This is a post for all the dude photographers out there. I really don't want to be writing this, because I don't think it should have to be said, but apparently it does. This post is simply a call and reminder to treat your models with the respect that they deserve. I want to talk about respecting your subject's boundaries in general, but I also want to address the psychological part within men's minds that makes them want to see women naked.

Heck yes! I'm pretty dang pumped about this post. Ever since the middle of high school, I've been immensely interested in "the process." You know, that middle bit between point A and point B that nobody but the artist ever sees. I've always loved peeking behind the scenes to see where something started and what kind of work and thought went into creating the finished product. I know I'm not the only one because a lot of you have asked to see before/after's of certain shots on my Facebook so I decided to create a new series that not only shows you the before/after's (hover...

I'm not a fan of Canon's recent decision to ban some third-party manufacturers from selling RF mount lenses. It's a smart short-term financial decision, but the long run is a different story.

Getting ready for your next trip? Travel is hard enough as a tourist, but as a nomadic photographer, a lot can go wrong. Whether the plane runs out of overhead storage or you’re in a car crash, solid packing will help you to comfortably face the unexpected so you can shoot from dawn till twilight, then change plans last minute with as little inconvenience as possible. Here are some techniques that have helped me nail ultralight packing to travel indefinitely as a nomadic photographer—or skip to the end for my one bag packing list!

About 5 years ago, when I was still in my Photography college in Australia, our teachers would regularly introduce us to the new and noteworthy Australian photographers' and digital artists' work. Among others there was one artist, whose work really grabbed my attention and I have been watching her growth and success ever since.

Boudoir photographers tend to the fears and concerns of their clients on a daily basis. In a boudoir session, the client is not only stripping down layers of clothing, but also layers of built-up emotional mindsets on body issues.

Hello, I'm Steven Meyer-Rassow. I was contacted by Wise Ink creative publishing, who wanted a photographically based cover image for an upcoming fantasy title by A.M. Justice. The following is the process of photography and design that went into the creation of the final cover.

The following is a guest post by Patrick Moreau of Stillmotion:

As image makers, we know the power a photo can have. Whether in the context of a wedding, a magazine ad, or even a simple a snapshot of your kids when they weren’t expecting it; the emotional effect of a photograph can be all-encompassing. Worth a thousand words, as they say. But can a photograph change the lives of thousands of people around the world?

Ahhh…..rejection! Everyone has experienced rejection many times in their life, but it is especially prevalent in the fashion and photography industries. I’m sure you have been rejected as a photographer before, whether it was by a gallery, publication, or model you have wanted to work with. I can safely say that if I had a dollar for every time I experienced rejection as a model, well, you get the picture. I have been rejected by some of the sweetest photographers, who unintentionally made me feel like I should never have reached out. Similarly, some photographer’s rejection tactics needed some major fine tuning and left me feeling fed up with how some people in the industry tend to act. As a model, I 100% understand that I will be rejected 9 times out of 10. It is completely okay to say no! Saying no is healthy! But it should be done with professionalism, tact, and respect.

For the last 2 years I've made my living shooting architecture with DSLRs, mostly short videos of California's fanciest multifamily apartment communities. When my client Synergy Corporate Housing asked me to continue that mission with all of their international properties in 10 major cities across 8 European countries, the first thing I thought when I saw the 32-day itinerary was, "bring a Hasselblad."

Jake Hicks is a U.K.-based photographer who adds dramatic color to his portraits. He was kind enough to share a few tricks he uses to achieve his signature technique. It doesn’t matter if you are using studio lights or speed lights, this is a simple recipe you can use to color and bounce light and create different effects in your work.

Recently I was lucky enough to have a day off, something that doesn't happen too often. I woke up that morning feeling a little burnt out from the daily non-stop marathon that is living and working as a freelancer in New York City. I dragged myself out into the kitchen, made myself some bacon and eggs and sat down to eat. Over breakfast, I realized I hadn't made a picture for myself in almost a full year.

Running a photography business is challenging and earning your first client can be tough. In this article, I will show you how to charge for photography in the three stages of a beginner photographer's career.

For many photographers, the holy grail of “making it,” as a photographer is a sponsorship. The truth is that it’s really not as difficult as it sounds, but to make it easier, I’ll give you three tips to landing your first sponsorship.

I’ve been sent a few messages asking how to get noticed by the people we want to work with and how to approach them. I’m never sure I can help because I’m no expert, but I do try as best as I can. In order to keep my advice consistent, this article sets about the rules I made for myself. By no means are they perfect, you may not agree with many of the points and I know for a fact that I sometimes fail in following them myself. But in general they work for me and I don’t mind sharing what I’ve found.

Having a successful business means you are often changing, learning, and creating a better path to success. In this video, I'm discussing four habits that I have seen with many photographers actively participating in.

Today, Fstoppers has teamed up with NiSi filters to launch a brand new, free tutorial series with landscape photographer Elia Locardi. Not only are we releasing new video lessons every week, but we are also giving away over $600 worth of free gear with every video. Welcome to our long exposure adventure in Puerto Rico!

Lately, I have been loving an edgier look to light and images I have seen in a few other photographers' works. As I mainly shoot beauty, I don't really get to light like that very often, but I wanted to give it a go myself and try some edgier and harder looking light.

That’s right, I said it: If you aren’t sharing content on Instagram, you are shutting the door on a world of potential opportunities! With over 200 million users, this social network has the power to become one of your most important means of promoting your photography business.

Photographers, with another 10-15 seconds per Instagram post, you can enjoy the benefits of stronger SEO. Here are the steps that you need to take get a boost within Instagram and on search engines.

