When you think of the landmark photos in your career, those that changed its trajectory, they are probably some of your best work. But for one photographer, two "bad" photos significantly changed his life, and this important video essay tells the stories behind them.
This video from Cuiv, the Lazy Geek, a YouTuber with a popular following in the astrophotography community, brings up some considerations for photographers who are dipping their toes into astrophotography, including broad considerations and commentary on differences and difficulties traditional photographers may find as they explore astrophotography.
YouTube is an incredible resource for those seeking to learn about photography, with endless tutorials and discussions about gear. However, if you’ve ever been frustrated that more meaningful content doesn’t reach your feed, here’s how to go about fixing it.
Few photographic events put more pressure and stress on the photographer than their first wedding, but we all have to start sometime. If you just booked your first wedding and you want to make sure the big day goes as well as possible (and with as little stress for you as possible), check out this excellent video tutorial that will guide you through what you need to know.
There are tools that many photographers neglect and this is one of them. The histogram is criminally underused, possibly because it isn't all that intuitive to beginners, but once you understand how to read it, it can keep you from making costly mistakes.
Portrait photographers spend a lot of time working on creating flattering light, and in photography terms, that almost always equates to soft light. However, hard light can be just as effective, particularly if you want to add a bit of drama or want to accent certain elements of your image. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to use three different hard lighting setups, including a gridded reflector, Fresnel lens, and parabolic umbrella.
The look of light coming through a window is one of the most recognizable out there, even to non-photographers, and it is something you will often want to replicate in the studio. Luckily, with a bit of know-how and some basic equipment, it is not particularly difficult to do, and this excellent video tutorial will show you how it is done.
One of the most classic and timeless portrait looks involves using the sun to backlight your subject and create a dramatic background. It is also an excellent way to develop your lighting skills and to learn how to balance ambient and artificial light, and this awesome video tutorial will show you everything you need to know to create them yourself.
We spend a lot of time working on our technique and expanding our knowledge of various methods for creating and editing photos. However, sometimes, a simple adjustment in how you approach things can make a big difference, and this excellent video tutorial will show you one such adjustment.
Landscape photography brings with it a lot of challenges, but the scenes and way you can render them are nearly limitless. This fantastic video tutorial goes behind the scenes of photographing a castle in the hills and shows the photographer's process and thoughts behind his creative decision.
We are always wanting to improve our photography, and there is always room to grow to be better. The path forward is not always clear, though. If you are wondering how to improve your work, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you five clear steps to take that will illuminate how to grow as a photographer.
Discovering how to use Aperture Priority is a revelation for many photographers, especially when you know a few extra tricks to make it do even more work for you. Learn how to make the most of this incredibly useful shooting mode.
There is always more to learn in photography, but one of the most fundamental and crucial concepts every photographer should master as soon as possible is aperture and how to use it. If you are new to photography or just looking to brush up, this excellent video tutorial will show you everything you need to know about aperture, both from a creative and technical standpoint.
When working in Photoshop, you might be familiar with the difference between Flow and Opacity, but how does Fill change things and what can it be used for? Check out this informative video to learn how they work.
A neutral density filter allow long exposure times, even when there is a lot of light. It flattens water surfaces when the exposure is long enough. But don’t use it at sea just because you have one. Use it only when necessary.
One of the first things you learn when using strobes is the advantages they have over constant lights. Here are the reasons why using constant lights can be better in studio than strobes.
If you spend a few years building a catalog in Lightroom, you may have noticed a strange lightning bolt symbol that occasionally appears on your photos. While it is just a tiny symbol that is easy to miss, it actually has an important impact on your images, and it is worth taking note of it when you see it. This helpful video tutorial will show you what it means and how to act upon it when it shows up.
No matter how much you love photography, you are likely to go through periods where you just feel unmotivated or even as if you have just fallen out of love with it. So, what do you do when that happens? This great video essay discusses what you should do when you have lost your motivation for photography.
Fall is here, and the colors are vibrantly popping and begging to be photographed. If you are thinking of heading out with your camera and want to ensure you come home with the best possible images, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will give you seven helpful tips that will improve your autumn photos.
All it takes is this simple composition tip to take your portraits to a new level. In this video and article, I'll be demonstrating this tip and how you can use it in post-production to completely transform your photographs.
Landscape photography can be discouraging when the sky is overcast with no chance of dynamic light or beautiful sunset colors. Luckily, overcast weather is actually ideal for certain types of landscape photography if you are willing to step outside of your comfort zone. Check out this video to see how you can create beautiful images even when the weather is gloomy.
Fall is here, and there are numerous opportunities everywhere to capture striking, vibrant colors with your camera. The period of maximal color is heartbreakingly brief, though, so it is important to be prepared when you head out. If you are newer to landscape photography, this fantastic video tutorial will give you 10 helpful tips and ideas to ensure you get the most out of the fall season.
While you can do a lot with natural light, the beauty of mastering artificial light is having the ability to craft your setup to exactly match your creative thoughts and technical needs. This great video tutorial will show you how to craft a three-light setup that is made to feature your model's physique.
Catchlights are one of those little details in a portrait that are crucial to crafting a professional-level image. Sometimes, you have a photo that is otherwise a great shot aside from the catchlight missing in one of your subject's eyes due to the angle they were at relative to the light source. Luckily, it is a quick and easy fix, and this awesome video tutorial will show you how to approach it.
Finding your voice in photography can be a difficult task when you're not exactly sure where to look. Learn these 10 lessons from some of the greatest portrait photographers and take your work to the next level.
A lot of wedding photography education focuses on the images of the ceremony and reception, and while those are, of course, quite important, the preparation photos can provide treasured memories of the big day. Part of those are the groom preparation shots, and this helpful video tutorial will show you six essential looks that you will want to remember for your next wedding.
