Eventually, as we progress in our commercial photography careers, we will become a part of sizable shoots with producers attached. Your first shoot with an experienced producer will feel like flying first class for the first time; you will never want to go back.
Many photographers and artists say that your subject's eyes are the most important element in an image. But trying to enhance them or add a little eyeshadow can be very tricky. This tutorial will show you exactly how it's done and teach you great Photoshop techniques in the process.
Every photographer has been faced with the task of photographing subjects in front of beautiful sunrises or sunsets. Ideally, you'd have a light, but if you don't or the subject is too large to light, you're going to have to fix the image in post.
Self-publishing your own photobook has never been easier. This helpful video gives you some insights into how to create a platform for your product, choose a printer, take preorders, and get your book on sale.
Photographers often look for the "epic" shot — the one that will stand out, get thousands of social media likes, and get printed by our clients for wall art. While these photos are important, it's also essential to slow down and look for the other images in the scene that help tell a story and capture the vibe and emotion of the moment. In this video, we'll review a simple storytelling framework called "Wide, Medium, Tight" to help you find these opportunities.
No doubt, when you are first starting out as a photographer, it can be overwhelming trying to learn and master a huge range of things, including lighting, cameras settings, composition, creative style, post-processing, and more. As such, it can be easy to make mistakes in a lot of different places. This great video tutorial discusses 10 common mistakes newer photographers make and how to fix them or avoid them entirely.
For me, August is a great month. The nights become longer and the Milky Way core is rising above the horizon again. But the highlight is the Perseid meteor shower. I have 10 tips for planning and photographing this annual event.
Ever find your distant objects such as mountains appearing much smaller than they should in your landscape photos? Perspective blending is a great solution that is actually quite easy to do.
I got a sneak peek at a pre-production version of the new Nikon Z fc and thought I’d share a handful of thoughts.
Unlike a lot of Europe, power lines in the United States are almost always above ground, and that can be annoying and ruin what otherwise might be a great shot. Luckily, for the most part, they are not particularly hard to edit out of an image, and this helpful video tutorial will show you how to quickly take care of them using Lightroom.
If you're like most photographers, you think there are three factors affecting depth of field. In that case, you would be incorrect - there are indeed four factors affecting depth of field. Do you know what they are?
As photographers, it is easy to get caught up on what is in the middle of the frame and ignore what may fall on the edges. But, the edges can actually have a surprising impact on how successful your compositions are, and being more purposeful about that part of the image can really improve your photographs!
You probably traditionally think of dodging and burning as something used mostly for sculpting facial features in portraits, but at its core, dodging and burning is about shaping light and is thus applicable in any genre. This fantastic video tutorial will show you how to can use it to add more dimension to your landscape photos.
When it comes to portrait photography, one of the most important choices you will make is the focal length you will use, both because it determines the overall look of the frame and because separate focal lengths can render your subject in drastically different ways. This great video takes a look at three of the most common focal lengths, 85mm, 100mm, and 135mm, to help you decide which is right for you.
Landscape photography and camping seem almost meant for each other, especially if you want to capture things like a sunrise or early morning fog. So, if you are headed out for such a trip, what do you need to pack? This excellent video tutorial features a seasoned landscape photographer discussing what he packs on overnight trips.
Green can be a particularly unflattering color to have present in the skin, as it can make people look rather sickly. If you shoot portraits outdoors, it will often appear in the subject's skin. Luckily, it is not particularly hard to correct, and this excellent video tutorial will show you how to fix it quickly and effectively using Photoshop.
Chromatic aberration is by far one of the most common lens issues you will have to deal with, particularly with cheaper lenses or wide-aperture primes, and it can be quite distracting if not addressed. Thankfully, most post-processing programs can handle it quite easily nowadays. This awesome video tutorial will show you how to quickly and easily remove chromatic aberrations with just a few clicks using Lightroom.
Photoshop offers a huge range of ways to make selections for extracting parts of a frame or creating layers masks, each appropriate for different situations. The Select and Mask workspace offers a very straightforward and powerful method for tackling a variety of tricky selection scenarios, and this helpful video tutorial will show you everything you need to know to get the most out of it.
In landscape photography, some locations are just tricky to shoot, even if their photographic potential is plainly obvious. And while it is tempting to just pack it up and move to the next location, before you do that, try returning to the basic principles and working the scene to get as many compositions as possible. This great video tutorial discusses getting the most out of a location.
The ideal situation is to take a photo that requires no editing whatsoever. But those shots are few and far between. In most cases, it's important to edit photos in order to develop them properly, but how long is too long when it comes to image editing? I'll be taking a look using Lightroom.
Running your first paid photoshoot can be a daunting process, with organization, planning other people and products, and timing to get right, there's a lot more to juggle than just camera settings. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to prepare for your first paid gig.
Focus and sharp images are always at the top of the photographer's priority list. But you shouldn't just toss out a photo because it's not pin-sharp exactly where you want it to be. In fact, there are many reasons why you should covet that soft shot over the others.
Shimoda just launched their new backpack lineup, the Explore V2 Series. It’s a travel-ready backpack that comes in three sizes and is built for travel and landscape photographers who spend their time globetrotting with a camera in tow. This feature-rich new bag by a brand specializing in adventure camera bags is definitely worth checking out!
Doing photography professionally will change the way you shoot and operate. If you are planning to go professional or have recently done so, these might be of help.
Original, innovative photography is hard to find. However, Ethan Beckler has excelled. He leads the way in macro photography, pushing camera and lens technology beyond normal limits and creating astounding art at the same time. With great generosity, he shares his techniques with us.
