5 Common Lightroom Questions and Answers

Lightroom can be a sneakily intricate program, and it is not always obvious how to accomplish something you want. Whether you are still learning the program or a seasoned veteran, this helpful video tutorial discusses five common issues with not-so-obvious solutions that will make your life and workflow a little easier.

How to Take Great Images in Bad Weather

Landscape photography is largely dictated by the weather you experience out in the field. Many times, we don't get the conditions we hoped for, which can be especially challenging after investing time and money into a photography trip. These are five things you can do the next time you're in unfavorable conditions to walk away with great images regardless of the weather.

Learn How This Incredible Portrait Was Lit and Photographed

Generally, you shoot a portrait with either continuous lights or a flash, but not both. What happens when you mix them, though? You enable some pretty incredible creative possibilities. Check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you how to shoot an eye-catching portrait using a mixture of continuous lights and flash.

The Platypod Handle: An Evolutionary Tool In Their Ecosystem

Most people don't understand what all the fuss is about when they see a Platypod for the first time. If I showed it to my mom, she'd probably feign excitement in the way only a mom can. If you've ever used a Platypod, though, you know how powerful such a little piece of aluminum can be. You can use them for anything from travel and landscape to toy and food photography as a way to show your audience a new perspective on the world. You can even use them to mount flashes in obscure spots for portrait photographers. Okay, I'm a Platypod evangelist, but their company truly has changed the way I photograph.

Photography Website Mistakes to Avoid

Few things are more crucial to a photography business than the website, as it is the place where most potential clients will go to see your work, to decide if you are the right fit for their wants and needs, and to initiate contact with you. As such, your website deserves careful attention. This excellent video tutorial features an experienced commercial photographer sharing some common website mistakes and how to fix them.

How to Light and Photograph a Wine Bottle

Wine bottles can be a real challenge to light and photograph, particularly with their curves and reflective glass. Nonetheless, you can learn quite a lot from the process. If you would like a fun weekend project, check out this great video tutorial that will show you everything you need to know to create a professional wine bottle product image.

Is this Crazy Camera Setup Worth Trying?

Whenever a camera setup comes along that looks a little crazy, my interest is always piqued. The big question with these inventions is whether they are just gimmicks or potentially the next big thing in photography.

The AI 'Photography' Race Is Getting Hilarious: Enjoy The Show

AI is the perfect hype commodity for tech companies and social media shills. If you thought NFTs and crypto cults were full of hot wind, then strap yourself in for the AI movement, because it’s bigger, gassier, and truly inescapable.

Why an Octabox Should Be Your First Lighting Modifier

Learning artificial lighting is something that every portrait photographer should do, as it frees you from relying on the sun and enables you to explore creative avenues that simply are not possible with only natural light. However, lighting modifiers can be quite expensive, so knowing which is right to start with is important. This fantastic video tutorial features an experienced photographer discussing why an octabox should be your first choice.

Photographing The ISS To Prove Conspiracy Theorists Wrong

We have all seen the flat earthers and other conspiracy theorists out there. Enter Dave McKeegan, who is out there, providing information on his YouTube channel to prove they are wrong and that the Earth is indeed a globe and the International Space Station does actually exist. In this video, McKeegan shows us how he captured the ISS transiting across the moon to prove them wrong.

The Pressures of Social Media on Photographers

For years, photographers old and new would enjoy sharing their favorite work across social media sites such as Instagram. Sharing your images was fun and would create conversation, engagement, and perhaps sales. Nowadays, the situation has changed.

Will We See the Canon EOS R5 Mark II Later This Year?

The Canon EOS R5 was a runaway hit for the company, offering a wide array of highly advanced features and signalling to the industry that Canon had become quite serious about professional mirrorless cameras. It has now been almost three years since its release, leaving many fans wondering when the next iteration of the camera will be on its way. Luckily, that may be later this year.

How to Make Filmmaking Your Career

Filmmaking is a desirable career and has been for many years. Now, however, there is more demand and are more ways into it than ever before. Here is some advice from somebody who has walked that path.
A Crucial Mistake Aspiring Professional Photographers Make

Becoming a successful professional photographer takes a lot more than being good with a camera; you need to have a lot of business sense and a keen understanding of how a career as a creative differs from that of a traditional 9-to-5 job. That latter point often trips up aspiring professionals. This excellent video tutorial features an experienced commercial photographer sharing one such mindset mistake and what you can do to avoid falling prey to it.

