Are Your Photographs Aesthetic?
Do you want your images to look “good”? Aesthetics will help you understand the value of an image beyond its informative and representative character. Let's ask some great philosophers what they think about it.
Do you want your images to look “good”? Aesthetics will help you understand the value of an image beyond its informative and representative character. Let's ask some great philosophers what they think about it.
Flour bombs to the head, water balloons bouncing off my face, ribbon dancing, beer pours, back flops, a ginger eating cinnamon, and silly string to the face. These are a few of of the things we tried today in slow mo on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus from Apple. Check out the results here.
The dark and moody cinematic look is a popular one that can help make your images pop and catch the viewer's attention. If you're a fan of that style, this fun tutorial will walk you through the entire process of creating the look from normal photos using Photoshop.
The transformation from an average photograph to a masterpiece lies within mastering subtle changes in composition and lighting. This fantastic video tutorial highlights the fine line between a compelling image and one that merely documents a scene.
Creating dramatic headshots using multiple lights doesn't have to be difficult. One of the best ways to become proficient at using a three-light setup is by building it one light at a time. In this article and the accompanying video, I will demonstrate how you can easily create dramatic headshots and portraits using a key light, kicker light, and fill light.
When we start out as photographers, there are so many rules to follow and so many techniques to be applied. So, where do you start? What rules do you follow and what do you avoid? In his new video, Mads Peter Iversen tells you what to avoid and what considerations to make when framing your sho, capturing the image, and post-processing.
It's the unsung hero of your photos, and it's always been improving. It's that little switch on the lens. We've become accustomed to AF, and for good reason. It works, and it works very well.
When you think of studio lighting, you probably think of elaborate multi-light setups, and while those certainly have their place, there's no reason you can't create compelling imagery with a single light. This great video will show you how to achieve exactly that.
The inner journey of our photography careers are often more interesting than the outer. I experienced that first hand this summer, when I got one of my favorite photos of 2019 from my “backyard”.
Photography is a lot of fun, but it can also be a very lonely journey filled with worry and self-doubt. It is important to surround yourself with other like-minded artists and people who inspire you and that you can learn from.
Film photography is experiencing a real surge in popularity, and the beauty of it is that there are decades upon decades of used film cameras available, meaning you have a ton of options in which to find the perfect model for your needs and budget. If you are interested in film photography and ready to purchase a camera, check out this great video that discusses some good options and what to look for.
Architectural photography is an exacting discipline. Consequently, small mistakes can make a large impact on your body of work. In this article, I cover five common mistakes that I’ve observed in architectural photography.
Workflow is everything: it makes your job easier, quicker, and more reliable. Travis Harris is a Miami-based wedding photographer who has one of the better workflows I've seen, and he shares it here.
After Nikon School, PPA, and others offer their online courses and tutorials for free, Photography Life follows suit with their own range of free online courses to help their community during coronavirus.
If you are simply photographing a single person and they are occupying the majority of the frame, it is not hard to know where to place your focus point, but things can get a bit more complicated if you are dealing with a group of people or a particularly intricate scene. This helpful video tutorial will show you everything you need to know to make sure you get the best possible results every time.
In August 2015, I quit all working commitments and took the leap in to full-time photographer. In March 2016, I wrote an article of advice about being a photographer I wish I'd known earlier after I began to scrutinize my performance under the new, professional microscope. Well, time has elapsed, shutters have shut over 100,000 times, and more things have been learned. My photography business has grown in this interim and I found myself thinking about this aforementioned article again. Here are seven of the most important things I have learnt about being a professional photographer that I wish I'd known earlier.
In the past few years, Lightroom has taken some powerful steps forward, making it a versatile and capable editing tool that can accomplish many tasks that used to require a trip to Photoshop. One of the greatest new additions is the ability to use curves in masks. This great video tutorial will show you how to use curves inside the program's masking panel to quickly and easily create powerful and precise edits.
When you're shooting outside of a studio, finding the perfect location can be a bit of a challenge. This great video will show you nine locations with lots of potential that you can likely find somewhere near you.
There are plenty of ways to get better images, we’ve all seen articles on which new camera to purchase, which new laptop will improve your editing, which courses to purchase, or where in the world you can visit to get stunning images. But what about some truly effective ways to improve your ability to get the shot without spending a penny?
In my opinion, mastering negative dodge and burn is the key to any beauty retouch. There are many steps and many hours that go into a great retouch, but negative dodge and burn is as essential, if not more so, than any of them. The term "negative dodge and burn" is one that I first heard from fellow retoucher Pratik Naik. It was the concept of having a specific process of removing distractions and smoothing tonal transitions through dodge and burn that was responsible for one of the biggest jumps in my own personal retouching game.
Not every idea is golden, and not all camera systems are destined to become legends. Digital photography has always grown by leaps and stumbles.
Lightroom contains more customization capabilities under its hood than it might seem initially, but one that rarely gets mentioned is the information the program shows you about your photos. Lightroom actually lets you display all sorts of data in these cells, and taking a few minutes to change their default settings can make your workflow a lot easier. This great video tutorial will show you how to do just that.
Making a good landscape photo is just as much about the editing process as it is about shooting it. While everyone has their own style, there are certain fundamental editing skills every photographer should know, and this great video will show you what they are and how to use them.
It might be easy to overlook the features of the Import dialog in Lightroom when your focus is on simply getting the images onto your computer so you can edit them. However, there are a few nuances to the process that can make the post-import work both more efficient and easier, and this helpful video will show you everything that's possible.
Are your handheld landscape photography photos never quite sharp? Do you struggle with what camera settings to use once you start trying to handhold the camera for your photos? I have five tips to help maximize your success with handheld landscape photography.
Composition is a key aspect of any photo, shaping how a viewer experiences the scene. Here are five tricks to improve your photos.
When you are working with artificial light, you often have to think about not only controlling the flash, but the ambient light as well. That can be a bit of a mystery for a lot of us when we first start working with artificial light, but this excellent video tutorial will demystify the relationship between ambient and artificial light and show you how to take control of both for better images.
One of the biggest leaps you can make as a beginning portrait photographer is taking control of your lighting. It can be daunting at first, but having that skill down is well worth the time and effort. This helpful video will get you started.
Learning photography is a complex process that takes the confluence of a variety of skills and knowledge sets in order to find success. And while there is certainly a ton of specific information you will need to learn, if you follow the five simple rules contained in this helpful video tutorial, you will find yourself ahead of the curve in no time at all.