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.
Hey, you creeper, yeah, we see you. You're just here, lurking to read some articles, and we can respect that. Well, did you know that we have a whole community here, filled with professionals and hobbyists alike? We want you to be a part of it!
Before Capture One 9, no raw editor software on the market could create a mask based on color. With their recent update, Phase One created something unique with the improved color editor panel. It is now possible to select precisely one color – or a range of – and then create a mask to adjust only the parts needed.
Why is my print dark? Why are the colors off? I believe we all found ourselves asking these questions inside our head (or worse, yelling at our photo printer!) during our first steps into our journey in photography.
If you’re a commercial or fashion photographer, eventually you’ll run into a client who will ask to have their product, model, etc. to be placed on a perfectly white background. This method is very popular in the e-commerce and print industries for many brands, sellers and catalogs.
When talking about bokeh, the majority of the photography community instantly thinks of those nice creamy out of focus backgrounds. This is because most of the photographs we see only involve a subject and a background.
It is understandable that many beginners new to taking photos often get impatient when learning photography. Learning this craft is a process and involves the gradual addition of techniques that will eventually turn into second nature. We all get “the bug” and want to learn anything and everything as soon as possible, it’s natural.
The Syrp Genie caught everyone's attention with its contemporary design and advanced automation features that made it a time-lapse photographer's best tool in the field.
There are a zillion photographers out there, but there aren’t a zillion clients. How do you make your work stand out? Success comes when a client will book you because it's you and not because you are just another good photographer. In the process, having a recognizable style might also make you a happier photographer. But how can you get there?
Retouched Magazine, the interactive magazine from retoucher and beauty photographer Julia Kuzmenko McKim, has recently announced that they are also now available in PDF format. The magazine brings some of the most talented and experienced photographers and retouchers together to teach and share their insight into the field of retouching.
As a fashion and catalog photographer moire is an issue I am all too familiar with. These days, as more and more cameras opt to do without the low pass filter, you might find yourself dealing with moire in some unfortunate places.
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.
Facebook has recently made it easy for users to create Instagram ads through their platform. For some time, Instagram has been one of the best avenues for photographers to reach potential clients and vendors that they would like to work with.
There is an innumerable amount of articles and tutorials teaching parts and pieces of retouching portraits. However, finding the ones with quality techniques and information can take days. Furthermore, there is no singular tutorial that teaches a complete set of methods to retouch portraits free of charge.
As creatives, we have to stay inspired, focused, and always be moving forward. Aside from focusing on creating beautiful, desirable work, if you want to survive doing what you love, you have to have a good business sense. For some of us, this comes naturally, for others it is a learning process. No matter what your experience with business is, you can always learn more.
When speaking of retouching, most people think of cleaning skin and altering the body shape. However, retouching goes further than that. Colors play such a significant role in an image, that forgetting about them would be a great mistake. Just like a good makeup artist shouldn't limit their job to the model's face, a good retoucher shouldn't stop the job with cleaning skin.
I love taking ring shots. I usually take them during a slow time on the wedding day when there isn’t a lot going on. I have full control of where I put the ring, how I light it, how I pose it, and how I frame it. This leaves a ton of options to really get creative. So it confuses me when people just place the ring on a bouquet of flowers and call it done.
Once in a while, despite our due diligence and training, we all end up in circumstances where we must handle a difficult situation. As a model with a wide range of experience, I have a large network of professional photographer friends and have seen first-hand how unprofessional my fellow models can be.
Film photography has made a comeback! Some would argue that just like Dre, its been here the whole time. But over the past few years, the aesthetic and cache of film photography has made a strong presence in the zeitgeist of contemporary digital photography.
Hey, friends! I recently shot in a natural light studio and thought I would share some tips on indoor natural light for those of you who are interested. Enjoy!
Vsauce is one of my favorite YouTube channels. Their quirky, engaging videos make understanding some tricky scientific ideas straightforward and fun. If you've ever wondered about rolling shutter or love learning about all the funky properties of light (which is the main ingredient of photography, after all), this is the video for you.
Ahhh…..rejection! Everyone has experienced rejection many times in their life, but it is especially prevalent in the fashion and photography industries. I’m sure you have been rejected as a photographer before, whether it was by a gallery, publication, or model you have wanted to work with.
When I was younger, my dad took a class on photography at a local community college. To this day, he says that the biggest thing he learned from the class was that to take interesting pictures, you have to go to interesting places. I suppose that if you are a travel, landscape, or nature photographer, that is true.
Having the right gear for the job is essential in being able to handle the barrage of lighting scenarios that a wedding photographer will encounter on each outing. I, like many others, am constantly thinking about the next piece of gear.
Maternity photos can be difficult. Shooting them isn’t different than an engagement shoot or senior portrait session, but the challenge is avoiding clichés. The typical husband’s hand on his wife’s stomach shot or the husband’s beer-belly imitating his pregnant wife’s are far too overused.
That’s right, I said it: If you aren’t sharing content on Instagram, you are shutting the door on a world of potential opportunities! With over 200 million users, this social network has the power to become one of your most important means of promoting your photography business.