When you think of landscape photography, you likely think of images full of rich, vibrant colors. And while there is certainly nothing wrong with that style, a well-crafted black and white landscape photo can be just as compelling. It takes more than simply desaturating the colors in a photo, though. This excellent video tutorial will give you seven helpful tips to improve your black and white landscape shots.
Hello again everyone! Elia Locardi here and it's time to release the second episode of our 8-part video tutorial series about long exposure photography and how to use different types of filters to create unique results. Remember, we are also giving away awesome prizes with each new video release. Read through the post to find out how to enter each contest.
Few names are more synonymous with headshot photography than Peter Hurley. In this helpful video, he offers five fantastic tips on lighting for headshots that will improve your work in no time.
We talk a lot about how to ease the anxiety of our subjects and make them more comfortable in front of our lens, but being behind the camera can cause just as much anxiety. This great video discusses the topic of pre-shoot anxiety and dealing with it as a creative.
Fall is here, and vibrant colors are popping up everywhere, waiting for you to capture them with your camera. And while your technique behind the camera is, of course, important, fall photos also demand strong post-processing abilities to get the most out of them. This excellent video tutorial will show you three helpful tips for enhancing the color in your autumn images.
Waterfalls are a popular and classic subject, making for compelling images and giving you a chance to explore your creativity. If you are interested in learning how to photograph waterfalls, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will get you on your way to creating better photos in no time.
Learning how to price your wedding photography business can be tricky enough, but if you are asked to start taking on destination work, it approaches an entirely new level of complexity. If you are looking to add that to your services list but are unsure of how to go about pricing it, this helpful video will give you some good advice to set you on your way.
Learning how to work with off-camera flash can be a daunting task, and there are a lot of places where things can go wrong. If you are learning how to work with off-camera flash, this fantastic video tutorial will show you three common mistakes people make with it and how to fix them or avoid them entirely.
Creating a compelling landscape photo often takes just as much work in the editing process as it does behind the camera, and there are many ways to go about getting the look you want. This awesome video tutorial will show you five useful editing tricks for working in Lightroom that will make your workflow more efficient and help you craft better images.
Photographing a couple from up close can drastically change the way your image feels. Getting up close with a wide angle lens creates a sense of action and aliveness that draws the viewer in.
When it comes to landscape photography, using a long shutter speed to create smooth blurs of water is a highly popular technique. Occasionally, though, you might not be able to do that, as you might have forgotten your ND filter or you are just out on a quick walk. If that is the case, you can still create the effect in Photoshop, and this great video tutorial will show you what you need to know.
Lightroom is a place where a lot of photographers spend a ton of time, and any tips you can pick up to speed up your workflow or improve your image quality can pay off quite a bit. This helpful video tutorial will show you five tips that will both make your workflow more efficient and increase your image quality.
When it comes to portraits, things like light placement and camera settings are quantifiable and in that sense, more easily learned than something a bit more nebulous, such as posing. If you have been struggling with posing your subjects, this great video tutorial will break it down into a 10-step process that will make it more digestible and easy to implement.
Fall is here, and it is one of the best times to head out with your camera and capture some woodland photos. Before you do, be sure to check out this great video tutorial that features a seasoned photographer discussing a variety of tips that are sure to improve your photos.
It is always fun to just grab your camera and head out for a walk, but landscape photography is a genre that really benefits from careful knowledge and planning if you want to get the best photos possible. There is a lot you can do to ensure better images before you ever leave your house, and this excellent video tutorial will show you what you need to know.
Trying to get more experience as a photographer can feel like a bit of a Catch-22 sometimes: you need to be given opportunities to get more experience, but you often need established experience to get those opportunities. So, what can you do? This helpful video essay features a professional photographer discussing five different ways you can get more experience.
Landscape photography can be a mentally taxing thing at times, with a variety of different things to keep track of, all while trying to be creative as well. Sometimes, the answer is to try some simple things to reinvigorate your work, and this fun video will give you a few ideas.
When it comes to landscape photography, tripods are normally the tool of choice, but there are plenty of situations in which you might be without a tripod or when using one is too much work. That does not mean you can't get sharp photos, though, and this helpful video tutorial will give you a range of tips to show you how.
Are you even a photographer if you’ve never taken a Polaroid? If you’ve yet to experience the magic of instant photography, or if you’ve been away from the game for a while, there’s good news. The film being produced by Polaroid over the last couple of years is more consistent than it has been for a long time.
In certain situations, you may be stuck behind a fence shooting your subject, which can lead to a very distracting grid across your final image. Such a situation is certainly annoying, but luckily, it is something you can fix in post, and this great video tutorial will show you how to get rid of the fence using Photoshop.
When you are shooting wildlife or birds, you do not always get to choose what is behind your subject, and what is otherwise a compelling shot can be brought down by something distracting in the background. If you find yourself in that situation, this great video tutorial will show how to quickly and easily fix a distracting background using Photoshop.
If you are new to photography, it can seem a bit counterintuitive when you see photographers using flash outside when there is plenty of available natural light. However, there is a good reason for this, and this excellent video tutorial will show you both why and how to do it.
It might seem like innocuous, vague advice at first, but it's not. Photography is a difficult craft to stand out in, partially through the depth of the subject, but more down to the sheer number of people taking photographs. This advice can help you on that front.
Nearly everyone today knows about the effectiveness of Google Maps for finding locations anywhere in the world and even perhaps saving them for reference later. There have been countless articles, written even here on Fstoppers, which exhibit its usefulness. However, many fundamental deficiencies arise upon using Google Maps when you take away the one thing it needs to be functional: an internet connection.
