom or Capture One requires quite a bit of learning and getting used to. However, even if you know how to use editing software, you still need to edit images in such a way that enhances their beauty, rather than destroys it. Essentially, you need to know the why behind the how. Here are some mistakes I made when editing pictures because of not knowing the why.
Radiant Photo has launched, and it promises to give you photo edits with beautiful colors, crisp details, and natural renderings in just a click, giving you more consistent and professional images in less time, no matter what you shoot.
There are some extremely popular and well-known landscape photography locations out there, so much so that they are essentially bucket list items for a lot of people. When they are that popular, though, is there any point in photographing them? This excellent video essay features an experienced landscape photographer discussing the topic.
The pin-up model was one of the most iconic styles of the 20th century, and even today, decades after its heyday, it is still a very recognizable and eye-catching look that makes for great portraits. In this great video tutorial, you will learn how a vintage nude pin-up portrait was conceptualized, lit, and photographed.
Datacolor’s new Spyder Checkr Photo is a sized-down version of the original Spyder Checkr professional color reference tool while also being a vast improvement over the previous smaller version, the Spyder Checkr 24.
When it comes to do-it-all lenses, few can tackle a wider variety of needs and shooting scenarios than a high-quality 50mm lens with a wide aperture, which is suitable for anything from portraits to low-light events coverage. For Sony shooters, the FE 50mm f/1.2 GM offers the company's best design features and capabilities, and this exellent video review takes a look at the image quality and performance you can expect from it in practice.
When it comes to landscape photography, a wide angle lens is usually the tool of choice and for good reason. Nonetheless, you do not have to use wide focal lengths exclusively. In fact, a telephoto lens can be a powerful tool that enables new creative opportunities. This awesome video will show you just what you can accomplish with a telephoto lens, particularly when you use one with macro capabilities.
Fujifilm's latest X Series camera, the X-H2 is here, and it brings with it a 40-megapixel sensor, the highest ever in an APS-C mirrorless camera. Along with all that resolution comes a wide range of impressive features, and this excellent video review takes a look at all those features as well as the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in usage.
There is a ton of gear buying advice on the internet. It ranges from people telling you to spend thousands on gear, to people saying all you need is a stick and a brick. I try to be somewhere in between and buy gear based on factors such as return on investment, need versus want, and return on creativity.
When it comes to landscape photography, you can certainly use prime lenses, but most professionals prefer the versatility and convenience of a zoom lens. So, what are the essential zoom lenses for a landscape photographer? This excellent video tutorial features an experienced landscape shooter discussing the three essential zoom lenses for the genre.
Being good with a camera and having creative vision is, of course, crucial to becoming a successful professional, but it is far from the only requirement. It takes a lot of business savvy in combination with those aforementioned skills in order to make a reasonable income. This excellent video tutorial discusses 10 common business mistakes photo and video creatives make and how to fix or avoid them altogether.
As you've learned in a previous article, a great time to photograph cities is during blue hour. But the blue hour often lacks dimension and depth in the sky. If you're lucky, you'll have some clouds that provide structure. But if you have a clear blue sky, it'll often appear flat. In this article, I show you a trick you can use to make such a sky more interesting and improve your blue hour photos.
Sony shooters have a huge array of portrait lenses available to them, and if you are in the market for one, it can be hard to know which one to pick for your needs, style, and budget. If you need a bit of assistance with that decision, check out this excellent video that will show you five great portrait lenses for the Sony E mount.
Why not just a fast shutter speed to freeze motion? That's what I always think, but there are good reasons to use a flash or speedlight to do it instead. Take a look to see what they are.
One of the questions I had when starting out was how to get jobs. How to turn my hobby into money? The advice on the internet was few and far between. So, here is my advice to anyone who wants to take the next step and make some cash from their art.
There are often multiple ways to go about achieving the same result when editing photos, and that is particularly true when it comes to editing the tones of an image. One of the most powerful and efficient tools for doing this in Lightroom is the tone curve. If you are new to the tool and wondering how to use it, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will give you an introduction to the tone curve and how to use it to create better edits.