This is the most simple and basic component of life: Our struggles determine our successes. Hence, what pain do you want in your life? What are you willing to struggle for? As Mark Manson tells us, the question that determines your success isn’t "what do you want to enjoy?” The question is “What pain do you want to sustain?”
A simple Google search will turn up millions of results on what photographers should do/not do when working with models. However, nine times out of ten, these articles are written from a photographer’s perspective, and the model’s voice is rarely heard. Well, today is your lucky day! I have jumped in to give you the model perspective!
Adam Elmakias is one of the most popular concert photographers in the world. Most known for his work with punk-style bands and touring with the Vans Warped Tour, he has a bigger following then a lot of the bands he works with.
Smartphones get a bad rap. They’re ruining the photography business, they’re the downfall of society - you know, that sort of thing. Wedding photographers complain about the glare of screens dotting the aisle like a runway landing strip. Newborn photographers cringe when mom shoots over their shoulder.
AIG's recent move to begin insuring unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) marked the beginning of the first large, national insurance company to get ahead of (or catch up with) the "drone movement." Like this season's migration of Canadian geese, everyone seems to be flocking in droves, clearly intent on getting to the online shopping outlets and local electronics stores that sell the
So you found the perfect model for your concept, reached out to him or her, agreed on a date, showed up at the location, and are about ready to shoot. You have never met this person in your life. Now what? We have all seen those unfortunate shots taken by our fellow photographers where the client or model looks wildly uncomfortable.
It didn't take long for artists to realize they could literally paint with light once photography came around... but light painting was certainly popularized by Picasso.
Lightroom does some things really well, but one area I always wished I had more control over was web culling. After some investigation, here's the best method I've found for efficiently sending out photos for clients to peruse and select.
I love my Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM lens. Or was it a 1.4? It turns out that even though it says f/1.2 on the barrel, the story is more complex than that.
It is no small thing to know how to pose your clients. In fact I don't feel like it's unreasonable to say that it is the hallmark of a competent, professional photographer. Especially when dealing with couples. Most client take comfort in being directed. It helps remove doubt and awkwardness while yielding a far more professional end product.
Capture One has been known amongst high-end retouchers and commercial photographers for quite some time, the main reasons probably being its powerful tethering and color editing tools. Wedding photographers seem to think Capture One is not tailored to suit their needs. At least, that is what I thought.
So you want to travel with a model? I've been shooting portraits for around four years now, and have started to (finally!) add more traveling to my life. Unintentionally, it turns out that my travel partner, my friend Victoria, also happens to be a model.
Have you ever wondered how baby photographers (no, not babies that are photographers) pose newborns? Have you wondered how they got those little writhing, crying, flailing bundles of joy to stay the heck still for at least 1/200th of a second? Well, the crew over at Redhead Photography seems to have found the right combination.
Building a respectable name for yourself as a photographer can oftentimes feel impossible, especially in a market saturated with other photographers. In an industry with so much competition, you need to differentiate yourself and your work from the rest your competitors if you really want to stand apart from everyone else.
When I started out photography professionally, I only wanted to do weddings. It was what I loved (and still love). I thought studio work was so boring. With time, I was convinced to get my own studio and started doing portraits, beauty, products, and other genres. It was great. However, after two years, I am about to terminate my studio lease and will not take a new one.
Instagram is a great way to promote your photography business. Not only can you make yourself seen by potential clients in your area, you can also be seen by millions of users across the world. With more than 300 million users though, it can be easy to get lost within the massive crowd.
I'm not even sure they existed five months ago but since then the prolific crew over at RocketJump Film School have pumped out some really great educational (and often funny) content, quickly becoming one of my personal favorite crews out there.
Cinema5D founder Sebastian Wöber's latest three-part tutorial on drone shooting starts off with quite the introduction in Part I. Wöber could honestly be saying anything to accompany his to-die-for footage, but what makes it so fantastic is how great the information in this video is.
A few months ago I wrote a two part article on branding for photographers. In this article I will continue with branding for photographers, and why you should keep your brands separated. The most common thing I see are wedding photographers combining their wedding work with their family, baby, senior, and even commercial work.
Story & Hart's Academy of Storytellers just put out this wickedly informative video that not only highlights five great drone shot techniques but also breaks down their uses and how to actually achieve them.
Many people that want to get into filmmaking believe you need to attend film school to have a successful career. Many also believe that by purchasing a Red Epic Camera you will instantly become a filmmaker. Neither are true. After watching Casey Neistat's Guide to Filmmaking video, you learn that gear doesn't matter.
Black Diamond Equipment is known for making top-of-the-line outdoors equipment for skiers, snowboarders, and climbers. Recently, they launched their video series BDTV Season 1, which is going to be compromised of short videos about people who they believe embody their core values. These videos are a great examples of storytelling using short video format and deserve further examination.
When I started out my photography business, I was always told how important it was to have a strong and personal style. At the time, I did not understand what that meant. I knew all my pictures were too different to make for an impactful portfolio. I also knew that my retouching was inconsistent.
As someone who prefers to shoot using natural light, I have realized that sometimes, a photo begs for artificial lighting. For years, I struggled with how many strobes to use and where to place them. I lost patience and focused instead on natural light. By spending the time to learn how lighting actually works, I eventually gained a better understanding of how to use strobes.