You've got that fancy new lens and a great concept for a shoot, and now, all you need is a model. Finding models to collaborate with is an art in itself, and making sure you're going about it the right way can be the difference between a successful shoot and a concept that is never brought to fruition. Here are 10 useful tips to get you off and running.
There are approximately 2,374,890 (and counting) ways to create a black and white image. However, this technique stood out to me a bit for its ability to isolate the subject and create a very eye-catching look. Here's how to accomplish it using Photoshop.
The effect a prop has on one's experience of a film can be absurdly obvious or cleverly subtle. However, there's no doubting that when properly employed, props can be the crucial piece that completes a movie. Here are 10 of the best props seen in film.
For filmmakers, our reels are often the first thing a prospective client sees from us, so why do we put so little of ourselves into the edit? Your reel should show the world who you are, just as much as it shows the world the kind of work you do.
Most photographers use their cameras on a daily basis with little or no thought to how it functions under the hood. For the most part, this makes sense, mastering a tool doesn't require understanding exactly how it functions on the most intimate technical level. There are, however, aspects of camera operation that a cursory knowledge of can aid in being better equipped to address unexpected technical or mechanical issues. Given that autofocus can be finicky, it quickly becomes one of the critical aspects of your camera that you should take the time to learn about.
The Syrp Genie Mini is a neat little tool to add a little motion to your time-lapse project (or a smooth pan to your video projects). But in a new post from the folks at Syrp, it turns out it’s pretty good for a home-brew 360-degree timel-apse rig, too.
Last week I was asked to shoot some model polaroids and create a comp card for my friend and a fantastic model, Mallory Mims, for her to take with her when meeting with agencies in LA. Before starting I did some research and gathered some examples so that I could give Mallory the best results and ensure she’d make a great first impression when meeting with potential agents. I got a little nervous during my Google search because I wasn't finding consistent standards or templates very quickly. Since I had such a hard time in my own research I am sharing what I found and a template to make this easier on you guys than it was for me.
There are many ways to go about your video. You can just go at it, shoot away, and edit quick shots together, or you can think about what you want to shoot and use psychological composition to bring your story across in the best way possible. You can have progression of your hero moving from left to right throughout the film, or you can keep your villain to the left and your hero to the right to have them compete in your viewer’s mind. This video shares some smart ways to approach your next film or photography project, even if your project isn’t narrative based.
Albert Watson. Legend. Period, end. With a career spanning five decades and multiple iconic images, his career in fashion and portraiture would be the aspiration of any budding photographer. Alongside Irving Penn and Richard Avedon, PDN recognized him as one of the twenty most influential photographers of all time. And in a new video by Profoto, the man whose subjects have ranged from Alfred Hitchcock to Kate Moss, discusses his approach to lighting, photography, and life.
Studying and experimenting with composition is one of the fastest ways to elevate your photography. Subframing is a versatile technique that can be applied to many styles of photography. Here are some great tips for incorporating subframing in your images.
So much of a landscape image is in how you edit it; many different personalities and effects can shine through the same scene when processed by different photographers. If dramatic skies are something you favor, this helpful tutorial will show you a neat trick for bringing out more detail and creating moodier looks in Photoshop.
For video editors and filmmakers alike, understanding the power of the cut is important for telling the most compelling, informative, and/or emotional story. In this video excerpt from MZed, professional editor Adam Epstein (known for SNL and Killing Gunther among other things) provides some thoughtful insight on six rules for cinematic editing, as referenced from award-winning film editor Walter Murch.
Food photography is great fun and really easy to get into. All you need is a camera (which if you own a smart phone, you already have) and some food.
Double exposures are one of my favorite effects. Luckily for us, unlike in the age of film, we have vastly more control over the final image thanks to the power of Photoshop. This great tutorial will show you how to create your own.
Out of all the remarkable things you can pull off in Photoshop, changing someone's hair might be my favorite thing to do. Besides being just plain fun, it'll exercise a lot of techniques that you'll want to have mastered in many other situations as well. Check out this great tutorial on swapping hair.
As the summer starts to wind down I know it means one thing. It's going to get a lot colder here in Boston. It also means It's time to start getting ready for Photo Plus Expo as well as some of the other winter conferences. For some, this might be simply booking travel, but for me, it's a big weekend. One that I spend a lot of time preparing for. In part, because it's one of the bigger speaking engagements for me but also its one of the best networking opportunities to help build my brand.
Long before I ever picked up my first camera I was always fascinated by the subject of psychology. To understand some of the reasons why humans behave the way they do is rather useful in many areas of our lives. Once I started to get into photography more seriously I began to realize how the two subjects could be used together to make more powerful images.
