The Detailed Weather Planning of a Pro Landscape Photographer and How It Leads to Better Photos
Join a professional landscape photographer while he is planning the weather for his next photo tour.
Join a professional landscape photographer while he is planning the weather for his next photo tour.
Being a wedding photographer can be a really enjoyable career if you have the drive and the right personality for it. If that is something you are interested in but are unsure of how to get started, this helpful video tutorial will give you some important areas to focus on to put you on the right track.
If you're a beginner to photography or are looking to add some theory to improve your work, this video might be perfect for you. While brief, it gives you a great overview of the important basics of composition.
With its cliffs, spectacular mountains, and moody forests, Madeira is a dream destination for landscape photographers. It's a relatively small volcanic island, and you can drive from one end to the other in about an hour. So, wherever you stay on the island, you'll have various photo spots within reach. In this article, I show you five of the best.
Working with artificial light is something a lot of photographers struggle with, but if you understand some fundamental rules about how it behaves and how to control it, you can make your life a lot easier. This excellent video tutorial will show you five fundamental rules of lighting that every photographer should know and how to use them to make better images.
New cameras deserve a bit of time for initial setup and customization. This guide should help you with your new Sony camera.
Landscape photography is a challenging but popular genre, requiring you to have good creative vision, solid technique, savvy editing, and often, just a bit of luck. If you are ready to make better images in 2022, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will give you plenty of great advice to set you on your way in the new year.
Learning how to use a camera, control lighting, and edit to consistently produce compelling images is hard enough, but turning that into a successful business is an entirely different challenge altogether. If that is something you have been wondering about or struggling with, this great video contains an important reminder to help keep you from becoming discouraged.
Did you know studies have shown that viewers form an opinion of people within 1/10th of a second of seeing them? In a similar way, viewers judge brands with a cursory glance. Brands rely on design elements such as color, shape, line, and font to communicate their identity and values.
The website is the calling card of most photographers nowadays, and its design, user experience, and information all contribute to whether a potential client is likely to book you or move on. This helpful video tutorial features an experienced wedding photographer discussing several ways you can improve your website to increase your bookings.
Vintage lenses have exploded in popularity in the last few years, offering photographers much more affordable options and unique looks that are not seen in more modern lenses. However, with so many options out there, it can be a bit hard to know where to look, what to buy, and how much to spend. This excellent video answers 10 common questions about using vintage lenses to get you on the right track.
When it comes to landscape photography, the lens of choice is almost always some sort of wide angle, whether a 16-35mm, 24mm, or something similar. And while such lenses are absolutely effective in the genre, there is a common mistake landscape photographers make with them, and this helpful video details both what it is and how to correct it.
Creating dramatic headshots using multiple lights doesn't have to be difficult. One of the best ways to become proficient at using a three-light setup is by building it one light at a time. In this article and the accompanying video, I will demonstrate how you can easily create dramatic headshots and portraits using a key light, kicker light, and fill light.
Taking successful photographs take a combination of a wide range of techniques, creative vision, timing, and often, a little bit of luck, and as such, it can take a long time to become consistently successful. If you are feeling a bit discouraged by the slow process, this great video has a message you need to hear.
Edward Weston began his career making soft, almost out-of-focus images that emphasized patterns and light. After a trip to Mexico in the 1920s, he decided that photography was really about details and realistic depictions of the world. He made a complete turnaround in his work and began making work that was simple and focused on tones and textures. He got so into "straight" photography that he didn’t even believe in cropping his images.
Modern digital cameras are remarkably complex machines, and there are a lot of parameters and settings you can adjust that will improve both the quality of your images and your ability to get the shot you want. This helpful video tutorial will show you seven camera settings (some well known and some not as obvious) you should consider changing to improve your photography experience.
In most places in the Northern Hemisphere, wedding photography is in the middle of its seasonal dip, giving photographers a chance to catch their breath and focus on other things for a while. So, what can you do to keep your business well oiled and ready for the next season? This excellent video tutorial will give you some ideas.
