The Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens, or commonly referred to as the nifty fifty, is a great lens that comes in with an amazing price tag of only $125 as I write this. For many, especially those on a budget, this is one of the first and most often recommended lens to pick up for any photographer of any genre.
You don’t need me to tell you the importance of social media. Many of you under a certain age likely can’t picture your life without it. Judging by the number of selfie sticks and Facebook screens annoyingly lighting up dark movie theaters, social media had apparently become as important as breathing. Even those who came of age before the dawn of the smartphone are not immune to its charms. And in an increasingly connected world, our devices are not only a social diversion, but can also become a business necessity. This week, I had an experience that drove home just how necessary it can be.
The day I’ve been preparing for arrived unexpectedly this past Saturday as I went to my Mac to export photos for a client, just like it was any other day. But I quickly found out it wasn’t going to be like other days when I found my photo and video files had disappeared from my Lightroom catalog.
Half the fun of having a professional wide-aperture telephoto lens married to a DSLR or mirrorless camera is all you can do with bokeh. However, if you don't have such a lens or want to have some fun with a past shot, this tutorial shows you how to easily add a bokeh effect using Photoshop.
Every wedding photographer has their own style of lighting, editing, posing, etc. However, a Dutch wedding photographer just blew the doors off convention with what's probably the most risqué wedding photo I've seen.
A few months back, I was getting the feeling that I needed to start traveling to see more of the beautiful world we live in. At the time it was just a thought until my buddy Tom Harmon called me up and asked if I'd want to go out to Oregon with him. Of course I had to take him up on the offer and I was excited to leave New Jersey for once. I knew that if we were going to be in Oregon for just three days, we'd better plan a hell of a trip to fit in all the spots we wanted to go see. Finally, it was the night before the trip and we had finalized the locations we were going to go. With everything planned out, we were ready to get out to Oregon for some droning.
Sometimes our creations behind the camera simply cannot be taken with just one frame, or perhaps you cannot travel to the destinations that would work perfectly with your concept. This is why some photographers choose to composite their images. Antti Karppinen shows off his most used composite image technique from his latest project "Kuopio Inspiration is a Force of Nature."
Looking for an easier way to light up your subject in a variety of different ways? The creative duo from Bitbanger Labs that launched the pixelstick is back with a new invention, colorspike. It’s an animation-driven light that with photographers and video shooters alike.
A little over two years ago, Emily and Jeremiah divided their lives into three piles: sell, donate, and keep. Having called Charlotte, NC home for five years, they aimed to get away from the monotony of 50+ hour work weeks. Weekend getaways just weren’t cutting it anymore so they sold their townhouse and hopped in their Expedition, with a camper in tow, and started a new nomadic lifestyle. Jeremiah would be working remotely, while Emily documented their travels. An opportunity that many dream of, but few follow.
Google is a beast. There’s no other good way to put it, Google is a beast of a platform with an incredible amount of free valuable content available at our fingertips. But as with any beast, there is always a dark side, and for Google a big con is that the monster search engine never forgets. In the realm of Search Engine Optimization (or SEO) there is a plethora of both good and bad information available to the masses. Because of this, business owners have formed bad habits with SEO that are outdated and harming their ranking within Google and its algorithm. Here are a few habits you may have that could be harming your photography website’s rankings, and how you can fix them.
A couple of weeks ago, I reviewed ACDSee's latest photo editing software release and even said it could replace Adobe products in many ways for Windows users. It was only wise to back that statement up with two complementary articles, this one being the first, showing to Adobe users how they could switch from Lightroom to ACDSee. In today’s write-up, I’ll concentrate on bringing files from previous Lightroom catalogs into ACDSee and also on how to manage your pictures in ACDSee Ultimate 2018.
There's probably no other genre in which long exposures are so heavily used than landscape photography. The convenience of mostly static subjects combined with the necessity of low ISOs means landscape shooters are often pushing their exposures well past the one-minute mark. This interesting video examines three variations on long exposures of similar subjects and how they produce different results.
As slick as we may think we look, the truth is there are times when we simply fail as photographers. Thankfully, another photographer is typically nearby to capture your failure in all of its glory.
You’ve just finished shooting a beautiful wedding video and your edits are being finalized. But wait — you still need to find the music to go behind each scene. Use these five insightful tips to find the perfect music that will enhance your next wedding video.
In most difficult economies, photographers will inevitably take on work that is outside their niche area. Having one commission is better than having nothing. Being a multitalented photographer who is able to shoot both weddings and macro photography can come in handy.
This past week, Minnesota-based Photographer Rich Hoeg had the opportunity to photograph the aurora over Stewart Lake in Two Harbors, Minnesota. Hoeg describes himself as an enthusiast photographer with a love of photographing birds.
Wedding photographers get a behind-the-scenes look at every wedding that most guests and vendors don't see. It's one of the reasons I love shooting the beginning part of the wedding day so much. Aside from all of the cute details I get to photograph, the anticipation is palatable and it can be photojournalism at its best.
