Portraiture is one of the most versatile genres of photography, housing many sub-genres within it. One of the most impactful skillsets you can acquire for the craft is lighting and so it is important to know the basic setups and what different lighting styles achieve.
Photographers who want to dabble with video and have some apprehension will learn from this post. While video and photography are not identical, they have great overlap in concepts and it's likely that you know more than you think.
Portrait photography is one of the biggest genres in the industry. It's also one of the most competitive types of photography. If you plan on staying ahead of the competition, then having a great workflow will drastically improve your performance.
Is there anything finer than a monochrome silver gelatin print shot on film? Should we even attempt getting close to that with digital? Black and white are either misused or underused in many genres, and it’s time for a change.
When it comes to choosing a space for studio photography, it is often a tradeoff between having enough room for all your equipment and for whatever creative ideas you envision versus the cost of renting said space. If you are wondering how much room you need for full-length portraits, check out this excellent video that will show you everything you need to know.
With the release of Apple’s new Studio Display, the new creative standard may be here. Are the specs and price good enough?
There are many staple lenses in portrait photography that are recommended to beginners and professionals alike. However, there is something of an unsung hero lurking in a different genre entirely that could complement your gear arsenal perfectly.
A pen tablet improves your editing and retouching workflow. Here's an affordable option.
As you progress in photography and accumulate more images in your library of work, you will probably end up with tens or even hundreds of thousands of photos, and keeping them organized can be quite a task. Part of that will sometimes mean working with multiple catalogs that you might want to combine down the line. This excellent video tutorial will show you everything you need to know to merge multiple catalogs in Lightroom.
Let's face it: as photographers, we are crazy about saving our files. I have terabytes of images and videos spanning multiple hard drives in different arrays in my studio, and it drives me nuts that it's in disarray. Maybe you’re in the same boat, looking for a better way to safely store all your important images in one place.
When it comes to portrait photography, one of the most fundamental and important creative decisions you can make is the focal length you use. If you are newer to portrait photography and curious about how it affects the look of your final images, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you a set of portraits shot at a range of different focal lengths.
When you are working in the studio, it is not a big deal to create complex, multi-light setups, since all your gear is there and doing so only requires moving it a minimal distance. On the other hand, when it comes to working on location, unless you have an entire crew with you, efficiency is the name of the game. This helpful video tutorial will show you a quick, simple, and effective lighting setup for on-location portraits.
There are a lot of camera bag addicts in our community and it's easy to see why: they can revolutionize your shooting experience when outdoors. Of all the genres of photography that need the right camera bag, landscape is right up near the top. Here is one landscape photographer's new favorite bag.
When Aputure released the LS 600d Pro, it took the market by storm and signaled an era of high-power LED coming. But when the LS 600X Pro came out, it took the D version and made it greater. I’ve been using the 600X Pro for the past month, and here are some of my thoughts on it.
There are few genres of photography I find more interesting and engaging than street, but it's a tricky discipline to master. In this video, Pat Kay walks you through five essential tips that could help you improve.
When it comes to landscape photography, the wide angle lens is the most common tool of choice. And while they are great for the genre, they come with their own set of challenges that can make it quite tricky to come home with compelling images. This great video tutorial follows an experienced photographer as he discusses both how to create wide angle compositions and how to deal with bad weather.
These are six of the most common mistakes I see photographers make in their editing regardless of skill level. This part will cover how heavy your edit should be, controlling your saturation, and fixing halos in your images.
Utilizing natural light in your photography can be a quick and easy way to create portraits without having to fuss over strobes, light stands, and light modifiers. In this video, photographer Anita Sadowska takes us along for a swimwear shoot in an NYC location that features floor-to-ceiling windows, which allow for a generous amount of natural light to enter.
Wide angle lenses are almost always the first thing landscape photographers reach for, and, of course, there is a good reason why they are so popular in the genre. That being said, long telephoto lenses can produce equally interesting images and can actually be the better choice for certain images. This excellent video will show you some of what you can do with one and why it is so useful.
Over the past few years, Adobe has made great advances in artificial intelligence through Adobe Sensei. Regular Photoshop users will know how tough it can be to change a longstanding workflow and also how rewarding it can be to make effective use of newer features to save valuable time when editing.
Few things are more frustrating than taking an image you are especially proud of or excited about, only to check the back of your camera and realize that it is not sharp and the moment has passed. If you find yourself frustrated by soft photos, check out this fantastic video tutorial that discusses 12 possible reasons your shots are soft and how to fix them and get those razor-sharp images you are after.
When I watch events, and the cameras swiftly pan by the crowded photographers trying to get the cover shot, I can’t help but scan for women. I do it when the receiver runs full force out-of-bounds and accidentally crashes into the sideline photographers. “Was there a woman in that crew?" Or on CSPAN when the camera pans back to the counsel’s table and you get that quick glimpse of the photographers sitting like sardines on the floor with their cameras. At the Olympics, especially, I’m always eyeing women. I don’t see them as often as I wish.
A week into the war, many start to ask about the long-term impacts of the war. As a Ukrainian-born writer with family and friends in Ukraine, I am keeping a very close eye on the news surrounding the war. A war on such a grand scale will have a profound impact on most industries, photography included. Here is my analysis of how this war will echo in photography.
