If you love photography, there’s no doubt that you want to know the best ways to improve your photography. There are countless blogs and articles on this subject alone; what I’m going to do is drop five ideas that might help you become better at photography.
Building a robust and strong photography portfolio is something that takes a lot of effort, persistence, and patience, and many of us spend years before we have a decent collection of images we are really proud of. So, how much persistence does it really take?
Composition has rules that transcend all visual mediums, but playing to the equipment you're using can still be helpful. In this video, one photographer walks through his favorite techniques for better film photographs.
If you knew for certain that you would succeed, what move would you make in 2022?
Would you finally pitch yourself to that crush client? Would you pivot to include a new genre in your portfolio? Would you charge what you know you’re worth but you’ve been too scared to ask for?
Just like everything in life, Photoshop techniques change or require slight adjustments. What may have been perfect two years ago might not necessarily be perfect now. And so it is with changing colors of objects in Photoshop. Here is the latest on how to do it effortlessly.
They hold you down in landscape photography, they bring you to make wrong decisions out in the field, they make you blind for finding compositions, and they even kill your creativity. Knowing about them and avoiding them makes you a better photographer.
Buying new camera gear can be very exciting, but it can also drain your bank account rather quickly if you are not careful about it. If you are a newer photographer and wondering how to find the right gear for yourself without overspending, this helpful video tutorial will run you through the options and their pros and cons.
Learning photography and trying to create better photographs can be a daunting task when you're just starting. Here are some guidelines I've taught in my workshops to help new photographers create stronger images.
These ideas can apply to any genre of photography, but I'm primarily a landscape photographer, so I tend to use those examples.
Simply put: mastering lighting, camera settings, and editing is, of course, crucial to becoming a financially successful photographer, but it is not enough. If you want to find success with your photography business, you also have to know how to properly run a business.
Knowing how to light, pose, and shoot a good portrait is only half the battle; you also need to be able to edit your images to produce a fully finished and compelling final product.
If you were to ask any landscape photographer what their primary workhorse lens was, the overwhelming majority would likely name something like a 16-35mm. No doubt, wide angle lenses are popular in the genre for good reason, but they are not the only suitable choice for landscape work.
A street photographer’s task is to observe the mundane human interactions that take place throughout the day and turn them into something worthy of being preserved and shared through photography. This is not an easy task.
One of the most challenging aspects of landscape photography is composition, as unlike most other genres, you do not get any control over the elements in the scene, only where you place your camera and how you frame them. If you are looking to improve your compositions, check out this great video tutorial that will show an interesting challenge as well as some useful tips.
When you are new to photography, it can be a lot to try to learn and master every technique and develop a creative voice all at the same time. If you are working on getting your footing and need a bump in the right direction, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you 10 great tips for improving your photography.
Photoshop has a huge range of blending modes — almost 30, in fact — but the majority of photographers go their entire careers using only about six of them most of the time.
When it comes to portrait work, things like camera settings and lighting often have quantifiable positions and settings, and in that sense, they can be more easily learned (to a degree). Posing, on the other hand, is a more subjective art and often presents difficulty to newer photographers.
At the end of the year, when the nights are long, and the days dark and weary, photographing can become less interesting. Some may even lose inspiration during these days. I have some ideas for you to get through the dark winter months in the Northern hemisphere.
For Northern Hemisphere astrophotographers wanting to try getting into the deep sky (outside our solar system) targets, here are three suggestions to start the Winter season, with the bonus that a stock (unmodified) DSLR or mirrorless camera can be used.
The latest generation of Apple MacBook Pros has taken another huge step forward in performance, offering remarkable capabilities that can duplicate or even exceed those of many desktops, along with all-day battery life.
There is a lot more room to be creative in product photography than you might initially think, and part of creating compelling imagery is knowing how to add your own stylistic touches in a way that complements the product's purpose.
One thing that often discourages photographers from beginning to learn how to work with artificial light is the mistaken idea that it takes complex multi-light setups to create great portraits.
When it comes to lighting, perhaps the most fundamental parameter every photographer has to gain a mastery of is controlling the softness or hardness of the light. There are several ways to go about this, with one of them being diffusion.
Adobe released version 11 of Lightroom a little over a month ago and with it came a lot of new features. In this part of the guide, we'll go over the new sky selection tool, how to apply color or luminance masks, and how to use intersections.
To people unfamiliar with the term, negative space might seem like something bad. On the contrary, using negative space can greatly enhance your compositions and make your subject stand out. Here's what it is and how to use it.
Being a creative can be frustrating, bringing with it a variety of challenges and sometimes, just plain bad luck. Your attitude and approach can make a huge difference, though. This great video essay discusses why a positive attitude can lead to better images.
Writing can be a powerful tool, even in regards to your photography. Self-critique in the form of written content is a great way to reflect and grow, helping to improve your images.
