A Review of the New Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8 Di III-A VC RXD Lens for Fujifilm X Series Cameras

A standard zoom lens with an f/2.8 aperture is one of the most versatile options a photographer or filmmaker can have in their bag, capable of tackling a multitude of scenarios ranging from wedding coverage to landscape photography. Such lenses are not cheap, though the Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8 Di III-A VC RXD seeks to buck that trend by coming in at just $799. This great video review takes a look at the new lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

How to Create the Film Look in Lightroom

The film look continues to gain popularity, and whether you use it as part of your personal aesthetic or for clients, knowing how to create it from digital images is a good skill to have. This helpful video tutorial will show you everything you need to know to create the look using nothing but Lightroom.

The Surprising Reason Photography Is Dying on Instagram

If you've used Instagram in the past six months, you might have noticed the slow decline of photography on your feed. Reels are the main culprit of that change, but there's more to it than you might think.

5 Easy Concepts for Portraits in a Park

A park is a fantastic place to shoot portraits, full of interesting architecture, compelling light, and eye-catching foliage. If you would like to explore your creativity a bit, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you five easy concepts for shooting portraits in a park.

A Review of the Fujifilm XF 23mm f/1.4 R LM WR Lens

A 35mm lens with a wide maximum aperture is one of the most useful and versatile optics a photographer can have in their bag, suitable for a huge range of applications, including weddings, astrophotography, portraits, and more. For Fuji shooters, there is the XF 23mm f/1.4 R LM WR lens, and this excellent video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in real-world usage.

AI-Powered Art Is Getting Scary Good

Machine learning and AI are quickly becoming commonplace with the tools every photographer uses. There are neural filters for Photoshop, AI enhancement tools in Luminar Neo and PortraitPro, and even programs that use AI to generate captions for photos.

Luminar Neo Adds Portrait Background Removal to Its Bag of Editing Tricks

Luminar Neo from Skylum has added a much awaited feature: background removal in portraits. Removing a person's image from a photo is nothing new, but it's generally time-consuming if the background is not simple or solid. Luminar Neo does it usually in one click, and if you're a professional or an advanced hobbyist, it is a time-saver.

How to Plan a Landscape Photoshoot

You can certainly just head out with your camera and create photos as you happen upon interesting scenes or subjects, but when it comes to shooting things like landscapes and cityscapes, planning ahead can really help you get next-level images. This helpful video tutorial features an experienced photographer discussing how he plans a shoot and showing some useful tools to give you a better chance of coming home with the shot you want.

How to Get Incredible Landscape Images on the Coast

After shooting more sunsets than I can count along the Pacific coast, I've experienced many different conditions and learned a plethora of valuable lessons. These are the most important tips I found throughout that journey that will help you the next time you're shooting along the coast.

A Beginner's Guide to Color Grading Photos

Color grading is a good chance to add your personal touch to an image and to take it from good to memorable. It is a deceptively complex thing, though, and it takes a good eye and light touch to do it effectively. This helpful video tutorial will show you some great first steps and techniques for color grading images that are sure to get you up and running in no time.

How to Clean Sensor Dust in Lightroom

Even if you follow all the guidelines for keeping your sensor free of dust, it is something that will probably happen to you at one time or another, and worse yet, you might not notice it until you are at home, looking at your images on your computer. Thankfully, though, it is not very difficult to take care of it using Lightroom, and this helpful video tutorial will show you how to quickly and easily take care of it.

Using Gels, Strobes, Constant Lights, and ACDSee's Gemstone on One Photograph

In this behind the scenes video, I'm going to walk you through a pretty complex photograph I shot in our garage studio. Using strobes, LED lights, a crazy light modifier, and ACDSee's new photo editing software, Gemstone, this final image turned out much more interesting than I originally thought.

Getting Your Kids Into Photography: Camp Canon (Canada)

Summer is coming! Your kids are just a moment or two away from finishing the school year. If you want to keep them occupied with something you can share as they grow, check out Camp Canon, an online summer camp for photography and videography. Schools out for summer, schools out forever... why not encourage a love for photography?

How to Make Your Own Food Photography Backgrounds

Creating an eye-catching and successful food photo is about more than simply lighting and arranging the food in a compelling way; you need to be able to create a set that complements the food and enhances the overall mood of the image. This helpful video tutorial features an experienced food photographer discussing some ways you can go about doing that.

