The Best Images from GuruShots "Lit by Twilight" Challenge

Our friends over at GuruShots, "The World’s Greatest Photo Game,” recently offered a challenge where particpants submitted their best images "Lit by Twilight." There were thousands of entries and 39.4 million votes throughout the contest but the top winners have been chose. See who won as well as the 100 top rated images below.

Is This the Best Bird Photography Lens?

Birds are notoriously difficult to photograph, because they're flighty (pun intended) and far away. Fixed focal length telephoto lenses are great at cropping in close to your feathered friends, but the decent, sharp lenses are incredibly expensive. They also restrict your composition, which is why the Nikkor 80-400mm lens may just be the best bird photography lens in the world.

How to Shoot a Punch Portrait Without Making Physical Contact

A photographer has put together this behind-the-scenes video to show how we created a realistic “punch portrait.” Mike Smith has managed to pull off an image of himself seemingly being punched, except there’s one catch – no direct contact was made at all.

A Bouncer Who Took Photographs but Didn't Make It to His First Exhibition

Billy Monk was a bouncer in a club in Cape Town South Africa. It was in the 60s, during Apartheid, where certain rules regarding social dynamics were strongly enforced, and yet, here he was, documenting the people who freed themselves of these rules whenever inside this club called Catacombs.

Will We See Sigma Lenses for Canon Mirrorless Cameras Soon?

Sigma's lenses have become quite popular for offering fantastic image quality at prices far below first party options. As Canon's RF mount continues to gain momentum, rumors of Sigma releasing a lens lineup for Canon mirrorless cameras have begun to emerge.

The Exposure Triangle: Something Every New Photographer Should Master

The exposure triangle is probably the most crucial concept every new photographer should learn and master as soon as possible. This excellent video will introduce you to the exposure triangle, how it affects your images, and how to use it to your advantage.

Portable Power: A Review of the Fuji X-T4

Several generations in, the Fujifilm X series is highly refined and a serious tool for lots of working professionals. This great video review takes a comprehensive look at the latest entry in the series, the X-T4.

Don't Miss This Big Sale on Fujifilm Cameras and Lenses

Fujifilm's X and GFX cameras and lenses are on sale at B&H. With dozens of items receiving some sort of special pricing, it's a great time to check out the product lines. Want to know my picks for the best deals?

How I Would Use Three Different Light Modifiers

I've seen people learn photography and lighting from a technical standpoint and for me, it always went over my head. What!? There is a mathematical calculation to getting good light? I always went for what "felt good" and for the longest time I felt insecure about my process, even though I booked often.

What Two Cameras Is Sony Going to Announce in the Next Six Weeks?

After a comparatively quiet period, Sony is said to be preparing for some fairly significant gear announcements before the end of June. What is the Japanese giant planning, and can it take the shine off the news of the forthcoming Canon EOS R5?

Six Months With the DJI Mavic Mini: The Best Drone for Beginners?

DJI makes a variety of great drones at various price points and with different feature sets, with the Mavic Mini being one of the most inexpensive, making it an intriguing option for lots of new drone users. This great video review takes a look at the Mavic Mini and how well it performs, particularly how it has improved with new firmware updates.

Is the Surface Book 3 a Macbook Pro Killer?

The newly announced Microsoft Surface Book 3 is reportedly their most powerful laptop ever. So could it be good enough to destroy the competition? Namely, the new Apple Macbook Pro 2020. Photographers and creatives alike love Apple products for editing workflows, but could this be the beginning of the end for Apple's domination of the creative market?

What Sort of Backdrop Should You Use for Your Photography?

We spend a lot of time discussing things like lighting, posing, editing, and the like, but one that perhaps does not get the amount of discussion it needs is the choice of backdrop. This fantastic video discusses a wide range of different backdrops and the pros and cons of each for different photographic applications.

What Are Your Dream Photography Locations?

One of the best parts of photography is the chance to experience numerous epic locations and use your skills to document them in all their majesty. This excellent video features a photographer discussing three of his dream locations and why he loves them so much.

How to Control Contrast With Lighting

One of the greatest tools you have at your disposal for creating mood within a portrait is controlling the contrast through your lighting setups. This excellent video will show you how you can use lighting to control the contrast in portraits and create more dynamic photos.

Fantastic Tips for Milky Way Photography

A good Milky Way photo can be absolutely stunning, and there are a number of fantastic ways to incorporate it into landscapes or even portraits. This fantastic video will show you lots of great tips for improving your Milky Way photos.

How to Create Dramatic Black and White Landscape Images

When you think of landscape photography, you probably think of vibrant, colorful images that pop off the screen, but there is an entire world of black and white photography that can be just as powerful and that is well worth exploring. This fantastic video will show you how to create dramatic, eye-catching black and white landscape images that have a powerful impact.

