Whether you're shooting for a client or just creating something for your portfolio, working with a team of people can be one of the most difficult and intricate parts of the job. Don't worry, because there is a simple piece of paper that can make your life a whole lot easier; it's called a Call Sheet, and I'm going to tell you why you need one.
No matter where you fall in the vast pool of opinions regarding Annie Leibovitz and her skills as a photographer one thing is certain. She and her team consistently produce amazing images. They've knocked another one out of the park with the latest in the Dream Portrait series. In this latest image Jennifer Hudson fills the role of Tiana from The Princess and the Frog.
There's a lot of discussion around having a camera out constantly during experiences. And while the etiquette of it is one question, a recent study shows that taking pictures of enjoyable events does indeed increase one's positive experience of them, as long as a few conditions are met.
Seven months ago I shared the trailer for a documentary about French Landscape Photographer Alexandre Deschaumes, as he creates stunning landscape images all over the world. His travels have taken him to Patagonia, Iceland, Austria, and more, while the time he spends in nature is the time where he seems to get the most creative. The hour long documentary is finally available (for a small fee.)
The UK voted to leave the EU and the British Pound plummeted, meaning this week might be the perfect opportunity to order equipment from the UK if you live within the European Union.
Most of us tend not to think too much about relative screen brightness and the appearance of our photos across the myriad of devices they may be viewed on. But should we?
In theory, crowdfunding seems like one of the beautiful perks of the Internet: any entrepreneur with an idea and the will to bring it to fruition can receive the financial support of interested patrons from all around the world, and in return, those patrons get early and/or discounted access to an exciting new product. The reality is rarely so rosy, and as a consumer, you need to be aware of that.
Being that I’m primarily a wedding and documentary photographer, it’s not every day that I get the chance to take a portrait of a celebrity. Add to this that I live in Northwest Arkansas, which isn't really a hub for celebrities, makes it even less likely for me — especially one as well known as William H. Macy. So I thought it would be interesting to line out how I pulled it off and got the final image.
In an era when working on 30 megapixel and higher images has become the norm, a Photoshop document with dozens of layers can quickly become a burden to work with often slowing to a painful delay after each stroke of a brush. The simplest solution is to constantly be crushing those layers down into a single flat layer but this method is the antithesis of non-destructive editing which can make future client feedback rather difficult to implement. Instead, lets focus on few easy tricks you can do to keep your computer running smoothly during the most complex of composites.
Today, Hasselblad launched the CFV-50c -- a medium format back using the same 50-megapixel CMOS censor in the H5D-50c that can be attached to any existing V-system camera. With no external cables required to connect the backs, the back is incredibly well priced at €11,000. While we're not quite sure what that means for the US market, the new back seems poised to be an incredibly affordable 50MP CMOS medium format system.
Some say film is dead. And while I have to concede that at times, it can seem like it's certainly on a few crutches, I can't say it's dead... Because in reality, it's the most live photography medium I know. And so, I still shoot film. If it's something you've been curious about or if you've been wanting to try it out but don't know how to get started, this is for you.
It’s always important to stop and smell the photos – but what happens when your stop is at night, in complete darkness without any lights to help you out? You improvise. There are a few things you can do to help you compensate for lack of proper lighting equipment.
Mathieu Maury and Antoine Pai are two photography and filmmaking enthusiast who decided to launch a production and advertising company called Maison Carnot. They are passionate about finding new subjects and ways to explore what surrounds them. Based on this philosophy, they came up with the short film "Paris through Pentax".
I will start this article off by saying that I am not a pet photographer. I am a portrait photographer that typically captures humans for magazines and ads. However, a couple years ago I started a pit bull charity (Not A Bully) and it unexpectedly led me to some jobs photographing rescue animals. If you're reading this, you already know that capturing animal portraits is a unique challenge in itself. I've done some of the difficult leg work for you and put together a list of tips to hopefully make your next in-studio pet portrait session much easier.
I've been using both standard and programmable shutter release cables for ages. With the built-in interval option in modern cameras, these remote cables have become almost obsolete. Just remember one setting when using the interval option: the length of the exposure.
