In this video, Lindsay Adler shows how going back to the basics, with nothing more than her camera, a white backdrop, and a bare bulb flash can make for some great images.
One of the first devices I bought for my office when I started with photography was, in addition to a proper monitor, a calibration device. Editing my photos with accurate colors and brightness has always been a priority for me. And the use of a colorimeter and monitor calibration software is a requirement for achieving those. In this article, I explain how to use such a calibration system.
A long exposure of a seascape will always be a great way to create a compelling image, but it takes a lot more than simply slapping an ND filter on your lens and going to town. One of the most crucial parts of a long exposure is choosing the proper shutter speed, particularly when moving water is involved, and this helpful video tutorial will walk you through the process to ensure you get the exact image you have in mind.
In part two of this series, we will discuss tips six through ten. These are steps you can take today to grow your photography business. If you missed part one, you can read it by clicking here. Special thanks to Lancaster, PA based headshot photographer Richard Waine for collaborating with us to create this series.
Learning to be a competent photographer takes mastering a variety of techniques and creative ideas, but learning how to run a successful photography business takes an entirely different set of skills. One of the trickiest things to learn is how to price your work, but this helpful video tutorial will give a ton of advice to ensure you get paid what you deserve.
On some days, we can see one composition beside another, but on other days, it is hard to find just a single one. What is the difference between those days, and how can we increase our chances to find outstanding compositions all the time?
Interior photography is a challenging but fun genre that takes a combination of techniques to produce successful images. This helpful video tutorial will show you a range of tips and techniques on how to shoot and edit interior photos.
Wildflower photography can be a great way to enjoy nature and photography simultaneously. If you are interested in wildflower photography and unsure of how to get started, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will give you several useful tips that are sure to improve your work no matter what kind of camera and lens you use.
Head outside, and you will find photographic opportunities everywhere you look, both big and small. If you are struggling a bit with your compositions, check out this fantastic video tutorial that offers a wide range of helpful tips that are sure to improve your images of outdoor subjects.
Composition is one of the more difficult things to learn. There are many rules and guidelines that can make a good composition. The crop tool inside Lightroom and Photoshop offers a bit of help to learn about composition and even helps you achieve the best possible composition in post.
Premiere Pro is a very powerful application for video editing work and the program of choice for many industry professionals, but it is not the most inviting piece of software and can be a bit daunting at first. If you are new to Premiere Pro and wondering how to get started, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you five helpful tips to put you on the right track.
There are sometimes surprising overlaps between photography and music. The more we learn about music, the more we can understand how that knowledge can improve our photography.
With fast action and rapidly changing backdrops, getting the correct exposure can be a real challenge in bird photography. With the right techniques and a bit of practice, however, you can ensure consistently correct exposures, and this fantastic video tutorial will show you everything you need to know.
Taking full control of your shutter speed, aperture, and ISO is one of the most fundamental things every photographer needs to master. There is a range of camera modes to assist you with these settings, ranging from automatic mode to full manual mode, with a set of semiautomatic options in-between the two extremes. One such in-between mode is aperture priority, and this excellent video tutorial discusses its usefulness and how to use it.
Wedding photographers are always looking for ways to book new clients, and while paying for advertising is certainly one way to do that, it is, by far, not the only way. This fantastic video tutorial will show you 10 different ways to land more clients without spending any money on advertising.
Some photographers go their entire career without deliberately photographing people. However, most of us, at some point, will want or need to photograph people in specific situations. If you’re not used to working with models, here’s some helpful advice on how to go about it. Whether you want to learn portraiture or need to shoot a model for a specific job, this guide will be of use.
Wedding photography is a challenging genre, and if you are preparing to enter it, it can be a little daunting. If you are ready to get started and looking for some advice, check out this fantastic video tutorial from an experienced wedding photographer that will give you some good advice to put you on the right track.
If you have not done so recently, now is a great time to see how much you’ve improved as a photographer. One of the best ways to see how you have grown is to recreate your old images.
The challenge of landscape photography is that you do not have control over the placement of the elements in the scene, and as such, it can be challenging to create compelling compositions. If you are new to the genre or find yourself struggling a bit, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you some common composition mistakes and how to correct them or avoid them in the first place.
One of Lightroom's simplest features is also one of its most useful: the before/after function. This goes much deeper than simply switching back and forth between edited and unedited versions of your photos, though. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to get the most out of the feature, as well as a nifty hidden trick that makes it all the more useful.
One of the most essential and useful artificial lighting techniques a photographer can know is how to create a pure white background. There are several ways to go about this, each with advantages and disadvantages. This fantastic video tutorial will show you a few reasons why photographers often have trouble with this and some techniques that are sure to help you find success.
I recently wrote an article on why photographers hate but still use Instagram. While writing it, I started thinking about how photographers use Instagram. Unfortunately, there are several mistakes that you are probably making. Here are some of the most common ones.
Back in the days of film photography, you had to think very carefully about the aspect ratio of your image before you shot it, and different aspect ratios held enthusiastic fans that specialized in their usage. The advent of digital and the standardization of the sensor into just two aspect ratios has seen that focus die away a bit, but they remain highly important in how your images are rendered, and this excellent video tutorial discusses their usage.
There is perhaps nothing more frustrating than spending hours working on a Photoshop file, only to discover that you saved the wrong version or that you can't undo a certain step a few changes back. So, what can you do to ensure you never encounter that situation? This fantastic video tutorial will show you three important tips to ensure you always have access to the history of your Photoshop files.
Of all the genres out there, landscape photography is probably one of the most nebulous when it comes to establishing yourself professionally and building a career out of it. This great video features an experienced professional discussing his journey from amateur to professional landscape photographer over the last decade and many of the lessons he has learned along the way.
