"But why male models," asks Derek Zoolander, which might just be the very question you are asking yourself right now. Why pointedly distinguish shoot styles between genders?
The inverse square law is one of the most fundamental and important rules when it comes to lighting in photography, and understanding it can make you a better photographer. This excellent video will introduce you to the law and show you how its affects your work.
It would be nice if we could all have access to beautiful shoot locations on a daily basis, but that simply is not possible for the majority of photographers. That does not mean you can't take interesting portraits in a boring location, however, and this great video will show you five examples of what you can accomplish.
Food photography is a bit of a dark art. In this video, I go behind the scenes on a test shoot with a food stylist at my food photography studio in the UK. Looking at the styling, lighting, and process that creates a day's work.
One of the most versatile techniques any photographer can learn is how to bounce light. This great video will show you an application of bounce flash to create indoor portraits with a more natural look than might be achieved otherwise.
Learning macro photography unlocks subjects for you to shoot that are all around you and so often ignored. With our new tutorial, you can get started on a shoestring budget and create superb results.
Cameras these days have almost endless customization options, and sometimes, it’s hard to know where to begin. So, I’m going to walk through the key settings that I use to make my life shooting weddings a little faster and seamless.
While the dream is to bill global giants for high-end work, the reality is that many photographers and videographers are often doing small jobs for tiny companies. Getting paid on time can be a bit of a battle, so here’s a system to try and advice to consider in order to make sure your invoices don’t disappear.
Despite the fact that it requires certain skills at a certain level, photography is one of the easiest things to do as a job anywhere in the world. But there are some other things to consider if you are relocating to another country.
One of the funnest ways you can spice up a standard portrait is to add gels to your lights. This video will show you how to use them to create color portraits that help your subject really pop.
Can you imagine buying a gorgeous new Ferrari, then storing it in the darkness of your garage forever? Sounds pretty crazy, right? But you could be doing almost the exact equivalent when it comes to your photography.
Adobe's Camera Raw sliders make global tonal adjustments easy. But when working in-depth on a single image in Photoshop, we have even more tools at our disposal to customize and maximize our tonal ranges.
A great coffee table book not only makes for a thoughtful and memorable gift, it acts as a sort of cultured ornament for visitors to flick through while you fetch them drinks. Here are 10 (technically 13) of my favorites.
Using rim lighting can be a great way to create a portrait with a very different look than the more standard shot. If you have not tried it before, this great video will show you how you can use rim lighting (even in a small space) for portraits and walk you through some problem-solving associated with the technique.
The internet is inundated with advice on how to improve your photography, and while a lot of it is good and can certainly help you become better behind the camera, it can be a bit overwhelming trying to take it all in. This excellent video discusses something a lot of us do not do that much, but that will help improve anyone's photography.
No matter if you’re creating your own portfolio or taking photos for paying clients one thing you need to be able to do is create consistent and repeatable results. When looking at images next to one another you will immediately notice if there is a color shift or inconsistent lighting between photographs which can be a detriment to you developing your style or landing the perfect client. Let’s talk about the fastest and easiest way to help elevate your photography and fix those color and exposure issues quickly.
You lose information when an image is saved in JPEG format. This is acceptable, unless you save the same image more than once. Let’s have a look at how much information you really lose.
In 2019, it’s almost unthinkable not to be shooting 4K video, even if it’s not the final resolution of the video you’re delivering to a client. While I’ve made 4K editing work on something even as lowly as a 2013 Macbook Air, chances are, you’ll want a little more horsepower than that. Here’s a video that has you covered on building your own budget 4K editing PC.
Your camera’s menus may be hiding a number of features that can have a huge impact on how you shoot and what your final image looks like. Depending on your model of camera and how you shoot, here are a number of less known settings you should double check.
Getting film developed is expensive, and depending on where you send it, it can take more than a few days. If you find yourself with some old negative film strips and you're wondering how they would look today, check out this fun tutorial for developing them in Photoshop.
Photographers who already made it beyond the beginner's level sometimes have trouble getting out to shoot. Because they know what a good photograph needs, they're afraid they can't deliver that quality. If that's you, then maybe you're the Worst Photographer Ever.
Staring at a perfectly constructed histogram is like listening to an opera singer hit and hold a perfect note. But in trying to get that histogram to look like you're being told it should, you could be ruining potentially great images.
One of the first things almost everyone likes to do when they get their first real professional camera is play with taking long exposures. If you are ready to take your long exposures to the next level, this fantastic video will show you how its done and give you some helpful tips for composing better images.
As photographers, many of us are guilty of capturing images but rarely taking the time to create prints. For those of you who do print your images, you know what everyone else is missing. Recently, NYC-based fashion photographer Lindsay Adler decided to create her first fine art print collection.