The DJI Osmo Action 3 camera is here, and it brings with it a huge range of improvements and new features that make it a competitive option for anyone needing a durable and versatile action camera. This excellent video review takes a look at the new camera and the sort of performance and quality you can expect from it in use.
Last August, I took a look at a preview of a new app, Radiant Photo. It promised to do some of the heavy lifting on your unedited images and greatly improve them.
A lot of photographers fall into one of two camps: those who could not care less about gear or those who chase every new piece of kit. So, does gear actually matter? This fantastic video essay discusses why photographers actually should care about gear and how it can help them be better.
Understanding framing and composition is one of the crucial areas that photographers and filmmakers need to know about. Make sure you have these seven fundamentals mastered before your next shoot.
If you are a photographer, I can guarantee you that somewhere along the line, you will have a client who is unhappy with your work. In fact, I’m sorry to say that there will be more than one, especially if you have a thriving business. When the dreaded “I’m not happy with my photos” email arrives, it can easily suck the joy out of your entire day. But not all is lost, and in this article and accompanying video, I present six tips for dealing with unhappy clients.
Apple's transition to the company's own chips has seen a massive increase in power and efficiency, and nothing has shown more raw capabilities than the M1 Ultra chip in the Mac Studio. So, how does the computer hold up after several months of usage? This great video review takes a look at the computer after three months of usage and if it can keep up with the needs of power-user creatives.
Landscape photography is the type of thing in which there is always something new to learn, a new technique to try, or a new creative approach with which to experiment. If you are new to the genre and ready to get started, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you the basics to get you up and running in no time.
Knowing what gear you need versus what gear you want can both save your money and save your sanity. Knowing why you want it can help you to maximize your investment.
Lenses like the Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD have shown the company has their eye on creating options that can replace several more specialized optics in a photographer's bag. The 50-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di III VC VXD continues that trend by offering everything from normal to supertelephoto focal lengths, and this great video review takes a look at the lens and the performance and image quality you can expect from it in real-world usage.
When it comes to bird and wildlife photography, getting as close as possible without disturbing the animal is often the name of the game. However, there is an issue of geometry that can sometimes ruin your shot. This excellent video will show you why sometimes, you are better off getting farther away from your subject to get the best possible shot.
Cameras of today are packed with functions and possibilities. Most of us are only using a small part of what’s possible. Still, we often want just one other function that is not available. What function would you like to add to your camera?
In the northern hemisphere, fall is upon us, and with that, some magical opportunities arise to take stunning images of all the resplendent fall colors. Learn some invaluable tips on how to take your fall photography to new levels.
Portrait photography is a popular genre that challenges a variety of skills, both with technical skills like your handling your camera and lighting and with more subjective skills like working with subjects. If you would like to improve your portraiture, check out this fantastic video tutorial that discusses three common mistakes and what you can do to fix them or avoid them in the first place.
Having just seen the new iPhone 14 release, I noted that one of the selling points what the “best camera ever on a phone”. The specs, as well as a new raw file format, look impressive. But, no matter what Apple does to their phones, they will hardly be able to beat a proper camera. Here is why.
Canon's RF lenses have quickly earned a lot of respect for pushing the boundaries of design and providing top-notch performance and image quality, though most have been very expensive. On the other hand, at $299, the RF 16mm f/2.8 STM bucks that trend, and in between that affordable price and its highly portable size, it looks like a potentially fantastic option. This great video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.
Photographers can sometimes be a secretive, closed-off bunch, unwilling or even afraid to share information with each other. Is that the right way to approach things, or should we reconsider our relationships? This great video essay discusses photographer culture and how we can make things better.
A few days ago, I found myself among a group of wedding photographers discussing how far behind they are with their editing. Answers varied, as did attitudes. Some felt they were only eight weeks behind, which was fine. Other photographers seemed anxious, with 17 or 18 weddings in a backlog lasting months. When it was my turn, I gulped. I said: "Two weeks. The wedding I'm delivering today was shot two weeks ago".