Hand-painted canvas backdrops are a thing of beauty, it is another form of art in itself. With that, there are many canvas backdrops out there that are not very budget-friendly. If you have the time and space, here's how you can make your own.
Certain modifiers do tend to have some more traditional methods of use, especially when using a beauty dish. Sometimes we can get hung up on what is the "right" way to use them and lose out on creativity. Here's a different way you can use a beauty dish when shooting indoors.
For some, having a wide variety of poses can be challenging. The model is limited by what they are wearing, what they have to hold or interact with, or even the vision or mood of the shoot. Beauty headshots provide their own limitations, here are some posing tips for your next beauty shoot.
There are many bad photographers who think they are good. The topic of why has been discussed on countless occasions. But, is it a bad thing? Is it really wrong to be bad and think you’re good? Let’s find out.
If you shoot a genre in which you have to deliver a lot of similar images, you can save significant amounts of time and ensure greater consistency in your images by using Lightroom's batch-editing functions. This helpful video tutorial will show you a batch-editing workflow that will help you quickly get through large sets of photos.
Handmade selling is on the rise and with it comes an increasing number of new product photographers. Quality product photography is essential for marketing your goods, but it doesn't need to be expensive or overly technical. In fact, there are some easy things that you can adjust that will help elevate your product photographs to the next level!
Of all the genres, landscape photography often places some of the greatest emphasis on creating a fully realized image in the editing process. As such, there are a lot of places where things can go wrong. If you are new to editing landscape photos, this excellent video tutorial will show you six common mistakes and how you can fix or avoid them entirely.
A nighttime landscape shot with the Milky Way over the earth below can be dramatic and eye-catching, but they almost always require two separate exposures for the foreground and the sky to get the best image quality. Once you have your two images, you will need to blend them to create a single final frame, and this great video tutorial will show you how to do it using Photoshop.
Sometimes, photography, like life itself, can be a dance of one step forward and two steps back. So, allow me to divert from the nuts and bolts of camera gear for a moment to talk about something just as important to sustaining a career.
Have you ever wondered how to create a stronger portfolio and artistic voice? In this article, I will share my methodology for creating better photographs.
You have probably seen jaw-dropping photos in which the moon aligns with some sort of natural or man-made landmark. They take a fair deal of careful and precise planning, however, and this excellent video tutorial will show you exactly how to do it to get your own shots.
Becoming a full-time landscape photographer can be difficult to navigate and there are many paths you can take. I've focused heavily on developing a YouTube channel to hopefully turn my passion into more, and in this 3rd update, I go over my progress, revenue, setbacks, and what the future holds.
Long exposures are by far one of the most popular creative uses of photography out there, and there are a ton of different ways to approach them. If you are new to them, this excellent video will teach you both how to choose the right ND filter for a long exposure and how to choose the correct shutter speed for the effect you want.
One of the simplest ways to make your images more effective is by paying attention to this one fundamental component of photography and applying it in ways that you may not have thought of.
Focus stacking is a common technique used by landscape photographers for images in which ultra-deep depth of field and high levels of sharpness are desired. You can use it for nighttime landscapes that incorporate things like the Milky Way as well, though it takes some additional considerations. This excellent video tutorial will show you a workflow for the technique as well as offer some helpful tips to ensure you get the best quality images.
The weather isn’t always pleasant for landscape photographers. Have you ever tried to take advantage of extreme weather conditions?
If you look at the work of a lot of successful landscape photographers, you will probably notice that the majority of them are very good at controlling the layers of an image to create a sense of depth that draws the viewer in and encourages them to linger and explore the photo. Being able to effectively separate those layers to avoid the image becoming cluttered is a crucial skill, and this excellent video tutorial discusses how to compose your photos to do just that.
When I first got interested in food photography, I was really overwhelmed by what I needed to get. And then, I heard Andrew Scrivani say: “The best gear to get you started is the camera in your pocket and the light from the window.” That was true, to an extent.
Of all the functions and panels in Lightroom, the one that gets used the least is probably the Calibration panel. In fact, many photographers have been working in Lightroom for years and have never touched it. And while it is not necessarily essential, it can make a big difference in certain situations, and this excellent video tutorial will show you five ways it can improve your work.
Cheaper cameras' shutter lives are shorter than more expensive ones. As the shutter counts of premium cameras increase, so does the price. But I started to notice surprising discrepancies between brands. Here's what I found out.
Studio photography allows you complete creative and technical control over your imagery, which also means all your skills and imagination are put to the test. This helpful video tutorial will give you a few quick tips to improve your studio portrait images and expand your creativity.
I've been testing out the Centennial Tripod from Colorado Tripod Company and I love it. Buying US-made products is cool, but when those sellers offer top quality at a good price, it's even more awesome! Read on to see why I think your next tripod should be made in Colorado.
I shoot solely raw. However, I know some tremendous photographers whose cameras are set to record just JPEGs, and they will never change. I am envious because they spend less time in front of the computer. Shooting raw is worth learning, but maybe there's also a good reason to shun it.
The art of creating an appealing and memorable, moody portrait is often in the post-production of that image as much as it is in the lighting. In this short video, you get some tricks for getting the most out of your shot when you're creating a moody edit.
Lights and specialty modifiers can be quite expensive, and filling out your collection can be a major hit to your wallet. However, one of the most versatile modifiers and a favorite of many studio photographers is also one of the cheapest. The humble v-flat is tremendously useful, and this excellent video tutorial will show you how to use them to create eye-catching light.
