How to Balance Ambient Light and Flash for Better Photos

When you are working with artificial light, you often have to think about not only controlling the flash, but the ambient light as well. That can be a bit of a mystery for a lot of us when we first start working with artificial light, but this excellent video tutorial will demystify the relationship between ambient and artificial light and show you how to take control of both for better images.

Is the Canon EOS R5 the Best Camera for Wedding Photographers?

For a long time, Canon's 5D DSLR series bodies were the cameras of choice for quite a lot of wedding photographers. The EOS R5 is the company's mirrorless analog to the beloved 5D, but it brings with it a variety of major improvements and new features. Is it the next bread and butter camera for wedding photographers? This excellent video review takes a look at the camera from a wedding photographer's perspective and how it holds up in demanding environments.

Is Social Media Ruining Our Photography?

The ways we present our photographs to the world have significantly changed over the last decade, with social media platforms like Instagram becoming the primary destinations for a ton of photographers. They bring pitfalls with them, however, and they could be seriously damaging our creative work. This excellent video essay discusses the issues we should be aware of.

How to Film a Scene in a Car

In television and film, scenes in cars are a staple and so common you could be fooled into thinking it's easily done and with one technique. Well, that's not the case.

Is This Canon's Best Value 85mm Lens?

An 85mm lens is by far one of the most useful and popular options out there, but premium versions can reach well over $2,000. Canon's RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM is far more affordable and offers some useful features more expensive options do not. This great video review takes a look at the lens and the kind of performance you can expect from it in practice.

How to Color Grade a Photo in Lightroom

You might think that Photoshop is the place for serious color grading work, but Lightroom can accomplish quite a bit, particularly with its new, upgraded color tools. This great video tutorial will show you a variety of tips and techniques for color grading images using Lightroom.

Did American Politics Ruin My Shots?

I spent a few days in the Utah badlands attempting to capture the unique beauty the area has to offer, and I can confidently say it is unlike anywhere else in the world. While being there, I was surprised how much of the area did not look like what I expected.

A Review of the Sony a7C Mirrorless Camera

Though it is part of the highly popular a7 series, the Sony a7C is a distinct departure in design from the rest of the cameras in the lineup, packing a full frame sensor into a very compact and portable body. This great video review takes a look at the camera and the kind of performance you can expect from it in practice.

7 Editing Techniques Landscape Photographers Should Know

Editing is a huge part of landscape photography and the chance for you to add your personal style to your images. If you are looking to improve your own editing, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you seven different editing techniques that are useful for working with landscape photos.

Processing Images in Black and White for Print

Printing your own photographs is a gratifying and important experience for photographers new to the art and veterans alike. In this video, watch how one photographer processes his images into black and white to then print.

When You Should Quit Photography

Photography is a tough profession, but a very enjoyable hobby. Not everyone is meant to be a professional photographer, though.

Learn How This Landscape Image Was Shot and Edited

Creating a successful landscape photograph is just as much about your post-processing technique as it is about the process of shooting it. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to shoot and edit a landscape image from start to finish.

How To Make Your New Camera Moment Even More Enjoyable

Waiting for that new camera or gear to arrive can be a somewhat anxious time. I don't know about you, but when I finally decide on a product after much research, I want it right away. However, there are some things you can do while you're waiting for that new camera to arrive.

Why Showing Your Process Is a Powerful Promotional Tool

If you're trying to break into the professional photography scene, or if you need to pivot your photography business and attract new types of clients, sharing the behind the scenes of your shoots can be an extremely effective marketing tool. This video explains why.

8 Bad Fashion Photography Habits

Any genre has bad habits that people routinely fall into, and that includes fashion photography. This excellent video essay discusses eight common bad habits fashion photographers fall into, why they are bad, and how to avoid or fix them.

A Beginner's Guide to Effectively Using ISO for Better Photos

ISO is one of the three fundamental exposure parameters and something you need to have mastered to take successful photos. If you are new to photography and still working on learning the basics, this great video tutorial will show you everything you need to know about ISO.

What Is the Best High-Resolution Full Frame Camera Available Today?

There are a lot of high-resolution full frame cameras available nowadays, and they all offer quite well-rounded feature sets and image quality. Which one is right for you? This fantastic video review takes a look at the four of the most impressive and modern options out there and how they compare to each other.

The Nikon Z 5: How Good Is Nikon's Entry Full Frame Mirrorless Model?

The Nikon Z 5 is the company's entry-level full frame mirrorless model, and it offers all the benefits of the Z mount at a more affordable price. Does it hold up in practice despite its budget price? This great video review takes a look at how it performs.

What Canon RF Lenses Do You Want To See in 2021?

Canon took their mirrorless camera range from forgettable to cutting edge last year, and now, the lenses need to follow suit. Some of the staples are available already, some are announced, but there are favorites still missing. What are you hoping to see?

Improve Lightroom's Graduated Filter With These Six Tweaks

Lightroom's graduated filter is like magic, offering incredible editing options from the comfort of your own home, but it's not perfect. Take a whisk through these top six ways to improve the graduated filter for better image editing success.