Creating panoramas with your DSLR is not too hard to do, but it takes time and effort, and it's something you dont always want to spend time on. Also, we photographers don't always take our equipment with us everywhere we go. With the (kind of) new iOS its now easier than ever to create on-the-fly panoramas on your phone. Easy as snapping a picture. And surprisingly - the results can look pretty awesome. The iPhone is capable of capturing images up to 28 megapixels in size, which is pretty big and can be printed really nicely.
The tilt-shift lens is probably one of the most special lenses available. It allows the photographer to turn, shift, and tilt the lens in many different ways. In this article, I explain when and how to use the shift function.
With a recent update, Wacom has decided to drop the name 'Bamboo' from their lineup. Instead, it is now simply called the Intuos. It comes with a new product to replace the old Bamboo lineup. Secondly, the previously known Intuos will now be called the Intuos Pro. They also have modified the design a bit. In addition, they have also released a special edition Intuos Pro.
We have all seen the comparison from one iPhone to the next as the newest tech is announced and the previous model is shot off as outdated and useless. This time we look at the evolution of mobile shooting and the tech that brings us into a new era of photography. Looking all the way back to the first iPhone and the quality of image versus the newest flagship from Apple, the iPhone 6, it's remarkable how far we have come and it excites me to see where we can go from here.
As you can imagine I spend a lot of time in Photoshop. And when you spend as much time in Photoshop as I do, you want to work as fast and efficiently as you can. Knowing your way around the layers panel in Photoshop is a great way to maximize efficiency. I teamed up with Fstoppers to create a video tutorial that focuses specifically on the layers panel in Photoshop. In this video, I’lll show you have to maximize your workflow with a series of practical tips and shortcuts. This video is great for beginners, however, even if you’re well versed in Photoshop, you may just learn something new.
Most marketing guides and strategies have us focusing on the direct approach to obtaining clients. We try and find short cuts and clever tactics to steal the attention from our competitors. Sometimes it is worth considering the long road as it is often less travelled and will ultimately lead you to the same destination. Tap into the power of the support system.
Breaking your way into a very competitive film industry can be tough without proper guidance. While there is no real blueprint to success, there are some strategic approaches that can improve your chances of achieving a rewarding and lucrative career.
I've actually had quite a few people request that I create a tutorial for my production processes wherein I add background textures into my studio shots. I know, it has taken me forever to get around to actually putting it together, but it's here now! The tools that I will go over in this tutorial are quite handy for a variety of uses. But for this tutorial, we will specifically use them to select and mask the background in a studio portrait shot.
Back in October, we got a taste of Nikon’s plans for 2020 and 2021. The lens line-up for its Z-mount cameras has been slightly lackluster to date, but things might be about to change — coronavirus permitting.
Buying expensive gear and mastering lighting and technique play an important role in photography but ultimately, these things are secondary in achieving a solid portrait when facial expressions are factored in. No matter the genre of photography, whether it's fashion, weddings or family portraits, connecting to the subject is far more important than any other detail in shooting portraits. When portraying a personality or specific mood, there is a necessity to connect and extract emotions and moods.
Photoshop blending modes are one of those areas in Photoshop that a very few people understand in full detail. Everyone has a general idea on how they work and what some of the modes do specifically. Much of it has always seemed to be understood through experimentation. The results you get are often guessed. If you're the lucky few who know all of them precisely, you will still want to read this article.
While many of us have grown to love the services offered by the web giant Squarespace, their e-commerce options have been seriously lacking one important feature needed for professional photographers. In this candid letter to Squarespace, I pose a couple of questions that I feel the company may not be listening to.
As you probably know, Fstoppers has recently switched over our video system from Nikon D750s to Panasonic GH5s. The GH5 is absolutely perfect for our style of shooting and I really don't have much to complain about... Except the lenses. Why do they cost so much?
One of Canon's most exciting lenses is the new RF 100-300mm f/2.8 L IS USM, which takes the popular 300 f/2.8 supertelephoto prime and replaces it with a far more versatile zoom option at essentially the same price. Now, it appears the company may be planning a second major supertelephoto zoom lens.
Real estate photography is a relatively simple way to make money off your photography. That said, there are some very common compositional mistakes that I see lots of photographers making on a regular basis. Fixing these four things can greatly improve how your real estate photos show off a property!
