When most think about maternity photography, the visual is light airy looks with flowers wrapping the soon to be mother. However there have been many changes in the way photographers are shooting this genre and many photographers want to break the stereotype.
Large format film is an entirely different experience from 35mm or even medium format, and it can be a really fun and intriguing process to try out. If you are interested in large format work, this great video will show you three different ways to develop your own film at home.
Last week, without any fanfare, Canon released a piece of software that could have far-reaching implications for the future of digital photography. Forget the EOS R5 news. This is bigger.
So a court recently decided that anyone can use your public Instagram images for free without having to notify you, much less pay you. Lots of photographers out there are outraged, but should you care?
If you are stuck at home and looking for something to photograph right now, your pets can be a great way to keep your technique sharp and create some nice personal memories at the same time. This fantastic video will show you some great tips for taking better photos of your pets.
A v-flat is one of the most versatile tools any photographer working in a studio can have. And while you normally think of them as something used to modify lighting on the subject, you can also use them to create dramatic shadows on the background that can completely transform the mood of your photos. This great video will show you how it is done.
There's been a sharp spike in creative videography in the last decade, particularly with consumer gimbals becoming available. Here is a great example of that innovation with a recreation of the Glambot style of shooting seen predominately on the red carpet.
When it comes to composition rules, we often use the rule of thirds to build up a composition. It is an easy way to bring a little bit of order in chaos. Another good habit is the use of lines. It can be used to strengthen your composition.
The coronavirus is making it incredibly difficult for photographers to make new content while the world is on lockdown. The good news is you already have a treasure trove of untapped potential buried in your homes, garages, and offices, and it's crying out to be posted online.
One of the things I love most about photography is its rich history of innovation and quirkiness, with a vast range of cameras and lenses with unique designs having come and gone throughout the years. If you would like to take a trip down memory lane (or you need a manual for that old camera sitting on your shelf), this fantastic site features a wide range of camera and lens manuals and sales brochures from about 120 different brands across decades of history.
It is generally accepted that phone photos are fine for sharing on the web or on Instagram, but for larger applications, you need a dedicated camera. But with modern phones making great leaps in image quality, you might wonder if you can actually get acceptable or even good larger prints from a phone image. This great video examines the sort of print quality you can expect from images shot on a modern smartphone.
Everyone is dealing with this new normal in different ways. A lot of people have been finding all sorts of creative ways to keep themselves busy. Not wanting to be outdone, photographers all over have been sharing amazing and humorous photos often shot within their homes.
I recently published an article about why photographers hate my images here, and I think I may have missed a few points, as well as feeling the need to cover more about why most photographers don't understand person work.
The coronavirus pandemic has left a lot of photographers very unsure of how their finances will change over the next few months. One genre that still has at least some demand, however, is stock photography. This great video takes an honest look at what you can expect to earn from stock photography right now.
Here is a simple tutorial on how to turn your outdoor photos into minimalist landscapes.
A good macro lens is one of the most versatile optics a photographer can own, able to shoot a wide variety of subjects from portraits to the small details around us with sharp results. If you are looking for a macro lens of your own, this fantastic video compares six popular options to help you decide which is right for you.
Photographers who do not specialize in portraiture or other genres involving working with people may not own dedicated professional lighting equipment suitable for the task. But almost every photographer owns a speedlight, and you might be surprised by how versatile they can be for lighting portraits. This great video tutorial will show you how to take effective portraits using a single speedlight.
Waterdrop photography can be a great way both to practice your technical skills and to experiment with your creativity, plus it is just a ton of fun. This great video will show you how you can set up your own miniature splash studio at home using just your normal gear and a couple of items you likely already have laying around the house.
Composition is a nuanced and subtle thing, and any single landscape scene can give you a wide variety of possible images. If composition is something you struggle with a bit, this excellent video tutorial will give you some helpful advice for how to compose your landscape images.
A lot of more advanced portrait styles require the use of multiple lights to fully craft the images, but you might be surprised by how much you can still accomplish with just a single light. This great video tutorial will show you how to light and shoot this eye-catching black and white portrait using only a single strobe.
For anything you want to do in Photoshop, there are probably at least 10 ways to accomplish it. This great video tutorial will show you a less common way to bring emphasis to your subject's face in a portrait by using Photoshop.
In order to effectively reach your clients as a photographer, you must first know what product you are selling.
It’s important during this period of uncertainty to keep marketing your photography business. Marketing your business can keep you prepared for when things start to resume in the photography industry. Once events start up again, photoshoots begin to produce once more, and people can gather, your business will be ready. Here are some checkpoints to hit in your photography business marketing.