Six Months With the Fujifilm X-T5 Mirrorless Camera

X Series mirrorless cameras have become some of the most popular out there, including a traditional photography experience in tandem with a portable footprint and a wide array of some of the most advanced features available in a modern body. The X-T5 sits at the top of the line, bringing with it a new sensor with the highest level of resolution ever seen in an X Series camera along with advanced performance and features. This excellent video review takes a look at the camera and how it holds up after six months of usage.

7 Reasons to Love the Sony ZV-E1

The Sony ZV-E1 packs the sensor from the a7S III, the AI autofocus from the a7R V, and the compact form factor of the ZV-E10, but what are some of the other reasons to love this small but mighty camera?
My Three Wishes for Nikon

It’s the time of year again for my 100% non-scientific, not-based-on-actual fact, purely speculative wonderings about the future of my main camera brand.

A Review of the Nikon NIKKOR Z DX 12-28mm f/3.5-5.6 PZ VR Lens

The Nikon NIKKOR Z DX 12-28mm f/3.5-5.6 PZ VR lens offers Nikon DX users an affordable wide angle zoom with some nice extra features sure to please filmmakers. Can it offer results beyond its low price? This excellent video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.
How to Capture Surreal-Looking Footage

It feels as if some videographers seem to just be able to capture surreal-looking footage consistently, while the majority of people only manage it on rare occasions. Well, one of those consistent creators of the surreal and the beautiful, Aidin Robbins, discusses how he manages it.
How to Edit a Portrait in Lightroom

Traditionally, you edit portraits in Photoshop, where you can take advantage of the program's powerful array of local editing tools. On the other hand, Lightroom has taken tremendous steps forward in the past few years, and while Photoshop still sits at the top for portrait work, there are many situations in which you can complete a portrait edit entirely in Lightroom. This helpful video tutorial will show you how to do just that.

We Review the Tamron 11-20mm f/2.8 Di III-A RXD Lens

The Tamron 11-20mm lens features a super-fast constant aperture of f/2.8 in an extremely compact and light package. With a 16.5mm to 30mm full frame equivalent focal length, it is ideal for travel, landscapes, real estate, vlogging, and more. Designed specifically for Fujifilm and Sony APS-C cameras, the 11-20mm is sure to become a popular choice for compact mirrorless shooters.

This Might Be the Most Exciting Camera Feature in Years

For the most part, camera firmware updates are a relatively unexciting affair, mostly bringing bug fixes and minor new features. However, occasionally, manufacturers will introduce major new capabilities via firmware upgrades, and Nikon's latest firmware update for their flagship mirrorless camera, the Z 9, has introduced one of the most exciting features we have seen in years.

A Review of the DJI Mavic 3 Pro Drone

DJI's drones have come to dominate the marketplace, offering sophisticated and easy-to-use devices that make it simple for beginners to get compelling photos and videos and straightforward for advanced users to take deep creative control over the process. The Mavic 3 Pro offers some of the company's most impressive features yet while maintaining a portable footprint, and this excellent video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it, particularly for landscape photos and video work.

The Best Images from GuruShots "Night Photography" Challenge

If you're a photographer and haven't participated in "The World’s Greatest Photo Game," hosted by GuruShots, you'll want to take a peek at their latest challenge. Participants submitted a wide variety of night photography to their latest challenge. Thousands of people entered and cast millions of votes. See the three winners of the challenge as well as hundreds of top rated images below.

80% of the Basics of Photography in 10 Minutes

Photography is a tremendously varied pursuit that can take you many different directions, but there are a few fundamentals that every photographer, no matter what they shoot, should have mastered. If you are new to photography and ready to learn, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will teach you many of the basics in just 10 minutes.

A Review of the New Sigma 14mm f/1.4 Art Lens

A few years ago, Sigma released the 14mm f/1.8 Art lens, which had the widest maximum in a full frame 14mm lens by more than a stop. Recently, they released the 14mm f/1.4 DG DN Art, which blows past the f/1.8 version by two-thirds of a stop and claims the title of the world's widest f/1.4 full frame lens. Can it offer performance and image quality to match? This excellent video review takes a look at everything you can expect.

One Easy Way You Can Film BTS of Your Photo/Video Shoots

Look, I think we've all been there, none of us want to have to bring extra stands, tripods/monopods, or even extra cameras just to get behind-the-scenes images (BTS for short from here on out) or video for our websites or social media, even though we'd all love to have that content. After some trial and error, I think I've landed on a fun and flexible solution by using a 360 action camera but there are some things to know before you get started so let’s get into it.