I aggressively tested an OM System OM-1 Camera in the field. As I had pre-ordered one, I was hoping that I would be pleased with the results. Was I? Here are my thoughts on the camera and what it means to the future of the OM System.
If you have considered diving into the world of art festivals, here's a little glimpse of what to expect based on personal experience. Spoiler alert, it's not an easy road to travel.
As the artificial intelligence race intensifies among photography software companies, Boris FX is filling a completely different niche with their editing software Optics. With their latest release, Optics users now have access to their powerful Particle Illusion generator, which can create thousands of useful emitters like explosions, smoke, fire, and other particle effects. Today, we take a look at the new Optics 2022 release which is available as a plugin for both Photoshop and Lightroom, as well as a standalone application.
When you are a new photographer, you have a ton to learn and take in all at the same time, and it can be easy to go wrong at different points. If you are new to photography and want to improve, check out this excellent video tutorial that discusses five common mistakes that beginner photographers make and how to fix them or avoid them entirely.
Growing as a photographer means finding new and more creative ways to shoot. The best way to do this is to challenge how you normally do things and mix it up with small changes, such as shooting at a different time of day.
Forget technology updates, larger sensor capacity, and more dynamic range. If you could only choose one camera to shoot with for the rest of your photographic life, what would it be?
Being a photographer takes the ability to handle a lot of pressure: the need to constantly bring your best abilities to a shoot, to always be able to innovate creatively, to juggle a wide range of skills needed to run a business, and a lot more. At the end of the day, though, are you remembering to enjoy your photography? This great video is a friendly reminder to take time to enjoy yourself.
The neat thing about landscape photography is that you can create a wide variety of different photographs of the same frame simply by varying your camera settings. If you are new to the genre and want to know how to set yourself up to create the best possible images, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you everything you need to know to prepare your camera to take a shot.
Inflation is slowly killing your business, and many photographers haven't seen the big picture yet. Inflation is an on-going process but the past couple of years have really taken a bite out of the small business success story.
Camera technology is evolving at a breakneck pace, and manufacturers are getting a lot right these days. But of course, no company is perfect, and there is always room for improvement. This great video features a photographer discussing seven things he wishes all camera companies would improve on.
Wedding photography can be one of the more daunting genres. For many people, their wedding day is one of the most important days of their lives. As photographers, it's crucial to capture these moments carefully and as best we can. This is especially important when it comes to the bride.
The current state of the world can easily be described as challenging. How can art and photography fit into this broader context of current affairs?
Landscape photography is made for manual mode, as you have the time to evaluate exactly how you want to expose the frame, both from a creative and technical standpoint. If you are newer to photography and feeling a bit overwhelmed by interpreting and managing all the parameters and settings that go into it, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you everything you need to know about using manual mode for landscape photography.
Do you struggle with finding compositions in woodland? Over the years, I have developed a strategy that helped me to succeed. Sometimes, I even see one composition beside the other without even looking.
Let me give you clear warning: this is not for the faint of heart. Every year, 100s of people are killed or injured in their quest for the perfect selfie. Here is a graphic reminder of how it can all go so wrong.
Modern digital cameras have unbelievable dynamic range and post-processing latitude compared to those of a decade ago, and that has encouraged a lot of us to simply automatically bring the shadows up on every photo without a second thought. Is that the best choice, though? Maybe not. This great video discusses why you should reconsider how you treat the shadows in your photos and how to go about doing so.
If you are a beginning photographer who has only worked with amateur models, it may be your dream to work with a professional model one day. Is there a noticeable difference between working with a professional model and an amateur model?
Landscape photography is a unique genre in that you do not have control over the light and conditions, and even if you do your best to plan for the right scenario, you are not guaranteed to get it. So, how do you accept the conditions you are given and still enjoy the experience even when things are not going your way? This excellent video features an experienced landscape photographer discussing how to get the most out of every trip.
Whenever you are preparing for a shoot, sketching your images should be a part of your pre-planning process. The sketches don’t have to be the perfect storyboard. But it should have enough details to guide a creative vision.
Separation is a powerful tool we can use in compositions, and there is much more to it than preventing subjects from touching.
Who says you need a huge studio to shoot high-speed special effects?
The light and airy look is a very popular style with clients and really evokes feelings of love, lightness, and happiness. However, a lot of photographers mistakenly assume that it is simply about overexposing what is otherwise a normal portrait image. If you are interested in creating the look in your own work, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you three important fundamentals for the style.
Dani Diamond is well known for his portraiture work, particularly his natural light work. But of course, he works with artificial lighting too, and in this great video tutorial, he will walk you through a one-light setup and how he modifies it to create a professional-level portrait.
Remember how great Flickr was at its peak? It was an active photography community to share and discuss images with other photographers all over the world. While the site still functions, it's nowhere near as popular and active as it once was, and it hasn't had a decent refresh in years. Oh, how the mighty fall. Where else can we share images with other photographers?
Are you a creative photographer? If so, there are pitfalls that we can avoid. Some are of our own making, while more are set by others to deliberately ensnare us.
When it comes to portrait photography, one of the most important choices you can make is the focal length you use, as it will have significant consequences on the way your subject is rendered. If you are new to portrait photography and wondering about the relationship between focal length and the final image, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you portraits shot between 25mm and 135mm and how they differ from each other.
Is it possible that gear that costs you more can end up costing you less? Let’s explore.
