A Complete Guide to Masking in Lightroom

In the past few updates to the program, Lightroom's masking features have expanded substantially both in precision and capabilities, and if you have not integrated the new panel into your post-processing yet, you are missing the opportunity to vastly improve your workflow. This fantastic video tutorial will show you everything you to know to take full command of Lightroom's masking tools.

What Are Native and Base ISO?

If you are looking to purchase a new camera, you will probably see the terms "native ISO" and "base ISO" thrown around. ISO, being one of the three fundamental exposure parameters, is a term that all photographers should understand. This great video tutorial will explain the differences between native and base ISO and the consequences each have on your photography.

Here's What $15,000 for a Lens Gets You

Lenses can run anywhere from under $100 to well over $10,000, and when you enter that very upper echelon of prices, you often get superlative optics that blow the doors off your wildest expectations. One such lens is the Nikon Nikkor Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S, which runs north of $15,000. So, what do you get for that price? This interesting video takes a look.

How I Used the New Topaz Photo AI to Save My Low-light Wildlife Photographs

Topaz Labs, the company behind the wildly popular DeNoise AI, Sharpen AI, and Gigapixel AI, has made a huge change. These apps, once a triad of separate programs to fix your photographs, are now combined into one beefy app that is here to save the day. Meet Topaz Photo AI, your new best post-processing friend. Let me show you how I used it to save my low-light wildlife photographs.

Is Canon Getting Extra Serious About Bokeh?

When it comes to photo gear, few things get the attention of more photographers than the promise of extra-smooth bokeh. And while Canon already has plenty of lenses that can offer that, they seem to be investing in taking it even further with several intriguing new lens designs.

A Complete Guide to Aerial Real Estate Video

Drones have revolutionized many photography genres, making aerial shots that were previously out of reach for anyone except creatives and clients with the largest budgets accessible to just about anyone. Real estate photography is one such genre where a photographer or filmmaker can augment their services with a drone. This excellent video tutorial will show you everything you need to know to take professional real estate footage sure to please your clients.

Why You Need a Superzoom Lens

The superzoom lens is a relatively new option for photographers to add to their arsenal, and although initially scoffed at, many are adopting them as a brilliant all-round option.

The Death of Social Media: A Warning to Photographers

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last few years, you'll probably have noticed that many social media platforms have been heading downhill. Here's how to best prepare for the social media storms ahead.

How to Place a Hair Light for Better Portrait Photos

While you can absolutely create compelling portrait photos using just a single light, moving into using multi-light setups opens a lot of creative and technical options that simply would not be possible otherwise. One of the most useful of these is the hair light, and this great video tutorial will show you how to place one properly to get the best results.

Helpful Advice for Cropping Landscape Images

When it comes to landscape photography, few creative decisions have a greater impact on the final image than your choice of crop. And yet, that can be a bit of a nebulous thing to nail down for a lot of photographers. If you would like to improve your crops and your overall images, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced landscape photographer offering a lot of helpful advice and insight into what makes a good crop.

A Review of the Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG DN OS Lens

About 10 years ago, Tamron released a 150-600mm f/5-6.3 lens that became wildly popular for offering photographers decent image quality paired with extreme focal lengths, a combination that used to be prohibitively expensive most of the time. Since then, we have seen an explosion of similar lenses, making genres like bird photography far more accessible than they used to be. One such lens is the Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG DN OS, and this excellent video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in usage.

21 Helpful Tips to Improve Your Wildlife Photography

Wildlife photography is a challenging genre that often requires strong technique, specialized knowledge and equipment, and a lot of patience. Whether you are a new wildlife photographer or a longtime pro, this excellent video tutorial will give you 21 tips sure to help you create more compelling wildlife photos.

A Review of the New Samyang 35mm f/1.4 AF II Lens

35mm lenses with wide apertures are highly popular because they are so versatile, able to tackle everything from weddings to astrophotography and much more. However, a good 35mm lens can easily run you north of $2,000. So, at $799, the Samyang 35mm f/1.4 AF II looks like quite the intriguing option. This great video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of image quality and performance you can expect from it in usage.

What Is the Difference Between Fisheye and Rectilinear Lenses?

If you are new to photography, you might be wondering about fundamental differences between lenses. Many beginners are drawn to fisheye lenses, which offer a different perspective on the world and the ability to get a massive field of view in one frame. So, what is the difference between a fisheye lens and a more standard rectilinear model? This excellent video tutorial will teach you what distinguishes them.

We Review the Lomo Apparat: Lo-fi, Wide Angle

The popularity of toy cameras has waxed and waned over the decades. The novelty factor for plastic cameras like the Diana and the Holga is often in friction with the dependability and overall image quality, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In an age of corner-to-corner perfection, the stray light leak or vignette can provide shooters with a way to stand out from the crowd.

How to Properly Focus Stack Moving Water in Landscape Photos

Focus stacking is one of the most useful techniques a landscape photographer can have in their bag of tricks, making it easy to create images that are ultra-sharp across the entire frame. However, it can be a bit tricky when you have moving water in the frame. This great video tutorial will show you how to properly focus stack such a photo to get the best possible results.

