Five Sources of Creative Inspiration

Inspiration is something we all wrestle with as creatives. Where do our ideas come from? Why can’t we simply come up with them on the fly? Why do we wake up at three o’clock in the morning with the perfect shoot planned out? How can we get more of these kinds of ideas? Let’s look at a few things that I do to keep myself inspired and ready to create.

[Pics] 20 Amazing Macro Photographs Of Human Eyes

I've seen a lot of macro shots of eyes before but nothing with the detail of these shots by Suren Manvelyan. I had always heard that like a fingerprint, each human eye is totally unique and I finally understand that after seeing these images.
Fstoppers Reviews the Westcott Bi-Color Flex Light

Westcott is known for their amazing lighting products. Not only do they have great lighting modifiers and lights, but they are also constantly coming up with new technologies and products that make life as a photographer easier. Their new line of flex lights promises to do just that, but how do they perform in the real world?

15 Keyboard Shortcuts to Speed Up Your Color Grading Process in Davinci Resolve

For years, I have heard good things about Davinci Resolve as a powerful industry-standard video editing software. Despite all the positive things I have heard, I was reluctant to make the shift from Adobe Premiere Pro, fearing the entire process of relearning new software from scratch. However, motivated by the frustration of frequent crashes, I have finally made the call for the long-needed switchover.

Asking the Right Questions to Better Your Photography Knowledge

Learning is a process that takes time. Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hour rule applies to the so-called mastery of anything. By working hard on our craft, we are able to become proficient in the tools and techniques required to make the end product we desire. We go through stages of understanding and breaking our understanding. These are natural parts of our learning cycle, and the end goal should be to learn not how to do things, but how to ask the right questions to get where we want to go.

Why Should I Do Unpaid Photography Work?

Some people say that you shouldn't work for free because it devalues your work, while others say that you have to do some in order prove your worth in a world saturated with photographers. I know, I know: doing free work has been talked about ad-nauseam on every site and forum across the web. But I know better than everyone else, so prepare to get more nauseous. Grab a bucket and strap yourself in, folks.

Swift Galleries: One of The Hottest New Programs for Photographers

I absolutely love seeing the photos I have taken hanging up in my client's house. However, I dread the time it takes to get together and try to sell large prints or canvases as I know I could be using the time for other things. Finally, I've found a solution that I am super excited about that will make the experience for both my clients and I enjoyable, quick and easy. The end result is a win-win for both of us. Swift Galleries is about to change everything!

Traits of a Successful Photography Business

Professional photography is a business, and like any business there are patterns and traits that exist when looking at what works and what doesn’t work. Here are a few traits every successful photography business shares that you can incorporate into your business.

Adobe Releases Lightroom 5.3 and Camera Raw 8.3

Adobe has announced Lightroom 5.3 and Camera Raw 8.3 to provide additional camera raw support, lens profile support and address bugs that were introduced in previous releases of Lightroom. New raw support includes cameras like the Canon EOS M2, Fujifilm X-E2 and Sony A7R.

How to Create Fun, Outrageous Portraits Your Clients Will Love

While beautiful, classic family portraits will never go out of fashion, sometimes clients desire something that shows the fun, frivolous nature of their relationships with each other, as well as the lifestyles they love. A fun, outrageous portrait that shows the special family dynamic may be just what your clients are looking for.

Stop the Excuses and Pick That Camera Up Once Again

Do you feel like you are living in a parallel world where time both seemingly stops but also goes at a rate faster than before? Have the constant restrictions paralyzed you and left you unable to foresee picking up your camera anytime soon?

Storage Is About to Get More Expensive

Supply shortages have hit many industries quite hard in the last few years, and the camera and computer industries have not been immune. A recent discovery of contaminated materials at two major manufacturing plants has led to significant impacts on the flash memory market, which analysts predict will likely lead to increased prices.

