As photographers, we often are bogged down in what gear to buy, what lens to choose, what has better specs, and so on. To everyone's satisfaction or disappointment, these things will only make a marginal difference in most cases. As a photographer, you need to have more skills than gear. I am here to tell you the five most important ones.
Content-Aware fill is one of the most useful innovations in the history of Photoshop, allowing you to convincingly replace a wide variety of things in an image quickly and easily without having to do a lot of manual cloning and blending. It is not perfect, though, but with a bit of know-how, you can get a lot more from it.
Running a successful portrait session can be a daunting task, especially for photographers who are new to working in a studio. The myriad of options can easily become overwhelming. There are endless choices for light modifiers, backdrops, props, clothing, poses, and all the rest, but I have found that having a consistent plan and process is the key to success.
Knowing how to balance flash and ambient light is one of the most crucial skills a portrait photographer can have, as it will give you the ability to shoot in just about any environment with full creative and technical control.
Like it or not, hard light happens a lot outside, and if you are a portrait or wedding photographer, you can't just reschedule the ceremony or session every time you don't have clouds to give you soft light. So, what can you do to still create flattering images?
Most newer photographers will begin their editing journey in Lightroom rather than Photoshop, and even as you become more advanced, you will notice that you can still do a lot or even most of your editing in the former, only needing to resort to the latter for truly complex post-processing tasks.
A photograph is a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional scene, and as such, part of the challenge posed to the photographer is recreating a sense of depth in the image. This is particularly important to holding your viewer's attention in landscape photography, and one of the most effective ways to accomplish this is through the use of layers.
Becoming a successful photographer takes the confluence of technical aptitude, creative thinking, problem-solving capabilities, and more. This requires you to be able to address multiple aspects of your work simultaneously, sometimes making it a bit tricky to figure out why things might not be going well.
If you're still not sure exactly how to use masking in Lightroom, this will answer all your questions.
Soft light is generally the preferred style for portraits, as it is more flattering on the subject. However, soft light produces more gradual transitions and requires relatively larger sources, which can make it more difficult to precisely control where it is falling in the frame.
Landscape photography is a popular yet difficult genre, and while you can learn to create a technically apt photo, finding your creative voice is another issue entirely. Why is it so difficult to be creative in landscape photography? This fantastic video essay looks at the question and offers some useful insights you can apply to your own work.
Landscape photography is a challenging genre full of nuance, as it requires a combination of technical aptitude and the ability to work through issues out of your control, such as poor weather or hard light.
It sounds a bit strange or even silly at first, but it is advice that will serve you well, especially in an age where we are inundated by images and unsolicited feedback. This great video features some really important advice that is well worth taking the time to listen to.
Composition is always a tricky and subtle thing, and in a genre where you do not have control of the physical placement of the elements, like landscape photography, it can be particularly difficult. If composition is something you struggle with in your landscape images, check out this helpful video tutorial that will share some useful advice sure to help you improve your photos.
We all have genres that we usually shoot, but sometimes, we want to dabble in photography outside our comfort zone. It is possible to start getting great photos in other areas without them becoming a full-time occupation or costing a fortune in the extra kit. Here's how to do that with wildlife photography.
This video is the second part (of three) of Smarter Everyday's in-depth tour of Kodak's film production line in Rochester, New York. In the first video, we saw how the base of the film is made out of pellets, as they're melted down and formed into uniform, thin, clear sheets.
You've heard your industry colleagues say it. You've read the news articles and listened to the business pundits. The economy is in a recession, and your photography business is suffering.
Some tools are just too powerful to not have in your tool bag as a photographer, and the plate composite technique is one such method.
Do you have a Canon EOS R5? In that case, you’re probably aware of the overheating issues when filming. It isn’t of any concern if you’ll never use the video function. But what if an overheating warning occurs while photographing? I experienced that situation, and I have the solution.
$100,000 is a lot of money. Perhaps life-changing for many among us. But that's how much this photographer insists he lost due to a regrettable mistake. Learn what it is so you don't do the same.
While there are definitely some similarities, editing video takes some special considerations and adjustments to your workflow that are not necessary when working with photos. A lot of the focus is on efficiency and managing resources effectively, and one of the most powerful tools for achieving that is proxy files.
The beauty of any artistic pursuit is that there is always room to grow creatively, to improve technically, and to learn something new. If you would like to improve your photography, check out this fantastic video tutorial that offers five useful tips sure to put you on the track to better images.
When it comes to landscape photography, few accessories are more useful than the ND filter, which allows you to extend your shutter speed to introduce creative effects in water and the sky. ND filters come in several variants, however. So, which should you buy as your first option? This excellent video tutorial will show you.
If you’re starting out in product photography and you’re not working with a props stylist, it can feel overwhelming when it comes to building out a props collection. Here are my go-to props for laying the foundations of a versatile collection so that you can save money and space and speed up your workflow.
There is honestly no task I hate more than culling large image sets, but if you are a sports, events, wildlife, or wedding photographer, you are probably used to coming home with sets of thousands of images. So, how can you make this tedious task as efficient and painless as possible? This excellent video tutorial will show you a fast and effective workflow.
I take photos to get them printed to either hang them in my apartment or sell them to customers. And while it's important for me that those prints appear sharp and detailed, it's crucial to get a correct representation of the colors and contrasts.
