As a beginner photographer, your natural instinct often tries to capture everything that catches your eye. If you’re standing in front of the most beautiful view you’ve ever seen, of course you’ll want to show the whole scene in your image, but you’ll often create the most compelling images by showing less.
Just like portrait photography, the height you hold your camera relative to your subject makes a significant difference in how your wildlife images come across to your viewers. If you would like to improve your wildlife images, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced photographer discussing the impact camera height has on storytelling in your photos.
Landscape photography is a pursuit that requires patience, dedication, and a persistent mindset. From waiting for the right conditions to refining compositions during challenging moments, as landscape photographers, we face a range of experiences that test our resolve. This article delves into the significance of persistence in landscape photography, exploring how embracing unfavorable conditions can benefit our skills, how enjoying the rewards of successful shots can continue to benefit us long after the shoot, the importance of how considered post-processing and printing of our banger combine and contribute to help us become a successful landscape photographer.
Nowadays, your website is one of the most important parts of your photo business, and as such, it is well worth putting a lot of time and effort into making yours as good as possible. If you would like to make sure yours is as good as possible, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced wedding photographer discussing a common mistake creatives make with their websites and how to ensure yours rises above the rest.
Do you find yourself arriving at a landscape photography location, getting the tripod set up, the camera out of the camera bag, and then walking away disappointed with your images? Something not quite right? I have some tips for finding your shot, whether it is a new location or one of your old favorites!
Contrast is one of the most fundamental properties of a photo, and it offers you many powerful ways to create a mood, make the subject clearer, and more. As such, learning how to leverage it and all the factors that influence contrast in the frame is crucial. This fantastic video tutorial discusses contrast and a variety of different ways to use it in your images.
Shooting outdoor portraits offers a lot of creative opportunities, but it can be a bit of a pain to lug lighting to a location. Knowing how to work with natural light and a reflector can give you a lot of the versatility of an artificial light without all the inconvenience. This fantastic video tutorial will show you four different ways to use a reflector for outdoor portraits.
The mistakes you make in life, including photography, leave a tart, bitter taste in your mouth, especially when they’re your fault and entirely avoidable. The solution? Don't make them. Here are three easy steps photographers from any genre can implement to immediately improve compositions and eliminate unnecessary errors.
Photoshop is a tremendously complex program, and as such, there is often more than one way to accomplish any one task. One of its most fundamental but overlooked tools is Curves, which many photographers shy away from due to its intimidating appearance. Nonetheless, once you master, you will be hard-pressed to find a more capable and efficient tool for many needs. This fantastic video tutorial will show you the ins and outs of the Curves tool and how to use it to edit your images.
Lightroom can be a surprisingly intricate program, and as such, some of its best features can be easily overlooked. Lightroom has some powerful filtering features, and if you are someone with a catalog of images in the tens or even hundreds of thousands of images, you will find it highly beneficial to learn the ins and outs. This fantastic video tutorial will show you everything you need to know.
Photographers make mistakes; it is part of the hobby of photography. They happen from not knowing how to use the camera adequately, to forgetting to change a setting, to post-processing errors. This video covers seven landscape photography mistakes you can easily correct, whether you are a pro or a beginner.
One of the first lessons we learn in photography is to always try to shoot at the lowest ISO possible. In theory, this produces the cleanest images with the least amount of noise and gives us the most room to work with in post-processing, provided you expose the shot correctly. However, shooting at lower ISOs can cause more harm than good, especially when lighting starts to get tricky.
Grand trips for landscape photography are exciting and can make it look like you’re really living the landscape photographer life. But practicing your landscape photography locally shouldn’t be underestimated if you want to improve your technical and compositional skills.
Portrait photography is a challenging but rewarding genre that requires not just competence with a camera and lighting, but the ability to direct subjects and make them feel comfortable in front of the camera. If you are new to the genre and hoping to improve, check out this helpful video tutorial that features an experienced portrait photographer discussing a range of helpful advice and actionable tips sure to help you take better photos.
Photography is not an easy profession in which to make a living, and so, it helps to absorb the insight and advice of more experienced professionals whenever you can. If you are new to the craft, check out this fantastic video essay that features a pro photographer sharing some of the most important things he has learned over 10 years in the profession.