What is the Best Camera Mode for Landscape Photography?

For more than 30 years, I tried different camera settings for my landscape photography. With the settings I use today, I don’t only feel more flexible, but they allow me to nail each of my photographs technically.

A Review of the New Laowa 90mm f/2.8 APO 2x Lens

Venus Optics has long been known for producing unique and capable lenses that offer impressive performance at quite affordable prices. Their latest lens, the Laowa 90mm f/2.8 APO 2x, offers twice the magnification of a traditional macro lens for not a lot of money, and it is available for all major mirrorless full frame mounts. This great video review takes a look at the new lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

Should OM Systems Release an Update to This Impressive Classic Lens?

Not many kit lenses are known for their performance or image quality, but there are a few hidden gems out there that offer quite a lot for not a lot of money. One such example is the Olympus M.Zuiko 12-50mm f/3.5-6.3, and this great video review takes a look at the lens, what makes it great, and why OM Systems should consider an updated version.

Insight From the Creative Conference in New York City

We often describe children as creative. We are impressed at how they create art using nothing more than a crayon and a sheet of blank paper. Many adults, however, neglect the artistic spark they had in their youth and label themselves as “not creative.” The Creativity Conference, a no-cost, full-day event held in New York City on June 10, presented speakers who encouraged the adults in attendance to believe that they are indeed creatives who should be proud to pursue and share their artistic creations.

What Camera Quirks Annoy You?

Modern cameras are quite capable and powerful machines, but none of them are perfect. Every camera has quirks that we find annoying or would like to change. This interesting video discusses five annoying camera quirks in current cameras.

Godox Parabolic Light Modifiers: Better Than Broncolor?

Parabolic light modifiers are some of the most versatile on the market. Coincidentally, they are also some of the most expensive ones out there. Loved for versatility, hated for the price, and very few photographers actually own them. Godox set out to create an affordable but also a truly parabolic softbox. So, how did they do? Spoiler alert: much better than I expected.

Can Modern Supertelephoto Zoom Lenses Replace Expensive Primes?

There used to be no contest in image quality between supertelephoto prime and zoom lenses. Zooms simply could not keep pace with primes, and if you wanted to create professional-level photos or work in demanding conditions, you had no choice but to shell out for a top-shelf prime. Supertelephoto zoom lenses have made tremendous progress in the last few years, however. So, do you still need to buy those ultra-expensive primes? This great video discusses the topic.

Three Reasons a Monopod Is Better Than a Tripod: ProMaster Air Support AS431 Monopod

Tripods have been sturdy companions for photographers all over the world. A good tripod can help you produce images that are simply not possible when shooting handheld. Unfortunately, tripods can be a bit of a pain to carry around, especially if they're any good. This is why, in many cases, a monopod ends up being a better option.

Two Months With the DJI Mavic 3 Cine Drone

The DJI Mavic 3 is the company's newest drone, and it brings with it a nice range of new features and improvements. This great video review takes a look at the drone and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

Light Lens Lab Hints at Prototype for Replica Leica Standard

I recently noticed something interesting while looking through the Leica Classifieds page on Facebook. One of the distributors of Light Lens Lab posted an image for some upcoming products, including what appears to be an Abrahamson-style rapid winder and, more significantly, a Leica Standard-style camera.

8 New Film Photography Announcements Ranked in 2022

It didn’t seem like there was much to cheer for film photographers in 2021. Supply chain issues, global film shortages, and price rises led to a wave of discontent among film photographers, leading many to cry into their soy lattes and burn their berets.

Can You Use the Canon RF 800 f/11 for Astrophotography?

Wide field astrophotography is quickly becoming an established niche that is increasingly available to more hobbyist photographers with the availability of better, smaller, and cheaper tracking mounts. But the smallest galaxies, nebulae, and planets have always been prohibitively expensive to capture. Can this lens change that?

Make Your Landscape Photos Pop With These 5 Easy Tips

The best way to get a good landscape photo is to be at the right place at the right time. Sometimes, though, you can be there and still struggle to get a photo that's different from what's already out there or the weather isn't cooperating, and that's where the magic of editing comes in.

