Different camera makes and models are better than others for longevity. The main failing point of cameras is the shutter, because it is a moving part. Most manufacturers publish targets for shutter life. By spending a little more, you may get much better value and reduce environmental impact too.
Having spent a long and exhausting, but fruitful and necessary, weekend going about the chore of reorganizing my overly cluttered garage, I found myself with time to think about a basic question. Why exactly did I become a professional photographer?
I shoot solely raw. However, I know some tremendous photographers whose cameras are set to record just JPEGs, and they will never change. I am envious because they spend less time in front of the computer. Shooting raw is worth learning, but maybe there's also a good reason to shun it.
Bo Burnham's new Netflix comedy special hit people's screens last week, and it has been receiving wholesome responses. The new special, titled "Inside," was impressively solo-filmed over the course of a year, with nothing more than minimal gear inside a small room.
With more and more amazing lenses being introduced at a dizzying pace, I find myself asking a very basic question: How many lenses do I actually need?
Camera sales are declining rapidly. There is seemingly nothing that we can do about it.
Leica pretty much took the world by storm with the 35mm camera, and manufacturers haven't looked back since. In the film and digital realms, 35mm has been the mainstay for any serious photographer, however, it is also true that those who wanted a little bit "more" went medium format. This tended to be the mark of certain professionals with a price tag to match. So, why then is Fuji capitalizing on a digital market that Pentax seemingly had at its feet?
Defining and cultivating photographic style is a "long term" endeavor. Samuel Elkins shares his personal journey through this process.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has leapt into photography, and as usual, Olympus cameras lead the way with these new technologies. Great for enticing new photographers into our art, it simplifies capturing images. However, as AI takes its first big steps into photography, will it boost overall sales?
This is another brief story about the possibility of progress over the course of a photography career.
Photography is undoubtedly the art with the lowest entry point. You can just pick up your phone and snap away. With billions of images created every day, they sometimes follow trends. Many beginner photographers start following pages on Instagram that “repost bangers.” However, those bangers are very far from what photography is about. In this article, I will talk about some of the worst photography trends that have become memes.
Most photographers starting are happy to create an image, stick it on their social media platforms, and call it a day. This doesn’t really cut it once photography becomes more of a career, though, so in this article, I’ll talk a bit more about how to pitch your ideas.
Having a creative block is one of the most frustrating experiences that can happen to anyone who has to (or wants to) create. There are ways of getting past it — lots of ways, in fact — and here is how one YouTuber does it.
Sky replacement has been a method used in landscape photography for years but recently it has become much more accessible with AI assisted features in programs such as Photoshop and Luminar. That accessibility has ignited debates within the photography community raising the question whether or not manipulating an image in such a way is ethical.
Fujifilm has signlehandedly made medium format more accessible now than ever. Cameras such as the Fujifilm GFX 100S offer a whopping 100 megapixels worth of resolution for less than $6,000. With features such as in-body image stabilization and phase detect autofocus from the sensor, Fujifilm has made it really difficult to compete in the medium format segment.
Last week, Adobe rolled out a few updates for Photoshop, including a new addition to its array of Neural Filters: Depth Blur. Right now, this tool produces some pretty bad results, but given time it could affect how much we crave expensive lenses with huge apertures.
The two brands are often the center of many photography arguments online. Some claim that their Godox flashes outshine Profoto, while others are happy to die on the “Profoto is better” hill. The two were not direct competitors, as Godox never took the rental house and powerful 2,400-watt pack and head market. However, the release of their latest pack and head system was singled out as the best thing they have ever done for professional photographers. It is fair to say that Godox is trying to break into the professional market. But are they up for the game and should they try? Let’s find out.
Landscape photography is no walk in the park. It can often be filled with challenges and frustrations. But why do we choose to do what we do?
I have long been a staunch critic of the street photography genre. One of the biggest problems I've seen over the years, most notably as a judge in dozens of major contests, is derivative work. In this article, I will discuss six types of street photographs that we simply don't need any more of.
Contrast means so much more than the separation of light and dark. Understanding the different types of contrast can train our photographic eyes and improve our Images.
Another day, another dollar. In Nikon's case, it wishes it had a whole load more dollars, as its annual financial report shows significant losses. So, is it making progress to get itself back on a level footing with Canon and Sony?
Many compare the rapid rise of mirrorless cameras to the days when digital overtook film. But how different are DSLRs and mirrorless cameras? Well, not that different when compared to the change from film to digital photography. Let's see what changes were made from film to digital and how they compare to the current "giant leap" in technology.
I just bought a DSLR — the Canon 5DS. Yes, you read that right, and no, this article is not a repost from 2016. DSLRs are a very viable option that you should look into before buying your next camera.
Having now had at least one of the second generation of Nikon Z cameras, either the Z 6II or Z 7II, in my possession for almost a year now, I thought I would share three of my favorite things about the cameras so far.
The film era was a cash cow, with cameras being high-precision instruments from specialist manufacturers and because they used film that needed developing and printing, a huge service sector that surrounded it. From the 1960s onward, the sector innovated and grew at breakneck speed. And then, it fell apart. Is that about to happen for digital?
Both the Canon EOS R5 and the Sony a1 are amazing cameras. I have used both next to each other. If you could use one of these for one month with a 50mm f/1.2 lens, which camera would you choose and why?
