Opinion

Keeping your gadgets charged on the go is essential if you travel a lot and expect to get any work done on the road. Thanks to the millions of battery packs that are out there, charging your phone is easy enough. But what if you need to keep your laptop charged while off the grid for a day’s shoot or while on a long flight without an outlet? Omni 20 is one of the only, and most recent, solutions that will charge anything you throw at it, including that ultra-powerful new MacBook Pro.

Buying the right gear for you is not only a question of money. Sometimes the wisest decisions are made within a tight budget, while the stupidest choices may be made when finances are abundant. In this article I'd like to share with you my process of buying new gear for my photography and video projects.

We live in times of turmoil. The old fixed orders of the post-World-War-II globe have lately been called into question in new and unexpected ways. People are more engaged in politics than ever before during most of our lifetimes. Photography has always been a very political art form, and not simply in the obvious ways. You may not think that your images are political because they do not showcase political issues. But even if they don't do that, they still say something in the political sphere. As we all struggle to be the best photographers we can be, none of us should forget that, when taking and making images, we always also make statements.

Last year, my husband and I traveled to Greece. While we were in Athens, we could not avoid crossing paths with the same couple at every sightseeing location we went to. I must have seen the entire wardrobe of the girl during those hours we walked. Her eccentric wardrobe change was not the only thing that caught my attention. It was rather strange to witness an all dressed-up girl posing alone non-stop. To me, it was definitely meant for social media.

A few months ago, I started a passion project of mine: FilmObjektiv.org. Film Objektiv was started with one goal in mind: to get more people shooting film. We do this by renting film cameras at low prices for longer periods of time, by providing prints at a low cost, and also by serving as an online and educational resource to help film shooters find everything they'd ever need. It's this last part that still needs some work, but it's well on its way with this new pricing guide for film labs across the country. Still, I could use your help.

By its (fabricated) definition, “Great Light” is soft, of an orange tinge, preferably at an oblique vertical angle and coming from a direction that shapes the subject enough without causing harsh shadows. So we’re essentially talking about sunsets and sunrises. But must we only whip out the camera at golden hour? Or are there more photographic opportunities to be had?

For me, storage is a huge pain. On one hand, it’s simple. Buy a bunch of hard drives, back everything up, repeat. But I want to simplify it further. I hate having one system that’s speedy for in-office editing and another that’s slow, but network-connected. I couldn’t find anything that offered both a network connection and fast thunderbolt-like speeds when attached locally until I came across QNAP’s TVS-871T networked-attached storage solution that also features dual Thunderbolt connectivity.

I recently traded my Nikon DSLR for an unbranded mystery camera for a few days to test out an entirely new concept: camera as a service.

Polaroid has been an iconic brand for over 80 years in the photo community. Even though they have had a few recent slips to adapt to the fast-growing tech world, it's finally finding its grass roots in the latest generation of photographers. Their latest offering comes with the incredibly fun and portable Polaroid Snap Touch. The Snap Touch is an all-in-one camera and printer just like the original, but this time it comes packed with a 3.5-inch LCD touch screen and full video capabilities.

The thought process of skin retouching seems to vary between photographers. Many favor a smooth, glossy effect, some like it natural, and others don’t retouch at all. So, where do we draw the line? There’s no right or wrong answer, but what do most people prefer?

I just picked up my Inspire 2 Monday and couldn't be happier to have it. After working with a Phantom 3 Advanced and Professional for about a year and a half, this new drone makes all the difference in the world.

If you follow world class retoucher and owner of Solstice Retouching, Pratik Naik, you already know he is something of a jokester. Routinely posting quirky comments, mostly photography or retouching related, Pratik could very well be the Ellen DeGeneres of our industry, although I can't say for sure until I see him dance. Pratik's blog often carries over many of his antics.

Kim Kardashian West needed to bare her booty in an attempt to "break the internet" for Paper Magazine, but move over Kim, the Queen has just side stepped your attempts in grand fashion. Beyoncé's birth announcement photo, published yesterday, has captured more than 8 million likes on Instagram as of this writing, making it the most liked photo to ever grace the social media platform.

There are plenty of mistakes beginner photographers make along the road to becoming a seasoned pro. While it's important not to be discouraged by small, correctable mistakes, it's equally as important to acknowledge them. In this short video tutorial, Mango Street Lab lay out three common mistakes that beginner photographers make in a clean and understandable way.