What separates a good image from a mediocre one? As a photographer who has conducted over 50 shoots in the past few months, this is a question I've asked myself countless times. Through this continuous exploration and practice, I've become adept at recognizing the essential components that elevate an image to greatness. In this article, I'll share my insights and reveal the five crucial ingredients that contribute to the creation of a remarkable photograph.
The 16-35mm lens is the standard workhorse of landscape photography, but it is far from the only lens you can use for the genre, and, in fact, you are probably doing yourself a disservice if you rely exclusively on those focal lengths. If you are new to the genre and wondering what makes for a good lens kit, check out this helpful video tutorial sure to put you on the right path.
There are some genres in which you simply have to take fast bursts of pictures in order to ensure you get the right image taken at just the perfect moment. Bird photography is one such genre. So, when you come home with hundreds or even thousands of photos, how do you know which to choose from those? This helpful video tutorial shares a wide variety of advice sure to assist you in choosing the perfect shot.
Everyone wants to be a better photographer, but with as complex as the craft is, it can be difficult to know how to create a focused plan to really bring you to the next level. If you would like to improve your work, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced photographer sharing a wealth of valuable advice.
Like it or not, Instagram is still one of the most powerful platforms for photographers to promote their work and to connect with potential clients. If you find yourself struggling to get traction on the platform and are unsure of how to move forward, check out this helpful video tutorial that offers a range of advice to get you on the right track.
There can be a lot of negativity in the photography community that can be discouraging or downright disheartening, and that is a shame, because every one of us first picked up a camera because it was something we enjoyed and something that invigorated our imagination. If you find yourself feeling a little let down by photography lately, check out this insightful video essay that discusses many of the positives of photography and how to go about finding them.
The rule of thirds is such a common compositional tool that camera manufacturers even build it into their cameras as an overlay for easy application. And while it is useful, if you rely on it exclusively, you could be doing your photography a real disservice. This excellent video essay discusses some issues with the rule of thirds and why you need to move past it to really discover your full creative voice.
Composition is one of the trickiest aspects of landscape photography, but once you feel comfortable with it, the next step to really taking control of your images is color theory. This helpful video tutorial will introduce you to color theory, including several topics and how to see and apply them to create more compelling landscape photos.
We all want to be better photographers, of course. However, how do you actually go about it? If you find yourself wondering how to set about improving your work, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced photographer sharing loads of wisdom both on how to be better and how to enjoy the craft more.
We constantly talk about how soft light is flattering and how to find or craft it for our images. However, if we spend our careers shooting in nothing but soft light, we will miss out on countless photographic opportunities. There is no reason to be afraid of harsh, midday sun. This fantastic video tutorial will show you how to embrace that hard light and create dynamic and compelling photos.
Photographers are constantly inundated from every direction by a variety of messages: the need to constantly buy new and better gear, the kind of trends you need to follow to land clients, the latest social media platforms, and much more. Some of these can be quite detrimental. This insightful video discusses one such message and why you need to beware of it before it costs you.
Lightroom is a very intricate and multilayered program, and while its default layout is perfectly fine for most uses, it can make your workflow both easier and more efficient if you take the time to customize your workspace a bit. This helpful video tutorial features an experienced Lightroom pro showing you how to do just that.
Long exposures are useful to convey a sense of motion in photos, whether that's bodies of water that seemingly look like glass or car taillights whooshing by in a street scene. The iPhone allows you to create scenes like this easily. It's just a bit hidden.
Finding a new landscape photography location or even planning an entire trip can be quite exciting, but there is a lot to consider before you arrive to ensure you can get the best possible images. Before you head out to your next spot, check out this helpful video tutorial that features two experienced landscape photographers discussing five useful tips for working in new locations.
There are many ways to sell prints online. In the last article of this series, we already looked at one of them that was free and easy to set up. But it might not be the right way to sell prints professionally. If branding and customer relations are important to you, a customized online store might be a better solution. In this article, I share how to set one up.
We all work quite hard to develop a range of post-processing techniques to help us realize our creative visions and to satisfy the needs of clients, but one thing that even experienced photographers struggle with is knowing when to stop retouching. If you find yourself unsure of how far to take your post-processing, check out this helpful video tutorial that features an experienced portrait and beauty photographer discussing philosophies of retouching and how to know you are doing just the right amount.
