Photography is a complicated pursuit, requiring the confluence of a myriad of different skills and your creative vision to find success. This fantastic video gives 15 tips on a range of topics that will help you become a better photographer.
Lighting modifiers are a necessary tool for working with artificial light, but they can be quite expensive, and building a library can quickly drain your wallet. However, the humble umbrella is highly affordable, and you might be surprised by the shots you can create with them. This fantastic video tutorial will show you how to create professional profits using an umbrella.
While I agree that a great photographer can create incredible images using basic tools, it is no secret that great tools can help a good photographer achieve greatness. Over the last year or two, new strobes, new lenses, and a plethora of modifiers have helped elevate my studio photography to new levels, but one tool has brought it to a new level more than anything else: painted backdrops. And so, I wanted to share some resources on how to get painted backdrops without putting a second mortgage on your house.
One of the most rewarding yet mysterious elements of landscape photography is seeing the results of a long exposure. A few weeks ago, I had the chance to check out a new set of filters that mount using magnets, and the resulting photo is pretty interesting.
Your portfolio is your calling card for potential clients and the thing by which they will decide if they want to hire you. This excellent video tutorial will give you five tips for improving your portfolio.
When you think of landscape photography and the lenses used, you likely think of wide angle options meant to capture all of the scene in one frame. And while those absolutely have their place, longer focal lengths can enable creative possibilities that weren't possible before. This great video examines what you can accomplish with a longer lens.
Roberto Valenzuela is a Canon Explorer of Light and is constantly pushing himself and others to learn the possibilities of light. In a recent project, he set out to take images of a single model with three different types of light (natural, flash, and strobe), and I asked him to talk us through the results.
The background is an element of a scene that's easy to overlook, but it has huge power over the final image. Here are two of the best backgrounds for accentuating skin tones in your portraits.
Having a stressful week? Just want to gawk at gear? These videos will push your ASMR buttons and might actually be interesting.
If you don’t have a ton of fancy lighting gear at home, this doesn’t mean that you can’t produce gorgeous studio-style images. This in-depth video tutorial shows you how to get great results using minimal equipment from the comfort of your own garage and dives deep into how they're edited in Lightroom.
No doubt, it is fun to learn about cameras, lenses, and editing techniques, and learning how to properly use a C-stand or clamp might not be as immediately alluring, but it is just as important when it comes to working in a studio and accomplishing what you need to. This fantastic video tutorial will show you how to use a variety of common studio equipment effectively.
When it comes to photography, or any business really, sometimes you need to pivot in order to succeed.
Strobe lighting can seem quite daunting for the uninitiated, but once you get past any fear you might have and just dive into it, it really isn't that complicated. This straight-to-the-point introduction to strobe lighting is a great place to start.
The high-key look is quite popular in a variety of applications, as it produces a bright, punchy image that instantly draws the viewer's eye to the subject. You do not always need powerful strobes to achieve it, however. In fact, you can do it with nothing more than natural light from a window and a constant LED source, and this excellent video tutorial will show you how it is done.
Adverse weather conditions can make shooting more difficult, but can also yield more interesting and attractive images. Here are some tips for photographing wildlife in the rain.
Let's face it, most of us dislike spending time on culling. Luckily, a new culling plugin has been released and the best thing is that it's currently available for free!
Seascapes can be a great alternative to standard landscape images and a way to use the motion and energy of the water to offset stationary objects and create more dynamic visuals for your viewers. This excellent video tutorial will show you a landscape photographer's experience from his point of view as he shoots seascapes.
Twenty years ago, tripods were necessary for any sort of long exposure. Today, though, lenses and cameras can offer insane levels of stabilization of sometimes up to eight stops. With those capabilities, do you even need a tripod anymore? This interesting video poses that question and covers the times where you may or may not need one.
Photography is expensive, and often, you get what you pay for. However, there are some great modifiers for your lights to be had for under $100.
Virtually everyone who has started a photography business has asked themselves this question. The short answer is "it depends," but this video gives you five solid questions you can ask yourself if you need to make the all-important decision.
Though many shots are properly exposed from corner to corner, there are times where you want a darker scene, particularly if you're simulating nighttime. Here are five techniques for doing just that.
Automotive photography is attractive to us petrol-heads, but it's not the easiest genre to get into. Here are ten tips for taking better pictures of cars and motorbikes.
After multiple attempts to capture sunrise or sunset and not getting the conditions I wanted, I decided I was going to take photos no matter what the conditions were, forcing myself out of my comfort zone and pushing myself to be a better photographer.
In this video tutorial, watch as I show you how to color match with Curves in Photoshop. Curves is one of the most powerful tools to use in Photoshop, so make sure you try to use it in your workflow.
