In part three of this series, we will discuss tips 11 through 15. These are steps you can take today to grow your photography business. If you missed the previous articles, you can read part one here, and part two here.
You can absolutely create professional-level portraits using nothing but a single key light, but once you move into multi-light setups, you get a bit more creative and technical control over the final image. One of the first ways to do this is by adding a fill light, and this excellent video tutorial will show you what it is and how it can be used to create better portraits.
Samyang has long been known for producing sharp and highly affordable manual focus lenses, but in recent years, they have moved into producing autofocus lenses as well, while still keeping those budget prices that have endeared them to many photographers. At $299, the AF 45mm f/1.8 FE offers a lot of lens for not a lot of money, and this excellent video review takes a long-term look at the performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.
I have to admit it: I’ve never been on team Lightroom. This may be a bit of a low blow, but Lightroom has always seemed like the sandbox for those who couldn’t play on the big-boy playground: Photoshop, of course.
Car photography is a lot of fun and can be highly dynamic, but it represents one of the hardest products to photograph in a studio environment. Not only do you need a large studio that a car can be driven into, but you need huge lights to evenly light the car too. Or do you?
Zeiss lenses are known for providing sharp and contrasty images with silky-smooth bokeh, making them favorites of a lot of photographers. For photographers looking for a 35mm lens, one option is the Zeiss Loxia 35mm f/2, 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 usage.
Custom-made, hand-painted backdrops were all the rage a few years back. I personally could never justify the price of one, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t wanted to try it out.
How far should you sit from your screen? How large can you print your photos? Why are stacked sensors better? There is much more to those pixels than you might think.
Street photography is not the easiest genre to get into, especially if you tend to have a more timid personality or enjoy working alone. However, it can be a tremendously interesting one, and even if it is not your primary pursuit, it can do a lot of good to sharpen your skills in many other genres. If you are interesting in street photography and wondering how to get started, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you everything from composition and lighting to gear choices and editing.
There are few things more frustrating than getting the perfect shot with a beautiful pose, lovely background, and perfect lighting, only to discover you accidentally cropped out part of the bird's wing. When that happens, Photoshop can come to the rescue. This helpful video tutorial will show you how to fix a photo with a clipped bird wing using Photoshop.
I love to photograph waterfalls, rivers, and seascapes. Those subjects make up nearly 50% of my portfolio. And when photographing those, I need to have proper footing to move around freely and focus on the subject and composition. So the topic of this article is proper water shoes that I finally found after testing several brands over the years.
I must confess, I don't use Adobe Lightroom to anywhere near its full potential. In this video, Nigel Danson walks through a lesser-known tool that is now a staple in his landscape photography.
No doubt, the last few years have been stressful for many of us, and it can be difficult to remember how to destress and find peace and contentment again. Photography should be an escape, however, and this great video reminds us of that.
Building a career as a professional artist is a long journey of ups and downs. Here’s one lesson to take along to help you on your way.
The Panasonic GH6 mirrorless camera is here, and it came with a variety of new features and improvements over the popular GH5. This great video review takes a look at the camera and the sort of performance you can expect from it in practice.
Male white privilege is among one of the most pressing issues in the modern working world. But does that extend to photography? Unfortunately, yes. Here is what one renowned white male photographer had to say about this issue.
There’s an old bit of nonsense that states there are two factors that affect price when buying a tripod: stability and weight. Benro has proved there are two more. So, is their Hydra 2 worth their cost?
Canon's RF lenses have been highly impressive, offering fantastic performance and image quality while pushing the envelope of lens design, but on the other hand, many of them are quite expensive. There are some budget gems available, however, and this fantastic video will show you three great options that get you a lot of performance and image quality for not a lot of money.
At the moment, all of the focus on Canon cameras and lenses is on the RF line, but before that series existed, there was the EF-M line, which is still hanging around and offers small and impressively affordable bodies and lenses. If you are looking for such a setup, check out this fantastic video tutorial that offers a comprehensive guide to all the lenses in the EF-M system.
After a long period of mediocrity where Canon sat in the dead zone between going all-in on mirrorless and staying with DSLRs, Canon is back to producing superb cameras. Is this one of their best?
I’m increasingly impressed with the products from ON1. Does their latest software update, ON1 Resize AI 2022, live up to the standards of the other products from that stable and its "Perfect" heritage?
One of the most common things you will have to do when retouching is removing various marks and blemishes on skin. Sometimes, this is as straightforward as running an automatic tool over a small area, but for larger, less uniform blemishes, you need some more advanced techniques. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to remove a variety of marks in Photoshop while still retaining skin texture.
There are a lot of products out there that promise to make you a better photographer quickly, whether by teaching you some well-kept secret or by offering a magic shortcut known only to seasoned pros. While those can all be quite enticing, the real secret to becoming a better photographer is something we do not always want to hear.
There are many ways to create a glow effect in Photoshop using layers and blending modes. What if you could do it in a fraction of the time and get even better results? Would you be interested?
Fujifilm's XF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 R LM OIS WR lens offers X series photographers a ton of reach at a relatively affordable price, making it suitable for anything from sports to bird photography and more. This excellent video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.