If you are a fan of The Beatles, then two documentaries currently streaming on Disney+ will certainly satiate your thirst. Look closely, and there are important lessons we can learn from these talented musicians that apply to creative photography.
There is a bit of an obsession with shooting portraits at extremely wide apertures nowadays, and certainly, that is a popular look for a reason. Nonetheless, always shooting at f/1.4 to blow the background to smithereens can become a bit of a crutch and end up making your work a bit one-dimensional. This awesome video will show you portraits shot at everything from f/1.4 to f/16 to show you the strengths and drawbacks of each aperture.
Using hashtags is still one of the best ways to get new eyes on your content regardless of what social media platform you are using. This method will save you time and change how you apply hashtags forever.
When was the last time you grabbed your camera and went for a walk or a hike with no particular purpose in mind? It can be more beneficial than you might think, and this great video essay discusses why.
If you want to be a successful photographer, it takes a lot more than being good with a camera and having creative ideas. All the most successful photographers are there because they understand how to run a proper business. If you are ready to revamp your approach in 2022, this awesome video will show you eight tools that will make you more efficient and productive and give you a better chance of finding success.
Bird photography is a challenging and fun genre that takes a lot of good technique, patience, understanding of animal behavior, and creativity to make compelling images. Whether you are new to the genre or a seasoned pro, this awesome video tutorial will give you five excellent tips that are sure to help you produce better photos.
More often than not, a photographer's greatest enemy when it comes to improving and growing as a creative is actually themselves. It can be a sneaky thing, though; we do not always notice when we are making our own lives unnecessarily difficult and holding back our work. This great video features a seasoned photographer discussing five common excuses we all need to push past to continue to grow as photographers.
Capturing hundreds of images on a shoot is easy. Culling a large number of images down to a handful of keepers is a time-consuming and often mentally difficult process for an artist. In this video, originally posted by Wired, photographer Steve Winter takes us through his thought process as he reduces 112 images down to one single select.
Perhaps no genre will put more pressure on you in the moment than wedding photography, which requires you to be at the top of your game and gives you no second chances if something goes awry. This helpful video tutorial features an experienced wedding photographer discussing some important rules that will help to put you on the track to success.
Rain, fog, red sky, hoar frost, and clouds: all these things are predictable with using apps. The only problem is that the probability that forecasts match reality is embarrassing low. I found a much better solution than I have used for some years now. With this, I’m nearly always fantastically prepared for the weather.
Often, I see the term "bokeh" being used when "depth of field" is meant. That’s wrong, simply because it is not the same. Although many will understand the distinction between the two, I will explain the difference for those who do mistake depth of field with bokeh.
Lightroom got a major upgrade to its masking capabilities in 2021, and the new features can make your editing far more efficient and easier. If you have not yet taken the opportunity to dive into the capabilities, this great video tutorial will show you everything you need to know to get the most out of them.
If you love photography, there’s no doubt that you want to know the best ways to improve your photography. There are countless blogs and articles on this subject alone; what I’m going to do is drop five ideas that might help you become better at photography.
Building a robust and strong photography portfolio is something that takes a lot of effort, persistence, and patience, and many of us spend years before we have a decent collection of images we are really proud of. So, how much persistence does it really take? This interesting video features a professional landscape photographer breaking down the numbers of how often he goes out and how many portfolio-worthy images he comes back with in a year.
Composition has rules that transcend all visual mediums, but playing to the equipment you're using can still be helpful. In this video, one photographer walks through his favorite techniques for better film photographs.
If you knew for certain that you would succeed, what move would you make in 2022?
Just like everything in life, Photoshop techniques change or require slight adjustments. What may have been perfect two years ago might not necessarily be perfect now. And so it is with changing colors of objects in Photoshop. Here is the latest on how to do it effortlessly.
