Why Are Brands Ditching Product Photography and Moving to CGI?

Shooting products has been a staple of many photographers, but with the advantages brought by CGI, more and more companies are starting to make changes to how they create images of their products. Why are they moving, and do photographers need to adapt?

Using a 70-200mm Lens for Landscape Photography

When you think of landscape photography and the lenses used, you likely think of wide angle options meant to capture all of the scene in one frame. And while those absolutely have their place, longer focal lengths can enable creative possibilities that weren't possible before. This great video examines what you can accomplish with a longer lens.

Elevate Your Photography by Using Hand-Painted Backdrops

While I agree that a great photographer can create incredible images using basic tools, it is no secret that great tools can help a good photographer achieve greatness. Over the last year or two, new strobes, new lenses, and a plethora of modifiers have helped elevate my studio photography to new levels, but one tool has brought it to a new level more than anything else: painted backdrops. And so, I wanted to share some resources on how to get painted backdrops without putting a second mortgage on your house.

These Filters Make Long Exposures Even Easier

One of the most rewarding yet mysterious elements of landscape photography is seeing the results of a long exposure. A few weeks ago, I had the chance to check out a new set of filters that mount using magnets, and the resulting photo is pretty interesting.

What Is Hasselblad Trying To Tell Us With Their Slow Camera in 2021?

Once you sit back and take look at photography, I think you'd agree that the time spent taking photos is often the most undervalued yet the most significant aspect of the process. The Verge reviews the Hasselblad 907X 50C, which has a price tag of $6,400 for the body alone, and it's slow. But, can slow actually be a good thing?

The Two Best Backgrounds for Flattering Skin Tones

The background is an element of a scene that's easy to overlook, but it has huge power over the final image. Here are two of the best backgrounds for accentuating skin tones in your portraits.

What Should You Look for in a Pro Camera?

You have carefully perfected your technique, you have developed a creative style, and you are ready to truly invest in a professional-level camera. How do you choose the right one for your work? Before you drop a significant amount of money on one, check out this fantastic video that details what you should be looking for in a professional camera.

Five Tips for Mastering the Pen Tool in Photoshop

In this video tutorial, watch as Dean Samed shows you his top five tips on how to use the pen tool in Photoshop. It is the sharpest and most precise way to cut out anything.

What I'm Hoping for From the Development of the Nikon Z 9

While March might be a bit early for me to already be filling out my holiday wish list for Santa Claus, the recent announcement that Nikon is developing a Z 9 to be released this year already has me in a festive mood.

5 Tips To Help Edit All Your Photos

One of the most difficult things in editing isn't knowing how to color grade, use radial filters, or Photoshop. It's knowing what a photo needs once you sit down to edit it and these five tips should help guide you in tackling any photo you have.

How to Create a Black Void Filled With Reflective Water, in Camera

The show Stranger Things created a stunning way of representing the inner mind of the character Eleven, showing her in an endless black void and standing upon a reflective layer of water. How is this achieved, and how do you avoid electrocuting your cast in the process?

Helpful Tips for Selling Landscape Photo Prints

One of the most common ways to make money through landscape photography is to sell prints, but with such a crowded market, it can be tricky to stand out. This excellent tutorial discusses some of the best-selling types of prints as well as some helpful tips for maximizing your sales.

How to Create Beautiful Baby Portraits Using Natural Light in Your Own Garage

If you don’t have a ton of fancy lighting gear at home, this doesn’t mean that you can’t produce gorgeous studio-style images. This in-depth video tutorial shows you how to get great results using minimal equipment from the comfort of your own garage and dives deep into how they're edited in Lightroom.

What Level of Photographer Are You?

No matter how good you are, there is always room to learn more and improve as a photographer. There are many different levels you go through in your development as a photographer, and knowing where you are can help you prioritize where to focus your attention next. This insightful video discusses the five levels of proficiency as a photographer and what it means to be at each one.

Are These Strange Lenses Worth Buying?

Canon has been releasing some mightily impressive lenses the last few years, but two of the more unique options we have seen are the RF 600mm f/11 IS STM and RF 800mm f/11 IS STM. They are quite affordable, however, offering photographers the chance to use extreme focal lengths without breaking the bank. How do they hold up in practice? This great video review takes a look at both of the lenses and the images they produce.

Fantastic Posing Ideas for Couples Portraits

Posing is something a lot of us struggle with, and it can be twice as hard when there are two people involved. If you have trouble posing couples, this fantastic video tutorial will show you 10 great poses to add to your playbook.

How to Use Essential Studio Equipment

No doubt, it is fun to learn about cameras, lenses, and editing techniques, and learning how to properly use a C-stand or clamp might not be as immediately alluring, but it is just as important when it comes to working in a studio and accomplishing what you need to. This fantastic video tutorial will show you how to use a variety of common studio equipment effectively.

