Product Photography

If you’re an outdoor or adventure photographer, one of the situations likely tangle with regularly is balancing the line between comfort and size when it comes to your backpacks. You usually need a bag to both safely transport your expensive gear as well as your climbing supplies. However, our spines have limits and the bag also needs to be supportive and lightweight. Lowepro’s recent iteration of their popular camera bags is the Photo Sport Pro 30L AW, aimed to give you a light bag option for your adventurous ways.

As my wedding business grows, the need to be organized is key. I have recently begun using Trello to organize and track my photography workflow. From the first inquiry email to the final package delivery, I have created a checklist and boards to keep business on track and on time.

Ease of use and equipment safety are two things that can always improve our lives as photographers and videographers. With few small add-ons and hacks you can save precious time on your shoots, and on top of that make your camera safer. In the video above, Griffin Hammond is showing you the 2 items that will make your Tripod (and Glidecam, shoulder rig and monopod) just way more user friendly: the Giottos M621 and the Manfrotto 555B.

When I preordered the Nikon D800 early last year, I purposely didn't order the battery grip for a few reasons. The first was that I didn't think I needed it, and the second was that the $450 price tag way way too steep, and seemed ridiculous for the product that I was getting. The first reason turned out to be dead wrong. Carrying my camera around for 8-10 hours a day as a wedding photographer meant that the joints in my right hand were always hurting. Maybe it was just because of how I held the camera, but either way, I realized I needed a battery grip to help balance the weight. But this meant I had to spend almost $500 right?

Living in NYC and having to drag gear around I have become very particular about my camera and gear bags. Comfort, size, weight, and protection are the deciding factors, then I worry if I look cool or not (you can’t go wrong with a black bag). I started looking for a small light stand case that would fit nano stands, a small umbrella and a monopod. This is usually what I use for reception lighting at weddings. After searching through all of the camera stores online, I finally stumbled across the StandBagger.

About a year ago, Lee Morris stated that Alien Skin Exposure 4 was his favorite photo enhancement plugin for Photoshop. Claiming that all of its film presets makes it stand out above the rest, and the clear winner in the plugin world. Just a few weeks or so ago, Alien Skin released the latest installment, Exposure 5. But is it still the champion and must have plugin that Exposure 4 was?

Theft is becoming an even larger concern as of late, with videos of lenses being stolen right under the nose of their owners. Certainly, we've seen websites before that look to help put an end to camera equipment theft, and while they work from time to time, they still have some major fatal flaws. LensTag looks to put an end to that, with a new concept on how to track your camera equipment.

Stuck in the car on a boring road trip with the parents this 4th of July? Well here is a list of 10 creative apps to help pass the time. From drawing with words to finding what color the back of your dad's head really is. Check out the mostly iPhone friendly list, sorry Droid fans!

Tom Parker, avid aerial photographer and videographer from Cambridge, UK, decided to try and make his own homemade MōVI rig without losing all his savings in the process. Parker is a Product Design and Manufacturing student at the University of Nottingham, where he got the knowledge on how to design and build the rig for his GoPro camera. The final result works great, and all he had to pay was $200. Not bad if you compare it to the $15,000 it will cost you to get the MōVI. Check out how he did it.

One essential part of almost every wedding day is the rings. Not only are the rings a symbol of a couple's love and commitment to one another, they also usually cost a good deal of money. Capturing an amazing picture of the rings can not only wow your clients, it also adds great value to your portfolio. The best part is, getting a fantastic ring shot can be simple and quick.

VSCO teased the Instagram and mobile photography community this weekend with a promotional video for their upcoming new app called ‘VSCO Cam’. Promising huge improvements over its original program, VSCO aims to take the mobile editing community by storm with its latest update. Best part of all? It’s free.

Merek Davis today announced the release of the image enhancing Mextures app for iPhone. Over the last year iPhone photographers have downloaded Mextures textures more than 200,000 times directly from Merek Davis’ store and tagged 140,000 images on Instagram; now they have an iPhone app to more easily create and share visually stunning images. I have got to say that after buying and playing with the app this morning, this is one that you don't want to miss out on.

Canon has recently come out with their short film, "Rhythm of Life' showcasing their new line of cine lenses. Shot with the Canon C500 director, Dean Hargrove and cinematographer, Steven Poster ASC, explain how the different cine lenses affect the footage and change the color and feel of your shots. The BTS video was shot with the Canon C300.

Have you ever wondered how different diffusing fabrics affect the quality of light that you shoot with? Jay P. Morgan from the Slanted Lens walks you through the different diffusion materials by Rosco. He explains how the different fabrics can lessen the stops of light and how it can affect your color temperatures and look of your shoot.

