It’s all in the margins when you start looking at how healthy a large business is doing. For Canon, they may be currently hemorrhaging cash year-over-year, but is it as bad as it sounds?
Like reading a book, watching a movie, or listening to music, when people look at your photos, you probably want them to spend time and appreciate them. In a world where people constantly scroll and instantly forget your photos, are there ways you can have your photos noticed? Let's find out.
When you look at the work of William Allard, David Harvey, or especially Alex Webb, you quickly notice what makes their photos so amazing is not just the lovely compositions and stunning moments, but an often dazzling use of natural light. What do they all have in common and how can we learn from them?
I have always associated a romance with being a specialist photographer, whether this be in the area of weddings, fashion, automotive or dreamy tintype portraits. You are valued as a master in your field and people want you for the style that you create. On the other hand, there are positives in working in multiple industries as a photographer. You rarely get bored due to the variety of work you do, and it’s fun to learn new skills and adapting to various situations. You might have to manage different “identities” but that suits you fine because you love the challenge conquering different fields.
Price lists can be dangerous, but they can also be great. How do you know if you should reveal your hand and have one displayed on your website?
Growing a business can seem like a nebulous task. It can feel like there are too many ways to do it, with each way being a crap-shoot. Before I made the switch to being a commercial food photographer, I ran a successful marketing agency. Let me share with you some tips to reach your ideal client and grow your business.
It's time to release the fourth episode of our 8-part video tutorial series about long exposure photography, and how different filters can produce dramatic results. Remember, each time we release a new video, we also give away some awesome prizes. Read through this post to find out how to enter this week's contest.
Considering that a fairly large portion of you may find yourself, like me, staying home due to current events, I thought it might be a nice moment to discuss one of the best ways you could be spending your time.
“Exposure doesn’t pay the bills.” As photographers, we’ve all heard this saying, and we’ve all probably even said this at least once. It’s frustrating to be expected to work for free at all as a creative professional. You and your work need to be taken seriously.
I've been flying drones for about five years, treating them like another lens in my landscape kit. My current drone is a DJI Air 2S, which has a one-inch sensor to give me an excellent 20 MP image. I like the drone as a tool because it can get me views I otherwise would never see, so on most trips, I get an equal amount of images from my DSLR and my drone.
This is a rallying cry for photographers balancing on the edge of failure: don’t give up.
Making a short film is quite expensive, they say. However, if you know what to do, you can achieve your goal with very little tools and on a small budget. But let me warn you: it's not a simple task.
A neutral density filter allow long exposure times, even when there is a lot of light. It flattens water surfaces when the exposure is long enough. But don’t use it at sea just because you have one. Use it only when necessary.
Many of us have either done this ourselves or have a friend that has done it. I'm talking about getting out to a location only to learn that you don't have a usable memory card or battery.
The COVID-19 epidemic has thrown the photography community into a financial tailspin. And while some of us are busy trying to survive, others are taking this business downturn as an opportunity to reinvent their business, do a better job of living out one’s values, and form deeper connections with our clients.
Subscribe to business or productivity "influencers" on the web and you'll receive a variety of tips: “Nap this long,” “Consume more of these,” “Turn that device off!” But how do these techniques apply to photo editing, and can a one-size-fits-all productivity approach help us photographers use our editing time more efficiently?
Professional Photographers of America has recently made some pretty heavy changes in the image submission portion of its certification process for its Certified Professional Photographer credential. But many are asking, are these changes for the better?
As we come to the close of 2018, it's worthwhile spending some time reflecting on how your year has gone, either as a hobbyist or a professional.
Photographers have gear, and gear needs to be packed without being forgotten. If you’re like us, you obsess about systems that will make sure you have everything you need to create the work you want. Packaroo is an app we have been using to streamline this process.
There is something uniquely hurtful about being mocked. In Sia’s attempt to empower neurodiverse people, she’s hurt and offended many. Was she wrong to try the way she did, or is the world just trolling her?
On a multi-day assignment in Portland last week, I took advantage of my day off between assignments to experiment with the Sony a7R III and try it out in my normal workflow.
There’s a lot of press about how phones are hanging right in there with “real” cameras. And while sometimes this is true, for the most part, a Canon EOS R5 is still going to be much more capable than a cell phone. It’s just a shame that major camera brands’ marketing departments haven’t figured out how to show that.
There’s a significant focusing problem that many Canon and Nikon DSLRs and some mirrorless users face. However, it’s not the end of the world; there is a workaround that can help you get the shot.
I know, you're tired of reading about coronavirus and its colossal impact on both people and industry alike. Well, this article isn't really about coronavirus, but rather what it has served to highlight.
Eric Paré is back with another breathtaking timelapse project known simply as "Windscale". Eric is best known for his amazing light-painting and bullet-time project, "Lightspin". While on a vacation journey from Montréal to Nevada for the popular Burning Man festival Eric and friend Marie-Line Migneault stopped to film this breathtaking short film.
Images rule the world. Photo essays can visualize the rise and fall of the rich, the misery and struggle of the poor, the talent and creativity of artists, or the great work of average people, which makes our daily life possible. This structure can help you organize your first photo essay.
Do you ever get the opportunity that you just can't let slip away? In this quick behind the scenes breakdown, see how I shot a portrait of inspirational speaker and renowned musical prodigy, Sparsh Shah.
Every landscape photographer will someday run into a situation when the bright light of the sun causes flares. Especially when using filters; the extra glass can increase reflections that results in the dreaded spots in a picture. However, there is a way to get rid of them, in most occasions.