Helpful Tips for Better Waterfall Photography

Waterfalls are some of the most popular subjects in landscape photography, offering a great way to add a sense of drama and motion to an otherwise still scene. They require some special considerations and techniques to maximize the quality of your images, though. This excellent video tutorial will show you a range of great tips sure to help you take better waterfall photos.

An Incredible Journey Shows the Power of Wildlife Photography and Conservation

Lara Jackson is an incredible wildlife photographer, conservation biologist, and children's book author. Over the last few years, Lara has had an incredible journey, becoming highly commended in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition to then becoming an ambassador with Nikon and Save The Rhino. I sat down with Lara to discuss this journey in more detail.

A Review of the New 15" MacBook Air

The MacBook Air has long been one of the most popular laptops on the market, offering a fantastic balance of portability, power, and battery life, but many users have been clamoring for a 15-inch version for a few years now. That option has finally arrived, and it looks like a real winner for many users. This great video review takes a look at the laptop and the sort of performance and experience you can expect from it.

Guy Creates Apple Vision's UI on a Meta Quest

The Apple Vision Pro has been described as "magical" compared to other VR headsets. What sets the Vision Pro apart is not just its impressive displays, apps, and comfort, but primarily its user interface (UI) that relies on eye- and hand-tracking.

What Were Press Cameras?

With well over a century of cameras under the industry's belt, there are many niche cameras that have fallen through the cracks of history, with very few remembering them. One example is the early press cameras which are special in their own right.
A First Lesson in Off-Camera Flash

One of the most valuable skills a photographer can learn is how to work with artificial light, as it frees you from relying on the sun and allows you to explore creative ideas that simply would not be possible otherwise. If you are new to working with artificial light, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you how you can use flash to capture captivating sports action shots.

Compact and Always by Your Side: We Review the Leica Q3

Many have waited for it patiently, and even more can only dream of affording it, but there is one thing you simply cannot deny: the Leica Q3 is a damn good camera. Is it worth the price? To many Leica lovers, undoubtedly. To you? Well, let’s see what it offers first.

How to Take Great Landscape Photos in Harsh Light

When it comes to landscape photography, "good" light is generally thought of as that which occurs around golden hour, with softer, warm rays cascading across the scene. However, we are not always there at the right time, nor are we always lucky enough to get that kind of light. That does not mean you should pack your gear away and head home, though. Harsh light can make for excellent images as well, and this great video tutorial will show you how to get as much as you can out of it.

How To Create AI Art of Specific People or Yourself

Imagine being able to effortlessly insert your own face into iconic images or movies or create completely unique images with a particular person using AI. Thanks to the remarkable open-source software Insight Face, this is now achievable with just a few simple steps.

How Much Do You Value the Process of Creating Images?

Each week it seems, a new camera is released. And with every new release is the lure of new features promising to make the already easy image-making process even easier. This raises the question, do the benefits of easily creating images outweigh the potential benefits we might gain from taking a more challenging approach?

Do You Need a Photographic Style?

It is one thing to be able to create a compelling image in isolation, but many of the best photographers have a recognizable style that unifies their entire portfolio and makes it easy to pick out one of their shots. Do you need a style to find success, though? This interesting video essay explores the topic and if styles are a crucial part of like as a photographer.

The Excellent Change to the Curves Tool in Lightroom

Adobe Lightroom was once where you imported all your images into collections and then made some small tweaks before exporting to Adobe Photoshop. Now, it is a complex beast in its own right and can manage entire post-production workflows in some instances.
Three Fantastic Uses for the Remove Tool in Photoshop

The Remove Tool in Adobe Photoshop is a very handy tool, but did you know it can do more than just remove? In this video, PiXimperfect shows us three brilliant ways to make the most of this tool to make your editing workflow even easier.

We Review the Tiny Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera

Canon Netherlands sent me a white Canon EOS R50 mirrorless camera, together with the standard RF-S 18-45mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM kit lens. The assignment was clear, make an honest review of this tiny camera. You can read the result of this review in this article.

What Makes Us Click With Camera Brands?

Photography is an art form that allows us to capture moments, express emotions, and tell stories. The skill of the photographer is paramount to this, but the same can be said of the camera brand that they choose to shape their vision. We are all drawn to certain camera manufacturers for our own reasons, It can be said the right tool for the job applies here. So, why do photographers prefer certain brands over others?

Five Things That Will Make You a Better Photographer

Becoming a confident and capable photographer is no small task, and it is something to be proud of when you accomplish it. If you are currently on that journey and looking for tips on how to improve, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced photographer sharing five important tips sure to help you on your way.