The hilariously creative people over at Grovo (gogorovo on YouTube) posted this video yesterday showing what life may look like in the future of GWC photography/videography if Google Glass ever becomes the next big innovation it claims to be. While it's obvious that this is just some tongue in cheek humor, I'd imagine that as with any popular product with a built-in camera someone will try to find their niche (ever see someone taking photos with an iPad?) and soon youtube will be flooded with videos of wedding photographers running around the ceremony staring at people.

I woke up this morning to find an email from Chase Jarvis's camp showcasing his new photo campaign for the Samsung 9 Series Monitors. It feels like ages since Chase has released one of his epic behind the scenes videos, so I was excited to see he's still alive and kicking the creative cloud (pun intended). If your imaginative juices don't start flowing after watching this video then it might be time to put your camera into retirement. Check out the behind the scenes video and then

Fans of the Nikon 1 series mirrorless cameras will wake up to a nice little bit of news today with the announcement of the 32mm f/1.2 lens. The lens itself equates to about an ~86mm field of view, finally giving the 1 series a great portrait lens to use. It also features silent wave motor technology, making it the fastest autofocus lens Nikon has ever made.

Seeing that a lot of us have replaced "point'n'shoots" with smartphones, we might find ourselves missing on having an optical zoom option. It was through this need that Snapzoom was created. It's a universal binocular mount for smartphones, meaning it fits a wide variety of both phones and binoculars. The project got started when co-founders Daniel Fujikake and Mac Nguyen started using their own smartphones to document their surf adventures from the, at the time, completely DIY, garage-made mounting device.

Canon fans were left wanting more after the announcement of the Canon Rebel T5i. Fans everywhere made comments on how it wasn't much of an upgrade from the t4i, and just a money grabbing attempt from Canon. Perhaps Canon has finally admitted that they're the same camera, as they're using old T4i ads, for the new T5i.

You've probably heard of Opteka, the company that manufactures lenses, grips, and other photographic accessories and equipment. We found a recent offer on their Facebook page that we wanted to get your opinion on.

Social media has progressed to a point where anyone can personalize their online experience. Through your own network of friends and filters, "Likes" and "Shares" now prioritize funny or relevant content for you and those you share commonalities with. Talenthouse now seeks to utilize that method of content sharing to popularize your artistic capability. The site is designed to set apart the best of the best in any category of art through popular vote.

Camera theft is always a concern to photographers. Unlike many electronics that connect to the internet or cellular service, cameras that are stolen are inevitably gone forever. There is no deactivating, no locking, and no real recovery methods (CameraTrace & Stolen Camera Finder aren't perfect). However, Nikon is looking to change this, with password protection of your gear.

500px took the industry by storm in 2010 when it was released to the public. It seemed to have all the best parts about flickr, without the messiness. Since then, it has grown to be among the most popular portfolio websites available for photographers, and they're about to do another overhaul, at a price of course.

While walking the floor at WPPI, there was one item we kept seeing over and over again: the MeFoto tripod. It seemed like everyone had one, and we had never heard of the brand. So we spoke with the guys at the MeFoto booth who agreed to let us test them out. Now after using all three sizes of MeFoto tripods, I can see why they were everywhere: they’re excellent.

Camera stabilization is always a tricky game, with no easy solution. Cheap stabilizers are often difficult to balance, and expensive ones are often bulky, and make mobilization a problem. Introducing MōVI by Freefly, a stabilization system that is expected to change the DSLR movie scene forever, and its already got award winning videographer Vincent Laforet’s stamp of approval.

The Einstein E640 strobe from Paul C. Buff is compact, light weight unit capable of shouldering studio work yet portable enough to take on location. The unit weighs in at four pounds and because it is self contained, it does not require a battery pack which cuts down on gear bulk.

I shot around with the Einstein 640 and the 86 inch PLM (parabolic light) umbrella in studio to test the products and see how they stacked up in my work flow.

As many of you know, Google+ has quickly become one of the top social networks for photographers. There is something beautiful about how the photos are displayed and how they scale as you roll your mouse across them.

When Google purchased Nik software in September, photographers were left wondering how the tech giant would assimilate Nik into its fold. It was clear that the company was lured by Nik’s mobile editing software Snapseed. Yesterday, Google, which had been mute on the subject since the purchase, unrolled a retooled suite of Nik software tools at a heavily discounted rate — $149 as compared to $499.