A Beginner's Guide to Using Lighting Modifiers for Video

Photography and video have some crucial differences between them, but perhaps the most important similarity between them is that good lighting is crucial to getting the best results. If you are new to video and working on building your skills, check out this great video tutorial that will show you a variety of different lighting modifiers and how to use them to create professional-level results.

A Masterclass in Macro Wildlife Photography With Geraint Radford

Did your university lecturer radiate an aura of excitement while crawling through a damp forest, seeking subjects that most of us would not notice? Every school and college should have a Geraint Radford. His skill and enthusiasm have just made me want to buy a macro lens and try the techniques I learned while interviewing him.

How Can You Tell if You’re Improving as a Photographer? Do This Simple Test

As weeks, months, and years go by and your experience and skills in photography continue to expand, it's always nice to get some confirmation that you're actually improving. But, how can you get that feedback? Do this simple test, and you'll immediately see how far you've evolved.

2022 Black Friday Deals for Photographers

This is the best time of year to find incredible photography deals. Whether you're looking for new gear, a faster or easier way to edit your photos, or a more efficient shooting workflow, there are tools available that will help. This post lists some of our favorite Black Friday and Cyber Monday specials that are worth paying attention to.

A Complete Guide to Setting Up Your New Fujifilm XT5

The new Fujifilm body is getting some rave reviews and if you're lucky enough to own it, you might want to set aside some time to get it firing on all cylinders. This video will help you with exactly that, walking you through the features and hidden tricks and tips.

Surprising Results With Topaz Photo AI

Although I've watched videos and read reviews about Topaz products, I had never actually tried them, remaining faithful to my workflow and not venturing farther afield. I do like software and seeing what it can do with my images, but felt safe with what I currently use. So, what could Topaz Photo AI bring to the table that I couldn't already accomplish?

Why Outdoor Photographers Should Consider Buying an Apple Watch

Whether you are shooting landscapes, wildlife, or something else, many photography genres require you to spend a significant amount of times outdoors, sometimes fairly far from civilization. In addition to all your camera gear, there are some tools that can make those treks both easier and safer. This great video makes a case for why an Apple Watch might be an outdoor photographer's best friend.

How to Extract the Color Grade From an Image and Apply It to Another

Few things can more dramatically impact the mood and feel of an image than the color grade. We all have favorite color grades, whether from photos or movies. Thankfully, Photoshop has some nifty built-in tools that allow you to easily copy the color grade from one image and apply it to another, and this excellent video tutorial will show you how to do just that.

A Review of the Fujifilm X-H2 Mirrorless Camera

The Fujifilm X-H2 mirrorless camera is a major step forward for the company's highly popular X Series, bringing with it a variety of impressive upgrades and new features, most notable being a 40.2-megapixel high-resolution sensor, all wrapped up in the beloved design the bodies are known for. This excellent video review takes a look at the camera and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

Shooting Weddings With the Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM Lens

Shooting weddings is stressful, mostly because you only have one opportunity to really make your clients happy. That being the case, you need to use gear that you can rely on to get you exactly what you and the client envision. Does the Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM lens fit into that category?

A Beginner's Guide to Camera Properties and Settings

Starting out in photography is a daunting thing, as you have to learn a wide range of concepts, master technical parameters, and develop creative vision all at the same time. Nonetheless, you can boil down operating your camera to a few fundamental things that, once mastered, will allow you to start your journey with much more confidence and control. This helpful video tutorial will show you everything you need to know about those fundamentals so you can get to shooting.

This Impressive Lens for Fujifilm X Cameras Is Just $149

While the prices of lenses from many first-party manufacturers seem to stretch higher and higher, we have also seen an influx of affordable options from third-party makers. Some of these options have been astonishingly low in price while still turning in acceptable to even surprisingly good performance. One such lens is the TTArtisan 27mm f/2.8 for Fujifilm X Series cameras, and 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.

Sell Your Prints for The Holidays The Easy Way!

I always wanted to sell my photography as fine art but always felt like it would take too much time to do it myself or that the quality of online platforms would be too low. That was until I found a solution that meant very little work for me with no compromises on quality, pricing, or customer support. If this sounds too good to be true, then keep reading for an in-depth look at the new Darkroom.com storefront that is now offering you more tools and features to sell your prints online during the holidays, the easy way.

7 Things You Need to Get Started in Portrait Photography

Each week, we are assaulted with an endless barrage of new photography-related products promising to make us better photographers. For a beginning shooter, this must be overwhelming. If someone asked you for a short list of essential items necessary for the specific genre of photography that you partake in, what would those items be?

A Look at the Clever Automation of Film Cameras

We take a lot for granted in the digital era, particularly the automation of a lot of functions. In the early days of film, everything was fully manual, and even one parameter set incorrectly could ruin an entire roll. Later in the 20th century, a standard called DX (Digital indeX) was introduced, and it automated a lot of settings, reducing errors and making photography more accessible to amateurs and casual users. How did it work? This neat video takes you behind the scenes of the surprisingly sophisticated system.