A lot of us have or have had braces at some point in our lives. And while they're a perfectly normal thing, some people are a bit self-conscious of them, so being able to remove them is a good skill for photographers to possess. This helpful tutorial will show you how to do exactly that.
It happens to all of us: we get our first professional camera, and all of a sudden, everything is photogenic, everything is beautiful. But eventually, if we want to make a living from photography, we have to narrow down the genres we shoot, the gear we use, the style in which we edit, etc. This great video explores how to give your photography career a direction.
When you're working with models (or anyone really), there are certain things you should keep in mind, both to make the shoot go smoothly and successfully and to ensure that proper boundaries are established and everyone involved feels comfortable and respected. Here are five dos and don't of photographing models.
I absolutely love shooting commercial work in the studio. Who doesn't? Shooting in a studio environment allows the photographer full control over the lighting and the subject. It also allows for full creative freedom over what you can composite into the shot if needed by easily matching up the lighting. Earlier this week I had a few hours of downtime and decided to shoot a bottle of Bacardi Dark Rum in my studio. Using a softbox I built myself a few weeks ago, I decided to take it on a test run using the bottle of Rum as my subject.
If you work in certain genres of photography or shoot with a certain style, you might often come home with thousands of images and a small organizational nightmare awaiting you in Lightroom. This helpful tutorial will show you show to quickly and automatically wrangle those huge sets of images into something much more organized and manageable.
While a hurricane may not damage your photos stored in the cloud, they can certainly take a toll on many memories stored the analog way: in printed photos and family albums. Many in the path of Hurricane Harvey are returning to find their memories destroyed by the rain, winds, and water. For some though, there’s still hope to recover some of their printed photos that may be amongst their damaged belongings, and there are a few steps that people can take to help their chances of saving precious moments that were damaged by the storm.
One of the most distracting things you can have on a subject is unintentional harsh shadows. Once they're there, they can be very tricky to deal with convincingly in post. This helpful tutorial will help you tackle and reduce them to manageable levels.
One of the most common retouching tasks you'll be faced with is whitening teeth. Like many things in Photoshop, the key is applying the correct technique in moderation to obtain a realistic result. This helpful tutorial will show you three such ways to do just that.
The value of video production in today’s fast-paced environment should not be understated. In fact, many would argue that anyone hoping to make it as a photographer in today’s world better know how to shoot video in addition.
A great way to hone your videography skills is to get frustrated while editing video. As you may know, there are plenty of ways to get frustrated while editing. For example, let’s say you want to include a particular clip in your sequence. When you try to use the shot you realize that the videographer didn’t hold the shot for long enough, and now the clip is too short to use. Or maybe you want to use a shot that was completely ruined because a bug landed on the lens. These frustrations make you think about the shooting process. Below are a few of my favorite editor-friendly tips to consider while shooting.
Is this an age-old debate? Probably not, but I hear many voices touting the need for photographers to self-promote in order expand their client base. At the same time, I get many invitations to networking events for photographers with the intention of building their businesses. Are these the same thing, or not
Tattoos can be a very unique way to add something that makes your subject stand out. This neat tutorial will show you how to take a design and convincingly place it on your subject in Photoshop.
One of the most fundamentals features in Photoshop is the Pen Tool. It's a bit less intuitive than some other features, however, and it often presents some difficulty for first-time users. This video will get you up and running with it in 30 quick minutes.
Makeup artists can be indispensable to raising the production value of a photoshoot. They make models fit the brief, they introduce important elements to the color palette, they make clients feel fantastic, and they bring the magic to conceptual photographs. Not all makeup artists bring the same value to the table though, so it's important for photographers to consider a few key elements before hiring an artist to their team.
As a dog photographer, one critical post-processing skill is the ability to remove leashes from your images. It is often the single most time-consuming step of editing your dog portraits. I have tried many techniques for removing leashes, and I find this one to be the fastest while producing great results.
We've all heard it hundreds of times: unless you're a journalist zooming off shots to an editor as the action happens, you should be shooting in raw. But why is it so vital to the quality of your images? Watch this video for a great explanation.
A sharp, well-defined jawline is a very popular look in portraits that can really increase the interest of your images and draw the viewer's eye to your subject. This video will show you how to achieve that look with a few quick adjustments in just one minute.
While the technology we use every day swiftly marches towards the pursuit of perfection, cinematographers everywhere have found a friend in lenses with character. Few looks allow cinematographers to express that pursuit of unique character more than anamorphic lenses. With the array of accessible anamorphic lenses growing and no comprehensive comparisons, renting a lens was often based on budget, and not on personality — that is until ShareGrid released their Ultimate Anamorphic Lens Test.