I often write about the careful process of making sure you get the most bang for your buck when shopping for photo gear. Well, sometimes you just get lucky.
In any given lens review, the most valued and sought-after tests performed are those pertaining to image quality. I believe we have already begun to shift away from this, and here's why.
A few social media platforms, especially those owned by Mark Zuckerberg, monopolize the sharing of images online. Those platforms do have controversies, and Apple’s changes to how Facebook handles data is starting to shake up that dominance. But will it be a good thing for photography? Furthermore, should we consider doing something else with our images instead of posting to social media?
This week, Twitter finally decided to stop cropping image thumbnails on mobile feeds. While many will welcome this news, Twitter still has a lot of work to do if it wants to become a platform that appeals to photographers.
TFP, Time For Print, Time For Photos; All these terms and initialisms can become a bit daunting and overwhelming. What do they all mean? I definitely can’t pay rent with exposure dollars. So why is everyone always offering exposure for compensation?
If amidst all the challenges of the changing times and around the craft itself, you’re still really passionate about photography, it probably brings you significant joy. But why?
Zoom lenses are very versatile. In a way, these lenses offer an infinitely variable focal length adjustment. If you could have only one zoom lens, which focal range would you choose?
Being a Nikon DSLR landscape photographer who is anticipating the foreseeable demise of said cameras, I have been curious about the Nikon Z 7II. I wanted to see how one of these lighter, smaller mirrorless cameras functioned not only for landscapes but as a travel setup. Here are my initial thoughts.
The last year has been pretty dire for the camera industry, as the impact of COVID forced a general shutdown of manufacturing and sales outlets. As parts of the global economy have reopened, we have seen the shoots of revival start to spring up. Will the camera industry return to its 2019 pre-COVID levels?
Let's be honest, surviving the dumpster fire of 2020 is a serious badge of honor. Regardless of where you are or what you had to do, you're here. A large part of that is due to a combination of passion and perseverance. There's a word for that.
I use Lightroom, in some capacity, for everything I shoot. Without it, my workflow would be entirely different, and probably not for the better. While some of the recent feature updates have been fine, I still can’t believe these three features haven’t made it into the software after all this time.
It seems like the mirrorless/DSLR realm operates in a different dimension to phone cameras. Sony’s new a1 body boasts a 50-megapixel full-frame sensor and is cutting edge, yet Samsung’s Galaxy S20 Ultra claims to have a 108 MP sensor — and now there are some wild rumors about upcoming 200 MP phone sensors.
Landscape photography is hardly of any benefit to society, nature, or the world in general. For most people, the commercial value is quite low as well. So why would you do it?
Being a successful artist can sometimes mean being both determined and flexible at the same time. But how can such a duality exist over the course of a career?
Every few years, some brilliant young mind at an ad agency decides that the best way to promote the imaging capabilities of the latest and greatest upcoming smartphone is to create a series of campaign images on the phone. At this point, it’s a convention but proves the point: “This camera is so great that anyone can take great images with it. You know you want to be that person!”
Early on in our photographic career, it seemed as though every photo we took was a new masterpiece. It was clear that I was meant to be a photographer by the awe-inspiring photos I was taking of the streets of New York. Fast-forward a few years, and you couldn't pay me to admit those photos were mine, much less show them.
Standing at the edge of Tunnel View in Yosemite National Park I didn’t feel an immediate connection with the iconic tableau. It wasn’t that the scene, El Capitan, Bridalveil Falls, and Half Dome, wasn’t spectacular, as it was. It is among the most captivating scenes in the world. In spite of the beauty, my camera remained in its bag. I couldn’t conceive of a shot that felt personally connected to the scene. Instead, I only saw vignettes of Ansel Adams' deep love for the place.
It was big news when Adobe introduced a super-resolution function in Adobe Camera Raw. Although this kind of enlargement is not new, many photographers were excited. I know four ways to get super-resolution. Which method do you prefer?
Fuji's Instax line of products — the legacy of its film heyday — is successful. They've sold more than 50 million cameras, with 10 million alone in the 2019 business year. However, more than that, it's the financial powerhouse for its Imaging division, turning over twice as much money as its digital counterpart. It's strange to think that film is where the money is, but for Fuji, that is the case. So, why is it making digital cameras?
Wedding photography is a rather polarizing genre, with many people warning against getting into it due to its pressures and expectations. But for those who have an interest in it but might be put off by its demands, there is another option: being a second shooter. This excellent video discusses five reasons why being a second shooter might be the best choice for you.
The floodgates for artificial intelligence’s interference (or improvements, depending on your point of view) in digital photography have opened up since Apple and Google made it mainstream, with advancements such as Portrait Mode and Night Sight. Adobe took it another direction when it added an A.I.-powered “enhance” feature that enabled the enlarging of photos beyond what’s naturally possible. But is this making photography less real than it should be?
After a long day of shooting, thought I would take a moment to write a short piece about one of the most important tools in my kit.
Image manipulation in various forms has been around from nearly the beginning of the medium itself, and the ethics of that process have been debated for nearly as long. Although this topic seems rather Sisyphean in nature, a conversation with an individual on Instagram inspired me to take a look at it from the perspective of social media in particular.
