Recent Opinion Articles

Why Open Source Is in Just About Everything You Use

It always surprises me in photography that the sector as a whole seems wedded to spending money. Not content with the affliction of GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) across amateurs and professionals, the sector likes nothing more than a few extra bags, filters, albums, prints, and yes, software.

Behance Has Updated Your Profile

Showcasing your work as a creative has always been an important aspect of your job. You’re showing your work, and it’s important to do this right. Behance is trying to facilitate this need with their new profiles.

Can Photography Competitions Help You Progress as a Photographer?

There are many photography competitions out there to enter, regardless of your preferred genre. But will they help you improve your photography skills, or are they just for bragging rights? This video looks at photography competitions and what can help progress your photography.

The Best Thing You Can Do for Your Next Idea Is Space Out

When was the last time you stood in a queue or sat on the bus and not taken out your phone to flip down your social feeds, be it Instagram, Snapchat, or Facebook? And, if you can't remember or think about a certain time the past year, you need to think about consciously setting up a stage or time of your day where you actually do nothing, and get bored. Why? Because your best ideas come from your mind being free and unfocused, where it can run off to new areas of thought and consciousness and potentially release a new idea or concept for your next shoot or project. This video explains it in more detail. Pay attention to better not pay attention.

How To Make It Through The Hard Times as an Artist

The life of an artist is often romanticized as living a dream. But what often gets lost in that framing is that the road to happiness more often resembles a roller coaster than a straight line.

What's Your Film Photography Hot Take?

Film photography has seen a resurgence, capturing the hearts of many enthusiasts with its unique charm. What's your hot take on the trend?

What Photography-Related Things Would You Send Into Room 101

A BBC radio and TV series here in the UK is "Room 101." People argue to send things they dislike into the infamous room from Orwell’s book Nineteen Eighty-Four, where they will never be seen again. What would you send there from the world of photography?

Three Things to Help You Achieve Your Dreams in 2019

Have you ever set out to achieve a dream or goal of yours and found yourself not accomplishing what you set out to do? In this quick article, see three things I do to make sure I'm staying on track to achieving my goals.

The Importance of Reaction Shots in Films

Reaction shots are like the icing on the cake for a film scene. Their importance is as significant as the action the reaction is to. In this video tutorial, you will see why directors choose to incorporate such shots.

What Was Your Favorite Photograph From 2021?

We ought to always be looking forward to our photography, but it's also important to add some ceremony to our achievements and use the past as a learning tool for the future. So, what is your favorite photograph from 2021, why, and what can you learn from it?

Kodak Places Its Trusted Name at Massive Risk by Joining Bitcoin Mining Game

Kodak made a number of surprising announcements Tuesday regarding its involvement in cryptocurrency, including the creation of its own, KodakCoin. But nothing risks its name more than the actual Bitcoin mining operation that is rather misleading to likely unwitting consumers, and all at a potential benefit to the company that’s rather uncertain.

Why Do Photographers Love New Gear So Much?

Photographers have an insatiable appetite for new gear. The excitement of unboxing a new camera, lens, or accessory provides a rush of inspiration that compels us to get out and shoot. But why does acquiring the latest and greatest equipment motivate us so much?

How to Structure a Screenplay

With the advent of digital photography, more shutterbugs than ever have taken to calling themselves photographers and many have even gone into business for themselves. Now, with those same digital camera manufacturers offering better and better video options embedded into each iteration of their flagship still cameras, more and more photographers have added the word “filmmaker” to our business cards and taken aim at everything from short films to features. But being a real filmmaker requires more than the ability to just produce stunning images.

Is Photoshop's Clone Stamp Obsolete?

Perhaps no editing tool is ubiquitous than the Clone Stamp. It has been around for decades now, and its uses and versatility are nearly infinite. And yet, we have seen an explosion of ultra-advanced AI-powered editing tools in recent months, which leads to the question: is the Clone Stamp finally obsolete? This interesting video essay discusses the topic while looking at some of those new AI tools.

How Much Do You Value the Process of Creating Images?

Each week it seems, a new camera is released. And with every new release is the lure of new features promising to make the already easy image-making process even easier. This raises the question, do the benefits of easily creating images outweigh the potential benefits we might gain from taking a more challenging approach?

So, You Want to Work With Agency Models? Here's How!

Every few years, some brilliant young mind at an ad agency decides that the best way to promote the imaging capabilities of the latest and greatest upcoming smartphone is to create a series of campaign images on the phone. At this point, it’s a convention but proves the point: “This camera is so great that anyone can take great images with it. You know you want to be that person!”

One of the Best Ways to Grow as a Creative

One of the best ways I have found to improve as a creative has nothing to do with getting the newest camera, educational course, or piece of gear, but it's about increasing your self-awareness and constantly improving your character traits.

I Turned My Photography Passion Into My Career. Do I Regret it?

It’s safe to say we’ve all heard the phrase “love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life.” There is also the antithesis to that, where if you love what you do, you’ll work 24/7. Well, I turned my passion for photography into my career, but the ultimate question is: does it feel like work, and do I regret my decision?

Instafail! Instagram Explains New Terms Of Service

Earlier I posted about Instagram's new terms of service. Instagram has now released a statement concerning their new terms of service that was under the scrutiny... of the entire internet. Following in the footsteps of sites like Twitpic it seems that Instagram either got ahead of themselves or didn't think that users would catch on to its confusing and/or misleading jargon on its TOS update announcement. In a statement entitled, 'Thank You, and we're listening...' on their blog, Instagram clears up some of the perplexing language on the new terms of service.

What's the Advantage of Having Studio Setups Logged In Your Metadata?

Imagine you can open up Lightroom and browse through the lighting setup (a graphic from top down) that shows you what you did during your shoot, where each photo has its lights, and the setup of these lights, all embedded. Would that be beneficial?

From the Gridiron to the Photo Studio: Lessons From the Huddle

Whether you live in a football-crazed nation like America, or are beholden to the whim as another sport, nothing is more exciting than the start of a new season. As the kickoffs are underway, I think today I’ll take it from the gridiron to the studio with a few lessons I learned in the huddle.

Why a Video Project Might Make You a Better Creative

Way back when the Canon T3i was the camera to have, I dabbled in video just enough to get frustrated and quit. Years later and after a lot of trial and error, I’ve made the switch almost entirely to creating short films and commercial work. Here are the big takeaways from my experience.