It’s about the time of year where many people are looking for gift ideas. This list outlines multiple options for a film photographer at multiple price points.
The dynamic range of a camera is something that is considered to be important. A large dynamic range is often preferred. But how can you make use of this in your photography? In this article I will explain how you can use your camera’s dynamic range in post processing.
Whether you want to speed up your computer, or simply keep your photo archive safe and secure, check to see if you're making any crucial mistakes that you may come to regret further down the road.
Mustering the courage to shoot posed portraits of strangers on the streets is a challenge. This excellent video from respected street photographer, Frederik Trovatten, gives you some great tips on how to approach people and ask them to pose for a picture.
For many photographers, power is a major struggle. If you're shooting video or working in live-view, a battery charge never seems to last, so you're stuck carrying 3 or 4 batteries in your kit. X-tra battery is here to solve that problem and simplify your kit with one revolutionary accessory.
Of all Canon's esteemed L lenses, the EF 50mm f/1.2L USM probably has the most controversial reputation of all. Though originally meant for DSLRs, it easily adapts to Canon and other mirrorless cameras. Can it stand up to the resolution demands of modern mirrorless cameras? This great video review takes a look at what you can expect.
Just like any other genre, landscape photography comes with its own set of potential pitfalls and common mistakes that can derail your images. This fantastic video discusses five common mistakes in landscape photography and what you can do to avoid them and create better photos.
Wide aperture portrait lenses are some of the most popular out there, but they are rarely cheap. However, in the last few years, we have seen an influx of third-party lenses that are significantly cheaper than first-party options. This excellent video review takes a look at one such lens, the Samyang AF 85mm f/1.4.
The most classically chosen portrait focal length is 85mm, which represents an excellent balance of all the characteristics sought after by photographers. However, portrait photographers will frequently employ a wide range of focal lengths depending on the look they are going for. This great video compares some of the best lenses at 85mm, 105mm, 135mm, and 200mm.
Michael Grecco’s brand new book, "Punk, Post Punk, New Wave: Onstage, Backstage, In Your Face, 1978–1991" features more than 160 previously unseen photos from the heyday of the explosive punk rock movement in the United States. Working for the Associated Press in Boston as a photojournalist at the time, Grecco freelanced for local cultural media outlets, including the legendary radio station WBCN-FM. He had a unique opportunity to be embedded inside this unprecedented scene from the beginning.
If you're looking for tips on how to slowly lift the tension of your film, watching Thomas Bezucha's new film, Let Him Go, will serve you well.
Producing a promotional video is one of the tougher kinds of content to produce as a videographer. These types of videos tend not to be super long; however, the impact they're required to make is what put them in that challenging category. In a recent video, we offer up some valuable tips to help you edit your promos more effectively.
Photographers are always trying to stay one step ahead of the pack when it comes to making images. If you're currently out of ideas for your next shoot, maybe a new lens will help get the juices flowing.
Photography is full of complex terminology, and a lot of it refers to some tricky concepts. This useful short video runs you through 19 fundamentals that every beginner should add to their vocabulary.
A couple months ago, Sony teased that the FX6 cinema camera was coming before the end of the year. Today, most of the product details including price have now been revealed.
In this video tutorial, watch as Redouane Naouri shows you how to create special FX lighting in Photoshop. FX light effects are very effective on fantasy images, and the way Naouri creates this effect is different from any other way I have seen before.
Lightroom is a deceptively powerful program, and you can accomplish a great deal in it without having to turn to Photoshop or some other application. This fantastic video tutorial gives seven great tricks and techniques for taking more control of your Lightroom experience and creating better images.
Though photography may be a relatively new medium, visual representations of our world most certainly are not. Here are some artists that are worth studying if you want to improve your architectural photography, particularly in black and white.
The Canon Cinema line took a major step forward recently with the introduction of the EOS C70, the company's first RF mount cinema camera, allowing filmmakers to take advantage of Canon's stellar mirrorless lenses. This excellent video takes a first look at the camera and how it holds up in practice.
A portrait lens is up there as one of the key acquisitions in pretty much every photographer's lens collection. The release of Viltrox's auto-focus 56mm f/1.4 in Fuji X-mount is therefore highly anticipated because it combines AF and a fast aperture all at a highly economical price point. Is it worth the money?
In this week's article and video I go over my process of capturing an image from start to finish. Everything from how I found my location, captured the photo in the field, and my entire Lightroom editing process.
You can easily spend a lot of money quite quickly trying to improve your photography, and often, that new lens of camera body will not do anything to the actual quality of your output. Instead of opening your wallet, it might be a simply change of philosophy that will make the difference.
At various stages in your photography journey you'll inevitably come to some crossroads or get bogged down in creative blocks. At these somewhat confusing points in time, it's worth taking a step back to revaluate where you're at and where you want to be.
In this video tutorial watch Dean Samed shows us how to create a better oil paint effect in Photoshop. This can be used in your works to get that illustrated painterly feel that so many people love.