Last year I got a chance to work with UNICEF on a maternity project where I had to work with a lot of moms-to-be and kids. I have been surrounded with kids all my life and was a new mom myself, so I instantly agreed to be part of it. This was a challenge I was happy to embrace. It is not hard to photograph your own child, a sibling, or someone you already know. Kid photography is probably one of the most difficult genres in the industry if you don’t have a proper approach. In this article I will share my knowledge and experience I gained during years of working with kids.

Do you remember Adobe's Creative Suite or CS? Yes, it was that family of Adobe applications that served creatives well for quite a long time. We used to buy perpetual licenses for applications from the Creative Suite, which felt like you really owned something. You paid and it was yours. Well, Adobe says you can't do that anymore.

Orlando recently passed an ordinance that will now require drone users to pay to fly in many public spaces. The ordinance itself is very problematic and shows a serious lack of understanding of drones.

In the days when film reigned, most people thought that once you took a photo, the image was completed. They thought that clicking the shutter was the end of the process (They obviously didn’t know much about darkroom manipulation). But, as photographers know, that “click” is only a small part of the photographic process. The rest lies in forethought before taking the image, and the way in which it’s processed after it’s taken.

This is more or less the camera that started film photography for me. Since developing an appreciation for Joey L’s work, I wanted to shoot medium format. The focus falloff and rendering was just so surreal compared to full-frame and crop-sensor cameras that I had been shooting with. Unfortunately, the cost of entry was a little steep for a digital back. After doing some research I stumbled upon film 645 cameras. And so it began.

At the time I was a 31-year-old N.J. and N.Y.C. luxury wedding photographer that had been married for 5 years and had over 6 years of stable business ownership. You’d think getting pregnant would’ve been no big deal — but it was for me.

As I read another report this week of a photographer losing his life’s work to petty theft, I started to question if I was doing enough to back up my own images. How many copies of your work do you currently keep? Are you doing enough to protect your photos? It’s easy to get complacent, but ask yourself: are you prepared for a thief to strike?

I've heard stories of clients who said that. They feel the service of a certain photographer is way too expensive, as to them, it's merely clicking of a button. I tend to agree with many who say that.

Instragram is a great social media platform for photographers. Being primarily focused on images, the popular platform allows for talented photographers to develop a feed that provides their followers a sense of who they are and what they do. So what happens when who you are stays the same, but what you do changes?

Here’s a question: what medium do you work in? Well, you may say, I’m a photographer. What kind of question is that? I take photos. Photography is my medium.

To be honest, I’m not huge on pop culture. So when I heard that Kate Middleton, The Duchess of Cambridge, was recently awarded an honorary membership into The Royal Photographic Society, I didn’t really think much of it. Doing some research on it, there are quite a few opinions on her, her work, and her new membership into the society that I think are relevant to talk about in regards to the photo industry as a whole.

Many of you are familiar with Ted Forbes and his popular YouTube channel, "The Art of Photography." Personally, I’ve always appreciated his candid nature and helpful attitude towards anyone and everyone on their photographic journeys. From his videos covering various film cameras to the philosophy of certain photographic pioneers, he has produced some incredibly helpful, honest content. Furthering that, his newest video tackles the idea of creating photographs or a body of work that has lasting importance.

If you work in a competitive area for your photo or video work, chances are that you’ve experienced losing a client at some point. Whether there were creative differences, budget issues, or you weren’t available, there are some things that you can do to alleviate some of the sting from breaking up with a client, and perhaps put you in a better position to work with them in the future, even if the root cause is simply that they couldn't afford your rates.

The time of year in which many of us pause, reflect, and consider the changes we wish to make for the year ahead has arrived. Resolution inquiries may excite you or fill you with dread as friends or family members begin asking you what you have planned for 2017. Myself, I am not a fan of resolutions set at New Year and forgotten a few weeks later. Some of us have likely abandoned several already. Research continues to show us that one thing is very clear, to be successful, you must have clear goals, but you must also become very intentional in your process toward that target. So here is a list of things you can change in your live today, that will benefit you greatly if you make them a part of your routine.

The past couple of weeks I have challenged myself to keep up with my own personal blog on my website. I felt like this would be a good way to document my life and stories about photography so I decided to give it a go. Last year I wasn’t to fond of this whole idea but looking back, I feel like I was just being a bit lazy and making an excuse not to have one or keep up with one. Now however, that has changed and I encourage people to go out there and start their own blogs, or pick up on one they have already started.

I've noticed a peculiar phenomenon lately that I don't quite understand. I'll be browsing someone's website or Instagram, and the piece of information they lead with is the gear they're shooting with. Why do photographers do this?