They hold you down in landscape photography, they bring you to make wrong decisions out in the field, they make you blind for finding compositions, and they even kill your creativity. Knowing about them and avoiding them makes you a better photographer.
Buying new camera gear can be very exciting, but it can also drain your bank account rather quickly if you are not careful about it. If you are a newer photographer and wondering how to find the right gear for yourself without overspending, this helpful video tutorial will run you through the options and their pros and cons.
Learning photography and trying to create better photographs can be a daunting task when you're just starting. Here are some guidelines I've taught in my workshops to help new photographers create stronger images.
Simply put: mastering lighting, camera settings, and editing is, of course, crucial to becoming a financially successful photographer, but it is not enough. If you want to find success with your photography business, you also have to know how to properly run a business. This excellent video tutorial will run you through the basics of that to help you ensure you give yourself the best chances of getting it right.
Knowing how to light, pose, and shoot a good portrait is only half the battle; you also need to be able to edit your images to produce a fully finished and compelling final product. If you are new to portraiture and looking to improve your work, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you a full image edit, including retouching, dodging and burning, color grading, and more.
If you were to ask any landscape photographer what their primary workhorse lens was, the overwhelming majority would likely name something like a 16-35mm. No doubt, wide angle lenses are popular in the genre for good reason, but they are not the only suitable choice for landscape work. This great video will show you some of the possibilities of a telephoto lens and why it can sometimes be a better choice.
A street photographer’s task is to observe the mundane human interactions that take place throughout the day and turn them into something worthy of being preserved and shared through photography. This is not an easy task.
One of the most challenging aspects of landscape photography is composition, as unlike most other genres, you do not get any control over the elements in the scene, only where you place your camera and how you frame them. If you are looking to improve your compositions, check out this great video tutorial that will show an interesting challenge as well as some useful tips.
When you are new to photography, it can be a lot to try to learn and master every technique and develop a creative voice all at the same time. If you are working on getting your footing and need a bump in the right direction, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you 10 great tips for improving your photography.
Photoshop has a huge range of blending modes — almost 30, in fact — but the majority of photographers go their entire careers using only about six of them most of the time. One of the rarer blending modes is color dodge, and though you will not use it every day, this helpful video tutorial will show you a specific and nifty application for it that can give your images a bit more pop.
When it comes to portrait work, things like camera settings and lighting often have quantifiable positions and settings, and in that sense, they can be more easily learned (to a degree). Posing, on the other hand, is a more subjective art and often presents difficulty to newer photographers. One useful technique is knowing how to make your subjects look taller, and this great video tutorial will show you what you need to know to accomplish that.
At the end of the year, when the nights are long, and the days dark and weary, photographing can become less interesting. Some may even lose inspiration during these days. I have some ideas for you to get through the dark winter months in the Northern hemisphere.
For Northern Hemisphere astrophotographers wanting to try getting into the deep sky (outside our solar system) targets, here are three suggestions to start the Winter season, with the bonus that a stock (unmodified) DSLR or mirrorless camera can be used.
The latest generation of Apple MacBook Pros has taken another huge step forward in performance, offering remarkable capabilities that can duplicate or even exceed those of many desktops, along with all-day battery life. There are two main options from which to choose, the M1 Pro and M1 Max, and this excellent video takes a look at both to help you decide which will best suit your budget and needs.
There is a lot more room to be creative in product photography than you might initially think, and part of creating compelling imagery is knowing how to add your own stylistic touches in a way that complements the product's purpose. This excellent video tutorial will show you one such example of that by guiding through lighting, shooting, and editing a bold cosmetics product image.
One thing that often discourages photographers from beginning to learn how to work with artificial light is the mistaken idea that it takes complex multi-light setups to create great portraits. In actuality, you can create professional-level portraits with even only a single light, and this fantastic video tutorial will show you how to do just that using a holiday theme as an example.