For those trying to balance their passion with their paycheck, here's a quick word on the joys of taking the leap, and the sweet taste of being unemployed. Well, sort of.
Prism photography isn’t exactly a new thing. In fact, many photographers have been taking advantage of the unique, light bending properties of glass and clear resins to add an artistic flare to their images for some time now. The issue previously had been finding a prism that would work for you and fit neatly into your kit. Fractal Filters has recently released their latest set of prisms designed specifically for photographers that meet the need for convenient photo-prisms.
By its (fabricated) definition, “Great Light” is soft, of an orange tinge, preferably at an oblique vertical angle and coming from a direction that shapes the subject enough without causing harsh shadows. So we’re essentially talking about sunsets and sunrises. But must we only whip out the camera at golden hour? Or are there more photographic opportunities to be had?
If you are a shooter or video producer, you know that there are many things that go into creating great video. Sure, using the right gear is key. Composition and lighting are key. But after the video is shot, shot selection, pacing, and color correction have to be considered for the edit. Then there are graphics. Titles, lower thirds, transitions, and the like have to be designed and animated. There are tons of parts that go into making one complete, great-looking video. And it’s hard to master every aspect of video production – not to mention the fact that time and budget constraints make things even harder.
I began my journey as a portrait photographer quite obsessed with the premise of blasting large studio strobes through giant modifiers. It was my workflow for years. In studio, I'd usually be washing my model with giant waves of light and on location I'd lug big, powerful strobes along with huge lengths of extension cords so that I could plug in and not bother with heavy battery packs. About a year and a half ago I stopped using my big strobes completely and eventually ended up selling them in favor of completely switching to small flash.
Shooting a beauty video is not quite the same as shooting beauty portraits. While in still photography there is a single frame, in video you can use the power of the moving image to tell a superior story. Here are three cool techniques that help to create this beauty video clip all in camera.
So many photographers dream of shooting the Pirelli Calendar, but so few make it. German Photographer Peter Lindbergh shot the 2017 edition, and he’s probably someone we can all learn from. There must be a reason as to why he is working with all the big names in the cinema and modeling industry. For those like me, who love watching other photographers at work to learn, you must watch this hour-long behind the scenes video of his work for Pirelli.
Lately I've cottoned to the film beat quite a bit here. I've written about Super 8 and about film stock options for analog photography, about the revival of Ektachrome, and about instant photography. I love it all, but I'm also aware of the fact that we very much live in the twenty-first century. We live on computers and we live online, and if photos don't exist in these spaces, they may as well not exist at all. So what can be done about getting photos taken on film, old or new, into a form fit for such a universe? Let's talk about film scanning.
Aside from being a catchy acronym, Digital Asset Management is an incredibly important concept in the world of digital photography that is too often overlooked.
For the majority of my life, I was a soldier in the United States Army. As a part of military life, I learned how valuable it was to be prepared for all the things that could go wrong. Many soldiers will build a bug-out bag, also known as a go-bag. A bug-out bag is essentially a bag full of items one might need when in a pinch. Now as a photographer, my bug-out bag is full of all the little items I often am asked if I have or things that can make any shoot go easier. These things have often meant the difference between success and failure on a shoot. Here is the list of stuff I put in my bag.
As photographers, many of us are obsessive gear heads always on the hunt for the holy grail of glass. No lens is good enough, we have this mysterious idea of a perfect lens in our imagination that no company could possibly ever actually create. There are, however, a ton of fantastic lenses out there that many photographer would never give a second thought that are more than capable of bringing magic to your next shoot. In this post I'm going to cover three of my favorites.
There comes a time where you need to cut ties with other artists who are not blending well with your company. Makeup artists are very hard to come by in my small town and when one failed to show for more than one appointment it was time to say our goodbyes. But what happens to the session that was a no show? While your client is waiting in that chair, with her excitement starting to wane, it is time to take action. If you are prepared this will be a breeze.
Time-lapse photography has quickly become one of the most popular forms of creative expression in the past year. A ton of expensive gear and advanced methods exist to produce cinema quality videos like the opening sequence in "House of Cards," but this shouldn’t deter you from getting out and trying it on your own.
Beauty retouching isn’t anything new, yet it can be a long and tedious process that may not be so easy to pick up right away. If you are looking into doing it yourself versus contracting it out but are not sure were to start, you can find yourself going through plenty of tutorials and videos that cover this editing process. Where do you begin?
Photography has come a long way since my 35mm high school days. We've seen it go from film, to prohibitively expensive, low-resolution digital, to stunning high-res cameras in every phone. But the method of viewing digital images has been limited to print and computer screens. Since my very first Canon 5D I've been on the hunt for a digital picture frame that could display images with the same brilliance as print.
Creating selections in Photoshop can be a painstaking process, oftentimes with mixed results. I learned about luminosity masking by way of exposure blending for landscapes, but its applications are varied.