Multi-light setups can be tricky to master, but they also offer a remarkable amount of control and creative possibilities. This helpful tutorial will walk you through one such setup with its take on a classic lighting setup, showing how each light contributes to the final image and how you can replicate it yourself.
Coming this fall you’ll be able to create and collaborate faster than ever with Adobe’s latest version of Premiere Pro CC. New updates to the program will allow you to open multiple projects at the same time, collaborate with multiple editors on the same project, and work with new graphics tools in the Essential Graphics panel. Let's have a closer look.
I have been struggling with my bad filing hierarchy for years. An inefficient, inconsistent, or straight up bad folder structure not only robs you of of your hard-earned time but it can also sabotage entire projects, hiding your files in the deepest, darkest corners of your hard drive, nowhere to be found ever again. I recently came up with a system that enables me to easily and efficiently store files as well as retrieve them. Follow along to hopefully also put an end to your digital storage struggles.
Photoshop is a powerful program full of hundreds of functions, many of which seem to behave very similarly, but definitely have distinct purposes that make them more or less appropriate than related tools depending on the situation. This video examines one of the most common cases, vibrance vs. saturation, and how you should use each in your editing.
We all have them, those cloudy days when you just can't create no matter how much you want to. As normal as this is, it's very frustrating. I'll spend hours doing random things before getting to work in hopes of stumbling upon any crumbs of inspiration left behind. I've found a few things that always work like going for a walk, sitting outside or talking with other artists. However. I've found value in working on old images.
In the age of digital photography, very few of the photos we take will ever make it to print. There is something special about holding a tangible print of an image you have created in your hands. Here are some great tips for how and why you should be printing more often to become a better photographer and literally enjoy your images in a new light.
Instagram continues to grow as a legitimate tool for photographers to feature their work, build connections, and find clients. As such, developing an efficient workflow on the app is something most photographers should consider. This helpful video will show iPhone users a neat trick to save time.
It's going to happen at sometime during your career (probably a lot of times): you'll be forced to shoot in an uninspiring or just bad location. However, the potential of almost any location can be salvaged to produce good portraiture. This helpful video will give you three quick tips to do just that.
Outdoor on-the-go DIY style editorials are really picking up in the fashion world. It is a good skill to have in your toolkit as a budding photographer. In this article, I want to break down how a small team of talented artists and myself went about producing and shooting two full on-location, outdoor editorials for Bullett Magazine in less than two weeks in NYC.
One of the coolest fundamental things you can do with Photoshop is convincingly change the color of something. This helpful tutorial will show you a few different methods to do that, as well as how to add and precisely match colors in your images.
Many photographers I know have started making videos as well. It's a skill many clients and brands are looking for. Social networks have been developing the easiest way to watch a video on their platforms and if you look at the amount of time you spend browsing online, video takes a large percentage of that media you consume. If you want to start with video and don't want to make mistakes that can waste time or have you look like someone starting out, here is a video that lists the mistakes and how to prevent them so you are off to a good start.
If you work with people, whether it be kids, families, seniors, adults, or professional models, male or female, then you have almost certainly shot a TFP (trade for print) shoot before. While the definition of TFP is flexible these days, as most commonly we mean "trade time for digital images" rather than physical prints, these kinds of shoots have and will continue to be an industry staple. The most important aspect of these shoots is the one thing that often gets forgotten: getting a return on your investment of time.
It’s been quite trendy in the past few months to see handwritten text composited onto images on Instagram. Perhaps you’ve been wondering how it’s done or maybe you’ve just been looking for a way to make your writing even more personalized. No matter the reason why you’re reading this article, if you want to give a more personal dimension to your images with handwritten text, be sure to watch this tutorial.
It might seem that film has been relegated to a pursuit sustained mostly by enthusiasts, but as this campaign by Dickies shows, it can still create the kind of images large brands are happy to use. Go behind the scenes of this shoot with a large format camera.
After a four-hour trip to London and only being able to catch whatever sleep I could during the uncomfortable journey down, I met with Peter Hurley and immediately felt welcome. For those of you who don't know, Peter Hurley is a headshot photographer based in New York City. Hurley once had a career as a model and was also part of the U.S. Olympic sailing team. He is known for his clean, white background headshots and for coining the phrase "squinch," which has now become relatively mainstream thanks to news channels and shows like Orange is the New Black. To many, Peter is known as the best in the business and this may be true, but, what is Peter actually like to work with?
There are a ton of speedlight modifiers on the market today. Some utilize the miracle material we call Velcro, others use rare-earth magnets to affix their product to your flash. Photoflex takes a more traditional approach with their latest speedlight modifier by developing a collapsible octobox style modifier specifically designed for speedlights.
For anyone beginning to delve into the art of using off camera lighting, it can be a bit daunting to decide where to start in acquiring new lighting equipment. Here is a great guide to the pros and cons of LED and strobe lighting so that you’ll be able to make the right choice for your next acquisition.
