A black background is a popular and timeless look for a wide variety of applications, but depending on where you are shooting, you might not actually have access to a literal black background. This excellent video will show you how to create one no matter where you are.
While Lightroom is generally used for cataloging, global edits, and basic local edits and Photoshop is used for more advanced post-processing, there is a definite overlap between the features and capabilities of the two applications. This great video details when you should use Photoshop versus when you can afford to stay in Lightroom.
Color grading is one of the best places to have fun stylizing a photo and to add a recognizable personal touch to your images. This fantastic video will show you a quick, powerful, and versatile method for color grading your photos by using gradient maps in Photoshop.
Gels are one of the cheapest and most versatile ways to quickly add a splash of creativity and visual interest to an image. That being said, it is important to use them carefully to avoid the issues that can arise with them. This is where grids can become highly useful, and this great video will show you how you can use them in combination with gels for better images.
A good wide angle lens is a fantastic and versatile tool that can help you create all sorts of interesting images, but they can also be quite expensive. However, when you dive into the world of vintage lenses, there are quite a lot of great deals to be had. This great video features three awesome vintage wide angle lenses, all of which you can buy for under $100 on the used market.
Have you ever seen your own plant grow in a time-lapse? You can, and it’s a great exercise to learn something new about your camera and post-processing.
In August last year, IG Audit — a free web app that allows you to check the authenticity of an Instagram user’s followers — went viral on a wave of press centered around Instagram’s fake follower problem. Just one month later, Facebook’s lawyers abruptly forced the website offline, and IG Audit’s Instagram account of 20,000 followers was deleted. These aggressive moves might be hints of a scandal that Instagram is trying to keep quiet.
One of the most useful and common creative tools a photographer can have in their bag is a neutral density (ND) filter. ND filters come in a variety of different strengths that can have diverse effects on your photos, and this great video will show you how the various options will change your images.
The exposure triangle is probably the most crucial concept every new photographer should learn and master as soon as possible. This excellent video will introduce you to the exposure triangle, how it affects your images, and how to use it to your advantage.
There's no denying that the Coronavirus has changed the world as we know it. The way companies and individuals act towards photography going forward is about to shift dramatically. Are you ready for this?
A photographer has put together this behind-the-scenes video to show how we created a realistic “punch portrait.” Mike Smith has managed to pull off an image of himself seemingly being punched, except there’s one catch – no direct contact was made at all.
Color grading is one of the most important techniques for giving any video a professional touch and developing your own personal style. This helpful video tutorial features a cinematographer and colorist discussing a wide range of color grading techniques, theories, and examples and how you can apply them to your own work.
Lightroom is an intricate program with a wide variety of functions, and it can be easy to overlook some of its features. This fantastic video will show you three lesser-known Lightroom tricks that are really useful in a variety of scenarios.
With most of us stuck at home without our normal shoots to keep us busy, you might be looking for projects that can keep your technical skills sharp and the creative juices flowing. Macro photography is a fantastic genre to dive into right now, and this excellent video will show you five different projects you can try while you are at home.
No doubt, a lot of us are struggling right now and wrestling with uncertain futures, and it can be very helpful to hear a little guidance from an experienced professional. If that is something you could use, this excellent video features a longtime professional discussing the current situation and offering some honest advice on how you can survive this tough difficult time.
A developer is in the process of developing an app that will allow you to “grab” an object using your smartphone and drag it — almost physically — straight into a digital document.
Even if it is not your specialty, product photography is a fantastic way to practice creating precisely crafted lighting. This great video will show you how to create a versatile overhead product lighting setup that you can use on a variety of items and vary to your personal taste.
Setting the proper exposure for a video is different than it is for a still image, but of course, it is just as crucial to get it right as it is with a photo. This fantastic video will show you how to properly expose a video consistently no matter the situation.
Knowing how to objectively evaluate your own work is crucial to growing as a photographer and continuing to offer the best possible images to your clients. This fantastic video will give you a five-step process to evaluating the quality of your photos and understanding where you need to improve.
Sometimes it's the little things that make the world of difference, and that's true of photography too.
This week I spoke with professional motorsports photographer Drew Gibson to find out what 10 things he couldn't live without in his camera bag. With clients such as Aston Martin and Top Gear, Drew certainly knows his way around motorsports photography.
Video editing takes a lot of time and effort, and anywhere you can make your workflow a bit more efficient can really add up in the long run. This great video will give you five helpful tips for editing more quickly in Adobe Premiere.
We are currently locked down in Puerto Rico, and it's literally illegal for us to go outside to take photos, but we found an old lesson we filmed in Alaska that was never released.
There surely is nothing worse than coming home from a shoot and seeing you have missed focus or you have parts of your photo out of focus when you intended for it to be in focus.