It was my first wedding to shoot and I had never shot one before. I get stressed out really easily, so doing this was a bad idea for me all the way around. I missed shots, I missed a set of groups, and my lighting for the reception was terrible. On top of not having a clue on how to get a proper exposure for a wedding and what images were important to the couple, I delivered full-resolution files on a plethora of disks that caused more confusion than good. Today, I'm using online galleries provided by Pixieset and flash drives for file delivery.
If you ever feel like you're stuck in a creative rut, or having a hard time progressing in your field, know that you're not alone. Any professional photographer will tell you about all of the failures and challenges they had to overcome in order to reach new heights. This video shares a brief look at some of the struggles faced by seven leading photographers, as a trailer for a new season of podcasts from PRO EDU.
The "Orange and Teal" look is immensely popular for videos of all shapes and sizes, from YouTube travel videos to Hollywood blockbusters. It not only adds depth and color contrast to a shot but also gives footage a pleasing, warm golden hour look and feel. In this video, PremiereGal demonstrates how you can easily add this color grade to your video in Adobe Premiere Pro without plugins or look up tables (LUTs).
Many digital photographers appreciate the look of film, but don't own the necessary equipment to shoot it, whether that is due to the hassle or the cost. There are many ways to mimic the look in post-production, however, and this great tutorial will show you such methods to do it.
As photographers, we may not always think about taking pictures of ourselves, but having a current headshot is extremely important. Think of it as your own personal little billboard that allows people to see your ability as a photographer. After all, if you don't have a good picture of yourself on your website, what would make anybody believe that you can take quality pictures of anyone else?
Today, I’d like to talk about three key elements that I feel make up each and every photograph we take. Of course they are not the only elements, but I feel that they are the most important. Specific shoots, like fashion or automotive commercials, require all sorts of preparation and specific skills. However, at the photographic level, three key elements still apply. If you consider your composition, light, and moment, you will be well on your way to making a successful photograph.
So you bought a gimbal! Great! But now you're wondering why your gear is still coming out slightly shaky and why the gimbal isn't doing as promised and creating a buttery-smooth video for you like magic! Odds are you're not quite using it right. But thanks to Christian Santiago, we can get a great virtual lesson on what you should be doing to shoot like the pros.
Importing photos after a shoot is often one of the more boring parts of an assignment and getting it done as quickly and easily as possible is often the name of the game. This has unfortunately led to a lot of Lightroom users not really using the Import function to its full potential. In his newest video, Joe Allam walks through his entire process in great detail, explaining why he does each step along the way.
I’ve been to the New York State fair for more years than I can count. It’s a great time. There are carnival rides, animals, music, and lots to photograph. Oh, and of course, corn dogs. But in recent years, I’ve found myself carrying less and less photographic gear to the fair and just enjoying the moment. Except that I wasn’t really enjoying the moment because I wasn’t making photos. That's why this year I decided to challenge myself to make different photos of the same event.
Primarily, I'm a NYC Wedding Photographer. However, I also photograph business headshots in my NJ Studio as well. I love doing this as a side-gig that brings me extra money for practically no work at all. To be honest, I wasn't really all about it when D.C. Headshot Photographer Moshe Zusman told me I should start implementing it into my business. Seemed a bit boring and I didn't get how it would make me more money than the $10,000+ High-End Weddings that I photograph now. I was wrong.
We have featured Adrian Sommeling quite a few times over the summer and with reason. His composite photography work, or digital art if you prefer, is stunning and his videos give tons of inside tips to improve our very own work. In his latest creation, he Photoshopped his son and himself playing with foam guns replaying the famous bullet time Matrix scene. Learn all about the creation of this masterpiece in Sommeling’s video.
The Nikon D850 is all over every photography blog and for good reason. One feature isn't getting too much spotlight though, the ability of the D850 to act as a super high-res 35mm film scanner, converting said image in-camera. Like many Nikon enthusiasts, I stayed awake for the highly anticipated official D850 press release from Nikon this past Thursday. Much akin to my reactions during most of the Game of Thrones season 7 finale, I let out a giddy squeal when I read this short line in the Nikon press release:
Being a professional photographer is an expensive game. Even really basic equipment is hard on the pocket. A lot of us (myself included) get this nagging doubt that our current kit is holding us back. I'm also guilty of getting gear envy when I see other photographers behind the scenes shots on instagram. However, professional photography is a business just like any other and it needs to make a profit, meaning spending on kit needs to be proportionate to your profit.
Part of the fun and challenge of landscape photography is that while you can choose your compositions, you don't get the privilege of modifying your subject. Sometimes, you come across a scene that begs to be photographed, but doesn't readily lend itself to a composition. This video examines such situations and how to shoot them.
You just bought your first drone! Woot! Now what? Flying a drone is a vastly different way of thinking and shooting, and it takes a bit of getting used to. This helpful video will get you up and running so you can shoot those epic aerial shots.
