My business insurance has rocketed in price this year with a 33% increase. Yet, I would not do without it. Like anything with monetary value, cameras can be targeted by thieves. That risk is growing.
Composition is one of the trickiest and most nebulous aspects of photography, and it is something even experienced photographers often struggle with. If you find yourself often having trouble with creating balanced and compelling image compositions, check out this helpful video tutorial that discusses five common composition mistakes and how to fix them so that you can create better photos.
Being a new photographer can be daunting, and it can be easy to make mistakes that can derail your progress and confidence as a creative. If you are new to the craft and looking to improve, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced photographer sharing five mistakes he made along the way and how to avoid them or learn from them.
Are you starting out as a wedding photographer? Maybe you're looking to improve the quality of what you deliver. Here are my top 10 must-have shots, when they will happen during the day, and key information to consider when setting them up, finessing, and completing them.
Creating a successful landscape image takes a complex combination of a range of factors, and as such, anything you can do to simplify or clarify the process can have a big impact on your workflow and the final product. Although it is rarely used, almost every digital camera has a built-in function that can vastly improve how you see a scene, and this great video tutorial will show you how to take advantage of it for better landscape images.
Working with flash is something that scares a lot of photographers, but once you learn the basics, you will probably wonder how you went so long without in your toolkit. Flash can make you a far more versatile photographer and open up creative avenues that simply are not possible when working solely with natural light. This helpful video tutorial will show you 10 important tips that will assist you in gaining comfort and competence with flash photography in no time.
Have you ever experienced being delighted about the outcome of your photographs but ended up getting a different reaction from your audience? Here’s a step that might help you curate your images better.
When you love photographing moving subjects, it may be difficult to get a perfectly sharp photo. The best way is by moving your camera with the subject to keep it in the frame. This technique is called panning. I have 10 tips for successful panning photography.
Price lists can be dangerous, but they can also be great. How do you know if you should reveal your hand and have one displayed on your website?
Photography is quite literally painting with light. As such, it’s important for a photographer to be able to see and shape light.
While clear blue skies are happy times for many people, for landscape photographers, they can be a source of significant frustration. That swath of monotonous blue can remove a large chunk of visual interest from a scene and make it difficult to create compelling images. Before you pack up your gear and head back to the car, though, check out this great video tutorial that will show you some helpful tips and techniques for dealing with those boring skies and still coming home with effective photos.
Like it or not, social media is one of the primary means of disseminating your work and communicating with potential clients nowadays. As such, it is important for photographers to know how to effectively engage with it and leverage it for finding customers and advancing their careers. This great video presentation features a photographer who is highly successful on various social media platforms sharing some of what made her successful and offering some helpful advice so you can do the same.
When you have gained a lot of confidence in your ability with a camera and have built out a nice portfolio, you might start thinking about going professional. However, even though it absolutely takes those aforementioned items, they are not enough on their own. It takes a good amount of business savvy to create a reasonable income from photography. This helpful video tutorial will show you five essential items that will make your business life a little easier.
Most of the time, a landscape photo will show the horizon. The best position of that horizon depends on what's important in the photo. Do you place the horizon at the top, the bottom, or somewhere else in the frame? If you struggle with that decision, this article may give a helping hand.
Perhaps no choice is more fundamental to and impactful on your images than the focal length you employ. So, how do you choose the right focal length for a photo? It is a more complex question than it might seem on the surface. If you are new to photography, be sure to check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you some helpful advice and knowledge for choosing the right focal length.
Lightroom is bursting with a variety of tools for editing your images, but one that is often overlooked is the Targeted Adjustment Tool. This tiny icon hiding among the larger sliders and adjustments is quite powerful, though, and with it, you can efficiently make very precise adjustments to multiple aspects of your photos. This great video tutorial will show you where to find the Targeted Adjustment Tool and how to use it to edit your images.
Choosing a lens which will give you desired results for a particular portrait assignment is an integral part of being a photographer.
This video from nature photographer Simon d'Entremont offers one of the best explanations of camera metering modes I have come across, complete with examples of each mode and when to use them.
Low budget doesn't have to mean low quality. Here's a handy tip for keeping your backgrounds interesting.
Blurry pictures are a nightmare. When you simply have to recover detail on images you've taken, this is the video to watch. Photographer and author Glyn Dewis goes through three mainstream programs, Luminar Neo, On1 NoNoise AI 2023, and Topaz Sharpen AI, that he uses to evaluate and try to improve his blurry image.
When it comes to landscape photography, we often talk about things like exposure settings, lens choice, use of filters, managing conditions, and more. But one thing we do not talk about as much is color, and yet, it is one of the most powerful aspects of any landscape photograph. This great video tutorial will show you how careful management of color can make your landscape images better and offer some helpful tips for making that happen.
When it comes to photography, your purpose can feel a little vague. While that may not necessarily be a problem, a little focus — if you'll excuse the pun — can push you forward and improve your work.
Mostly, photographers learn the camera settings and compositional techniques first. Those basics of photography are essential. But when we have mastered those, what do we do next?
One of the first techniques every new photographer loves to try is the long exposure. Long exposures can improve image quality by helping to reduce noise, and they can be a wonderfully powerful creative tool that can entirely change the look of an image. If you are new to photography and wondering how to get started with long exposures, check out this great video tutorial that will get you up and running in no time.
While I'm not fond of using AI to replace the creative process, I think it is incredibly helpful in enhancing image quality. With the right AI tools, you can rescue photos that may have been unusable otherwise. Topaz Photo AI is such a tool, and in this article, we look at its capabilities, limitations, and ways to get the best results.
