We spend years at school learning to read and write text: the meanings of words, what happens when you put them together, how to make yourself more easily understood, methods for convincing others of your point of view, etc. But for many of us, images and visual language are left for us to work out for ourselves. If a picture is worth a thousand words, why do we neglect visual language so much?

Identifying trends in commercial photography is important. It helps you develop your practice and keeps you on your toes! One of those trends right now is hard light. Hit that subject hard, cast some shadows, and make it look like we're all shooting poolside, sipping piña coladas!

Canon has been quite aggressive in the development of RF mount lenses, releasing some extreme designs, such as the RF 28-70mm f/2 L USM and the RF 85mm f/1.2 L USM. They seem to have no intentions of slowing down, as another boundary-pushing design has emerged in a recent patent. 

Nikon’s newly released MC-N10 handgrip might be the accessory you need, even if you didn’t know you needed it.

Lightroom preset maker DVLOP and photo educators SLR Lounge have launched a new take on AI photo editing with their project called Impossible Things. Entering the relatively new, yet increasingly competitive world of AI photo editing, Impossible Things promises to be the fastest and easiest AI photo editor.

Canon has developed a new sensor that employs a clever trick for increasing dynamic range.

While Photoshop is still the destination of choice for the most involved and detailed edits, Lightroom has evolved into a tremendously versatile and powerful tool that can tackle quite a few images on its own. Three of its most useful tools for landscape photography are texture, clarity, and dehaze, and this excellent video tutorial will show you how they are used and how to leverage them for better images. 

I tested a range of raw camera files in different development programs in a quest to find the ultimate development tool. This time it is the turn of DxO PhotoLab 6. Lightroom is good, and Capture One was better. How does Photolab 6 compare, and is it worth the investment?

Photo festivals are a great way to show work outside of where you live. Many of them, such as Arles or Photo 2022, have open calls to pitch work. Since these festivals often show early career artists with established names, they offer deeper insight into current ways within photography.

Everybody's got to start somewhere. The difference these days is about where you want to start. Whether it's vlogging, still photography, or making feature films, beginner cameras have really branched out into specialized tools in recent years.

Over the past 13 months, I've been traveling the world, visiting and photographing many beautiful landscapes and cityscapes. But how did I find all those photogenic places? A few months ago, I wrote an article about how to level up your photography through scouting and exploring new locations. But to achieve a good balance while traveling, you should also have a base of known photo spots available. In this article, I show how I find and organize those.

The Sony a7R series of mirrorless cameras has long been popular for offering some of the highest levels of resolution and image quality available in a full frame camera, but now in the fifth iteration, the a7R V is far from a one trick pony. A range of new and improved capabilities make it a powerhouse camera capable of tackling a variety of scenarios and needs. This great video review takes a look at the camera and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice. 

The Canon EOS R5 signaled to the industry that Canon was deadly serious about the professional mirrorless space, but along with it came the EOS R6, which kept many of the former's most impressive capabilities without such a high-resolution sensor and features like 8K raw video, which the vast majority of professionals do not need. It was also significantly cheaper, making it quite the intriguing camera. Now, the second iteration, the EOS R6 Mark II, is here, and it brings with it a number of worthwhile improvements. This great video review takes a look at the performance you can expect from it. 

A few months ago, I reluctantly took the plunge into Instagram reels, like many other still photographers. My most popular reel by a wide margin was a joke comparing “amateurs” to “professionals.” And, although my point was not so much to make a distinction between two classes of photographers, but rather to comment on photographers’ common obsession with gear, sometimes at the expense of fundamentals, I touched a nerve with some people who took exception to what they saw as an insult to amateur photographers.

Smartphones have built-in cameras that are more powerful than ever, and most of us have one in our pocket just about everywhere we go. And as the classic saying goes: "the best camera is the one that you have with you." So, what can you do to get the most from your smartphone's camera? This excellent video tutorial features 13 tips sure to help you maximize your results. 

Canon has filled out the RF mount lens library at an aggressive pace, with many options that offer impressive performance and push the boundaries of lens design. Nonetheless, there are still some missing lenses. Some new patents have emerged that indicate Canon is working on filling those holes, and they might do so with some fairly extreme designs. 

Most of the time, we try to avoid blur in a photo. But sometimes, it can be nice to add some kind of blur to make it special. I have listed seven ways to add blur to a photo or the illusion of blur. It may help you find inspiration for your photography.

Our aspect ratios have been trending toward wider dimensions for some time and that makes perfect sense. But, should we cast out a previously staple aspect ratio for good? Does it have any uses?

While features like lighted buttons have slowly become a bit more popular in the industry, haptic feedback has been largely ignored, despite being an extremely common feature in other technology. However, that might change eventually, as a Canon patent for a vibrating shutter button has appeared.

They say variety is the spice of life and in the world of the freelance photographer, a broad and knowledgable skill set goes a long way. So, why does knowing your way around a multitude of photographic genres breed so much disrespect in the professional world?

Do you run a photography business? Do you want to run a photography business? Do you make a tiny amount of money on the side from your photography interests? Do you want to? If you answered yes to any of those questions then this is for you: three big money mistakes people make when it comes to photography and the business side of things.

Cameras like the Fujifilm GFX 100S have revolutionized the paradigm of medium format gear in the last few years, bringing features and capabilities typically reserved for smaller systems and doing so at a price that competes with the upper levels of full frame. This has made medium format a viable alternative for many photographers, particularly landscape, portrait, and wedding shooters. So, what all can you expect from the switch? This great video features one photographer who made the switch discussing his experience. 

The 30mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary Lens from Sigma is an affordable, fast prime lens. On paper, it looks like it should be a fabulous piece of glass. I put it through its paces to see if it lived up to its marketing blurb.

Traditionally, professional photographers have shied away from superzoom lenses, as the sacrifices it took to create such a large focal length range were simply too great to make them viable for their demands. On the other hand, they might be worth a second look, especially if you are a landscape photographer. This great video essay discusses why a superzoom lens can often be the ideal choice. 

The Canon RF lens lineup is growing nicely, though there is still a hole at the ultra-wide angle end of the lineup. Thankfully, however, that will likely change soon, with a premium ultra-wide angle lens on the way.