Photography is an art form that combines technical skill with creative vision, and among the fundamental principles that every photographer should master is the art of straightening horizons. Yet, it's a common oversight, often dismissed as a minor detail. It's a pet peeve of mine and is something that is easily avoided. Let's delve into the significance of level horizons in photography, explore the reasons why they often go unnoticed, and provide practical tips on how to break the habit of being a lazy photographer by ensuring your horizons are straight.

Released between 1987 and 2007, the GX680 is most well known for its sheer size and weight. It lives up to its "beast" reputation, with many photographers feeling it was far too large to use outside of a controlled studio environment. However, as demonstrated in this video, the GX680 can in fact be used in the field for select applications like landscape photography.

Over the past decade, the realm of photography has witnessed a rapid transformation driven by rapid technological advancements. Cameras today stand as marvels of innovation, vastly different from their counterparts from just 10 years ago. In this article, let's delve into the technological differences between cameras now and those from the past decade, exploring whether these advancements translate into significantly better image quality and examining how technology has reshaped the landscape of photography.

In an increasingly polarized world, one of photography’s most profound strengths is its ability to cultivate empathy and compassion across cultures. At its best, photography can transport us into unfamiliar environments, activities, and viewpoints. It reveals the humanity in people whose lives and backgrounds differ vastly from our own. Photography has a transcendent way of building understanding and sympathy by showing us new perspectives.

While simply photographing whatever you would like whenever the inspiration strikes is a perfectly fine way to enjoy the craft, one of the best ways to improve is to undertake a structured project that progressively grows in difficulty. This six-week challenge is one such project, and it is the perfect way to close out the year.

There are a number of reasons why freckles may look washed out in portrait photography. This tutorial provides you with the knowledge and skills to enhance existing freckles.

Sony is rapidly rising as a leading camera manufacturer. This article explores how their innovative E mount system and bold approach to features have challenged the Canon and Nikon's duopoly in the photography industry.

Learning how to apply batch edits to your images is one of the best ways to increase the efficiency of your workflow. This great video tutorial will show you one such Lightroom tool for doing that.

Good audio is essential for producing quality videos, yet it's something that's often overlooked by beginner and hobbyist content creators. One of the easiest and most effective ways to instantly upgrade your videos is by investing in a dedicated microphone rather than solely relying on your camera's built-in mic.

If you shoot in raw, you will need to sharpen your images in post-processing, but with literally dozens of approaches to doing this, it can be tricky to know the best way to go about such a crucial step. If you would like to improve your landscape images, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced photographer sharing his approach.

When it gets windy outside, do you get frustrated with blurry photos? There are some camera settings you can change to help ensure you capture sharp images, even on windy days. This video talks about some of those settings that can help make sure your images are sharp.

Being able to use off-camera lighting is considered a skill only for the pro photographers. When I started out, still in high school, I saw the flash photographers use their cool lights and always thought about how cool they are. Soon after, I bought my first flash. Mistakes followed.

Self-publishing a photo book can be a daunting endeavor. In this video from The Photographic Eye, hear from photographers who have self-published with minimal upfront costs and even turned a profit.

Voigtlander is known for creating manual focus lenses that offer excellent image quality and robust build quality. The MACRO APO-LANTHAR 110mm f/2.5 offers a focal length useful for portraiture in tandem with 1:1 macro capabilities, making it an especially versatile option. This excellent video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in usage.

If you want to pack light everyday and still be able to get a lot of work done, a tablet can definitely step up for some of the post-production work that you do. With the help of these tools, you’ll be able to fully utilize the capabilities of your tablet computer.

The Canon RF 100-300mm f/2.8 L IS USM and Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS are two of the most extreme new lenses on the market right now, meant to help professional sports, wildlife, and bird photographers capture stunning images no matter how demanding the conditions. How do these two top-shelf options compare? This excellent video comparison puts them both to the test.

Sometimes, you want the look of natural light, but there simply is not enough of it available for a properly balanced exposure. With a little bit of know-how, though, you can replicate the look of natural light, allowing you to create that look whenever and wherever. This helpful video tutorial features an experienced photographer showing you how to do just that.

Photographers today face a troubling predicament – essential software like Adobe Creative Cloud can only be accessed through expensive subscriptions plans. The era of purchasing permanent software licenses has been replaced by never-ending monthly rental payments. While companies tout this as convenient and necessary, the reality is that recurring subscriptions disproportionately squeeze photographers while padding corporate profits.

In an unexpected move, Apple has announced plans to support RCS (Rich Communication Services) on their devices starting next year. RCS is an open messaging protocol that allows features like read receipts, high-quality media sharing, typing indicators, and more between different platforms.

There are some awfully impressive lenses available on the market right now, but many of them are prohibitively expensive, and that has allowed a range of third-party manufacturers to fulfill the needs of countless photographers and filmmakers with more affordable options. Once such company is Sigma, and their new 70-200mm f/2.8 DG DN OS Sports lens looks like quite a winner. This excellent video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in use.

As someone who has had a passion for photography from a very young age, I would have loved nothing more than to have been able to carry a camera with me everyday while I was growing up. The memories I would have today would no doubt be ones I either relish having or cringe at looking back now!

Focusing on the world of post production today, I’ll share some experiences from the last couple months working with the latest Mac Pro and OWC 32TB Accelsior 8M2 PCIe 4.0 Storage Card.

Developing a photographic style is a complicated topic. While having a distinct visual style used to be more important for professional photographers, many hobbyist photographers now also strive to find their aesthetic niche. This great video discusses why this desire for a personal style is so prevalent, then dives into tips and perspective on how to actually formulate your own style over time.