Shooting With the Cheap and Small Canon RF Primes

Canon has a lot of amazing but expensive RF lenses. If you can’t afford these L lenses or don’t want to spend that amount of money, you can also choose the more affordable versions. I took three primes on a trip to France to find out how they perform in real life.

The Power of the Portrait

Mastering portraiture involves more than knowing which lens to use to ensure your photograph does not show unflattering perspective distortion. It is not enough that you understand where to place strobes to create dramatic lighting. As portrait photographer Mark Mann explains in this excellent video, it is important that you make a personal connection with your subject.

A Review of the New Viltrox AF 13mm f/1.4 Lens

Viltrox has established themselves as a company producing highly affordable but impressively capable lenses, and their newest option, the AF 13mm f/1.4, offers Sony and Nikon mirrorless APS-C photographers and filmmakers a versatile ultra-wide angle focal length paired with a very wide maximum aperture. This excellent video review takes a look at the new lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

How One Creative Started Getting Higher-Paying Jobs

Higher-paying jobs are the goal of just about any photographer or filmmaker, but the path to getting there is not always clear. If you are looking to land those more lucrative gigs, check out this great video essay that discusses how one creative started pulling down more income with his work.

Five Common Video Editing Mistakes

Creating a compelling, professional video is just as much in the editing as it is in the shooting process. Editing is a serious undertaking, and as such, it can be easy for things to go wrong. This great video tutorial details five common mistakes creatives make when editing video and what you can do to fix them or avoid them in the first place.

How to Blend Ambient and Artificial Lighting

Using natural or artificial light is not always a binary choice; often, you will want the two to complement each to produce a more balanced overall photo. If you would like to make your lighting skills more versatile, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you how to blend ambient light with flash for portraiture work.

The Best Wireless Headphones in 2022

I purchased the eight most popular noise-cancelling wireless headphones to find the best one. Sadly, there isn't a single set that is clearly the "best," but I can help you choose your next pair wisely.

Learn How This Landscape Photo Was Edited

In general, landscape photography is a two-step process, shooting the photo and polishing it through the editing process. As such, your skills at the computer need to be as finely honed as those behind the camera. This excellent video tutorial will show you the process of taking an image with a lot of potential and turning it into a compelling final photo through the power of editing.

Why Most Photographers Should Turn This Lightroom Setting On

Lightroom has more than one way of keeping tracking of the edits you make to your images, and the various methods have pros and cons that you should be aware of as your catalog grows. This helpful video discusses the usefulness of XMP files and why you should consider using them.

A Unique Element in Your Photography That Only You Can Bring

When we create a photograph, there are things we can do to change it from being mundane to interesting. Here are some of the most important aspects of composition and the one unteachable factor that is exclusively yours to discover.

What Photos Can You Create With a Kit Lens?

Photo gear is quite expensive, and tricking out your kit can be a serious hit to your bank account. And yet, we often chase that next new piece of gear in the hopes of getting better image quality. And while new equipment can do that, you might be surprised by how much you can accomplish with basic equipment. This great video shows you the fantastic photos you can create using nothing more than a kit lens.

How to Create Subtle Light With Off-Camera Flash

When you think of using artificial light for portrait photography, you might think of it being a calculated, obvious aesthetic, but often, using flash is more about creating a subtle, understated effect that makes your images more balanced and well exposed. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to use artificial light to create an elegant effect for an eye-catching photo.

How to Combine Focus Stacking and Exposure Blending for Better Photos

I have already written two articles about focus stacking here. The first article dealt with how I use automatic focus bracketing in the field, and in the second article, I shared my focus stacking workflow in Helicon Focus. To provide you with even more tools, I now show you how I combine focus stacking with exposure blending.

Which of These Wide Angle Zoom Lenses Is Right for You?

A wide angle zoom lens with an f/2.8 maximum aperture is useful for a wide range of applications, including wedding photography, landscape work, astrophotography, and more. Such lenses can be quite expensive, however, often going for north of $2,000. Both Tamron and Sigma offer much more affordable options, however, and this excellent video comparison takes a look at both to help you decide which is right for your work.

How to Get Photo Credit

Millions of photos are uploaded each day, but we don't know who took them, unless they are properly credited. With proper credit, you can actually book more jobs, and it's a remarkable way of expanding your network.