I’m not going to lie, sometimes I feel like photographers try too hard. Don’t get me wrong, we all need to try to improve ourselves, and that I completely agree with. It’s a new year, and with that comes new challenges and new opportunities for us to better ourselves as creatives. Challenges aren’t supposed to be easy, and are certainly supposed to push you to step outside your comfy little box.

Creative entrepreneurs have a different hill to climb compared to other professions. Other professions have a set path to follow. Sign up for the right classes, then pass the predetermined tests, and qualify for a piece of paper that tells the market you are good enough.

Like many of you, I have a very small marketing budget. I personally cannot justify spending a ton of money to run long campaigns on Facebook or Google Ad Sense in order to promote my work. Facebook also regularly changes their algorithm for organic posts, so it’s just not always wise to throw money at them and hope for qualified leads. In this video, I’m going to share five ways that I’m marketing my photography business for under $50.

I get asked day in an day out; "What is that big black box on the front of your lens?" Well, it's a matte box that mounts glass filters in front of your lens... the LEE Filters System. In attempt to cover the question I recieve so often, I wanted to address it all and explain the system, but my friend and fantastic photographer Dave Kai Piper beat me to the punch! So, instead of writing my own article on the matter, I thought it best to simply share his article...

When I first started photography at 15 years old, I didn’t know anything about organizing a team. I would bribe my younger sister into being my model for the afternoon, pulling clothing from her wardrobe and doing the makeup (really badly) myself. I was worlds away from the average fashion photography set, which typically involves a team of agency represented models, a professional make up artist, hair stylist, set designer, wardrobe stylist, and assistants. This is how I conducted my photoshoots for years, and after a while I realized that I needed to expand.

You've heard your industry colleagues say it. You've read the news articles and listened to the business pundits. The economy is in a recession, and your photography business is suffering.

As you can imagine I spend a lot of time in Photoshop. And when you spend as much time in Photoshop as I do, you want to work as fast and efficiently as you can. Knowing your way around the layers panel in Photoshop is a great way to maximize efficiency. I teamed up with Fstoppers to create a video tutorial that focuses specifically on the layers panel in Photoshop. In this video, I’lll show you have to maximize your workflow with a series of practical tips and shortcuts. This video is great for beginners, however, even if you’re well versed in Photoshop, you may just learn something new.

Photography is a game of emotions. Think about some of the most powerful images that you’ve ever seen. The ones that have left a lasting impression on you. Sure, they might have gorgeous tones, light, or composition, but the reason they have stuck with you for so long is probably the emotion or mood that the image evokes. Our job as a photographer is to control those moods and to decide which emotion we want our viewer to feel.

Directors each have their signature shots, or do they? Creative trademarks like Wes Anderson’s symmetry, Alfred Hitchcock’s zoom-but-not-zoom, and Quentin Tarantino’s trunk shots might be central to their success — but so are the thousands of “normal” frames surrounding these shots: connective tissue often obtained from second units, stock archives, and even other films.

Photographing female models can be an exciting and creative process, but it's essential to approach it with professionalism and sensitivity. Here are some tips based on my own experience to help you get the best results during a photo shoot with a new model.

A photography studio can be exciting and profitable. It can also have major pitfalls that you should be aware of.

Ever tried to photograph a subject, only to find out that you don’t have enough depth-of-field to get the whole thing in focus? Typically our first reaction is to stop down to increase our DOF. Unfortunately that doesn’t always give us the results we expect. The first issue is that even with our lens stopped down to its smallest aperture, we still may not have our subject completely in focus.

So, you’ve discovered a passion for photography and after lots of practice, you’re starting to feel more and more confident in your skills. Great! But what comes next? How do you take this growing passion from a hobby to a full-fledged career? When you’re trying to figure out how to make the jump from amateur to professional, figuring out the best way to get there can be a bit daunting, especially if you didn’t have a formal photography education. So we asked a few of the photography mentors at RookieUp to share a few of the major tips and lessons they learned while growing their own successful photography careers.

Photographers opt for the simple hourly wage, and while it's better than working for free, I still think it's bad for the long-run. I can only imagine the comment section from hourly photographers at the bottom of this blog post!

So you found the perfect model for your concept, reached out to him or her, agreed on a date, showed up at the location, and are about ready to shoot. You have never met this person in your life. Now what? We have all seen those unfortunate shots taken by our fellow photographers where the client or model looks wildly uncomfortable. We want our models to look at ease in every frame, and this can be accomplished by following these four simple steps.

Most photographers get into the field to pursue their passion; it's when they start to plan the business aspects that they hit the road bumps. Most experienced photographers will tell you that you can't expect to get booked simply because you have good pictures. The only way to become relevant in your niche is to consistently stay in front of your audience. Social media plays a huge part in this – it gives you exposure to your target audience, peers in the industry, and experts at the same time. It is thus an invaluable resource for getting new opportunities and growing your business. Here are 5 tips to help you get the best out of social media.

Guest writer and photographer, Chris O'Dell has an opportunity to travel the world and photograph some of the most beautiful and honest places in the world. With his job as a Minister, Chris often finds himself traveling all over the world, helping local communities and bridging the gaps between cultures and people. Listen closely, as he shares the tips he's learned from over 20 years of experience.

Your brand is more than just a logo -- it’s the way clients perceive your business, and the likelihood they’ll think of you first when it’s time to hire a photographer. A streamlined brand will help you gain a foothold in your market and earn loyal customers, so don’t let it be an afterthought.