How to Properly Set Up Your New Canon EOS R5 or R6

The Canon EOS R5 and R6 are Canon's newest mirrorless cameras, and they are impressively advanced machines capable of tackling a wide variety of scenarios with ease. But to get the most out of those capabilities, you need to set yours up properly, which is a bit of a complicated process. Whether you just got your camera or you have had it for months, this great video tutorial will run you through all the important menu options and how to set them.

Can an $800 f/0.95 Lens Compete With a $8,000 Option?

No doubt, many of us would love the extremely thin depth of field and light-gathering powers of an f/0.95 lens, and the price range of those options covers a huge range. Can an $800 f/0.95 lens keep up with an $8,000 f/0.95 lens? This great video review compares the Mitakon Zhongyi Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 III to the Nikon NIKKOR Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct lens to find out.

A Look at the Filmmaking Capabilities of the Sony a1

The Sony a1 is by far one of the most extreme cameras we have ever seen, with some particularly head-turning video features that make it (at least on paper) ready to tackle just about anything you can throw at it. How does its video performance hold up in the real world? This fantastic video review takes a good look.

Remember When No One Believed Rumors for the Canon EOS R5? Now We Have Rumors for the R1

The latest rumors for the Canon EOS R1 have been published on several sites, and in many respects, they're pretty unbelievable. The alleged leap in technology from Canon's current flagship, the Canon 1D X Mark III to the potential EOS R1 is huge, to say the least. However, this seems awfully familiar to what happened before the Canon EOS R5 was released.

How to Use Your White Seamless as a Light Source

Nathan Elson is back with another installment of his "How I Got the Shot" short-form tutorials. This time, Elson is sharing his process for creating an image using light reflected from his seamless as his key.

This Mind-Blowing Drone Video Is the Most Impressive I've Ever Seen

Drones have enabled incredible creative possibilities that simply would not have been possible just a decade ago, and this might be the most impressive example I have seen. Check out this incredible video that shows jaw-dropping flying skills and creative coordination.

Is This the Sharpest Lens Leica Has Ever Produced?

Leica may be the most polarizing brand on the market, but they have an undeniable quality of products. When it comes to their lenses, however, is this their crème de la crème?

Canon Is Planning to Update One of Its Best Lenses

Canon's 200mm f/2L is known as one of the most impressive lenses out there, and so, it was disappointing not to see it on the company's mirrorless roadmap. That may be changing, however, as a patent for a new version has emerged.

How To Photograph Action in Studio

One area of photography that seems to be avoided by many newcomers is the use of a flash or strobe. I believe this is partially due to the additional cost of equipment and the learning curve involved; I know it was for me. Flash photography is undoubtedly one of those areas that require experience to be good at it.

Did Photoshop’s New Feature Just Crush This AI Product?

One of the latest buzzwords in tech and editing has been AI. While the earliest implementations were a bit of a gimmick, powerful tools and developments from companies like Adobe, NVIDIA, and Luminar have brought AI to the end-user in a meaningful way. Photoshop’s March 2021 update introduces a new AI tool that promises massive resolution improvements for any camera. Does it live up to the hype?

PortraitPro 21 Is Here and Better Than Ever

Retouching portraits is a crucial process, but it is also highly time-consuming, particularly if you are working with a large batch of images. PortraitPro 21 is here, and it brings a wide variety of intelligent features that will streamline your workflow and save you a ton of time.

Why I Only Use One Lens for My Portfolio

This is far from a "why you should do this" video, more a "why I do this." I want to talk about how I accidentally ended up shooting my whole portfolio with a single lens, even though commercially, I use many.

Strobe Lighting for Beginners

Strobe lighting can seem quite daunting for the uninitiated, but once you get past any fear you might have and just dive into it, it really isn't that complicated. This straight-to-the-point introduction to strobe lighting is a great place to start.

Off-Camera Flash for Beginners

You can do quite a lot with natural light, but if you want to truly take full control of your photos, learning how to work with artificial light is the way to go. If you are wondering how to get started, this excellent video tutorial will guide you through the process of shooting outdoor portraits using a speedlight and affordable shoot-through umbrella.

How to Create High-Key Portraits With a Mix of Natural and Constant Light

The high-key look is quite popular in a variety of applications, as it produces a bright, punchy image that instantly draws the viewer's eye to the subject. You do not always need powerful strobes to achieve it, however. In fact, you can do it with nothing more than natural light from a window and a constant LED source, and this excellent video tutorial will show you how it is done.

The Sony a1: How Good Is This Mirrorless Flagship Camera for Video?

The Sony a1 is undoubtedly one of the most impressive cameras ever released, and it offers photographers and filmmakers extreme performance and the sort of versatility to tackle just about any project you need to. This excellent video review takes a look at the camera's video performance and if it is the right choice for your work.

We Review the Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM Mirrorless Lens

It was a matter of time before Canon released the RF version of the popular EF 100-400mm f/4-5.6L II IS USM. This new lens has 100mm more reach, together with a smaller aperture at the longest focal length. I got a chance to review the Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM to find out how this lens performs.