Effectively converting a color image to black and white involves much more than a simple “convert to grayscale” type of operation. In this video, Aaron Nace of Phlearn demonstrates how to produce a stunning black and white version of any color image in Lightroom.
Whether or not you have an interest in wedding photography, as a photographer it’s inevitable that at some point in time, you will be presented with an opportunity to photograph a wedding. It could be a request from a friend who is well aware of your abilities. It could be from a recently engaged bride who came across your online portfolio, and after not seeing any wedding photos, contacted you to ask if you shot weddings. One of the most difficult aspects of venturing into the dark side that is wedding photography is deciding on your fee. There are several popular schools of thought on how much to charge for your first wedding.
At some point in time, almost every photographer will get the itch to try their hand at astrophotography. It could be that image of the Milky Way or an aurora that inspires us to bring our cameras out in the middle of a clear night to photograph the stars. Josh Katz created this tutorial for newbie astrophotographers who may not live in an ideal region for capturing the night skies.
The journey that a photographer takes in turning an enjoyable pastime into a full-fledged career is a common path that that describes the origins of many photography businesses. With limited business experience, hobbyists-turned-entrepreneurs often make incorrect assumptions about what makes a photography business successful. There is one particularly common misconception that holds a lot of photographers back in the early stages of starting a business.
If the idea of creating multi-light portraits makes you feel the least bit intimidated, this tutorial is for you. Music photographer PJ Pantelis delivers a clear and detailed lesson on how to create professional headshots using just two lights and a reflector.
Almost all portrait photographers will incorporate some degree of skin softening during their retouching workflow. Some of these techniques can involve hours of painstaking dodging and burning. For photographers that routinely shoot families, weddings, and newborns, a quick finishing step can generate rapid and pleasing results. Here I go over how to use my favorite free skin softening plugin.
One of the biggest struggles for new photography businesses is growing a client base. Real estate and landscape photographer Serge Ramelli draws from his own personal journey to success in sharing some great tips for marketing your photography business and gaining new clients in a hurry.
Sharpening to enhance detail is a critical process to finishing any image, especially when preparing images for print. As a photographer who specializes in creating large wall portraits of dogs, I routinely apply a strong degree of sharpening prior to printing. There is one specific technique that I use for sharpening that is especially effective when editing portraits of dogs and other furry subjects. Here is my best tip for enhancing detail in fur and hair while maintaining a soft appearance.
Photographing an engagement session in a wide open field on a sunny day may seem like a portrait photographer’s nightmare. In this video, on-location lighting specialist Zach Gray touches on a few quick tips for incorporating strobe lighting when photographing a couple outdoors.
Every wedding photographer has a preference for a specific set of lenses to effectively capture all of the critical elements of a wedding. These images include views of the ceremony location, close-up portraits of the couple, and detail photos of jewelry and fine décor. In this brief video, wedding photographer Gemma Peanut shows why having a built-in ring light on the new Canon EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM Lens makes a substantial improvement in a photo of her engagement ring.
When planning a dog photography session, one of the most important details to consider is the place where the photos will be taken. There are a number of factors that come into play when choosing a setting, and the optimal location can differ from one dog to the next. Here are a few tips on choosing the perfect location for your next dog photography session.
When creating portraits in your studio, there are instances when you may opt for a shallow depth of field, which produces portraits with a more artistic flair. In this video, Gavin Hoey describes some techniques for maximizing that look of a shallow depth of field portrait.
Seldom is as much thought given to what the subject will wear than when preparing for a newborn photography session. Clients will often choose a color scheme to complement the baby room, or will select a relatively neutral palette, so that the finished artwork will look appropriate in any room. As newborn photographers, sometimes we’re called upon to make changes to the colors of a wrap, background, or accessory. Here are two fast ways of adjusting the color of a wrap using Photoshop.
Every wedding photographer has their favorite lens for photographing the couple. Some swear that shooting at 200mm produces the most flattering portraits, while others love the sweeping view of the surrounding environment that is showcased when composing with a wide-angle lens. In this video, Pye Jirsa of Lin and Jirsa Photography reveals his most frequently used lenses from over 10,000 wedding photos.
As the winter months can be a slower period for portrait photographers, they present an opportunity to work more on your business, rather than in your business. One productive off-season activity for growing your pet photography business is to reach out to local retailers to create new co-marketing opportunities.
If you’re stuck on ideas for creative portrait sessions, have you ever tried incorporating water? This short video by Adorama TV features studio lighting guru Gavin Hoey taking us through an introduction to wet portraits in the studio.
One of my favorite setups for studio portraits of children was inspired by Jill Greenberg’s photos of crying babies. These portraits are fun, simple, and focus on teasing out a variety of natural expressions of children as they are being photographed. This tutorial demonstrates how to photograph and edit this particular style of a three-light children’s portrait.
When you hear the term “HDR photography,” you probably either cringe, or start to smile at the thought of beautifully balanced landscape and architectural imagery created by the likes of Trey Ratcliff. Some may argue that with the dynamic range of current camera sensors, taking bracketed exposures is no longer necessary, since detail can be effectively recovered from both shadows and highlights. In this video, Scott Kelby demonstrates how an image produced from combining bracketed exposures can be superior to one derived from a single frame.
Creating stunning portraits of our canine companions requires so much more than technical knowledge of photography. Understanding how to coax a dog into just the right spot while keeping them relaxed and happy is crucial to capturing genuine expressions with perfectly composed surroundings. Adding a few special items to your gear bag for those times when you venture out to photograph someone’s four-legged friend can have a much larger impact on your photos than choosing the perfect lens.
Mastering how to control and manage light is essential to becoming a proficient photographer or videographer. If you are new to using off-camera lighting, this short video by Film Riot provides an excellent demonstration of how a single light can be used to produce a variety of effects.