Long exposure images of moving water are popular for both photographers and viewers, but it takes more than slapping an ND filter on the front of your lens to create a compelling one. This helpful video tutorial features an experienced landscape photographer guiding you through the process, including equipment, safety, shutter speed, composition, and more.
The truth is that no matter how much you love photography, just like anything else is life, there will likely be periods when you are sick of it, whether because of creative frustration, frustrating clients, or something else. So, what do you do when that happens? This great video discusses how to handle those periods and come out the other side with a renewed vigor for photography.
Growing and sustaining a photography business has never been for the faint of heart, but it is possible to do if you have an excellent, multi-faceted plan. I recently collaborated with Lancaster, PA based headshot photographer Richard Waine to compile a list of 20 steps photographers can take to get their phone ringing, and build a business that stands the test of time. These tips will be presented in four installments.
One of the most interesting and sometimes frustrating aspects of landscape photography is that you get no control over the elements of the frame, the lighting, or the surrounding conditions. And that will often mean that things will not be as you hoped or planned, but that should not deter you. This excellent video features an experienced landscape photographer discussing one of the key elements to improving your work.
When it comes to portrait photos, lighting and shooting the image is only half of the process. Knowing how to edit your images with a careful touch while still applying your signature creative look is the other half. This excellent video tutorial will show you how one photographer edits his shots using a combination of Lightroom and Photoshop.
Today, I’d just like to muse a bit of some lessons I’ve learned over a long career as a professional photographer. Hopefully, some of these concepts will help you as well.
The beauty of shutter speed and aperture is that they are not just for getting technically correct exposures; they allow you to explore creative renderings as well. One way to do this is through dragging your shutter when shooting photos with motion, and this great video tutorial will show you both how to do it and the sort of results you can create.
We all love having a spot to ourselves, but many times, that isn’t possible. There are a few unspoken rules when it comes to shooting in congested areas that every photographer should know.
Modern cameras offer a wide variety of settings to change the behavior and customize to your own preferences. There are also a lot of basic settings you choose once and forget about it. Did you know there are settings you can ignore completely? I found eight of those.
Even though it is one of the most fundamental and important aspects of creating a successful photo, composition does not get the kind of attention it deserves when it comes to talking about photography. One aspect of composition that we should often consider is how we create and convey balance for our viewers. This excellent video tutorial examines the topic and offers some helpful advice that will improve your shots.
Of course, we all try to get out photos are close to right as possible in camera, but none of us are perfect, and mistakes will happen. So, if you really miss the mark, what can you do to save an image you really want to use? This excellent video tutorial will show you some helpful tips and techniques for rescuing that shot.
The past four months I've been staying in many Airbnbs and hotels while traveling through Portugal, Costa Rica, and Panama. What I noticed while looking for accommodations were the often unprofessional photos those places use for their listings. Some were so bad that I directly skipped to the next listing, not even looking at the reviews. And it's so easy to create better real estate photos, even just using a cell phone, which I'll show in this article.
Cameras grow in complexity year on year and it can be difficult to use any body to its maximum potential. In this video, Caleb Pike takes you through 10 tricks for filmmakers to get more out of their Sony camera.
If you follow the work of high-end portrait photographers, you will probably notice them often using complex three- or even four-light setups. And while there are good reasons for using those, you do not need all that complexity to create professional-level images; in fact, just one light will do if you know how to use it. This excellent video tutorial will show you three fantastic portraits you can create using only a single light.
Portrait photography is one of the most popular genres out there, and it brings its own challenges and pitfalls. If you are new to portraiture and would like to improve your work, check out this fantastic video tutorial that details some common mistakes beginners make and what you can do to fix them or avoid them entirely in the first place.
Photographing the busy city doesn’t have to be complicated. If you don’t have filters and other specialized tools for landscape and cityscape photography, here are some tips to do it with ease.
Starting a photography business is about a lot more than simply being good with a camera and finding people to pay you for your skills. If it is something you are interested in but you have no idea how to get started, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced professional photographer discussing some advice he would give up-and-coming pros.
Almost no one enjoys standing in the wind and rain, and I certainly would not blame you if you saw the clouds rolling in and wanted to pack up your equipment and head home. Nonetheless, you might be missing out on fantastic images if you do not stick around for the storm, and this fantastic video will show you just what you might be able to accomplish in those situations.
For the most part, a landscape photo is not finished once you press the shutter, as half of the image-making process is in the direction you decide to take the edit. Sometimes, if you are looking at an image you know has potential but you can't figure out to do with it, you should consider turning it into a black and white photo. This great video tutorial makes a case for why and shows you some techniques to do so.
As photographers, we inevitably find ourselves dealing with that one client that causes us to take into serious deliberation the idea of working at the grocery store and throwing our illustrious career to the wind.
There are plenty of ways to get better images, we’ve all seen articles on which new camera to purchase, which new laptop will improve your editing, which courses to purchase, or where in the world you can visit to get stunning images. But what about some truly effective ways to improve your ability to get the shot without spending a penny?
All of us first picked up a camera and started taking photos simply because we enjoyed the magic of the creative process. But after years working in photography, whether professionally or simply as hobbyists sharing our work with the world, that reason we do that can become obfuscated or forgotten entirely. Do you know your purpose in photography? This important video essay discusses the topic.
Lightroom is more powerful than ever, and you can complete quite a few edits in the application without needing to switch to Photoshop. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to edit wedding portraits using a wide variety of techniques, all in Lightroom.
Being self-critical is too easy or too hard, but in both cases, it can be difficult to be effective with it. In this video, Nigel Danson takes you on a shoot and discusses some of the ways he ensures his photography is improving.
Morning red needs some special requirements to appear. Find out how to plan and photograph red sky to get a masterpiece.
