Lighting can be a major pain in the ass and that is especially the case if you're not a technical person, like me. After picking up the camera 7 years ago I am still constantly learning about the many different aspects of lighting.
The in-between stages of fashion photography can be knowing which ideas for stories serve best as test shoots and which are worth pushing forward as a full editorial. Do the benefits of a cohesive editorial outweigh the efforts required to make it? This article breaks down the steps required from idea to execution.
Thanks to Instagram's incessant commitment to regularly changing various features on the photo-sharing app, it's more than understandable that you may not know the current image specifications for the platform. After a quick Google search brought up a host of conflicting answers, I decided to do some tests of my own and create several free Photoshop templates to make all our lives much easier.
I'm a big fan of seeing photoshoots from conceptualization all the way to finished images, as I think that while it's of course beneficial to learn individual techniques and ideas, it's also important to see how all those really work together to produce the final product. This great set of videos will show you that entire process.
While our brains are conveniently set to auto white balance and our eyes view a properly adjusted color temperature, our cameras, try as they may, are not quite as advanced and sometimes rely on us to provide assistance to them. For our image color and tone to be as accurate as possible, we have to command control of this setting ourselves.
The Independent Photographer is holding a free, month-long photography contest for photographers of all ages and skill levels during the month of January! The Berlin-based publication will be accepting submissions through January 31st to be judged by award winning Magnum photographer David Alan Harvey.
The trend in the portrait, fashion, and beauty industry is to come back to a more natural look while still removing the unwanted blemishes. But without the proper techniques and settings, it’s difficult to make an image flawless while avoiding the overly retouched look. Zoë Noble is a talented photographer and retoucher based in Europe, and she’s created a series of tutorial to teach the methods that will help you reach that high-end look. In this one, you’ll learn how to use dodge and burn to even out the skin.
Cleaning skin is one of the most tedious tasks there is when it comes to portrait retouching. It takes quite a bit of time, and when done improperly, the texture can quickly become mushy. To keep the final image as natural looking as possible, there are a couple of techniques that can be used to limit the number of pixels we alter. In this tutorial, Zoë Noble demonstrates how she uses the clone stamp tool to clean the skin.
It's 2018. A brand new page. For us creatives, renewed energy, and enthusiastic drive is what it will take to kick the new year off right. And who better to personify said energy than coffee fueled, Toronto-based photographer / cinematographer Peter Mckinnon? In his first "vlogtorial" style video of 2018 Mckinnon takes to the streets of Toronto with friend and sage-like video creator Chris Hau.
In this beautiful short video, photographer and filmmaker Ian Wong discusses the work of legendary photographer Wing Shya and how making mistakes can give you creative freedom and innovation.
Finland-based commercial photographer Antti Karppinen shares what he thinks are the "7 Most Common Studio Portrait Light Mistakes" and how to fix them. Barring any creative differences, these are pretty good rules of thumb.
Who doesn't like the idea of working with brands? You get free stuff, prestige, increased exposure and views, and free stuff! Of course, it's not as easy as just calling up your favorite company and having them send you the gear you want and or make you an affiliate. This great video talks about what it takes to work with brands, the different kinds of relationships, and how to increase your chances.
Photography can become very expensive, especially if you like collecting a lot of gear. So who wouldn’t like to receive discounts, or even better, free gear? I have spent a good amount of money on my gear and I would've loved to save some money on those purchases. So how do you go about saving money?
For some of us, growing our social media isn’t where we excel and we need some help or advice on how we can improve our following. Over the years, social media platforms have grown and changed. Many photographers have left Facebook or are in the process of ditching it for their photo-sharing application Instagram and putting all their efforts into this platform instead. So how do you grow your following on Instagram?
The beauty of a studio space is the ability to carefully craft light exactly as you'd like it to be, giving you the opportunity to get as nuanced as you would like. In this video, you'll move beyond some of the more common three-light setups and see a very precise design and the portraits that were shot with it.
We all know the term, and as cringe-worthy as it can sound, it doesn't negate it's importance: networking. Along with "entrepreneur," the word "networking" gets thrown around a lot in today's millennial-run world full of social media highlight reels and "try-hard" antics. But networking, in the purest sense of the word, is an absolute necessity in our industry of creative entrepreneurship. There are opportunities around you that you will never be privy to unless you start cultivating genuine relationships with the creators in your extended circles. Not only that, but there is a vast pool of resources and knowledge that you could be tapping into.
You've heard the name. Listed among the accolades as one of the greats, Herb Ritts' ability to seamlessly blend together both environment and model set him apart from his peers. A mastery over lines, shapes, and all things pertaining to light that trademarked his work as timeless. He had an eye for capturing a moment and creative intuition for creating one. This documentary gives us a glimpse into the man behind the work. In a sense it is even more intimate then we could've hoped, as it is told by those who were closest to him.
Pantone, the worldwide standard for color communication and inspiration, has announced what shade will replace the current color of the year in 2018. Which color did they choose, and why does it matter to photographers?
I believe that upon our journey in whatever craft you choose, we encounter people who not only inspire, but assist in pushing us to grow more, and photographer Lucas Passmore has been exactly that for me. Initially, from the Midwest, Lucas is a fashion photographer living in Los Angeles. His regards for the history of photography, ability to capture a moment, and willingness to give back to those new to the photography community made him the perfect person to highlight in my first interview.
I have heard several photographers complain about how slow Adobe Lightroom is. While I agree that Adobe needs to make some improvements to their photo processor and image organizer, there are a few things we can do on our machines to help Lightroom run a little more smoothly.