Internationally acclaimed time-lapse film maker and photographer Rob Whitworth brings magical Cappadocia alive in his flow-motion hyperlapse film for Turkish Airways. The visually stunning clip, which highlights the tourist attractions in the region, took six weeks to shoot over the course of two months and two seasons. The effortless blending of multiple photography techniques and precise After Effects work culminates in a breathtaking finished product which pushes boundaries and leaves no doubt as to why Whitworth's videos have over 9 million online views.
While I’ll always try my best to get the shot right in camera, there're occasions, like when I photographed this beauty editorial, when that’s not always feasible. In this short tutorial, I'll show you how to change your background in a few short steps.
Something I get asked often is how to add color tones to your images. Often the easiest option is to use filters either in Lightroom or with a plugin software such as Google Nik. However, as you delve deeper into the world of color grading you will eventually become curious how to create your own effects.
Off-camera flash is a great way to augment your existing photographs. There are so many times when existing light just doesn't give you the result you desire, and that flash could be a solution to creating the image you have in your mind. When you first start, however, the options can be quite overwhelming and it can be difficult to know exactly what you'll need. Let's look into a simple but versatile kit that will allow you to stay mobile and work in many different situations.
Being a long time Lightroom user has helped me have a well polished workflow for my photography projects. So why should I bother trying Capture One Pro?
Have you ever wondered how to create portraits with those dreamy watercolor backgrounds? In the following tips, I’ll give you a few tricks on how I achieve this whimsical, ethereal look in my work.
The logo. That simple stylized image that is supposed to help people to recognize you. It's one of the first marketing moves you do when you see yourself as a not-just-a-camera-owner-anymore. But why do you do it?
Do you ever have trouble talking with your subjects during a shoot? Not sure what to say to them to get that perfect facial expression? No need to worry, Peter Hurley is here with "Hurleyisms."
A major concern I hear from boudoir photographers is the lack of a formal studio space for shooting. While I do have a downtown studio in a historic area of Palatka, Florida, if I am traveling there is not always that option of finding a shared area. Understanding how to create your own studio space in hotels, vacation homes, or Airbnbs can bring your boudoir business front and center to potential clients.
It's common as professional photographers to spend so much time researching the latest technical tips and advice that the space within our mental hard drives originally intended for common sense runs low. We can become so focused on the latest and greatest that mundane day-to-day tasks sometimes suffer. Here are a few pointers (or reminders) that may help you free up some of that precious mental hard drive space and fill your calendar with the types of clients you want to be booking as we look toward the upcoming year.
Whenever I am working with models on a shoot, I always have their best interests at heart. You may say I care too much about my models, but I am alright with that. No one badmouths a caring photographer. I have seen firsthand how some models are treated badly on set and it saddens me to see how bad attitude from photographers can ruin the photographer-model relationship and also lead to bad photos. Knowing how to build a relationship upon meeting your model and engaging in a photoshoot with the latter is a must and I asked a couple of models for advice to write this article.
Crushing blacks is a popular trend in Photoshop for achieving a more film-like matte effect that pairs well with vintage styling. It won't work with every image, but if it's a look you are after, photographer Mathieu Stern has put together a video suggesting three ways you can go about achieving and customizing the effect. In this article I will add on one more quick method in addition to the video which will give you plenty of options to play around with this effect and see which method works best with your workflow.
Recently I've concluded that most professional photographers actually believe that telephoto lenses compress the subject and background in an image and that simply is not true.
For a long time as a photographer, I did not have access to a studio nor did I have the necessary lights to help create a studio setup indoors. And let’s not talk about renting studios! So, in absence of a studio, I came up with one easy way to create the studio feel, which you will find is pretty cheap.
Photoshop is an amazing tool that most photographers find themselves using on a daily basis. It has countless features, and with the new Photoshop CC, more are added with each update. As a beginner to the program, it can get a little overwhelming on where to start learning all of the complex elements. In this, video you will see 10 of the features you need to know.
If like me, you’re tired of those overprocessed portraits shot during golden hour or at sunset that crowd your online portfolios or your Instagram feed, then perhaps you should consider rising early for your portrait session.
I’m a huge advocate of gelling your flash. It’s one of those things that a lot of photographers just discovering off-camera lighting will often fly right past without much thought (I know I did). Even after you get that first stack or plastic bag of gels, knowing how to apply them can be a little intimidating. Enter Michigan-based Photographer Rob Hall’s expert instructions on how you should or could be using your color temperature blue (CTB) gels.
A beauty dish can be extremely versatile if you learn how to control the way it modifies light. Most photographers simply use beauty dishes to light the face, but you can use it to light full length photos if you know how to position the light correctly. In this video, I’ll demonstrate three ways to use a beauty dish for beauty and fashion photography.
A few months ago we shared that Instagram began to roll out some pretty powerful analytic tools called "Insights," though as many of you might have gathered it's not available to the masses just yet. Select users have their hands on the tools currently and they are able to track things like impressions, total reach, clicks to the link in your bio, and even what percentage of your followers are male or female. The tools expand further down into regions of the world your followers are from, including the exact city. Here is how to get them right now, for free.