There is no doubt Adobe Lightroom simplified the post processing workflow for photographers and retouchers since it came out. The simple layout, the easy to use sliders and the useful presets - all made post processing a much better experience. Then came Paddy, a personal code project by Dorfl, and made the process even easier. OK, not just easier - but way cooler. Paddy connects a MIDI Controller Desk to Lightroom, and lets you edit the photo directly from there.

There are a few companies out there known for high-quality medium format digital solutions. But few are as highly regarded as PhaseOne, whose popular 'won't get crushed by an elephant' and various freezing and heating Youtube videos helped people see its products' durability. Today, they've sent a round of emails announcing their revised IQ series, offering wireless capabilities, revamped sensors, and top-of-the-line 16-bit image production with 13 stops of dynamic range...

The 35mm focal length is one of the most popular primes made, probably only second to the 50mm if second to anyone. It’s popular because it is good for so many things, making us feel like we have to own fewer lenses to capture more amazing images. Most of you know that I’m very attached to my Sigma 35mm f/1.4, but when shooting with Canon’s new 35mm f/2 IS, I did my best to remain objective.

Magic lantern is by far the best thing to happen to the DSLR cameras. It offers so many options not given to you by the normal Canon firmware that it should be sin not to install it. This is a quick little walkthrough on how I use ML for easy, accurate free-lensing.

I've always been fascinated with underwater photography. As you may recall, I even featured some of it from Nick Pugay last month. Not only is underwater photography incredibly complicated in terms of lighting, but its incredibly expensive too. Outex is looking to change that with their new underwater kit, but they need your help with their latest Kickstarter project.

Photobooths have become a standard attraction at any big shindig and snapshots of people wearing mustaches and funny glasses on sticks have become the norm. So what is next in the evolution of photoboothing inebriated party people?

Meet PHHHOTO, a party guest that would be sure to draw a crowd. With it's animated & social sharing appeal, this looks to be a cool step into a new way of shooting and sharing party partakers. What could be better than shooting a GIF, putting it up on a cloud via iPad and share with everyone to see?

Often, we’re talking about the latest and greatest camera body or lenses to help our photography business flourish. However running a photography business requires many more tools than just a fancy camera, lens or even lights. We are all using other tech tools to help us manage our lives easier, and run our business more effectively. So without further ado, here is the list of seven tech items all photographers should be using.

Do you like to remotely trigger your camera? Do you also like iPhones? Enter Satechi's BT Smart Trigger. For $44.99, this little guy will happily trigger your camera's shutter via Bluetooth. It also works as an intervalometer, meaning you can time lapse with the greatest of ease...in between Angry Birds Star Wars. At the moment it only works for iPhones and Canon DSLRs, although they are planning to add compatibility with the Galaxy SIII and the Galaxy Note 2.

In October, we had a huge month dedicated to all the great mirrorless cameras that are out there. While the Fuji X-Pro 1’s technology was promising, the Olympus OM-D E-M5 took away the best mirrorless camera award. While it’s all worth it, the OM-D E-M5 is a bit pricey, and therefore, not for everyone. So how do some of Olympus’ other cameras line up?
Today, we have the PEN E-PL5.

Introducing the latest and not so greatest product from PhotoJojo, the Look Lock. The Look Lock allows you to attach your smartphone to your hotshoe mount using a large and out of place aluminium arm, proving once again, that the camera accessory market is completely out of ideas.

Some people love filters. I personally really like neutral density filters and I know there are those who swear by UV filters. For those of us who love these little glass lens enhancers, we have to separate from that love when we use ultra wide-angle lenses. That is, we used to. Not anymore thanks to Fotodiox’s Wonderpana system which is designed to give us the freedom to use those filters even on convex front elements.

If you haven’t heard of TetherTools.com yet, well… you have now. Tethered Tools makes a wide range of fantastic products to make your tethered shooting go more smoothly. They are THE one stop shop for all of your tethered shooting gear needs including software. They have seemingly infinite customizable tethering configurations that you should definitely check out.

For anyone who might have missed it, I did a little review of VSCO 3 last week. VSCO Film emulsions are great at emulating an analog film look for your digital photos and also offers custom profiles for your camera manufacturer, if you are shooting Nikon, Canon, or now Fuji (just for Film 03), to further improve performance of the presets.

Here's a little cinematography humor to brighten up your lazy Sunday. From the people over at Autodesk and filmmaker Jeremy Hunt comes a coming of age story of a dude. A dude who just wants to go about his business and a visual effects editor who ruins said dude's day. We all know the importance of 'getting it right in camera', but this is what happens when post-processing runs amok.

I have been looking to buy a light meter since I have been shooting more film . At the same time some light meters can cost the same as a lens and it isn't something I will be using everyday. I stumbled across the Luxi kickstarter project and my problems were solved.