Photographer Etiquette: A Guide to Networking With Your Peers

Anyone with good business sense knows how strong networking can influence the way you build your career, but how about the rest of us who may not be as networking savvy? Proper etiquette says much about the way you conduct yourself and your business. Here is a guide on how to appropriately interact with your photographer peers in and out of your area to insure that the relationships built are positive and productive.

Three Easy Ways To Drive New Followers To Your Instagram For Free [Instagram Tips: Part 1]

Earning the right followers, the right way. In this article I'm excited to share three easy "techniques" that I've used to drive engagement and a stronger following on Instagram. These steps have stood the test of time while trying out different ideas through trial and error. You may know one of these techniques, you may know all of them. Nevertheless, let's get started!

Mexican Physicist Solves 2,000-Year Old Problem That Will Lead to Cheaper and Sharper Lenses

In most lenses, the center of the frame might be razor-sharp, but the corners and edges always appear a little soft. It’s something that’s been a problem for thousands of years within optical devices, with many researchers giving up hope until a recent breakthrough from a Mexican physicist, who has now developed a formula that will change how lenses are manufactured.

The Most Overrated and Underrated Film Cameras of 2021

The popularity of film is still on an upward trajectory with no signs of slowing down. With the film world changing constantly, it’s time to update the list of underrated and overrated film cameras.

The One-Camera, One-Lens Travel Experiment: Was It Worth the Risk?

The idea of traveling with just one camera and one lens wasn’t something I decided on a whim for my most recent trip to Hong Kong. If I am being honest, it was mainly inspired by Leica’s design philosophy, Das Wesentliche, or "the essentials," when I read about it a few months back.

[UPDATED] "Wedding Chicks" Blog Breaks Terms of Service to Make More Money

Wedding Chicks has responded (located at bottom of article).

Advertising utilizing social media has been an uphill trend for those of us in the photography profession, but when does it become unscrupulous for a company to charge photographers for more exposure using their social media sites? When the social media sites say it's against their terms of service, apparently. Wedding Chicks, a popular wedding blog, is doing just that to wedding photographers on Pinterest and other social media sites.

Take off Your Polarizing Filter, Especially for Landscape Photography

Probably the first advice you received as a new landscape photographer was to purchase a polarizing filter. But once you’ve mastered the polarizing filter on a few landscape photography trips, my recommendation is: take the polarizing filter off.

The Canon EOS R3's Likely Sensor Resolution Emerges

The Canon EOS R3 is likely in use at the Olympics as we speak, and we can expect it to be fully announced at some point later this year. While Canon has dropped a few impressive specs about the camera (like a 30 fps continuous burst rate and eye-controlled autofocus), one important specification has been noticeably absent: sensor resolution.

Restore that "Back of the Camera" Look in Adobe Lightroom 5

Have you ever been shooting away with your camera, and you absolutely love the colors and saturation you see on the back of the screen...only to get your images home and have them look ENTIRELY different once you've loaded them into Lightroom?

Well for those of you who want your images to look like they did on your camera, i'm going to show you how to get that starting point back!

A Detailed Guide to Creating Stunning City Images

Whether you’re traveling around or venturing out beyond your own backyard, cities offer an endless supply of interesting locations and moments for photographers. To take advantage of their potential you’ll have to not only identify the best compositions but also execute them well. Here are some tips that will help to take your city and cityscape photography to the next level.

Gmail's Canned Responses Is My Favorite Tool for Photographers

As a busy photographer, productivity is key for my work. I'm often finding myself blocking my own access to Facebook, Twitter and Reddit throughout the day, forcing me to work on the tasks at hand. And while I truly believe photography is the best job in the entire world, a lot of our days are filled with simple mundane tasks - which is why I love Gmail's Canned Responses.

New and Improved MagMod Is My Favorite Speedlight Accessory

One year ago we all started hearing the buzz about MagMod after they launched a Kickstarter campaign that ended successfully. They then went on to be one of the hottest booths on the tradeshow floor at WPPI. Rather then sit content with their success the team at MagMod has been making improvements to their system and just released version 2 making their popular Speedlight light modifier better than ever.

