One thing that I believe is so important for the creative health of a photographer is listening to what other photographers have to say about their craft. I just got word that David Alan Harvey is going to be teaching at Gulf Photo Plus, and somehow David had not yet crossed my radar. As I began investigating this National Geographic photojournalist, it became increasingly apparent how much passion David has for his work. One quote that really stood out in the video above is “Take the photo first, and focus later,” [more]
David Loftus has been working with food television star, Jamie Oliver, for over 15 years taking dynamic imagery of the culinary masterpieces that Jamie creates in his kitchen. In this behind the scenes video David is shooting with the Nikon D4. In a few short cuts Jamie is also seen trying his hand at taking his own food shots with the Nikon D3200. [more]
This week, we are exploring how to create a white-to-grey backdrop using strobes. Though this technique can be done somewhat efficiently with two lights, three is optimal. And as in last weeks post, I want you guys to try out this technique and share your results. I will post my three favorites in the next lighting post. I shot all of these images on a white sweep, with the figures about ten feet off of the background. [more]
For sports photographers everywhere, tonight is the night that you someday hope to be working. Super Bowl Sunday has basically became a national holiday for Americans. Whether you’re watching for the commercials, or the game, photographers everywhere want to see that lineup of camera bodies and lenses on the sidelines. [more]
When I need to send a contract out to a bride or other photography client I never have a stamp. Which makes the document sit on my desk till I finally force myself to swing by the post office (which is never a happy place). Well now there is a website that can help you bypass the mail and hopefully speed up the contract signing process.
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Our good friend Dave Lehl is at it again and this time he’s moved out of the snow and into the skate park. To add a bit of flare to the standard skateboarding shot Dave taped sparklers to the bottom of the board and used smoke bombs to set the mood. Check out the full post to a link to the high res finished shots. [more]
Macro photography is already difficult enough to master in my opinion. You have very small subjects that are usually moving around and capturing them at the closest possible distance takes loads of practice, and patience. Russian photographer Andrew Osokin has obviously put it some serious time honing his craft. He shoots wonderful images of your standard flowers and insects, but in my opinion his winter work is where he truly stands out.
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Although being a photographer means you are in direct competition with every other photographer out there , I think it is very important to build a strong community and look out for one another. Our jobs as photographers are never secure, most of us live our lives one day to the next with out a guarantee of when our next job will be. I have always been one to help people to the best of my abilities, whether it be sharing knowledge our lending out equipment. Can you imagine what you would do if someone stole every piece of photographic equipment you owned. [more]
Recently I was chatting in a photo forum and mentioned that I am loving my new Canon 5D MK2. Someone noticed and said, “do you mean the MK3?” When I told them no, I recently bought a new MK2 I got flamed with questions of, “WHY?!?!” Well let me explain…
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Lomography is into film revivals lately, recently releasing something quite similar to Kodak’s discontinued Aerochrome film, Lomography Purple. What’s so special about Lomography Purple? It changes all of your greens into a bright purple color. Surely such psychedelic effects will be revered by hipsters, lomographers, and acid-dropping enthusiasts around the world, but what is the actual use of such a film? Believe it or not, there is one (or two)… [more]
Marc Donahue from Permagrin Films has been busy since his production of Dream Music, which got over 2 million views on YouTube. Most recently, Marc has been experimenting with GoPro camera arrays for a unique effect, most similar to bullet-time like in the Matrix. Click on to see the final video and read an interview with the man behind the lens. [more]
If you’ve been wanting to get an aerial perspective but dont have a clue how to fly an octocopter, check out the new LA100 by Lehmann Aviation. They’ve designed a drone that flies itself while an attached GoPro records the flight. After take off, the drone follows a preset flight pattern for five minutes and gives an excellent view of the surrounding area. While the usefulness for creative filming is severely limited by the lack of variety in flight path, it’s a fantastic idea for hobbyists who want to get a birds eye view.
If you are like me, the acronym SEO brings a shudder to your bones. If you are a photographer with a website, you have no doubt received countless emails from sites offering to optimize your site for a fee. In this post, I will tell you the things I did for free or next to nothing that helped push my photography website to page one of organic Google searches. The one thing that I already had working to my advantage is that my website is a non-flash site that was launched almost seven years ago. [more]
One of our favorite lenses for cropped DSLR cameras is currently on sale at BH Photo for a ridiculously low price of $289 (Next lowest price is Amazon at $349). If you’ve been looking at getting a nice wide angle lens for low light or super shallow depth of field, this lens is one to consider. We’ve shot a lot of Fstoppers Originals with this prime lens and it’s a great choice for those wedding fusion videos in extremely low light situations. Comes in versions for Canon, Nikon, and Sony. [more]
Fuji previously released firmware updates that upgraded the X-Pro 1′s autofocus performance, among other things, turning it into another kind of beast. Now, they again promise AF accuracy improvements and more for the X-Pro 1, X-E1, and XF 35mm f1.4 lens. [more]