How to Quickly Remove Flyaway Hairs on a Subject's Face in Photoshop

One of the most common and annoying issues portrait photographers will have to deal with is flyaway hairs, which can be particularly distracting when they run across your subject's face. Nonetheless, you can get rid of them quickly and convincingly using Photoshop, and this great video tutorial will show you how to do just that.

A Helpful Approach for Better Landscape Photos

One of the beautiful things about landscape photography is that there are so many ways to approach how you create images. If you are working on your own approach, check out this great video tutorial that features an experienced landscape photographer discussing an effective approach for the genre.

A Review of the Venus Optics Argus 18mm f/0.95 MFT APO Lens

Venus Optics has established themselves as a maker of unique lenses that often push the boundaries of design, and the new Argus 18mm f/0.95 MFT APO continues that trends by offering Micro Four Thirds photographers a versatile focal length paired with an extremely wide maximum aperture. 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.

How to Use Photoshop's Powerful New Masking Features

Lightroom and Photoshop have made some major steps forward in masking capabilities, and complicated masks that used to take a lot of intricate and time-intensive work can now be made in mere seconds with just a click. This great video tutorial will show you where to find Photoshop's new AI masking features and how to use them for quick and precise edits.

Photographic Criticasters: Why You Should Not Be One and What to Be Instead

Criticism of photography is commonplace. Sometimes, it is invited and genuine, other times, not. How you decide to give or receive it can affect your self-esteem as a photographer. Moreover, it says much about your own creative abilities. Here's how to appreciate criticism and avoid being a criticaster.

How to Edit Portraits Using Lightroom's Powerful New Masking Features

It used to be that if you wanted to edit portraits, you would head to Photoshop. However, in recent years, Lightroom has gained more advanced capabilities, and now, with its powerful new masking features, it stands as a viable alternative for at least basic to moderate portrait edits. This helpful video tutorial will show you how to take advantage of those new features to edit your portrait shots in Lightroom.

Which of These Two Methods of Street Photography Is Best?

Depending on your perspective, street photography is either one of the easiest or most difficult types of photography one might pursue. The barrier to entry is low, with a small camera and fixed lens being all you need to get started shooting. Just step outside your door and capture what is happening on the street in your town ,and you are a street photographer. The problem is, although it is simple to get started in street photography, it is not easy to create compelling imagery.

Post-pandemic: The State of Creatives in 2022

We are quickly approaching the three-year mark since the pandemic, and most creatives have found their new normal. Our new "normals" are all unique, but the common thread is a re-evaluation of our goals, priorities, and non-negotiables as working artists. WeTransfer and TRIPTK polled over 6,500 artists from 180 countries about success, fulfillment, and happiness. The 57-page report was released as The 2022 Ideas Report, and I'm here to share the results. First, let's start with a quiz. Grab a pen, and let's see how on target you are with the state of the industry.

5 Things That Derail Landscape Photography

Landscape photography is a challenging genre that takes a variety of different aptitudes coming together simultaneously to create successful images. As such, there are a lot of things that can inadvertently derail your process. This great video tutorial features an experienced landscape photographer discussing five such things and how to fix or avoid them in the first place.

Can a $69 Lens Produce Professional Photos?

50mm lenses can cost anywhere from under $100 to well over $2,000, with options at just about every level in between. At the very lowest end of the spectrum sits the TTArtisan 50mm f/2, which retails for just $69. Can it produce worthwhile images at such a low price? This great video review takes a look to answer that question.

iPhone Versus DSLR: The Ultimate Real-world Test

Every year, mobile camera technology improves, and every year, I see more articles comparing phones to professional cameras. I decided to carry out my own comprehensive test to finally decide which device is better, the phone or the DSLR.

Camera Companies Are Really Bad at Promoting Why Their Cameras Are Better Than Phones

There’s a lot of press about how phones are hanging right in there with “real” cameras. And while sometimes this is true, for the most part, a Canon EOS R5 is still going to be much more capable than a cell phone. It’s just a shame that major camera brands’ marketing departments haven’t figured out how to show that.

4 Ways to Book More in 2023

You're going to book more photography clients in 2023 because we're going to uncomplicate things. People are people, and photo clients are the same, whether it's an ad agency, a new mom, a bride-to-be, or the CEO of a startup.

Street Photographer: '99% of My Photos are Terrible'

Social media has led us to believe that most people take only incredible shots, look like catwalk models, and live like billionaires. We know that isn't the case, but still, we can't help but be affected by the data in front of us. Well, one successful photographer and creator takes you behind the scenes of all of their shots from a trip.

Just How Good Is the Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera?

Canon's 7D line of APS-C DSLRs were very popular during their time, offering many features and capabilities from high-level professional cameras in much more affordable bodies. The EOS R7 has continued that in the mirrorless age, and in the meantime, it has also brought with it a wide range of new features and upgrades that make it appealing for a lot of creatives. This great video review takes a look at the EOS R7 in a challenging scenario and just how far you can push those capabilities.