What started as a quiet local story in Louisville, Kentucky is quickly becoming national news. Early Saturday morning, USA Today published an opinion piece written by wedding photographer Chelsey Nelson in which she proclaimed herself a victim of Louisville’s Fairness Ordinance.
You might not think there is a huge difference between the way a white and silver beauty dish will render your subject, but they can make quite distinct looks in your portraits, and it is important to know which look you want before you choose one to use. This great video explores the differences between the two.
Professor Hines is a street photographer whose work has a distinctive look and feel that is shaped by his approach. In this short video, he shares some excellent tips for how to shoot and gives an insight into how he creates his images.
Landscape photography is a strange genre when it comes to time management, and it can lead to some difficult decisions when it comes to committing to a location or moving on to somewhere else. This great video discusses some helpful tips for improving your time management and decision-making in landscape photography.
The moment you start working as a photographer for money everything changes. While there are many positives when it comes to being paid to shoot, there are lots of headaches along the way too. Here are seven annoying things that clients will try to do to you, and how best to keep the upper hand in those situations.
Since the mid-2010s, there have been more photographs taken each year than existed in the history of photography. The democratization of photography and the removal of barriers to entry means there are also more professional photographers than ever before in history. Given this steep competitive curve, how is it possible to stand out?
The landscape of the portrait photographer has certainly been in flux over the last decade, in which time we’ve seen photos of people go from unreal alabaster-like skin to something much more real, color grading become prominent, and image resolution grow, even though the consumption of images has moved largely to smaller screens.
It's headed toward Christmas and the vibe on instagram has certainly changed. In this video, I go over how to edit dark and moody photographs.
Adobe's update to Photoshop CC 2020 contains some powerful upgrades and tools but, like any software release, it also has some bugs, quirks and missing tools that users must adapt to. Or, if you take Colin Smith's advice, you can fix them yourself.
Television studio cameras are massive when compared with any DSLR photography setup and are even bigger than most cinematography rigs. Check out this video for a fantastic breakdown of why they tend to be so large and cumbersome.
When it comes to landscape photography, picking a beautiful location is about a quarter of the battle, the rest is timing, execution, and editing. This video has all these elements with the added bonus of two highly skilled photographers just enjoying each others company and having a laugh.
Photoshop 2020 is here, and with it comes a bevy of new and improved features and capabilities. If you are looking to dive into the program, this great video will show you what is new for photographers and give you a tour of the new version.
“Is it difficult or different” should be the stock response to commentary that Capture One is either difficult or has a long learning curve, because the two terms are often conflated, and the reality is C1 is easy (especially the latest versions).
For many creatives, the desire to make things is often the driving force behind everything we do, and business decisions can sometimes take a back seat to this. In this video, photographer and YouTuber Evan Ranft discusses 10 things that he feels helped him bring his business to where it is today.
For the last month, we've teamed up with Wix for a series called "How to Build a Website." In this series, Lee and I talk about some of the advantages and mistakes photographers make when creating their own website. Today, I release my new commercial photography website and walk you through the process.
Of course that title is a tad facetious, but I truly did not expect this much functionality out of what at first seemed like a niche product.
One of the most frustrating things all photographers experience at one time or another is missing a shot because the focus was off. When that happens, the great tips in this video will help you make things right again.
The Canon A-1 is one of the most well known classic film cameras, and even to this day, it is an absolute blast to photograph with and one that I totally recommend trying out. This great video review takes a look at the camera and how it holds up in the modern age.
One of the most nuanced and tricky parts of landscape photography is composition. This helpful video will give you seven great tips to improve your landscape photography compositions.
While a ton of strobes and modifiers might be ideal for creating striking shots, it’s often best to shoot boudoir imagery using natural light to make things flow and keep your model at ease. Experienced boudoir photographer Michael Sasser offers three great tips for using natural light to capture stunning images.
All of us know that if your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough. Here are 10 great methods for shooting on the street without drawing attention to yourself.
There are many ways to skin a cat when it comes to street photography, but this short video from photographer Frederik Trovatten gives you a basic setup with which to get started.
Sometimes, the smallest adjustment to a crop can make your photo much more effective. Check out this video for some tips from someone who consistently puts out jaw-dropping landscape imagery.
So, what did you photograph in the last seven days? What, you didn’t shoot anything in the previous week? Nothing? Too many times, I hear: “there is nothing interesting to photograph” or “I’ve already photographed everything around me.” Well, to me, that means you just aren’t trying hard enough.
How do you improve as a landscape photographer? That question is very hard to answer. I am not talking about settings, composition, or light. I am talking about “landscape photographer” in the broad sense. There is much more to being a landscape photographer than great photos.
A picture is worth a thousand words, and if you do it right, you just might be able to use a photograph to tell a story.
