The Basics of How to Shoot Video to Make More Money

As photographers, it is often incredibly simple to just stay in your safe lane and stick to photos. I know people that have been photographing for years and never once touched the video function on their DSLR. They are intimidated by it. But adding video to your marketable skills is far simpler than you may think, and with today’s rapidly changing landscape, it’s an incredible tool to add to your repertoire.

7 Tips to Improve Your Photography as a Beginner

There are many simple and effective techniques that you can utilize to improve your photography when you're just starting out. Check out these seven simple tips to help you improve your photography as a beginner.

Easy Approaches for Adding Lens Flare to Your Images

When shooting images outdoors, particularly in bright sunlight and towards the sun, the appearance of lens flare is often an unintended consequence. It can reduce contrast in your image and create nasty artifacts that can ruin your shot. Conversely, creating a flare in post can produce vibrant results that I find many clients asking for in their images. Here are three easy to use methods for adding a flare in your images tastefully and non-destructively, each providing a unique look and feel.

Fotodiox Takes LED to Film/TV Market with new Fresnel Lights

Fotodiox just announced a brand new fresnel-style LED light that is dimmable, focusable and cooler than traditional fresnel tungsten lights. The new lights offer a power of 9,100 – 60,000 Lux/m Luminance, which Fotodiox is saying is about the same as the output of a 1K light, all controlled wirelessly. This adds another high-powered LED to the Fotodiox lineup, the first being the LED100WA.

Is LinkedIn Overlooked by Photographers? Six Tips to Get More Out of It

Is LinkedIn one of the most overlooked social media networks for photographers? With over 460 million users and growing, it’s not something you can just ignore. Yet, that's exactly what a lot of photographers do, myself included. We joined Facebook because everyone was already there, and Instagram just makes sense for visual professionals. LinkedIn started out as a tool for building a resume and finding a new job. As self-employed freelance individuals, do we really have a need for that?

A Photographer's Guide To Content Marketing

Do you remember when it was easy to trick search engines into ranking your website high for a search term? Or the time when it was sufficient to insert your keyword all over your website and you'd rank high in search listings? The good ol’ days of purchasing a domain name that was literally your top preferred search term to rank for, and stuffing your website with that same keyword and tricking Google into listing your website first are long gone and the rise of content marketing has taken over.

Leave The iPad at Home, Print Your Portfolio

Every photographer today has a digital portfolio of some kind but only a very few have spent the time to create a printed book. In this video, we look into three very differently designed printed portfolios.

Robert Capa's Unseen Color Photos

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Robert Capa, the iconic war photographer and Magnum Photos co-founder whose life, documented in the autobiography Slightly Out of Focus, is the stuff of legend. Capa's centenary has brought with it a number of undiscovered treasures from his life including his only surviving audio interview from October 1947 but also a rich collection of slide film taken on assignment from 1938 until his death in 1954.

Bite-Size PS Tutorials: Quickly and Easily Create Your Own Photoshop Actions

Everyone and their Auntie seem to sell Photoshop action sets these days, as if they're the answer to something. I'm primarily referring to action sets which create entire "looks" for your image, but there are uses for actions which are less comprehensive and arguably more useful. For example, I use an action for sharpening my images which creates a layer I can lower the opacity of or mask until it is satisfactory. Actions like these are easy to create and can result in accrued time saved. This guide will ensure even people whom have just picked up Photoshop for the first time can create actions.

Instagram's Hidden Advertisements

So there was a big stink a few months ago when Instagram started using advertisements. I remember being angry and turned off when I saw an ad for whatever-it-was pop up in my feed (guess it didn't work). But that first ad is the only one I remember seeing, and I'm on Instagram more than I should be. As it turns out, Instagram is hiding those ads right in plain view.

Winners of the Sigma Photo Contest!

Thank you to everyone who entered our Shallow Depth photo contest sponsored by Sigma. We got a huge number of entrants, which goes to show how many of you really want this lens. Selecting from all the entries was tough. but in the end we were able to narrow it down.

Building the House of Capture One Version 8 - Imaging Software Evolution

This is a really unique article for me to post. I was talking with my friends at New York City based Phase One dealer, Digital Transitions, and they were interested in sharing the story of how industry's leading RAW processing and tethering software, Capture One, evolved into what it is today. It is very interesting to learn how a company learns from its products weaknesses and grows to make something that really shines. Read below to learn more:

How Much Risk Are You Willing to Take for Your Photography?

It’s a subject not often addressed but significant in the process of creating images. There are domains where risks have to be assessed, evaluated, and prevented. Taking risks is sometimes necessary, although that encompasses many different aspects, and the stakes are also diverse. It mostly depends on your photo field and where you are on your photography journey.