How to Select the Right Portfolio Images

Creating a portfolio is more than simply selecting pretty images. In this video, I go over three photographers' work who are at different levels and explain how they should build their portfolio and what they need to do to move up to the next level.

Documentary Photographer Busts Some Common Myths and False Beliefs

If there's one thing that seasoned professional photographers love to do, it's to dispel ridiculous misconceptions and myths around the craft. Daniel Milnor is one of these people, and in this video, he crushes a few commonly held false beliefs within the wider photographic community.

Business and Personal Habits You Might Have Ignored Until Now

Although the current situation is far from what we used to know as "normal," I believe we will still have a chance to get to our daily routines. This time, we have to be more careful about a number of habits we may have been ignoring.

Instant Film Is More Meaningful Than Digital Photography

I recently picked up a Mint RF70, a fully manual camera designed to accept Fuji’s Instax Wide film. After capturing a few images with it over the past few days, I’m reminded of why I love instant film so much. Yes, it’s magical watching a print develop right in front of you, but that has nothing to do with why instant film is so exceptional.

Artist Extracts Short Visual Stories From Web Cameras All Over the World

We might be instructed to stay at home for now but it doesn't mean that the outside world has stopped turning. It has, actually, continued to thrive and has given one artist an idea for extracting and collating brief digital sceneries from web cameras all over the world to tell stories of isolation.

Food Photography Kit for Under $1,250

Photography gear is expensive. However, thanks to the used market and how good cameras have been for the past decade, for under $1,250, you can buy a really solid food photography camera setup.

A Long-Term Review of the Ben Q Screen Bar E-Reading Lamp

I am often wrong, and my initial impression of this rather cool looking light was no exception. I couldn't for the life of me work out why you would spend so much money on a USB lamp. A few weeks later, all became clear.

What Is the Highest Usable ISO?

ISO and digital noise are often a cause for concern with photographers. In this video, I look at how much noise is acceptable in an image and how that varies depending on the application of the photograph.

Director of Netflix Hit 'Extraction' Strapped Himself to Hood of Car for Chase Scene

Netflix’s "Extraction" has just become the most watched Netflix original film, with 90 million viewers over its first four-week period, which means director Sam Hargrave’s efforts paid off. In this newly released video, we see footage of how Hargrave straped himself to a car in order to film an epic one-take car chase scene.

Does Fujifilm Finally Have a Fast Nifty Fifty and Is It Worth Buying?

Last month, Fujifilm quietly revealed that it would be opening up the API around its lens autofocus to allow other manufacturers to start making lenses. Following on from the well-received and affordable 85mm f/1.8, Viltrox has created a 33mm f/1.4 — in effect, a nifty fifty — and the early reviews are starting to appear.

Learn How to Shoot This Great Mixed Lighting Portrait

If you are currently stuck at home and looking for something to shoot, now is a perfect time experiment with different creative ideas to keep your technical skills sharp and to continue to develop your style. This fantastic video will show you how you can set up, shoot, and edit an eye-catching mixed light portrait.

5 Great Tips for Making Your Landscape Images Pop in Luminar 4

Luminar 4's AI features have made most of the headlines, but the application is also a fully featured editor that can handle all the most essential adjustments as well as more advanced and creative techniques. This excellent video will show you five ways to make your landscape photos pop using Luminar 4.

Your Next Camera Might Be a Subscription: Here's Why

Even before the economic disaster of COVID, the camera industry was contracting. The software industry has adopted SaaS pricing, with Adobe Creative Cloud being the most recognizable example. That pricing model, or one like it, might be the next big change coming to camera hardware.

How to Take Your Webcam Presence to the Next Level

Whether you’re working remotely or recording videos for YouTube, producing a high-quality video can require some smart gear decisions. Your Macbook’s built-in webcam and mic are fine, but spending just a small amount can translate to a huge improvement in quality. Here are the essentials, along with recommendations at a variety of price points, to set up your perfect streaming and recording setup.

Consider Using a Flat Picture Profile When Shooting in Raw

I think it is always wise to shoot in raw. The raw file format will store the maximum amount of image information. This can even be optimized when shooting with exposure to the right to make full use of the dynamic range of the camera. Although intended for JPEG photographers, a flat picture profile can have a benefit or raw shooters also.

A Map Tracking Live Global Creative Production Status

We all want out. We want to get working. Our clients are calling, and we want to get back at it. Genero, a global agency connecting creatives with projects has launched a map to help you plan when and where you could start working.

A Guide to Focusing in Landscape Photography

There surely is nothing worse than coming home from a shoot and seeing you have missed focus or you have parts of your photo out of focus when you intended for it to be in focus.