There are some who believe creativity is a gift given to only a handful of people. Those of us who regularly engage in the practice of making art understand that we all have the ability to create something that has never existed before. It is common for us to struggle in our search for inspiration, and self-doubt can be a powerful enemy. A new organization may be of assistance to those who chose to engage in this struggle.
Reflections can be some of the trickiest things to deal with as a photographer, particularly when you are working with rounded objects that can reflect light from almost any angle. Nonetheless, learning how to read and control reflections is one of the best exercises to improve your lighting technique, no matter what you shoot. This fantastic video tutorial features an experienced studio photographer showing you how to manage reflections in your images.
The exposure triangle is practically gospel that just about every new photographer needs to master, but there is more to it than simply varying shutter speed, aperture, and ISO to create a balanced exposure. This helpful video tutorial features an experienced landscape photographer discussing how to properly approach the exposure triangle to ensure you can make photos that are both technically and creatively satisfying.
Here are 13 essential things to know about why your photos are not sharp and what you can do about it. Included are some that are often overlooked.
Outdoor portrait shoots can be a fantastic way to photograph couples in an organic environment that allows them to convey natural poses and emotion. However, nature does not always cooperate. Adding a smidgen of artificial light can be just what you need to really complete a photo. This fantastic video tutorial will show you how to do just that.
Composition is perhaps one of the trickiest aspects of photography, particularly since it is less easily codified than something like what camera settings to use for a certain scenario. One of the most effective but underutilized techniques for creating a compelling composition is framing. This helpful video tutorial will show you what framing is, how it works, and some great examples you can use it in your own images.
Photography is an art that allows us to capture moments, freeze time, and express our creativity. One fascinating subject that many photographers are drawn to is small waterfalls. These cascading wonders provide an incredible opportunity to capture the beauty of nature. While wide angle lenses are often popular for landscape photography, telephoto lenses have their own unique advantages. In this post, let's explore how using a telephoto lens can significantly enhance your photography skills when capturing small waterfalls. Specifically, we will discuss the benefits of long exposures at half a second, and explore the focal length range from 70 to 200mm.
We are absolutely inundated by imagery from every angle, every day, and as such, it can be easy to fall into the trap of shooting the most common trends. And it is a real shame when that happens, because it keeps you from developing your own creative voice and from enjoying photography as much as possible. This fantastic video essay is an important reminder that shooting for yourself is what matters most at the end of the day.
It doesn't matter how good your composition is if you have this one glaring error. Take a look to see what it is, if you're guilty of doing it, and how to fix it.
As photographers, we are constantly in pursuit of the perfect shot. Sometimes, the conditions don't align as expected, and the location we had in mind for a stunning sunset turns out to be better suited for a breathtaking sunrise. In such situations, it's important to embrace the opportunity and capture the beauty of the moment.
Lindsay Adler is well known for creating dynamic and vibrant portraits that capture viewers' eyes and imaginations. If you would like to see how she does it from start to finish, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will guide you through a red-inspired portrait shoot, including set design, lighting, gear, and editing.
Landscape photographers often default to the wide angle lens when approaching grand scenes in the early part of their photography path. This video looks at simplifying these scenes with a telephoto lens to highlight the smaller details of a landscape.
Rarely is a landscape photo finished when you press the shutter; almost all images require some degree of editing to produce a fully polished result. One of the challenges of editing a landscape image is bringing a sense of depth back to a two-dimensional photo. If that is something you are struggling with that, check out this helpful video tutorial that will show you everything you need to know to do just that.
Normally, when we take photos, we save them to the memory card, pop that card into our computer, and download the images to Lightroom or whatever cataloging program we choose. However, many studio photographers use tethering to bypass the logistics of working with a memory card, but it offers more advantages than just the convenience. This excellent video tutorial will show you what tethering is, why it is beneficial, and how to use it in your own work.
Hold on to your taste buds, folks, because we're about to embark on a deliciously hilarious journey through the secrets of protein bars! Get ready to discover the five covert tricks that turn these humble snacks into protein-packed wonders that would make even James Bond jealous. So, grab your fork and knife (yes, we take protein bars seriously), put on your best British accent, and let's uncover these delectable secrets and how they can help you overcome the hunger pains that might force you back home and miss that banger shot.
