Photography can be a bit daunting when you are new to the craft, with a wide range of technical and creative concepts and techniques sitting before you. If you are unsure of where to start, check out this great video tutorial that details some of the most important fundamentals and how they affect the creation of an image.
Cross polarization transforms images of a variety of clear subjects into rainbow, fluorescent works of art with equipment that you probably already have. Learn the easy process behind this clever optical technique to create some masterpieces of your own.
Creating an effective staging plan for property photography involves careful planning, attention to detail, and a focus on highlighting the property's best features. Here's a comprehensive staging plan that I use that includes the use of props and emphasizes cleanliness.
Manual and aperture priority are two of the most common modes photographers use, but when you are new to the craft, it might be difficult to know when to use which. This excellent video tutorial discusses manual and aperture priority modes, including how they work and when each is appropriate.
Tone curves can be a rather intimidating tool for many photographers, and as such, many users avoid using them, opting instead for the editing sliders in Lightroom. However, curves are a tremendously powerful, precise, and versatile tool for performing a ton of editing tasks, and it is well worth learning them. This helpful video tutorial will show you everything you need to know to take full advantage of curves in Lightroom.
I picked up a Fujifilm X-T5 last December shortly after it was released. Originally, I purchased it as a backup camera to be used primarily for concert and street photography. After a short time, however, I fell in love with the camera and began to use it as my go-to choice for most of my portrait work. But does it hold up for heavy professional work?
I've been using filters for my photography for more than ten years, and for the last five, I have used filters made by Kase. Just recently, I switched my filter system to what I think is the perfect filter kit for landscape and architecture photography. In this article, you'll find a detailed review of it.
Few people enjoy getting soaked in the rain, and as such, it can be tempting to avoid even heading out when the drops start flying. Nonetheless, if you are willing to brave the inclement weather, it can make for some interesting landscape images. This great video follows an experienced landscape photographer as he deals with heavy rain and tries to make worthwhile images.
Parent dances, such as the mother-son dance and father-daughter dance, are critical events during most wedding receptions. They are opportunities to capture beautiful, emotional moments that showcase key relationships in your client’s lives. They also give photographers plenty of opportunities to showcase their creativity with interesting compositions, impactful lighting, and more. To help you take better parent dance photos, here are six essential tips.
As outdoor recreation areas become more crowded, the adverse effects on the landscape become more evident. Landscape photographers can help set the example by practicing Nature First Principles while we are out in nature photographing these beautiful scenes.
Lightroom has grown from a cataloging application with basic editing capabilities to an advancing post-processing program capable of tackling a huge range of creative needs. If you are new to using Lightroom and feeling like the full gamut of features is a bit daunting, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced pro showing you 59 Lightroom terms and tools you will need to know in order to get around the program.
Photoshop remains the gold standard for advanced landscape photo edits, and in recent iterations, we have seen some remarkable steps forward, with some features giving photographers the ability to make drastic edits with just the click of a button. If you are ready to update your toolkit, check out this fantastic video tutorial that explores some of the newest features and shows you how to leverage them in a landscape image edit.
Learning to use off-camera flash can feel quite daunting, especially when you combine it with natural light in an outdoor environment. Once you understand and grow comfortable with a few fundamental principles and techniques, though, you will find the entire process much more intuitive and easier to tackle. This fantastic video tutorial features an experienced photographer walking you through an engagement shoot using off-camera flash and natural light to help you learn those crucial fundamentals.
Embarking on my journey as a landscape photographer has been a thrilling ride filled with exploration, challenges, and countless awe-inspiring moments. Over time, this pursuit has not only honed my technical skills but also imparted invaluable life lessons. In this article, I'm excited to share the five most significant insights I've gained as a landscape photographer, each of which has enriched my craft and my perspective on the world. They may also be applicable to you. Or, perhaps you have more to add?
Between the rule of thirds, camera settings, guidelines on focal length, depth of field calculations, and more, landscape photography can be a rather prescriptive genre. And while it can be good to have rules that increase your chances of coming home with a keeper, they can also be overly restrictive. This great video tutorial features an experienced landscape photographer discussing why feel is more important than following the rules in the genre.
Hot spots can be quite frustrating, as they can be a significant distraction on an otherwise compelling photo and are not particularly easy to remove. It is not impossible to get rid of them, though. This awesome video tutorial will show you everything you need to know to even out those hot spots using Photoshop.
In this video tutorial by Christian Möhrle, you'll learn a great technique for improving your wide-angle photos by enlarging distant subjects in your landscape photos.
Pricing is one of the trickiest aspects of being a professional photographer, and there are no hard and fast rules on how to go about setting yours to ensure you bring in the most income from your work. Nonetheless, there are some important principles every photographer should understand. This helpful video tutorial features an experienced pro discusses two common pricing mistakes photographers make and how to fix them.
In the past few years, Lightroom has undergone some major revisions and has emerged with some powerful new tools that make it a far more capable image-editing application than in past years. One of its newest features is Point Color, which gives you far more control for editing the colors in an image, and this excellent video tutorial will show you everything you need to know about how the tool works and how to use it on your own photos.
When autumn arrives, it's time to photograph mushrooms. Creating something unique can be challenging, but you don't need to use the most expensive or elaborate equipment, nor do you need a macro lens. I have some nice ideas for you when you go out photographing mushrooms.