I regularly get asked on Instagram how I edit my studio headshots and yet keep them looking natural. In truth I’ve spent years learning the intricacies of Capture One Pro, Photoshop, and the various retouching techniques that are frequently discussed.
I don't make time-lapses, but as a viewer I frequently happen to find time-lapse videos that I can't or don't watch at all. Here are my tips for all of you out there to make your sequence of images more appealing to any audience.
Let’s face it, in today’s world it is always better to be safe than sorry, especially for artists with demanding clients. I’m a huge believer in utilizing contracts to keep everyone on the same page, but contracts can be difficult when they are severely limiting.
Has anyone ever told you that you're cheating when you apply any post-processing to your image after the initial capture of that image? Well, the reality is that what you were told is completely true. You see, for decades, cameras have had the innate ability to perceive what the scene should look like. In fact, all cameras have always been built with special recognition and reproduction capabilities that quite literally take all the hard work away from the photographer. This leaves you, the photographer, with a much easier job. The advent of the Edit Photo button within Photoshop is simply another way that technology has made our job, as photographers, much easier.
I’ve been a Profoto user for quite a while now, loving my B1s and B2s for wedding photography, and my D1s for studio photography. I’m a huge fan of off-camera flash, especially when it can be easily manipulated into looking like natural light when I need it to. After all, that’s what 99 percent of my wedding clients want: natural light and a golden-hour glow regardless if it’s raining or we’re shooting in noon-day sun. What I’ve been missing, however, is the portability of a small flash, and being able to use it on camera.
Studying and experimenting with composition is one of the fastest ways to elevate your photography. Subframing is a versatile technique that can be applied to many styles of photography. Here are some great tips for incorporating subframing in your images.
There are many ways to go about your video. You can just go at it, shoot away, and edit quick shots together, or you can think about what you want to shoot and use psychological composition to bring your story across in the best way possible. You can have progression of your hero moving from left to right throughout the film, or you can keep your villain to the left and your hero to the right to have them compete in your viewer’s mind. This video shares some smart ways to approach your next film or photography project, even if your project isn’t narrative based.
Working as a video editor can be a hectic and tedious experience. Spending some time to think about organizational tools and methods can help you out significantly when working with a lot of files, or in a large group of colleagues. Renaming files, creating proper folder structure, logging metadata, backing up files, and developing a workflow can make your life much, much easier. While some of the advice listed below is geared for Premiere Pro users, any video editor can take advantage of these tips.
We have all come across a beautiful or interesting building in our life, it’s another subject of art. There are many architects that spend a lot of their time designing these amazing structures, and there’s even a whole genre of photography to capture and share the beauty in these buildings.
It happens to all of us: we get our first professional camera, and all of a sudden, everything is photogenic, everything is beautiful. But eventually, if we want to make a living from photography, we have to narrow down the genres we shoot, the gear we use, the style in which we edit, etc. This great video explores how to give your photography career a direction.
When you're working with models (or anyone really), there are certain things you should keep in mind, both to make the shoot go smoothly and successfully and to ensure that proper boundaries are established and everyone involved feels comfortable and respected. Here are five dos and don't of photographing models.
If you shoot photos on a professional level, there’s a chance you also shoot video. If you shoot video, there’s a chance you edit. And if you edit, there’s a good chance you have to work with audio at some point. But, it may not be something you know a lot about, especially if you are just getting started with editing video.
Albert Watson. Legend. Period, end. With a career spanning five decades and multiple iconic images, his career in fashion and portraiture would be the aspiration of any budding photographer. Alongside Irving Penn and Richard Avedon, PDN recognized him as one of the twenty most influential photographers of all time. And in a new video by Profoto, the man whose subjects have ranged from Alfred Hitchcock to Kate Moss, discusses his approach to lighting, photography, and life.
Usually, people preach long lenses for portraiture. They can give you strong bokeh and they don't distort faces. But what makes an appealing portrait? Perfection? Admittedly, you can't rule out anything. Perfection in portraiture is desirable, but mostly as a base requirement. Perfection can only take you so far. What is certain is that when looking at portraiture we are looking for something to hang on to. We are looking for something that we can relate to and engage with.
Shallow focus was the go-to for us all when we first got our DSLRs that could shoot video. It looked so beautiful, and to a certain degree, it even looked professional. For a while. It was overused, and at some point, if your video consisted of only shallow focus, it was the determining factor to show whether you were a pro DSLR filmmaker or an amateur. But, it certainly has it's place, and the Nerdwriter shares how and why “The Handmaid's Tale” used it in this video.
Color plays such an important role in photography and video. It sets the mood, creates the atmosphere, and leaves the viewer with an emotional impression of what they experienced. "Game of Thrones" is most likely one of the most watched series of the past few years. It has dragons, medieval-style characters, a wall, wars, and superb actions scenes and special effects. Vox analyzed every season by playing each episode back and taking a screenshot every 10 seconds.
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