You can spend years working on perfecting your technique and developing your creative voice, and while those are crucial to finding success as a professional, they are not all you need. Understanding the ins and outs of running a business is a requirement of being a professional photographer, and this great video tutorial will run you through some of the things you need to know.
Programs like Photoshop have gained some pretty impressive automated sky replacement functions in the last few years, making a task that used to be rather tedious and involved far more efficient and easy. Nonetheless, one place where things can get tricky is when there is a body of water reflecting the sky in the frame.
Is it just me, or is Lightroom Classic getting more powerful as a standalone editing tool with every update? Learn how to use some of its wonderful tools to create gorgeous, rich sunset tones in your images.
Waterfalls are some of the most popular subjects in landscape photography, able to take an otherwise static scene and add dynamic movement that captures the viewer's attention. It is about more than simply plopping your tripod in front of one, though. This great video tutorial will show you some helpful tips sure to improve your waterfall images.
If you are new to photography and working with your first camera, you are probably using a kit lens. However, the beauty of dedicated interchangeable lens cameras is that you can swap out the lens for any one of dozens that better suit your creative and technical needs.
We all love a great landscape under an amazing sky. Clouds, sunlight, sunrays, and colors are often preferred over a simple and dull sky. But sometimes, nature doesn’t show us the things we like to see, something that can be frustrating if we can’t go back a second time. Is there a solution?
Many people don't like to talk about money when it comes to photography, but it shouldn't be a dirty word. Here's how to turn your creativity into cash in just a few simple steps.
Macro photography is a genre that just about anyone can try, and it can open up an entirely new world of subjects and opportunities all hiding in plain sight. This great video features an experienced macro photographer discussing four reasons why the genre is addictive fun.
When it comes to portrait photography, the softbox is one of the most fundamental and versatile tools you can have in your kit. If you are new to working with artificial lighting, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you how to properly place a softbox to get the best results.
Misty, foggy conditions can be fantastic for breathing new life into a landscape image composition, but they require a different approach than normal conditions to produce a compelling final image. This helpful video tutorial will give you some useful tips for shooting in misty conditions to ensure you come home with the best possible photos.
We see patterns everywhere. Related to rhythm and texture, they are powerful tools in photography for a host of reasons.
No matter what genre you shoot, a good contract is essential to ensuring smooth client interactions and protecting you in case something goes wrong, but in wedding photography, it is a particularly important thing to take care of. This helpful video tutorial will walk you through an effective wedding photography contract to make sure you are on the up and up.
Do you ever find yourself repeating yourself over and over again to prospective clients in your workflow? If so, here are the templates I’ve created that both anticipate my clients’ questions and save me valuable time in my product photography business.
We spend a lot of time talking about elements of shooting a portrait that revolve around the subject, such as posing and retouching, but of course, a good image has to have a well-balanced composition. This great video tutorial will show you five steps for creating a compelling portrait composition that stands above those we are used to seeing these days.
Knowing how to light, compose, and pose a portrait is only half of what it takes to create a finished image. The other half is retouching, and it takes a variety of techniques and a delicate touch to create a compelling result. This excellent video tutorial will show you everything you need to know to edit a portrait using both Lightroom and Photoshop.
It used to be that continuous lighting was either way too hot or simply not powerful enough for lighting portraits, but LEDs have come quite a long way in recent years, and they are now a viable alternative to strobes in certain situations. This great video examines the two options while showing off a unique light that can do both.
In the final part of my four-part series, I want to focus on the one person who can make or break your photography business: you.
Photography, like any other art, is a highly subjective pursuit, and as such, it can sometimes be a bit difficult to know if you are doing well or what you can do to improve. So, what is it that makes a good photograph? What does it mean to be a good photographer? This excellent video essay explores those questions and offers some useful insights.
Content-Aware fill was one of the most useful advancements in the history of Photoshop, allowing you to quickly and effectively clean up distractions in images without having to do loads of tricky work to make the result convincing. While it does not work for every situation, its usefulness stretches farther than you might think.
A strong community and invested mentors are crucial ingredients for sustainable growth and success. I recently had the chance to sit down and talk with two Canon Canada FUTURES alum, Eli Meadow Ramraj and Gessy Robin Shumbusho, about the importance of community in their careers. The deadline for Canon Canada's FUTURES Year Two incubator program is fast approaching.
One of the things the pandemic taught us is how important it is to diversify one's income streams, particularly when events entirely outside our control can put those streams in serious jeopardy.
Leading lines are one of the most powerful compositional tools at a landscape photographer's disposal, allowing you to easily capture the viewer's eye and guide it through the image. Nonetheless, they are not the only compositional tool available to you, and it is important to practice other methods as well.
There are a ton of different modifiers available for working with artificial lighting, and it can be a bit overwhelming (and expensive) to pick one when you are just starting out. Umbrellas are some of the cheapest modifiers out there, and as such, they are a fantastic tool for learning how to work with artificial light, and they can do a lot more than they often get credit for.
As far as I can tell, we should never stop learning and when it comes to my photography, I am always looking to gather information from others. In this video, experienced landscape photographer, Nigel Danson, takes you through something he learned that benefited his worth from then on.