Incredible Burning Man Time-Lapse Will Make You Wish You Were On The Playa

For those of us who didn't get to make it out to Black Rock Desert this week for the annual Burning Man Festival , we can now enjoy the experience virtually, thanks to the incredible new film Lake Of Dreams by Roy Two Thousand. Combining time-lapse, hyperlapse, and standard video, Roy, along with his second shooters, August Winkelman and Connor McNeill, give us a 7 minutes jaw dropping short film that will feel so real, you will be cleaning the sand out of your teeth for the rest of the afternoon.

Using Shot Lists Will Make You a Better Photographer

When I first started shooting, I would spend absolutely no time planning my shots. I would focus tons of time and energy into every other aspect (location, wardrobe, mood, etc) but in some weird turn of events, it must have slipped my mind that the end goal is "The Shot." How that slipped my mind still baffles me. Instead of putting in the effort to plan what my actual finished images would look like, I found a model, found a location and showed up on shoot day with a plan to wing it.

Fear, Love, and the iPhone's Simulated Bokeh

Background blur has been the mark of the pro almost exclusively since the digital revolution began in the early 2000s. That polished and premium look is now coming to the world's most popular camera, which until now has been beholden to the physics of tiny sensors. Professional photographers may have more to fear than just fear itself.

Beyond The Key - Building A Subtle Light Setup

Lighting isn't easy, a world-class-perfectly-lit studio portrait happens with a lot of instinct and experience. A strong grasp of lighting comes with experimentation and practice. Those that know my aesthetic know I'm a huge fan of one light photography. With that said, every image I produce I try and maintain the look of one light, even though it very well be lit with six lights. If I'm shooting for a hair, the hair needs to be well lit. If I'm shooting for makeup, the light needs to fill the face and really show detail. The same applies to product photography or fashion. I always give the client what they need, but always retain my dramatic lighting style.

Is 'Buy Cheap, Buy Twice' Still True for Photography?

The age-old adage has served me well in most areas of my life, with cheap alternatives to products being short-lived and inferior. But one domain that I have noticed a shift is in photography, and I'm starting to wonder if it's even good advice for photographers anymore.

How to Make a High Fashion Specular Reflector

I've got a fun little DIY light modifier for you today. I call it the High Fashion Specular Reflector or "shiny board" for short. In my travels, I have to carry a LOT of gear. Especially when the trip is on my own dime and I don't have a budget to rent the cool toys I want to have. I came up with the idea for this reflector through experimentation and just obnoxious luck. I wanted to create a very hard light (in addition to the sun) to use on my model while on location.

When Your Lenses Lie to You

I love my Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM lens. Or was it a 1.4? It turns out that even though it says f/1.2 on the barrel, the story is more complex than that.

Bite-Size PS Tutorials: Using the Cinematography Technique 'Crushing the Blacks' to Improve Your Images

Generally speaking, losing detail in your image is a bad thing. However, there is a creative way to do so that is most commonly employed in cinematography, known as "crushing the blacks." I alluded to this technique in my recent article on creating your first Photoshop actions and I received a number of queries about this technique. This article will give you a brief overview of what the effect is used for, why you would use it, and how.

Keep Your Mac in Tip-Top Shape With These Apps

If you are like me your work computer is one of your most prized possessions. It does the heavy lifting in post production, and it's also there in times of need, like "needing" to waste four hours on Facebook instead of finishing your retouching. So, what is the best way to keep that fine piece of machinery in tip top shape? Well, honestly there are a lot of ways, but I'm only going to tell you about my favorite apps, all 6 of them. Unfortunately for you Windows and Linux peeps I'm an Apple user, so most of these apps are Mac only. *womp womp*

Canon Gets Serious About Mirrorless Cameras With the Highly Powerful R5

Canon's mirrorless lenses have been lauded for their high quality and boundary-pushing designs, but their mirrorless cameras have generally seen mixed reviews for being a bit middle of the road and not challenging the likes of Sony. That is no more, as Canon has announced the development of the R5, with many firsts for the company and marquee features like 20 fps shooting and 8K video.