These are tough times for a lot of us, but creative activities can be a wonderful outlet and way of reinvigorating ourselves. This honest video essay takes a look at mental health and how the act of photography can help us lead happier lives.
Scams are nothing new. They come in many forms and are especially popular right now while people are vulnerable. However, this scam is something that has seemingly been going on for a very long time.
I've had the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens for a couple of years now, and it's my favorite lens. Canon has recently introduced an RF version improvement of this lens in the form of a 100-500mm f/f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM lens.
Your external disk is filling up with all the digital files, but before you buy additional memory storage to hold more of your photographs, consider doing something with the ones you've already created so far.
I have done some dumb stuff in my life — like really dumb. Ask any of my friends. And photography has been no exception. Here are some of the worst mistakes I have made as a photographer.
No doubt, portrait photography takes the confluence of a lot of technical skills and creative ideas to be successful, and there are a lot of common mistakes we all make at one time or another. This excellent video details three common portrait photography mistakes and how you can avoid or fix them.
Perhaps no lens is more commonly relied on by professionals in challenging environments than the 70-200mm f/2.8. So, which company makes the best version? This great video review compares the respective 70-200mm f/2.8 options from Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Panasonic to see which one is best.
In this video tutorial, watch as Abbey Esparza shows us how to create a surreal honeycomb effect in Photoshop. This can be used in your fantasy works and conceptual images.
Lighting is one of the most fundamental aspects of a successful portrait, and while we most often focus on getting the key light just right, the accessory lights can be what take a portrait from good to great. This excellent video will show you how simply adding a kicker light can make your portraits better.
During such a brief and important period of a person's life, maternity shoots have grown in popularity, but they're far from straightforward. This video will guide you through some posing ideas, as well as foundational elements to pregnancy shoots.
There are many light modifiers available and the selection can become confusing at times. Some areas, in fact, are confusing even when you understand them. The primary suspect is the parabolic softbox.
I love doing photoshoots for musicians. I get to be creative, think outside the box, and make something that will be seen by an audience outside of my bubble. So, when Toronto singer Tafari Anthony approached me to shoot his EP cover, I was all in.
If you haven't made any bad choices, then that just means you haven't been shooting long enough.
Not all that doesn’t glitter isn’t gold. For non-professionals and professionals alike, a second-hand camera or lens is often a cheap way to upgrade one’s own photographic toolbox. Here, you find some tips for making a good bargain.
Drones are more capable, portable, and affordable than ever, and they are a fantastic photography and filmmaking tool and simply a ton of fun to fly. Nonetheless, they take a different approach than using a normal camera. This helpful video will give you five tips for working with a drone for the first time.
Sony cameras have done a lot to move forward the industry, but just like any other system, there are things that can be improved. Here are eight things one photographer would change about the Sony cameras he uses.
When you are a new photographer, it can be easy to be tempted by a wide variety of products that promise quick shortcuts to better or more memorable images. But a lot of these products will not do you any good or could even cause harm to your work. This excellent video discusses five things you do not actually need as a new portrait photographer.
Canon's new mirrorless cameras and lenses have hit the market in a fury, offering superlative features and groundbreaking designs. If you are looking for a great combination for portraiture work, check out this fantastic video featuring the Canon EOS R6 and RF 28-70mm f/2L on a portrait shoot.
The first Apple computers with the company's own chips are here, and they bring with them the promise of notable performance gains with highly impressive battery life. What will the benefits and impact be for photographers and filmmakers? This excellent video examines what we can expect.
The 200mm f/2 lens is normally thought of for things like sports photography, but it has found a second home in the hands of portrait photographers. Are the magical images it creates worth the price? Check out this great comparison video to find out.
Forest photography can seem overwhelming, chaotic, and hard, but if you follow these seven steps, you ought to improve a significant amount.
Photoshop has a lot of power, but for many editors, some of the features are arcane, involve multiple steps, or are too complicated to bother with. That's where Photoshop Extensions come in. It's an architecture that Adobe provides that falls between a plug-in and a Photoshop Action. As a result, some experienced Photoshop users with programming skills have created some really useful extensions that are useful to both beginner editors and pros.
Despite the headline, I’ve always thought that Final Cut Pro X was cool. It still is, and it’s still my favorite non-linear video editor. That said, industry inertia has always pushed me to use Adobe’s bloated Premiere Pro, but Apple’s new Macs using their own silicon in the form of the M1 processor may have just given the industry to come back to an old favorite.
President Trump was out golfing when news broke of President-Elect Biden's projected win of the presidency, thereby ending Trump's time in office at one term. Capturing Trump during this moment was not easy, however, and took significant effort and extreme equipment to accomplish.
Film directors are a great source of inspiration that photographers should be taking advantage of more often. Here are 11 of the greatest directors that you've probably never heard of but really should know about.
In this video tutorial, watch as I show you how to create depth in your photo manipulations in Photoshop. I see lots of composites and photo manipulations that fail at creating depth, so I hope this helps.
