Articles from Alex Ventura

With most things, a great foundation makes for an easier and better process. So, why not start off with makeup for model or actors?

When many of us first entered into the realm of photography, most of us had the same question: What gear should I get? What do I need? Jay P. Morgan from The Slanted Lens helped out many with those questions back in 2015, but the video is a bit dated now. With the questions coming back for today’s market, Morgan decided to make an updated video with his suggestions to start your studio in 2017.

Photographers, how good are the models you work with at posing? Are they confident enough to declare they can pose under any circumstance? Model Ginevra believes she is capable of doing just that, so professional photographer Luca Lombardi decided to put her claim to the test.

I have always had a passion for cars, which is what set me in the path of becoming a photographer. From casually taking photos of various cars with a point-and-shoot at local events in the beginning, I decided to go beyond that and see where I could go with a camera. Scouring the Internet to learn as much as possible, there have been a group of automotive photographers that stand out to me amongst the best, and Easton Chang is among them.

One of my goals for this year is to start working on videos again. A few of the projects I have in mind require a microphone to help capture better audio, since we know the built-in mics are not really that great. Jay P. Morgan's latest video from The Slanted Lens hits the web and couldn’t come at a better time for me.

Are you interested in taking street portraits? In the latest video from Jay P. Morgan of The Slanted Lens, he covers a few tips and some advice on what he does to get some shots during his visit in Cuba.

In case you missed it, the GoPro Karma was recalled last year due to sudden loss of power which would cause the drone to crash mid-flight. Not a good thing for a first drone from any company, let alone GoPro. The re-release for the Karma drones fixed the issue by adding latches to keep the battery secure during flight, but were there any changes to the Karma drone to improve it?

There are several lists and articles covering what you should carry in your bag for a photoshoot, but they mostly cover items for yourself, models, and a few small accessories for your camera. One thing I haven't noticed in many of them is items or even a kit covering your equipment and the screws you made need. Jay P. Morgan with The Slanted Lens shares his two camera equipment emergency kit cases that he stored in his truck for shoots.

“The best camera is the one you have with you.” To an extent, that quote is correct, and with current cell phones having pretty good cameras built into them, this is usually a camera we all have with us most of the time. Sometimes, we find ourselves wanting more out of our cameras in the phone. With the current lineup of available add-on lenses for our mobile devices, we can capture some macro or even wider shots.

How many of you like to add atmospheric effects to your work to give them more life? This is completely subjective but I tend to add fog and light streaks to my automotive glamour work to give it a little more “pop.”

I initially dove into the world of cinema and photography because of my passion for the automotive world and the arts. I have had some plans for more video work with cars in action but I always wanted more than action camera footage that’s stationary on the vehicle. Even with a jib and other equipment, I wanted more production value out of my work. Really, what I had in mind was a vehicle camera crane system.

It was reported earlier this week that the popular camera and editing application company VSCO has closed their New York office. If you use this popular app, you don’t have to worry, they are not going closing their other offices.

Beauty retouching isn’t anything new, yet it can be a long and tedious process that may not be so easy to pick up right away. If you are looking into doing it yourself versus contracting it out but are not sure were to start, you can find yourself going through plenty of tutorials and videos that cover this editing process. Where do you begin?

With most of the gift giving now over with, some of us were lucky enough to receive a new drone over the holidays… or if you were like me, you gifted yourself one.  With this being my first drone, I have not had to register a drone with the FAA before. It's actually a simple process that can be completed online.

After successfully shooting a GoPro HERO Session on an arrow, Niko (from Sam and Niko) wanted to launch the GoPro at a farther distance to portray an arrow flying over some distance in a battle. With the added weight from the GoPro, the arrow didn’t fly as far as it should of to give an accurate flight.

Shooting the different seasons of the year is great, especially now that winter has officially started. You can shoot the same locations with a completely different mood and look. What happens when you want to shoot snow, but there isn’t any? Perhaps it’s too cold for the wardrobe styling and the subject. You can always fake it, right?

When you ever have a creative idea for a photo shoot, what do you do with that idea? When considering my own creative ideas for automotive photography, then tend to go into realm of compositions. Shooting a toy car instead isn’t the first thing that pops into my mind, but that is exactly what photographer Felix Hernandez of Hernandez Dreamphography did.

Looking to get into portrait photography? Maybe you just want to learn more or perfect your trade. Adorama’s Daniel Norton has teamed up with Joe McNally once again to bring us a series of portrait lighting tutorials for us to learn from and enjoy.