Let's go on a location scout for my music video. The needs for photographers and directors can be similar, and how you approach the location scouting can really help you have a smooth production.
Sky replacement used to be something that was quite tedious and took a fair amount of effort and technique to accomplish convincingly, but in the last few years, we have seen a lot of advancement in automated sky replacement features in various applications. If you are new to using them, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you the ins and outs of using Photoshop's sky replacement features and how to use your own skies for the task.
This editing technique is something every landscape photographer should learn. It can be especially helpful when you're approaching an image with a few technical flaws.
Photoshop is quite the behemoth application, and if you are new to working with it, it can be a bit overwhelming knowing where to start. If you are new to working with Photoshop and wondering how to get started, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you the first tools you should learn and how to use them to work on your photos.
The next drone in DJI's Mini lineup, the DJI Mini 3 Pro, is almost upon us, and though it looks to be a successor to the Mini 2, some reviewers have already gotten their hands on it to show that it is, in reality, a different beast entirely with its "Pro" nomenclature.
Being a well-rounded photographer who can succeed in any situation is the ultimate goal for most photographers. However, what happens when you are forced to take a portrait by lighting from below? Today, I take the challenge.
In almost every genre, you will encounter situations in which you are using your lens' widest aperture and you can't make your shutter speed any slower, meaning all you can do is raise your ISO. That will introduce noise into your images, but thankfully, modern post-processing software can do quite a lot to correct that, and this excellent video tutorial will show you how to leverage it to do just that.
The humble keyboard is one of those crucial pieces of equipment that will always be needed by photographers. If comfort, style, and functionality are important to you, a customized mechanical keyboard is a must-buy.
24-70mm f/2.8 lenses are the workhorse of choice for a variety of genres, offering a versatile focal length range in tandem with a wide aperture that allows them to tackle a lot of needs with ease. Which one is right for you, though? This great video comparison takes a look at the Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 GM, Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II, Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art, and Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III VXD G2 to help you decide.
Some accepted truths about photography proved wrong over the years. Just as beliefs in seemingly unassailable attitudes have been eroded by time, so too will things we believe are correct now. Are my predictions for the future uncomfortable, or will you embrace the changes?
The rise of alternative, affordable lenses has been sharp in the last few years, with many great lenses offered at a fraction of the price of their desirable counterparts. This lens takes on anamorphic lenses, but how good is it?
24mm lenses are quite useful, as they offer an attractively wide focal length that is not so extreme that significant wide angle distortion starts to creep in. Premium 24mm lenses can easily run well over $1,000, though. On the other hand, the Viltrox AF 24mm f/1.8 is quite affordable. Can it keep up with those more expensive options? This excellent video review takes a look at its performance and image quality to answer that question.
Billingham Eventer II is the latest camera bag from the UK-based manufacturer, Billingham. This bag is an update on a previous version that was probably the most expensive camera bag that Billingham produced at the time. The Billingham Eventer II now holds the mantle of being the most expensive camera bag produced by the company.
It can be frustrating when, as a new photographer, you want to work with models. You put your little ad up on Facebook and… nothing. What do you do?
Users of Luminar Neo from Skylum will get a solid update when they launch the Windows or Mac raw editor today. The app gains MaskingAI, a feature that applies artificial intelligence to masking objects, saving a lot of time in the editing process.
When it comes to landscape photography, planning can make a huge difference in your ability to come home with the exact image you have been dreaming of, but almost paradoxically, you need to be able to remain flexible as well. This great video discusses why being willing to change plans on the fly can benefit your work.
If spring has been a mixed bag of poor weather and few targets for you, as it has been for many of us, things are looking up as May rolls in. A total lunar eclipse highlights the list on May 15-16.
85mm lenses are the classic choice of portrait photographers, and it shows, as almost every manufacturer has one, with many of them offering multiple options. So, why are they so popular among portrait photographers? This great video discusses some of their properties and how those features make them a fantastic choice for photographing people.
I recently made the switch to Mac after a lifetime of Windows. My MacBook Pro isn’t perfect, but in this video ,I discuss the top 10 things that it does better than my Windows machines.
If you haven't heard of GuruShots, it's a photography website that hosts "The World’s Greatest Photo Game,” They host regular challenges and allow photographers of every level to submit and participate. Their latest challenge "Marvelous Still Life," received thousands of entries and millions of votes. You can see the three winners of the challenge as well as hundreds of top rated images below.
What do you do when you have a light that doesn't fit into the standard set of categories?
At some point, we will all end up shooting in a boring conference room. It’s not always easy to get a good shot when the space isn’t made for it. So, these tips from Epic Light Media might just be the trick.
Filters can feel like unimportant and superfluous purchases at times, but they have the power to make a big difference. Some are necessities to get the shot you have in mind and others are stylistic choices. Here are three one photographer uses constantly.
Canon has been chugging along the last few years, releasing some impressive mirrorless cameras and lenses. It seems they have no intention of stopping, with another major announcement of multiple cameras and lenses coming soon.
How do you make sure that your photos make a lasting impression? Is there a formula that can help you achieve better visual design?