When you think of stunning landscape photography, you probably imagine vast expanses with golden rays of light cascading across them. However, cloudy, foggy, or rainy days can yield equally stunning photos if you know how to work with them to maximize your results. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to embrace those gray days and come away with compelling photos.
The rule of thirds is probably the most common heuristic method of composition, so much so that just about every modern camera and editing program has a grid for its usage built in. And while it can often lead to well-balanced photos, there is a downside to it too. This excellent video tutorial features an experienced landscape photographer discussing why you should be wary of the rule of thirds and how to create better photos.
Robert Frank and Sergio Larraín are two of the most famous photographers in history, and as such, we can learn some important lessons from their images and their approach to the craft. This excellent video essay takes a look at their work and their philosophies and discusses three important lessons we can deduce that will help us become better, more complete creatives.
You can do everything you can to hone your technique and expand your creative range, but perhaps one of the most frustrating aspects of landscape photography is that you have no control over the conditions. If the weather is dull, though, that does not mean you have to pack up your gear and head back home. With a little adjustment, you can still come home with fantastic images. This excellent video tutorial will show you everything you need to know to do just that.
Forget the rule of thirds and leading lines. This is not an article that will give recipes or magic bullets for composing images. Instead, we will talk about methods and broad approaches I used to go beyond the cliché techniques and create unique imagery
Lighting a group of people can be particularly tricky for new photographers, but it does not have to be, nor does it take a lot of expensive gear. In fact, it can be done with just a speedlight and a bit of know-how. This excellent video tutorial features an experienced photographer showing you how to pose and light a group portrait using just a single speedlight.
Getting tack-sharp photos of birds in flight is not easy, but when you get it right, the results can be stunning. One of the most fundamental aspects of this is choosing the correct shutter speed. If you are new to bird photography and wondering how to go about selecting the right shutter speed, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced photographer showing you everything you need to know.
At its most fundamental level, photography is about being able to read light and create images with interesting, dynamic, or flattering light. If that is something you are still learning, this great video tutorial will show you a simple setting hiding in just about every camera that will make the process a lot easier.
Conventional wisdom in studio portrait photography tells us to avoid shooting portraits wide open. But in this video, I will show you why I shoot portraits wide open all the time, and you should try it too.
If you find your photos are often a bit monotonous and lacking in interest and you are unsure of how to break out of that rut, this is the video tutorial for you. A simple change of habit can help you take more varied images and expand your eye beyond what you are used to shooting.
Very few people jump right in to running a photography business full-time. The vast majority start out slowly, doing photography on the side while they maintain their primary income from another job. That can be a particularly stressful time, but as this excellent video essay details, with the right mindset, you can become more intentional and focused and achieve your goals sooner.
Though it takes a lot of skill with a camera and in editing, being a successful professional photographer takes a lot more than just those. If you feel comfortable with your skills and your portfolio and you are wondering if you are ready to make the jump, check out this fantastic video essay that features an experienced professional detailing how to know if you are ready.
Although it sounds like a nasty disease, like athlete's foot or tennis elbow, the photographer's eye isn't that. We take our eyes for granted, and they are an essential part of photography, both metaphorically and literally.
You can spend a lot of money on lights and modifiers for portrait photography, and while there are certainly reasons why professionals invest in expensive equipment, you can absolutely create professional-level portraits with the most affordable gear — even a shoot-through umbrella and speedlight. This fantastic video tutorial will show you everything you need to know.
In this video from nature photographer Simon d'Entremont, he details many solid techniques to help you improve your photography.
Most of the problems I get asked to fix in my role as technical support for photographers has to do with Lightroom. This article will show you the way I use Lightroom to be able to find any photograph I've shot in the last 10 years in under a minute. This is how best to organize and categorize your files to best serve you as a photographer and the tips and tricks that you might have otherwise missed.
Rarely is a landscape photo finished the moment you press the shutter; almost every such image requires some degree of post-processing to create the finished product. It is easy to get a bit mired in the editing phase, though, finding yourself pushing sliders back and forth as you experiment and try to create the best possible version of an image you know has potential in it. How can you be creative but stay efficient? This excellent video tutorial will show you what you need to know.
Rarely is a portrait image finished once you have pressed the shutter; almost every such photo requires some degree of retouching to finish it. If you are not as comfortable at the computer as you are behind the camera, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced portrait photographer showing you a complete portrait retouching workflow sure to help you create compelling images.
If you’re thinking of making your love for photography into the thing that pays the bills, here are a few pitfalls which you might want to avoid.
It sounds like a strange concept, but the reasoning behind it is sound, and it is straightforward and easy to do. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to edit your photos in reverse and why it will help you make better and more precise photos.
We all want to take better photos, but how can you do that? Whether you are an amateur or experienced professional, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced photographer sharing five helpful tips that will lead you to better images.
Wedding photography is one of the most challenging genres out there, requiring you to be at the top of your game technically and ready to tackle any challenges that come efficiently and smoothly. If you would like to improve the quality of your shots, check out this fantastic video tutorial from an experienced wedding photographer that will give you five tips sure to improve your wedding photos.
Being competent with composition, camera settings, lighting, and post-processing and having a strong creative voice are all requirements for becoming a successful professional photographer, but they are far from the only things you will need. Making money from your images is a totally different animal, but this helpful video tutorial will give you some important advice that will give you a better chance of finding success in the professional world.
Some beginning photographers keep on shooting in JPEG because of one reason. They’re a bit of afraid of the raw file format. But shooting in raw is easier than you think. If you want to start photographing in raw but you don’t know how, I’ll show you how it’s done.
There has been a lot of advancement in lighting technology for LED lights for photography recently, but are they the way to go? Check out this video for a comparison of the pros and cons of each.