With the increasing popularity of Star Wars from the latest batch of movies coming soon and last year's release of "The Force Awakens," Star Wars cosplay has become very popular once again. Unfortunately for us fans, as cool as they look in movies, lightsabers are not real. Even the very well made props that light up still do not look that realistic in photos.

My latest fascination in the photography world has to be toy photography. Not just any toy photography either, I love seeing it mixed with other elements and effects to create a sense of realism to the project. Felix Hernandez of Hernandez Dreamphography is one person in particular that has me in awe.

How many of you are upset with the new Select and Mask tool and its performance, or lack thereof? When it was first announced and reviewing the first videos of it in action, the new feature seemed to be great and exactly what I needed. I might have jumped too soon for this tool as I haven’t experience much success with it.

How many of you have tried to use fire to light paint a subject? What about just shooting fitness? In Brandon Wells' latest project, he decided to the mix the two together for some amazing photos.

If you haven't heard yet, the new GoPro Karma drones have officially been recalled due to sudden lost of power while in flight. This isn’t very good news for GoPro.

GoPro has not been having a good run for this year’s launch of new products. Since its third-quarter earnings report, GoPro lost nearly $500 million in market capitalization. That time period also included the announcement of the DJI Mavic Pro within days of GoPro's Karma announcement, the timing of which of which could have been better for GoPro's Karma launch. Now, GoPro is every one of its Karma orders due to unexpected power loss.

In the latest updates from Adobe for Photoshop CC 2017, not only is the software faster, but Face-Aware Liquify comes with a new feature.

When GoPro first announced the new Karma drone, many of us were excited and had high hopes for this new drone. Right after that, DJI announced their compact Mavic Pro drone, creating even more hype and confusion for those who were interested in buying a drone, myself included. Which one should I get?

Do you ever have trouble talking with your subjects during a shoot? Not sure what to say to them to get that perfect facial expression? No need to worry, Peter Hurley is here with "Hurleyisms."

Benjamin Von Wong is back with another magnificent set from his latest series, ‘Surreal Lava Portraits,’ where he ventures out on the Big Island of Hawaii to photograph some lava flows with his team and models. If this was anyone else, I would jump to the conclusion that this is all composited together to make the final image. But with Von Wong, this is all real.

Are you a fan of the HBO's hit series "Games of Thrones?" Have you ever wondered how different the actors actually look compared to their Westeros counterparts? Creative retoucher and digital artist Gianfranco Gallo complied an amazing set of work with his personal project to help us compare reality to fantasy.

Cars are beautiful pieces of machinery, some more so than others. Photographer Philipp Rupprecht came across a chance to shoot a Porsche 918 Spyder as soon as it was delivered, which almost took a year to begin. With a chance to shoot an amazing automobile, I probably would have waited as well. Philipp and his team where able to take the Porsche to a 100 year-old locomotive hall that's usually available for large events; I'm very envious of a location like that. 

With the new reviews of the DJI Mavic Pro, there’s been one popular concern from many of us: the quality wasn’t quite 100 percent and looked a bit blurry, especially when compared with other drones. Then we shared the 4K comparison with the Phantom 4, and even though the camera specs are very close between the two, it was apparent that the Mavic quality was not quite there. The Phantom 4 was the clear winner here, but the size still made the Mavic a viable contender for many of us who would compromise portability over quality and sharpness.

DJI announced their newest drone to the world this week, and it’s creating quite a buzz. If you haven’t heard about it yet, jump over to our article on the announcement of this new compact drone. At first, I thought the GoPro Karma looked great, then DJI swooped in with their Mavic which looks amazing as well.

Drones are becoming more popular, cheaper, smaller, and overall better than the ones released years ago. Many more are being sold each day. With that comes new experiences for many of us. Recently, Mike Rowe took to Facebook with his recent experience, or should I say recent invasion. We all know when it comes to celebrities, privacy is always being pushed to the limits. They usually experience cameras sneaking into their daily and private lives, but this is a particularly intrusive instance. 

Recently I found myself going through Facebook when I came across one of Benjamin Von Wong's videos. After watching the video by Empty Duck Digital, I felt like he hit the nail right on the head with his response to people's common questions of “What preset do you use? What equipment do you use to make that happen?” Like he states, people are always searching for the fastest and easiest steps to speed up their workflow. I understand why, but at the same time, most of it can’t be done. “Time and hard work” are his answers, and I completely agree.

Yesterday GoPro announced their new drone Karma along with the Hero5 action camera, and the additional handheld gimbal. Casey Neistat was also able to get his hands on and test out the early prototype of the GoPro Karma in New York City.