Justin and Kirby share some great tips on how to pose normal people. What do you do when your subject isn't an experienced model? Give them lots of encouragement, and show them the poses you have in mind.
Jessica Kobeissi and Kayleigh June share some quick and actionable portrait tips that don't need any special equipment — what's not to love!
Lightroom is a great piece of software, when it works. In my case, it's an essential piece of my workflow for photography. Unfortunately, it's got some major quirks. Some can be particularly frustrating to solve — here's 3 weird tricks that helped when I ran into an issue.
Mary Bel is a single mom of 2 teenage kids, works full time, and finds a small glimpse of love, through self-portraiture.
Phase One’s new XT is the modern-day version of the large format field camera, complete with field camera movements and spectacular large format style lenses. Its distinctive design combined with an IQ4 brain and its innovative tools make for a head-turning technical camera solution.
Many of us are struggling to come up with ideas for photos while stuck in the house, so any suggestions are warmly welcomed!
Composition is a subtle and intricate aspect of landscape photography, and there are a few places where it can go wrong. If composition is something you struggle with in your work, this great video details 10 common mistakes and what you can do to correct them.
A successful portrait takes the confluence of multiple factors, including lighting, composition, location choice, posing, expression, and more. This excellent video will show you how location scouting, composition, and posing came together to create two portraits and give you some helpful tips for your own work.
The Orton Effect is a common technique used on landscape photos that can lend your images a soothing, ethereal glow that can be a great choice for projecting a certain mood. This excellent video tutorial will show you how you can use Photoshop to add the effect to your own landscape images.
Are you daydreaming about traveling while on lockdown? Why not immerse yourself in the beauty of deserts and learn how to capture beautiful landscape images when we're allowed to travel the world once again?
If you are someone who frequently finds themselves coming home with large collections of very similar images, batch editing can save you loads of time and help you ensure more consistency in your edits. This excellent video will show you the power of batch editing in Lightroom.
Artificial lighting can be a lot to try to learn when you are new to the subject, with a wide variety of tools, setups, rules, and techniques to get down. One of the most useful tools is the grid, and this excellent video will introduce you to how they work and when you should consider using them for your own work.
For some beginners — and maybe for some, more advanced enthusiasts — the concepts of color temperature and white balance might be a little confusing. This video, from professional photographer, Omar Gonzales, goes a long way to shedding some light on the subject.
The coronavirus lockdown has led to most creatives stuck at home and having to seriously rethink their work habits and how they can stay productive during this downtime. If that is something you are struggling with a bit, this excellent video features 13 tips and ideas for being productive while you are at home.
We've all heard that gear isn't everything, so here is three professional photography setups for under $1,000.
Lightroom is an intricate program, and for many photographers, it serves as the central hub for their images, making it crucial that you develop good habits in how you use the application. This excellent video discusses five common mistakes beginners make when using Lightroom and what you can do to improve your workflow.
In many of my shoots over the last year, I have opted to use only LED continuous lights over my strobes, and I can only see that trend continuing. Here's why I think you ought to consider LEDs if you haven't tried them yet.
One of the best ways to continually improve your photography business is to keep educating yourself. If you’re looking for opportunities to educate yourself from home, there are plenty of options available online. Learn more about how you can self-educate in photography right from the comfort of your home.
In this video, I look at some of the dos and don'ts of photography websites. Although there are many ways to skin a cat, there are some things that are real turn-offs for potential photography clients. Here are my top five tips.
Filmmaker Mark Bone has just discovered that some free software from Sony can stabilize footage from his FX9 to the point that he’s wondering how often he will ever need to use a gimbal in the future. Check out this short video.
If you are interested in beauty photography, you might be used to complex lighting setup to produce the often intricate lighting you see in the final images. And while these sorts of multi-light setups certainly have their place, you might be surprised by just how much you can accomplish even using only natural light. This excellent video will show you how a photographer lit, shot, and edited this natural light beauty photo.
We all have a bit of time on our hands right now, and if you want to set up a photography business or perhaps reassess your current position, this is a great time to do it and this video offers advice on how to name your business and work out who it is that you are.
The raw versus JPEG debate is one of my favorite topics. As a software developer and photo nerd, I tend to gravitate towards the technical side of things.
It's a very mixed feeling: you are happy they like the shot, but you are also disappointed that it's not sharp. I'm going to share my way of dealing with the situation, but I am also curious about your way of handling the problem.
It’s no secret that a ton of people are stuck at home right now. So, while there are a lot of great things to watch on Netflix, here are seven things you can do to help your business while stuck at home.
If you are someone who frequently comes home with loads of related images that you edit in a similar fashion, it will save you a ton of time if you learn how to take advantage of Lightroom's batch-editing capabilities. This excellent video will show you everything you need to know to be up and running.