The first time I saw streaky clouds and silky smooth water, I knew I needed to learn how to do that. However, after buying my first neutral density filter, I realized it wasn't so easy to do. It was really hard to focus, and some photos were too dark, while others were too bright. And why were the middle of so many photos pink? Hopefully, this article will help you avoid some of the mistakes that I made as a long exposure beginner.
For most beginners, distinguishing hues, or noticing over saturated areas, can be an issue. Even some most advanced retouchers still have problems color correcting their images. Reaching the point where our eyes see colors properly takes time and a lot of practice. Fortunately enough, visual help layers in Photoshop can aid us separate luminosity, hue, and saturation. In this article, I will show you how to isolate the latter two to facilitate your color correction.
If you ever do any sort of composite work, chances are that you'll need to add shadows. They're one of the biggest aspects of making a composite image convincing, and yet, they're also very subtle and tricky to pull off. Phlearn is here with a great tutorial to get you started.
As the northern autumn draws closer, bizarre little creatures pop up all over the temperate forest. On the forest floor, underneath hedgerows and on trees, alive or the ones who have fallen. Fungi are the cleaning crew of the forest as they take care of layers of fallen deadwood and provide nutrients back to the forest. Surely they are great subjects for macro photography. Like everyone else, I’m looking to find their reproductive organs: Mushrooms. They let our imagination run wild as these little toadstools hint of fantasy worlds when photographed in a certain way. This is how I recreate my own little fantasy world.
Earlier this year, Pentax released the K-1, its first foray into the digital full-frame market and a camera surrounded by a healthy dose of excitement and intrigue. I've had the chance to use it and some of the new system lenses for the past month. It's a fun and highly capable system that could be just the ticket for many photographers.
I'm a big admirer of Lindsay Adler and her work, and I spoke to her recently regarding her most valuable career mistake. As you can imagine, my ears pricked up when I heard Lindsay was doing a walkthrough of how she conducts a fashion shoot from preparation all the way through to post-production.
Light painting is one of the rights of passage photographers have to try at some juncture. I enjoyed playing around with it in the early days, but what surprised me is I have used the techniques commercially on several occasions; from creating better backgrounds to my portraits in dark locations to capturing English Heritage sites. The importance of knowing how to light paint isn't necessary per se, but it does help you understand how light works and how your camera exposes a scene.
Without composition there is just visual chaos with no beginning or end, no direction or cycle, no shape or difference between dark and light. This series is the go-to resource for compelling visual storytelling in landscape photography as it provides a condensed overview of all the elements that make up a stunning image. This week: Advanced tools that will nick the attention of the viewer and guide them carefully through your photograph.
Flying a drone indoors is always a challenge. You have to remain absolutely calm and collected, and generally, I highly recommend not flying a drone indoors, especially if you're new to them in general. That's also the warning that Filmmakers Guillaume Juin and Joris Favraud give anyone wanting to recreate this feat. They are a pair of rather brazen drone operators if I've ever seen any, coming together to form their company BigFly. Normally, the risk of flying a drone inside of a structure is already high, but usually, the highest risk is to the safety of your equipment, as the ease with which your drone could come into contact with any number of disastrous endings is increased exponentially.
Freckles are in. As more and more brands and publications start opting to hire models with realistic “imperfections,” we’re bound to see more and more ads with speckled skin. Score one for realistic expectations! However, lighting freckles isn't easy, as most broad light sources will flatten the tone in the skin. Here’s a quick tutorial on how to bring back and enhance freckles in Adobe Lightroom.
I stumbled across this video that was posted by B&H back in 2012 and was quickly amazed by the amount of information I was able to gather in terms of composition techniques. When starting out in photography, most people learn the rule of thirds, take off running, and never look back. Give this video a watch, and you will open an entire new world of tools for your image creation.
Your online portfolio is one of the most critical tools you have at your disposal when looking to make a sale. Clients are looking to your website as a sign of both your skill and professionalism. The customer wants to find a photographer who is the perfect fit so your website needs to be built to enable that feeling. Below are four priorities that photographers often overlook when designing their websites.
I attended the Canon Roadshow, held once a year, where Canon gets to show off their latest gear. We got to have lunch with the Canon people, and we also had great keynote speakers who told their story and presented their work and how they do what they do. One of the speakers, Laura McCullagh, shoots live music events. She's shot acts like Die Antwoord and Mumford and Sons, to name a few. We were fortunate to get some pointers from her on how to get great shots.
For most of us living in the Northern Hemisphere, the wedding season has begun, and the first images are being sent out to brides and grooms. Delivering pictures to clients is more important than most photographers would like to think, especially for weddings. It is an opportunity to surprise customers, get referrals, and sell more prints or albums. The smallest details will help you separate your business from the crowd.