When it comes to working with models (whether it be aspiring or established), there is one trait that I value above all others. If you're thinking that I'm going to say cheek bones, freckles, or a specific hair color you're way, way off.
Landscape photography is hardly of any benefit to society, nature, or the world in general. For most people, the commercial value is quite low as well. So why would you do it?
Lifestyle photography means different things to different types of photographers. Some might say photojournalism is the truest form of lifestyle photography. A portrait or wedding photographer would describe it as putting their subjects in real life situations and capturing almost candid moments. I shoot commercial and editorial work so more often than not I create scenes using models and props that feel like real life events but weren't. No matter how you look at it though, lifestyle photography is about telling stories.
A few weeks ago, I beat Lee Morris in our Puerto Rico Landscape Challenge. With that victory, many of our readers said my edit in Photoshop was simply too over the top. Today, I try to re-edit my photo to see if I can create something a bit more realistic.
Shooting events with a ton of people can always be a bit overwhelming at times. There are thing constantly happening all around you, pulling your attention in every direction. Add to this being in another country and at an event such as the Holi festival, and you have a recipe for mass mental chaos. In order to combat this, I went to India with a pretty deliberate plan on how I wanted to shoot.
In digital photography, the type of shoot that you are doing often dictates whether you shoot in JPEG or raw format. Both options have their own set of advantages and drawbacks.
Lightroom and Photoshop are generally considered to be tools for standard (still) photography, but simple video tasks can be handled entirely within your photographer’s Lightroom and Photoshop subscription package (no need for Adobe Premiere Pro), and without any third-party add-on tools. In particular, the pair of programs handles time-lapse videos quite nicely.
Ever wanted to correct a mistake with your exposure or try a cool post-processing technique, only to find that the results weren’t all that you’d hoped? Image data may have inadvertently been lost in your workflow. These five steps can help ensure you have the best chance for technical greatness!
A month ago I flew to North Carolina and was the Director of a 5 person crew for a week-long video shoot at a multi-million dollar corporate facility. Then just last week, I spent 4 days in Albuquerque as a Production Assistant, shooting behind the scenes images and getting lunch for the crew. My ego almost stopped me from taking that gig, but I’m glad it didn't. Here’s why.
Photography is a microcosm for the real world, and in many ways, it mirrors it. Here are my top five rules for life that I've transferred to photography.
Perhaps this article is a risk to my career by virtue of being too honest, but it's a subject I have wanted to discuss publicly for some time. In the era where social media is the backbone of perception, it's all too easy to feel you can never measure up. This isn't new information and in fact, it's a rather well-trodden path. Even armed with the knowledge, however, I still feel I walk in to the trap of taking the world that is presented to me as the only facts worth knowing. I want to sacrifice my self-consciousness to do my bit to rectify this.
There are times when achieving a balanced exposure across your entire image is ideal, ensuring that you don't lose the details in your shadows and highlights. But, some of the most interesting images do not follow that rule whatsoever, and you should try shooting that way too.
I’ve bought and sold a lot of photography gear over the years, between system switches and jumping into mirrorless. Some cameras I remember quite fondly and others not so much (it wasn’t me, Canon 7D Mark II, it was definitely you). What about cameras I loved though. Were they good, or am I looking through rose-tinted glasses?
Most clients today look at a digital portfolio rather than a printed book. Granted, the higher up the ladder you go, the more it leads toward print, but for the vast majority of us trying to make a living from photography, digital is king. Here are some tips on how to get bookings from your website.
With great photography comes great responsibility. Taking photos can be fun, yet challenging at times, especially when you hit a creative rut. Remember, you don't need the most expensive camera or years of experience to have fun and create amazing images.
"Is that Photoshopped?" We've all heard it; we might have even said it at one time. But the reality is that it's a ridiculous question in the first place because "Photoshop" is not a verb. Perhaps those asking the question are simply asking the wrong question, because quite frankly, it shouldn't matter whether Photoshop was used or not.
Have you ever seen a photo of a unique place, but could never find exactly where it was located? For years, Justin Majeczky was aware of the existence of the Fly Geyser, but only after research and some smooth talking was he able to locate and document this unique phenomena.
Your headache from over-drinking (either in celebration or in deep depression) may be wearing off, but for those that had to photograph Super Bowl 50, that headache began days before the big day. The preparation for covering the game took its toll on those that enable us look back on it this week. Fstoppers caught up with ESPN photographer Andrew Hancock to get a look into the gear, setup, and planning to cover the most important event of America’s favorite sport.
Photography is tough. There's no doubt about that. The gear and the numbers are the easy parts. These can be practiced, learned, and applied over time. Creativity is at the core of what we do as photographers and that's the tricky part. Jose Rosado's article here on Fstoppers talks about bridging the creative gap and pushing through challenges. Today, we're going to talk about something a little more introspective. Receptiveness.
We all have that time of year when lethargy seems to run rampant by pulling our desire to keep creating great photos to the ground. For Vancouver, where I live, that time is right about now. Vancouver was carved out of the middle of a rainforest, which means we have a rather aggressive rainy season. It is pretty common to go weeks without even seeing a hint of sun. During this time, the motivation to shoot seems to wash away. As photographers, we need to take this time to toss several new logs on the fire and re-ignite that passion that is threatening to slip away.
In this article I will share with you some SEO tips for those of you who are using WordPress as their content management system. For visual learners I have created a quick video tutorial that will walk you through the steps in this article.