The new Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 DG DN OS Sports is here, and it brings with it the promise of great performance and image quality at a very reasonable price. How does it hold up in practice? This great video review takes a look at what you can expect.

Please, no more mugs shaped like lenses. No more photography pun t-shirts. Photographers, filmmakers, and content creators; send this article to the gift givers in your life for some handy hints on what gifts you would actually like to receive.

Authenticity is the holy grail of being an artist. If you’ve managed to find your own authentic voice, you’ve achieved more than most photographers will ever do. I won't lie to you: it takes time to find your own authentic voice. Here are some steps that you can take to find yours.

The Alice Camera is hailed as the camera for creators, boasting the ability to streamline your workflow and make you grow faster. Is it all it is advertised to be? This hands-on preview tells all.

For Fujifilm photographers who want a ton of reach, the XF 150-600mm f/5.6-8 R LM OIS WR offers focal lengths out to the equivalent of 914mm, making it a tempting option for sports and bird photographers. Can it up with the demands of those genres, though? This excellent video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in use.

Rumors are swirling in the photography world about Canon's plans to release four new fast prime lenses in the first half of 2024. According to sources, Canon is developing four new L-series primes that will give photographers faster glass and improved performance for shooting in low light and creating beautiful bokeh.

Seattle, WA: Local photographer Wyatt Jones recently decided to switch from shooting in raw to JPEG format in an effort to spend less time editing images. However, he soon discovered he was spending even more time explaining his decision to horrified fellow photographers who were developing negative opinions.

Doing photography full-time is anyone's dream. Full-time is regarded as a sign of making it in the business. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Here are some of the blessings and curses of being a full-time photographer.

Photographers have an insatiable appetite for new gear. The excitement of unboxing a new camera, lens, or accessory provides a rush of inspiration that compels us to get out and shoot. But why does acquiring the latest and greatest equipment motivate us so much?

Do you struggle with getting your landscape photography photos in focus? Or are you confused about when you can use one shot to keep things in focus or need to focus stack? This video addresses how to focus to get sharp landscape photography images.

Do you remember the excitement and anticipation of dropping off film rolls at the photo development lab, waiting days or even weeks to get your printed photos back? For those of us who grew up in the pre-digital era, film photography was a much more nostalgic experience than the instant images we can take and view today.

The Fujifilm GFX100 II medium format mirrorless camera is the latest refinement in the company's respected line of GF series cameras, and with capabilities like faster burst speeds and improved autofocus, it has become an even more tempting alternative to traditional full frame setups. Can it keep up with a demanding genre like wedding photography? This excellent video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect in usage.

Sigma, well known for creating lenses that perform as well or even better than first-party lenses at highly competitive prices, has announced the new 70-200mm f/2.8 DG DN OS Sports. Here's everything you can expect from the lens.

A number of years ago, while still an ambassador for Hasselblad, I received a fateful phone call from a gentleman asking if he could pick my brain about the newly released Hasselblad X1D. I agreed, and we proceeded to talk about cameras, both past and present, along with the photos we had taken with them. It was a jovial conversation, but it wasn't until we were talking about the Hasselblad 500 that he said the line: "That is the camera I used to photograph the Mir Space Station."

Creating standout portraits hinges on understanding and controlling light. This excellent video tutorial illuminates how to balance bright sunlight with off-camera flash to sculpt dimension and mood and shows that hard light can be just as compelling as soft light.

Learn how to make your images look more dramatic using simple techniques in Photoshop.

Photography has always existed in multiple spheres - as an artistic medium, a vehicle for documenting history, a channel for self-expression, a tool for surveillance, and a form of casual communication. With the meteoric rise of social media in the 21st century, however, the ways in which photos are produced, consumed, and understood have profoundly changed. While social media offers photographers unparalleled opportunities for visibility, it has also homogenized photographic styles, marginalized minority voices, and constrained creative freedom.

With Sony unveiling a new flagship a9 III model featuring a global shutter sensor, speculation instantly swirled whether Canon would follow suit for its next generation of mirrorless cameras.

A legal battle is unfolding between iconic rock band Guns N' Roses and their photographer of over a decade, Katarina Benzova. Benzova filed a lawsuit in November alleging egregious copyright infringement and sexual harassment by the band's management. Guns N' Roses denies the claims and filed a preemptive countersuit challenging Benzova's copyright ownership.

Cross polarization transforms images of a variety of clear subjects into rainbow, fluorescent works of art with equipment that you probably already have. Learn the easy process behind this clever optical technique to create some masterpieces of your own.

The DJI Osmo Pocket 3 is here, and it takes a respected device and adds a nifty new design and a nice range of new features and upgrades. This great video review takes a look at the new device and the sort of performance and video quality you can expect from it in use.

Learn a new method of image manipulation with this insightful Photoshop tutorial brought to you by Sigourney Whitesel Studio.

Finding a good composition can be tricky at times, especially when photographing landscapes. After all, nature can be a bit chaotic. I believe the key to capturing interesting images is finding a good balance in your composition. Of course, this principle applies to other photography genres as well.

A captivating musical is bringing the inspiring story of Matthew Murphy, a Montana-raised dance prodigy turned Broadway photographer, to center stage. "35mm: A Musical Exhibition" melds Murphy's evocative personal images with songs composed in response to the photographs. The University of Montana's talented Zootown Cabaret ensemble will perform the show November 17-18 in Missoula.

Viltrox has quickly endeared themselves to many photographers by offering extremely affordable lenses that often offer performance and image quality far beyond what their prices might suggest. Their latest offering, the AF 75mm f/1.2 XF, promises Fujifilm users an extremely wide aperture in tandem with a short telephoto focal length, which should capture the attention of budget-conscious portrait and wedding photographers everywhere. This great video review takes a look at the lens and just what you can expect from it in usage.