A lot of professional photographers will tell you over and over about the importance of taking on personal projects. Even if you are only a hobbyist, they are a fantastic way to build your skills, expand your creativity, and become a more confident photographer. This fantastic video essay discusses why you should consider picking up a photography project.
The Canon R5 has received a great deal of coverage since its release. Of course, much of the initial content detailed specifications and initial impressions. The real test comes after you've used the camera for a while.
Converting a photo to black and white is about more than simply pulling all the color out of it; it is a chance to make an entirely new image. This fantastic video tutorial will show you how to convert a photo to black and white in Photoshop and turn it into a dramatic, eye-catching piece.
There are so many trade secrets in photography, but when I moved into food and drink, I found it almost impossible to get any real info on how to do anything of use.
Flashguns and strobe lights aren't just for capturing perfectly exposed subjects, they can be valuable as creative assets too.
When it comes to landscape photography, the focal length of choice is normally a wide angle or even an ultra-wide angle. However, these lenses come with their own set of pitfalls that can adversely affect the quality of your images. This excellent video tutorial discusses some of the problems that come with ultra-wide angle lenses when shooting landscape photographs and how to avoid or fix them.
Capturing the moon has been something photographers have tried since it was possible to do. However, it's trickier than most people think, particularly to capture real contrast and detail.
The power of modern phones when it comes to taking images and videos has been growing at an alarming rate. This short film, made for Apple, showcases just how professional a production can look.
Composition can be a tricky thing when it comes to landscape photography, with many different ways to approach creating successful images. This great video tutorial will show you a simple and straightforward technique for improving your landscape image compositions.
As you take pictures over the years, your mountain of images will grow. Many of them — indeed, most of them — will be forgettable, uninteresting, or unwanted. So, should you just delete them?
When you look at the work of professional portrait photographers, you might notice that it often employs two- or three-light setups. And while those certainly have their place, you might be surprised by just how versatile a single light and a bit of know-how can be. This fantastic video tutorial will show you five useful single-light setups for portraiture work.
If you are new to photography, you might have heard other photographers using the term "stops" quite a lot when it comes to camera and light settings. If you are not quite sure what the term means and how photographers use it, this excellent video tutorial will show you everything you need to know.
Canon has two amazing lenses for their mirrorless system. This is the RF 600mm f/11 IS STM and the RF 800mm f/11 IS STM. Although the aperture is not that wide, these lenses can be very useful. I got a chance to try both for a few weeks and these are my findings.
Whether it is weddings, portraits, or something else, any genre in which you photograph people will require you to whiten a person's teeth at some point. This quick and to-the-point video tutorial will show you to easily and efficiently do that in just a few seconds using Photoshop.
Long exposure photography is a staple of the craft and a right of passage for beginners, but if you have some photos or a time-lapse that wasn't a long exposure and you think it might have looked good as one, look no further.
For most of us, there's a lot of excitement involved in buying a new camera, but it might not be the best investment for upgrading the content you create. Here are 5 things you should upgrade first.
Many newer mirrorless cameras are on the more expensive side, but we have also seen a few budget models that offer affordable entry points into the world of full frame mirrorless. This excellent video review takes a look at one such option, the Nikon Z 5.
Never work with children or animals, but if you have either, you know you're going to be photographing them. Whether you're photographing your own children or someone else's, here are some tips on how to take better photographs of them.
Everyone loves a good deal and as every photographer will tell you, buying camera gear is a great way to spend a lot of money. This useful video gives you 10 way so save some serious cash when investing in new equipment.
A lot of the time, you will see professionals use two- or three-light setups for portraiture, but you might be surprised by the professional results you can get from just a single light. This fantastic video tutorial will show you how to master both the technical and creative aspects of a single-light setup for portraiture.
Landscape photography during the winter can be a fantastic chance to give your photos a completely different look and turn familiar scenes into something completely different. This great video tutorial will show you a range of useful tips on composition, settings, and more to make the best possible photos.
Nathan Elson is back with another installment of his How I Got the Shot. As always, it's the little details he shares about his process that makes tuning in so valuable.
Good communication with your subject, posing, and post-processing are all crucial skills as a headshot photographer, but you also need to have a strong grasp of lighting to make great images. This comprehensive video tutorial will show you how to create lighting setups for portraits and headshots.
Sometimes we capture absolutely stunning images but they lack the dynamics needed to really stand out. Using this quick guide you can potentially take your images from boring to extraordinary using a single tool.
A lot of photographers sure do love their bokeh, and this vintage lens has a unique property that gives it some fantastic bokeh. This great video takes a look at the Tair 11A 135mm f/2.8 lens, its unique design, and the sort of images you can take with it.
If you've been into photography for very long at all, you know how critical the eye is. I'm not speaking of the artistic eye, but the physical eye as shown in a photograph.