A macro lens enables you to capture small subjects at a 1:1 size ratio. This means the subject appears the same size on the sensor. If a mushroom is 2.4 cm in height, it will also be 2.4 cm on the sensor. For example, with a full frame sensor measuring 36 x 24 mm, the mushroom fits perfectly within the...
Whether you are a professional or a hobbyist, going through a period where you are not feeling creatively inspired can be incredibly frustrating. So, what can you do to break out of that and get back to making photos that make you and your clients happy? Sometimes, the best solution is to become your own customer.
As a commercial artist, your portfolio is your introduction to the world. So what is the best approach to making sure that you are always putting your best foot forward?
Many camera bodies and lenses have come to the forefront since the Nikon D850 was first announced in 2017, but none pair together quite as well as the D850 and Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8E ED VR. Here is why they are still a perfect pairing.
Flash can feel a bit daunting to photographers who have not used it before, particularly when you take it outside and have to learn to balance it with the sun. You will find it a lot easier if you master a few fundamental concepts first, and it will make you a far more versatile portrait photographer. If you are ready to start learning, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you everything you need to know.
Adobe Max is a three-day conference in Los Angeles, CA attended by designers, illustrators, photographers, and social media content creators. Attendees can watch presentations by Adobe representatives and attend educational sessions given by independent creators. This year, Generative AI was mentioned in many presentations. This feature is implemented in unique ways across the programs that make up Adobe’s Creative Cloud, and it often feels to the user that they have more effective communication with programs that have AI enhancement.
In the beginning, the iPad was mostly an entertainment device meant for content consumption, but it quickly evolved into an incredibly powerful device for content creators, and when combined with Adobe's apps, it is an intriguing option for photographers on the go. This awesome video tutorial will show you how to use the iPad to edit landscape images using both Lightroom and Photoshop.
Astrophotography can be one of the neatest and most interesting genres, but it is also one of the most challenging, requiring a lot of very specific knowledge and techniques, as well as some very specialized gear. If you would like to get started with astrophotography, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you the ins and outs of the genre.
I have been searching for a portable power station that can meet my energy needs on the go and power my home office during power outages for some time now. And with the Bluetti AC60, I found a compact solution.
Prepare to learn new skills! Make the most of color grading using the Blend If sliders to take your color grading further.
One of the most rewarding things you can do as a photographer is to see your images printed. Prints can be made either at home or at specialist labs, such as WhiteWall. Having dominated the fine art printing industry for years, WhiteWall keeps on evolving. Their latest innovation is related to monochrome photography.
What are your editing workspace essentials, and how much impact do they have on how efficient and/or comfortable you are when you do post-production? Here are some tools that might give your workflow a boost.
There are a few things that make life as a photographer much easier. Here are some simple changes I made that you might consider adopting to help you capture the shot.
Creating a successful image is almost always a two-step process: shooting and editing. As you grow comfortable with your camera, you should also work on developing your post-processing skills. This excellent video tutorial features an experienced photographer sharing some of the fundamentals of editing photos and offering some helpful advice sure to put you on the right track.
Every now and then, the opportunities for creativity can be found right under your nose, or in your own backyard, in this case. I turned my backyard into a photo studio to create wild conceptual images.
I wish we’d all just move on. The format that used to be a compromise between image quality and price in the film days is nowadays being taken as the sole possibility for a serious photographer, and if you are not part of the gang, you apparently deserve to be ridiculed.
Winter photography can be a magical yet challenging experience due to the conditions that come with cold weather, snow, sleet, high winds, and limited daylight. As photographers, we can prepare for this in advance to ensure we're insulated and dry enough to keep out the elements that this season throws at us, but what about our equipment?
We are absolutely inundated with gear news and discussion every single day from all corners of the internet, and while gear can certainly be a lot of fun, it is important to remember that it is the means, not the end. This important video will show you that you can create fantastic images even with a camera that is 15 years old.
ACD Systems marks 30 Years of Innovation with the latest edition of their flagship software, ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2024. It’s available for preorder and has some exciting-looking new features.
Huge advancements in technology have changed the way we approach editing. But maybe before adjusting our photos, we should consider what harm it is doing.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a portable flash at the level of Profoto A2 in terms of build quality, size, weight, power, ease of use, and consistency. It is genuinely a tiny marvel for any photographer. It is almost hilariously simple to set up, and yet, it delivers terrific results. Best of all, if you buy a Profoto A2 between now and October 31, you get a Connect remote for free.
Landscape photography is a captivating art form that allows us as photographers to capture the beauty of the natural world. Among the many composition techniques employed by landscape photographers, the Rule of Thirds has long been considered a fundamental guideline for creating visually appealing and balanced shots. However, in this article, we will explore a less conventional viewpoint: why you should consider ignoring the Rule of Thirds in landscape photography. We will delve into the limitations of this rule and uncover situations where breaking away from it can lead to more unique, compelling, and creatively satisfying landscape photographs.
The Sony a7R series of mirrorless cameras has long been respected for offering some of the best resolution and image quality available in a full frame camera in combination with many of the innovative features Sony's options have been known for, making it incredibly versatile in a variety of applications. The latest version, the a7R V, comes with a laundry list of impressive capabilities, and this great video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in usage.
Every now and then, I hear words of wisdom worth sharing. Here are the most recent.
As I stood at the edge of the tranquil beach, a sense of both calm and disappointment washed over me. Having checked the weather forecasts closely, I was once again feeling let down as instead of crisp morning light, I instead had low clouds and very little light.