Is Photo Mechanic Plus a Lightroom Killer? An In-Depth Fstoppers Review Part 1: Importing Photos

Lightroom totally dominates the realm of digital asset management (DAM) — a solution to everything, it fits the mold of most photographic workflows. However, the bitter pill to swallow can be the treacle-like performance and that monthly subscription (something I've touched upon before). Photo Mechanic, renowned for its blisteringly fast performance, offers a new solution. Is it a Lightroom killer?

How to Create a Natural Light Photo Studio at Home

Artificial lighting affords you a wide variety of creative and practical options, but it is not always reasonable or feasible to use it, particularly at home. That does not mean you can't create professional portraits, though, and this fantastic video tutorial will show you how to do it.

3 Important Tips for Beginner Portrait Photographers

Portraiture is a popular genre that challenges both your technical skills behind the camera and your ability to interact with people to draw the best poses and expressions from them. If you are new to shooting portraits, this fantastic video tutorial will give you three tips to keep in mind no matter how far you advance.

How to Find Your Photos in Lightroom

After you have been photographing for a couple years, you are likely to amass quite the collection of photos, and it can be a bit difficult to find what you need once you have thousands upon thousands of images to sort through. Luckily, Lightroom has a wide variety of features designed to help you find the photos you are looking for, and this great video tutorial will show you how to use them.

Is This Legendary Portrait Lens Worth the Price?

Zeiss lenses hold a bit of a legendary status when it comes to portraiture, with the Batis 85mm f/1.8 being particularly well known. Still, it is on the expensive side for an 85mm f/1.8 lens. Does it justify its premium price tag? This great video review takes a look at the lens and what you can expect from it in real-world usage.

How to Freeze and Blur Movement With Flash Photography

Flash can be an excellent tool to freeze motion, especially when you are working in the studio or do not have extreme amounts of available light for using ultra-fast shutter speeds. But you can get even more creative results by mixing the freezing power of a flash with a long exposure that captures motion, and this fantastic video tutorial will show you how it is done.

Nine Things To Do When You Don’t Know What To Photograph

There are moments when it's difficult to go out photographing. Perhaps the weather is too bad, or it becomes dark too soon during wintertime. I have a couple of suggestions to spend these periods with less inspiration in a useful way.

Tweak Photoshop CC to Export Layers to Files With Proper Names

When saving layers into separate files using the in-built Photoshop script we always get this annoying string of numbers at the start before the filename. But now I'm going to show you how to make a quick tweak to change that forever.

How Subtle Lighting Changes Can Create Entirely Different Photos

You might think the difference in setups that create high key and low key lighting is significant, but on the other hand, just a slight change in modifiers and light position can make a huge difference. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to create both high key and low key portraits using two strobes with almost identical modifiers.

Do You Always Need a Tripod for Landscape Photography?

When you think of landscape photography, you probably automatically assume the usage of a tripod, but it is not always a necessary tool, and in fact, it can even be a detriment. In fact, a tripod can actually end up being a hindrance, and this fantastic video discusses why you might want to keep your camera in your hands more often.

Get Out of Your Photography Comfort Zone

We all have our personal style and photographic habits, and that is not a bad thing; after all, they are what define us as creatives. On the other hand, we can end up stuck in a bit of a rut if we never stray outside our comfort zone, and this excellent video reminds us why it is important to push ourselves every once in a while.

Shooting Window Light Without a Window: Nathan Elson's 'How I Got the Shot'

YouTube and photography blogs seem to be all stocked up with quick BTS videos these days. We see photographers swinging lights around and talking about post, but I don’t think we see enough of their thought processes. Here, with Nathan Elson, we get a little bit of everything.

5 Signs Your Landscape Photos Are Too Busy

Landscape photography is unique in that you can't move the elements of your frame to adjust the composition, and as such, it can be easy to fall into the trap of making your photos too busy without even realizing it. This excellent video tutorial will show you five signs that your landscape photos may be too busy.

Which Nikon Wide Angle Zoom Lens Is the Sharpest?

A good wide angle zoom lens can be invaluable for a wide range of applications ranging from events coverage and landscapes to astrophotography, and one of their most important properties is their sharpness. The excellent video review compares three options for Nikon shooters: the AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, NIKKOR Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S, and NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S lenses.

Landscape Photography Doesn't Always Have to Be Epic

We tend to be inundated by images of grand, epic scenes when it come to landscape photography, and it can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking those are the only photographs worth taking. This excellent video discusses why even seemingly normal scenes can be turned into worthwhile images.

How Wide Should Landscape Lenses Be?

When we ask people about what lens to get for landscape photography, we often get advised to get a wide-angle lens. But how wide do you need these lenses to be?

On Photographing Racists as a Photographer of Color

One of the unique aspects of the Black Lives Matter movement in the last year has been how it has spread to even the smallest of communities. It’s made covering the protests as a minority photographer a wholly different and vastly more frightening experience.

The Power of the Zoom

Transform boring, wide scenes into dramatic and intimate close-ups with a telephoto lens that brings you into the photo, focusing on the fine details.