The Photographer's Guide to a Ten-Minute Passport Photo

If you're anything like me then you feel pretty strongly that your face belongs behind a camera, not in front of it. I absolutely hate getting my picture taken, and I'm never more displeased than when I get my photo IDs made. From garish drug store / post office lighting to a poorly executed smile there's always a reason to dread whipping out my driver's license or ID. While I can't really help you with your DMV escapades, passports are unique in that you can actually provide your own image for the document — something I recently took advantage of and you can too. So here it is, The Photographer's Guide to Taking a Passport Photo You Won't Want to Destroy with Fire. All in 10 minutes or less.

The Greatest Beard Montage We've Ever Seen

For your viewing pleasure: Sao Paolo-based photographer and art director Adriano Alarcon paused midst shave of his impressive four-month beard to pose for a peculiar series of self-portraits.

Guess How This Art Director Proposed

We were staying on a houseboat in Amsterdam for three months when I first met Viviane. My wife did a test shoot with her, and I shot some videos that day, and we became friends. She’s an international model represented by Premier Model Management and Modelwerk. Her then-boyfriend and now fiancé is an art director in Amsterdam.

How Gnarly Bay Brought 'SPACE' to Life

Gnarly Bay, who I wrote about a few months back, have just released their latest film, “SPACE.” It's a film that explorers the idea of space, but not in the conventional sense. I spoke with Dan over at Gnarly Bay who talked about the inspiration for “SPACE” and how it took almost six years to complete this video, using footage that was shot back in 2009 when he first traveled with a DSLR through New Zealand with his then girlfriend, now wife.

Why Is Landscape Photography So Intimidating?

Landscape photography is definitely one of the most loved genres of photography around the world but it’s undeniable that it can also be intimidating to many.

The Symbolism And Storytelling Of "Into The Mind" Revealed In Behind The Scenes Video

This year's most notable ski film, "Into The Mind" wasn't just your average sports reel. Camp 4 Collective and Sherpas Cinema put together a visually striking feature, along with a narrative that is filled with symbolism. In this behind the scenes video, the filmmakers discuss how certain shots came about, and how the story elements came together serendipitously.

[BTSV] Fighting G-Forces For An Air & Space Cover

This has to be one of the most awesome opportunities that could be granted to a photographer. Last fall, Ed Darack was asked to shoot a cover for Air & Space Magazine, and decided to show the world how he did it. Check out the video in the full post.
Sigma Shakes Up the Full Frame Game With Revolutionary 28-45mm f/1.8 DG DN Art Lens

Sigma is known for making high-quality lenses, and they’ve just added another world’s first to their lineup: the Sigma 28-45mm f/1.8 DG DN Art lens. This new full frame lens not only delivers a constant f/1.8 aperture throughout the entire zoom range, but it also delivers incredible sharpness and clarity throughout, similar to a high-quality prime lens. This versatile zoom is perfect for a variety of shooting scenarios.

Street Photographers Recognized in Harvey Milk Photo Center

Work of many talented street photographers in San Francisco is being recognized at The Harvey Milk Photo Center. The exhibition includes 52 works of 28 street photographers, with all images captured within San Francisco, California. The exhibition was the brainchild of David Christensen, the Director of the Harvey Milk Photo Center. A group member, CJ Lucero, brought the group to David’s attention and, after having reviewed the images from the SF Facebook page, he became determined to present the work to the public. The groups' administrators then labored over several months to put together this amazing show: that team included Michael Kirschner, RE Casper, Denis Englander, and James Watkins.

BenQ ScreenBar Halo: The Best Upgrade You Can Make Under $180

I didn't think it would be as useful as it ended up being. And I was quite wrong about how much I would use it. Turns out, I use it all the time, and it's one of the best things you can get for your desktop setup. In this article, we will review the BenQ ScreenBar Halo.

Photo of Baby Grabbing Doctor's Finger During C-Section Goes Viral

An Arizona doctor was surprised while performing a routine C-section when the baby reached up and grabbed his finger. The moment was captured by the baby's father Randy and the couple originally kept the photo secret thinking it would not be received well by others. The mom, Alicia who happens to be a photographer in Glendale, Arizona decided to release the photo on December 26th on her Facebook page. Since then the image has received 9,000 likes, over 5,000 shares and her number of fans on her page has grown tremendously.

[BTS Video] Behind The Scenes with Portrait Photographer Fritz Liedtke

As an owner of a Lensbaby, I'm a big fan of what these lenses can do. In this video, Lensbaby goes behind the scenes to interview commercial and fine art photographer, Fritz Liedtke. Obviously there are other ways to get similar effects that Fritz shows us but by using the Lensbaby Composer Pro and the Edge 80 Optic, he is able to see it instantly and directly in the camera. Fritz is right when he says that having a couple of these lenses allows us to expand the possibilities for our work. Click the full post to watch the video.
Will GoPro Continue On As The Most Successful Camera Of All Time Or Fail?

On June 25th, the action/sports camera GoPro went public and their stock grew 50% in value overnight. Their 2013 earnings were almost 1 billion dollars and their small, tough, and waterproof camera has become the world's highest selling camera. Can this company's growth continue?