Recent Education Articles

Five Steps to Incredible Minimalist Photography

Minimalism is a fascinating genre of photography and one, which can deliver some incredible and powerful photos. This is the genre where “less is more” really shines. Here I share five steps you can take to create incredible minimalist photos.

Tips for Working With a Glamour Model

Depending on where you are at in your photography career and what genre you specialize in, you may not have a lot of experience with models on set. If you are still unsure of how to interact with a model, especially if they are a glamour model, here are some things to keep in mind.

Six Photoshop Features All Photographers Must Master

It doesn't matter what kind of photographer you are, chances are your images will benefit from being edited in some way. If you are serious about your pictures looking their best, these six key Photoshop techniques are well worth mastering.

7 Things Professional Landscape Photographers Do

Landscape photography is a challenging genre that takes a combination of good technique, creative vision, strong editing skills, and the ability to plan ahead. If you are just starting out and looking to improve your work, check out this great video tutorial that features an experienced landscape photographer discussing seven things professionals do to ensure they consistently produce worthwhile images.

3 Basic Editing Tips with Before and After Images

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. To satisfy those of you who are just like me, here's the second post in my before/after series which not only shows you my images straight out of camera and the final product, but which uses each image to explain a bit more about what I do in post. If you want to dig in way further than these, I cover every step of my post processing in my Editing + Consistency class. Enjoy, friends!

A Beginner’s Guide to Creating Smooth Skin Using Lightroom

Lightroom isn’t as powerful as Photoshop when it comes to retouching portraits, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use it to get good results. This guide will get you started using Lightroom and also give an idea as to why it can be faster and more effective than diving into Photoshop.

How To Enhance Eyes Using Lightroom

Everyone has heard the saying, "The eyes are the window to the soul." There is a lot of truth to this when it comes to photographs. The first thing many of us look at when we see an image are the eyes of the subject. In this article I'm going to teach you how to enhance eyes using the brush tool in Lightroom.

How Simple Lighting Techniques Can Dramatically Enhance Your Photography

It doesn't matter if you shoot weddings, portraits, or work in the commercial world. With the smallest about of kit and a little bit of knowledge you really can dramatically improve the quality of your images. The guys over at Westcott have produced a fascinating video with Chicago-based photographer and educator Bob Davis. This demonstration is focused on how to enhance the look of your groom preparation shots, but I actually think these tips can be used in various genres of photography.

Here Are 11 Mistakes Beginner Photographers Often Make

When you're first starting out in photography, it can feel absolutely overwhelming trying to learn, assimilate, and execute the information and techniques you need to know in tandem with your artistic vision. This helpful video will show you 11 common mistakes beginners make to help you avoid them and advance your work more quickly.

A Look at Some Common Beginner Portrait Photography Mistakes

Portrait photography is one of the most popular genres out there, and it brings its own challenges and pitfalls. If you are new to portraiture and would like to improve your work, check out this fantastic video tutorial that details some common mistakes beginners make and what you can do to fix them or avoid them entirely in the first place.

5 Useful Hidden Lightroom Features

Lightroom is a more powerful and nuanced application than we sometimes give it credit for, and there are some useful features that are easy to overlook. This awesome video tutorial will show you five hidden features in Lightroom that can make your work life a lot easier and more efficient and even improve the quality of your images.

The Studio Essential - How To Construct High-Quality V-Flats And Why

Ever since I started diving into studio photography the term “V-Flat” has been a big mystery to me. Google and YouTube have been the quintessential resource for photography knowledge and for whatever reason there isn't much detailed information on how to construct a V-Flat or what purpose they actually serve. It took time to sift through the noise of nonsensical DIY fabrication and even more time to unfold the enigma of this studio essential.

16 Camera Settings You Should Change for Landscape Photography

Modern cameras come with a huge variety of customizable settings, and it is well worth taking the time to go through yours and set it up to ensure you have the best chances of coming home with the shots you want. This excellent video tutorial discusses 16 settings landscape photographers should consider changing from their defaults to get the best possible images.

How to Properly Clean Your Lenses, Filters, Mirror and Sensor

If you're like me, the thought of touching, let alone fully cleaning your precious glass or even worse, your sensor, strikes fear into your heart. It's a skill every photographer should have, however. Learn how to do it safely here.