Color theory is a broad subject, and the way you use it defines your style when filming or taking a photo. The technique of using color theory on your images and footage in post is called "color grading," and it is more than just using the cinematic teal and orange duo.
Did you think that having just one flash unit is not enough to create bright high-key portraits?
No permits. No permissions. Pouring rain. Beautiful photos.
This tutorial is for beginners who may want to start learning photography during the lockdown periods around the world.
Lighting is often the difference between a boring scene and an interesting one. In this video, you get to see a full breakdown of the transformation of a scene from flat and common lighting, through to complex and cinematic looking.
It is quite impressive just how advanced editing and retouching tools have become, but even so, many of the world's best retouchers prefer a more fundamental, old fashioned technique: dodging and burning. This fantastic video tutorial will show you how you can use dodging and burning for retouching skin using Photoshop.
A photographer has taken striking portraits of his wife, a nurse, to illustrate the importance of why we must stay home during these unprecedented times. The pictures serve as a visual reminder of the front line workers facing a daily battle against the current pandemic.
Commercial photography marketing is a dark art. Often kept as a bit of a dirty secret amongst those in the know, however, we can all do these simple things to improve our chances of getting work.
If you are stuck at home and itching to practice your technique and explore your creativity a bit, you might have to get a bit clever with your use of materials and choice of subjects. This great video tutorial will show you how you can photograph flowers using just materials you have lying around your house.
Beauty images are a wonderful chance for you to find your personal style through your choices of lighting, posing, and editing. This excellent video tutorial will show you how a photographer used two lights and gels to create a unique beauty image.
Who says that during the self distancing period you cannot meet and photograph others from the comfort of your own home? Who says you need your camera at all?
Sending off old negatives can be time-consuming and even a little costly. Here is how you can develop film using just your camera, tripod, and a light source.
If you’re stuck at home and need some inspiration for what to shoot in and around the house, check out this excellent video for a wealth of new ideas.
There are quite a few ways to shoot stabilized video, but quite often, you will end up shooting handheld for one reason or another. This great video will give you five tips for shooting better handheld video.
A white product on a white background is a very common and popular look in product photography and a fantastic challenge for any photographer looking to improve their lighting and post-processing skills. This great video will teach you how to light, shoot, and edit a white product on a white background.
You are probably aware of what apps like Lightroom, Photoshop, and Premiere Pro do, but Adobe makes a veritable plethora of applications, and you might not be aware of what they all do and how the more specialized and lesser-known apps can help your work. This helpful video will introduce you to over 50 Adobe applications and explain what they each of them does in just 10 minutes.
The coronavirus pandemic has fundamentally altered the world and caused serious disruptions for creatives in all industries. This excellent video features an experienced professional discussing how we can adapt to this new landscape.
For eight years, photographer Pete Souza had my dream job, photographing the president of the United States and being on the front line of the biggest news stories of our time. In his latest IGTV post, Souza talks about some of the gear he used to capture his iconic images.
Yes, it’s true. A medium format point and shoot camera actually exists. I wasn’t really into it at first, but have completely fallen in love with it after a few outings. It may well be the only camera I never sell.
Split toning is a great and relatively quick way to create a unique look in your images. This excellent video tutorial will show you how split toning works and give you some great tips for using it on your own photos.
Molly Baber is a multi-disciplinary visual artist and fashion photographer creating conceptual works that evoke blood, death, and feminine power, as well as a subconscious fantasy through ritual, divination, and mythology.
The coronavirus has affected most of the world. In the UK, freelancers have been hit hard with no financial help until June at the earliest. Here are some brutal business lessons that we are all going to have to swallow.
Photographers and videographers alike have seen much of their income vanish due to coronavirus / COVID-19. A number of organizations have put together financial aid for creatives who have lost work, so here's a list of the financial grants and funds available to visual creatives during the pandemic.
Given Photoshop’s complexity, it can be incredibly refreshing when someone comes along and explains not only how a certain tool works but also how to use it. This fantastic video from PiXimperfect runs you through how to use the Divide blend mode in Photoshop and packs in a free math lesson which will help you to understand why it does what it does.
If, like me, you have a love for history, being able to see footage from Victorian England in 1901 is a real pleasure. Using neural networks, we can now see previously grainy and fuzzy video from the era upscaled to 4k, 60 fps, colorized, and significantly improved image quality.
Every week I get many messages asking where I get my stock images from, so here you go.
One area a lot of photographers can focus their quarantined free time is updating their portfolios. Unfortunately, taking new and fresh photos is probably not part of that process, but that doesn't mean you still can't find new images to add to your website or social media stream.