Alpine Photographer Takes Us Behind-the-Scenes of Phase One's Capture One Pro 8 Campaign

When alpine photographer Kamil Tamiola was tapped to become the key photographer for a campaign announcing Phase One's Capture One Pro 8 software release at Photokina 2014, he had his work cut out for him. Nine weeks of planning went into this powerful concept of imagery that would be used as the subject for processing in the soon to be introduced software. In this video Tamiola takes us on a behind-the-scenes alpine exploration to Glacier Geant just above the town of Courmayeur in Aosta Valley.

Fstoppers Reviews the Wyze Cam: A $25 Security Cam for Your Hotel

This is a look at how this affordable home security cam can be used for increasing security of your gear while traveling on assignment. Even though it was never designed for this purpose, unlike a lot of other options on the market the Wyze Cam has just the right features to make it possible.

Color Correction and Helpful Tips For Underwater Boudoir Editing

Color balance underwater is not always an easy task. In a fresh water spring, you have the ability to capture the red spectrum a bit more than in a pool, but still not nearly as much as on land. The approach to color correcting your underwater images is not as daunting as it may seem the moment you open them up on your computer and see just blue hues. A few tips will bring back what you envisioned the moment you submerged your camera.

The Invisible Element That's More Important Than Your Camera Gear

Technicality and equipment aren't all there is to becoming a meaningful photographer. In my own work it's actually the least important part. My favorite words to hear clients say are “wow, you captured the real me.” The following are tips to get these reactions out of your subjects. They have nothing to do with your gear, but will guide you to capturing your subjects the way they are when they're completely comfortable, instead of the nervous and self-conscious forms of themselves.

How You Can Save Locations to Photograph Later

When you get to a new place you haven’t been to before, or, even if you have been there in the past, you often see something new. It’s what travel does, it lets you see new things in new ways you haven’t seen before. So when you’re walking down the street with phone in hand but you've left the camera at your hotel or apartment and you see something you’d like to shoot, how do you save the location so you can get back to it again?

Utah Salt Flats:  Photographing Capoeira With Natural Light And Strobe

Last time we featured a video from Mike Tittel, he was showcasing his edgy lighting look on some female tennis players. This time he has taken his photography team to the salt flats of Utah to photography the Brazilian sport Capoeira. For this shoot, Mike pulls out a few Profoto 7Bs with 2x3' gridded softboxes for many of the shots. However it's his natural lit shots that really grabbed my attention which he lit using the very helpful 4x6 California Sunbounce to fill his subjects. After the video, head over to Mike Tittel's Website to check out more of his work and click on the full post to read how Mike lit these shots in his own words.
Four Ways to Become a Better, Happier Photographer

I remember the thrill of owning my first camera: the Panasonic FZ20. I was so excited; I didn't need an alarm to get me up for sunrise. How things have changed! These days, if no one is commissioning the shoot I struggle to be motivated. This article tracks how this happened and offers four suggestions on how to keep enjoying photography.

Woman Attempting Selfie Attacked by Jaguar

A woman was left requiring medical treatment after she climbed over a barrier at a zoo in order to take a selfie and was mauled by a jaguar. The incident happened at Wildlife World Zoo near Pheonix, Arizona.

The Truth of How I Hired My Last Model For a Major Ad Campaign

You book a commercial job and the client wants a beautiful face to grace their next ad. The client relies on you, the photographer to help with the process of hiring the model. The crew you hire rely on you to select the right candidate for their needs. That's great, right? Get the most radiant face, possibly the one with the highest social media numbers for that extra bump and you're set! Is that how it works?

Trash the Dress Pictures with the Super Moon

Sometimes great pictures just show up and all you have to do is press the shutter. The majority of the time, however, they takes careful planning. Andre Fernandes planned out this trash the dress session quite well, taking advantage of a once in a year opportunity using the super moon as a unique background.

100 More Years of Analog Film | Film Ferrania Announces Comeback Plan

The film industry has changed dramatically in the past ten years. Most film companies have struggled with the reduced demand, many being forced into bankruptcy. Film Ferrania was one of the casualties of the digital age, but has decided to re-emerge stronger than ever before.