Transform Your Living Room Into A Practical Studio And Making It Work

I guess I’ve always been different; I’ve never really yearned for a big studio space. As a freelance photographer, the majority of my clients require that I come to their location and shoot on-site. I have a strict organizational-mobile system to transport all my equipment which includes over 8 strobes, 2 scrims and a plethora of staging props and modifiers. I’m asked quite often about my studio and where I shoot all these incredible portraits and dramatic fashion editorials. The answer is easy; my living room.

3 Reasons Why You're Failing As a Photographer

If you consider yourself an artist, with the sole intent of getting hired to create beautiful imagery and hope that people are going to come knocking at your door to buy your images, congrats! You’ve failed as a photographer in 2015.

Common Beginner Wide Angle Mistakes in Landscape Photography

Wide angle lenses are normally the optic of choice for the majority of landscape photography, but they come with their own unique set of challenges and potential pitfalls. If you are new to landscape photography, this informative video details some of the common mistakes beginner landscape photographers make with wide angle lenses and what you can do to fix them.

Are Prime or Zoom Lenses Better for Portrait Photography?

One of the most fundamental choices you can make is whether to use a prime or a zoom lens. For portraiture, there are benefits and drawbacks to each option. If you are new to portrait photography and wondering which is right for you, check out this great video tutorial that will show you the pros and cons of both to help you make the right choice.

7 Things Photographers Should Do While Stuck at Home

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.

Reddit Answers Why You Should NOT Use Only The Center Auto Focus Point

I am a regular Reddit user and am constantly browsing the subreddit /r/photography. Yesterday an awesome question was asked that got some great replies and I knew I had to share it. The user Lemonfighter asked "Is there anything wrong with just always using the center Auto Focus point?" At first I thought "Not really, just do what feels right." I went into the comment section and was surprised with some awesome replies instead.

Using Flash To Change Your Photo From Day Into Night

If you like shooting your muse in a night-like environment, you might run into some difficulties. With flash, it is also possible to create the night during daylight. This way, it becomes much easier to shoot your muse, without all the difficulties you encounter while shooting in the dark. On top of that, it isn’t difficult at all.

Everything You Need to Know About Capturing Sharp Photographs in Any Situation

Some photographers like that soft, ethereal feel as they specifically seek out types of plastic to stick in front of the lens, or even go so far as to buy defocus control lenses and LensBabies that will allow them to distort an otherwise true image. That has its value. But this isn’t for that. This is the new go-to guide for absolutely everything to know about how to get your images to be tack sharp. Get ready to dive in: this is a no-questions-left-behind study on sharpness.

How to Create Deep, Gorgeous Sunset Tones in Lightroom

Is it just me, or is Lightroom Classic getting more powerful as a standalone editing tool with every update? Learn how to use some of its wonderful tools to create gorgeous, rich sunset tones in your images.

Simplifying the Tone Curve

Lightroom’s tone curve is one of those tools that is often looked over, especially with beginners. This video will explain everything you need to know to get started using this powerful tool.

One of the Least-Known but Most Useful Sliders in Lightroom

Lightroom is an intricate program with dozens of controls, and among all those options, a few hidden gems are waiting for you. This excellent video tutorial takes a look at one of the least-known but useful sliders.

3 Great Poses for Photographing Women

In some sense, the objective, quantifiable nature of things like exposure settings and lighting ratios makes them a little easier to learn than something more subjective like posing, which is why a lot of photographers struggle with it. If you would like to improve your portrait posing, check out this great video tutorial that will show you three surefire poses for photographing women.

Why Dynamic Range Is My Favorite, and Why I Couldn't Care Less About Megapixel Count and ISO

Over the years, camera companies have been going head to head in the battle for the best camera sensor. This battle has always focused around the amount of megapixels a camera has to offer, and as of lately, how high the ISO can go. Because of this most consumers, including a significant amount of photography veterans, think that megapixel count is the end-all be-all of sensor technology, with ISO following up as a close second. At this point in the game though, I wish the sensor battle would switch gears and focus more on the dynamic range.