Capture One 22 is here, and it brings with a bevy of new features and improvements to the program's already powerful platform. If you want to make sure you get the most out of the new version of the application, check out this great video that will show you what you need to know about the latest features in the program.
When it comes to editing portraits, few things can derail an image more quickly than unnatural skin tones. If you use Lightroom and want to get the skin tones in your portraits just right, check out this great video tutorial that will show you everything you need to know along with a lot of helpful examples.
Have you ever taken a shot that you were completely stoked to post, and when you released it to the world, you didn’t quite get the engagement you were hoping for? It can be discouraging to be excited about a photo and not get the enthusiastic engagement you expected.
It takes a lot of hard work to become proficient enough with a camera, lighting, and post-processing that you can consistently produce compelling, high-quality images, but translating that to a thriving business is another skill entirely.
Photographing in a winter wonderland offers us so many advantages, as all the distracting elements on the ground get hidden by snow. But then there comes the photographer, who wants to get out the best possible photograph. And exactly this leads to one of the problems.
It is great whenever you can properly set up lights and systematically work your way to the final image, but that simply is not always an option, especially if you are doing something like shooting weddings. However, that does not mean you simply can't use artificial light; you just might have to be a bit more nimble with it.
Lightroom can be a more complex program than it seems on the surface, and some of its more hidden features can actually be the most useful, saving you a ton of time in post and increasing the quality of your images. This awesome video tutorial will show you five such lesser-known features and how to use them in your workflow.
Photographing a single image each day for a 365 Project sounds easy, but in practice, it requires a tremendous amount of dedication. If you put some thought into this undertaking, however, you can succeed in completing a 365 Project next year.
Minimalism is a word bandied about by some photographers and overlooked by many others. There’s so much more to it than excluding elements from our images, and embracing its wider meaning can transform the way we approach photography.
Most of us do not care to stand in the rain, but you can create dramatic and compelling landscape photos if you are willing to tolerate the elements. This great video tutorial will show you everything you need to know to handle those wet days to make eye-catching photos.
Everyone loves a punchy, rich photo that leaps off the screen and immediately grabs your attention. They are not that hard to create, and if you are newer to editing, this helpful video tutorial will show you how to give your shots that look using Lightoom.
Not all conferences are created equal. While I am a big fan of the large conferences, sharing a room with hundreds of people isn't always the best way to learn. So, if you still want to learn from big names such as Lindsey Adler and Joe McNally, but in a small hands-on environment, then The Photo Creators may be what you are looking for.
Winter is upon us, and if you are anything like me, you will try to avoid going out in the cold whenever possible. The beauty of macro photography is that there are fantastic subjects all around you, meaning you do not necessarily have to trek miles away to get great shots!
You might think of Photoshop as the place to do deep color grading work, and that used to be the case, but Lightroom recently added new color grading tools that can also make powerful edits and are arguably more intuitive than those in Photoshop. This great video tutorial will show you how to use them to color grade your photos quickly and easily.
Cleaning up the haloing when creating selections can take some time, and even when your image is complete and you can still see some remaining it can be quite annoying. In this tutorial, I'm going to show you a seldom-used but effective way of cleaning the masks.
Half of creating better edits is taking more precise control over where they are applied and how they are blended. One of the most powerful tools for increasing that precision is a luminosity mask, and this excellent video tutorial will show you what they are, how to create them in Photoshop, and how to employ them for better photo edits.
It can be a really frustrating thing. You have the footage in place and you have found the perfect bit of music to bring everything together, except there is one problem: it isn't the right length.
There is something really eye-catching about old-fashioned Hollywood portraits, which had a healthy flare for the dramatic. And while you might not find yourself shooting that style on a regular basis for clients, it can be a fun creative exercise and one that really pushes your lighting and styling abilities to a new level.
Photography conferences are an incredible way to build your skills, find new inspiration, and network with like-minded people. The Click Away Conference is one great option if you are seeking ways to expand your photographic experience and business acumen.
If you are thinking about booking a workshop in the coming year, how do you choose what one to book, and what do you hope to get out of the workshop?
When it comes to landscape photography, you can create a multitude of images using an identical composition simply by varying your settings.
If no one takes notice or takes time to engage more deeply with an image, what does it matter?? Getting control over the viewer’s eyes can be a big game-changer for your fine art photography.
Many of us simply use Lightroom in its default state, and given the program's good organization, that generally works just fine for most applications. However, it can be beneficial to tweak the program a bit to better fit your needs and preferred manner of working, and this helpful video tutorial will show you how to go about doing just that.
When you are ready to move into working in your own studio, you will, of course, have to bring in your own lighting. Lighting can run a huge gamut of price and features, however, and it can be tricky to know what you need to get started.