Articles from Ivor Rackham

There are sometimes surprising overlaps between photography and music. The more we learn about music, the more we can understand how that knowledge can improve our photography. 

Why do some photography businesses fail? Training courses talk about how to make a business work, but overlook the commonplace mistakes. This is how not to run a business, with five lessons from a photography business that stank and sank. 

Certain beliefs dominate photography, leading to a monotonous similarity in images. Breaking free from peer-pressure-imposed restrictions can revolutionize your pictures. But don’t expect those lost in the fog of mediocrity and with limited imagination to appreciate it. 

Do you want perfect photos? If so, then maybe you are barking up the wrong tree. In your quest for perfection, you are losing an essential element from your images. 

Have you noticed the bigotry towards women in the photographic industry? It's there and I feel partly to blame. But some camera manufacturers and big photography businesses are the worst offenders.

Following on from my article about the seven elements of art and how they can perfect your photography, I thought I would share a summary of the principles of art. Knowing how they work can make all the difference to how well your compositions work. 

The seven elements I wrote about were line, shape, form, space, color, value, and saturation.

Do you consider yourself a successful photographer? Is that something you want to be? How do you even measure that? There are certain things that all top photographers have, whether as amateurs or professionals. The Canon R5 isn’t one of them. 

Photography is an art, and like all art forms, seven basic elements comprise our images. Although, I challenge that number, I think there are eight. Understanding these elements helps us to take our creativity to the next level. 

Is there anything finer than a monochrome silver gelatin print shot on film? Should we even attempt getting close to that with digital? Black and white are either misused or underused in many genres, and it’s time for a change. 

To go with my new OM-1 Camera, I’ve bought the new OM System 40-150 f/4 PRO. I took it out for the first time in a violently windy afternoon to put it through its paces. Here's my real-world review of this lens. 

Ten years ago, this month the Canon 5D Mark III DSLR was released; a month earlier, the Nikon D800 arrived. Their appearance heralded the crash of the camera industry. Were they, in some small way, partly to blame? 

I aggressively tested an OM System OM-1 Camera in the field. As I had pre-ordered one, I was hoping that I would be pleased with the results. Was I? Here are my thoughts on the camera and what it means to the future of the OM System.  

The overall layout and the placement of subjects within the frame can make or break your photographs. You may know the rule of thirds and the golden section, but composition goes way beyond that, and most of it is about simple geometry. 

We are constantly pressured into buying the latest cameras. As the bottom has fallen out of the camera market, maybe it’s time that camera manufacturers had a rethink about what they offer us. Nevertheless, there are good reasons for and against both upgrading and changing your system. 

Separation is a powerful tool we can use in compositions, and there is much more to it than preventing subjects from touching. 

Are you a creative photographer? If so, there are pitfalls that we can avoid. Some are of our own making, while more are set by others to deliberately ensnare us. 

Fifty years since the radical Olympus OM-1 SLR first appeared, the new OM System OM-1 is announced. It looks like another giant leap forward for photography.

When we shoot photographs, we may or may not want to increase the appearance of depth in the image. Many more tools than depth of field are available to us. Here are some things we can do to add or decrease perspective. 

They can change the ordinary to the extraordinary. However, there is a lot more to creating low- and high-key photographs than just under- and over-exposing. Discovering how they work can dramatically improve our photography. It's also the reason why cameras should have one specific feature. 

There are a lot of sayings bandied around in photography that sound impressive but are meaningless. However, an image being greater than the sum of its parts is something we should heed as it is the basis of how our minds perceive images. Here are seven ways to achieve this.

Have you ever wondered what makes a successful photographer? History can teach us a direction we should consider taking, and it may mean upsetting some along the way. But perhaps they deserve it.

Should you think more about having a coherent and distinctive style to your photography? If you want to raise your game, then finding your own look is imperative. There's one surefire way of developing that. However, some big obstacles will try to trip you up along the way.  

If you are a fan of The Beatles, then two documentaries currently streaming on Disney+ will certainly satiate your thirst. Look closely, and there are important lessons we can learn from these talented musicians that apply to creative photography. 

There are good arguments for photographers walking away from full frame/FX and APS-C/DX, instead going for medium format and Micro Four Thirds (MFT). This may be where cameras are heading in the future anyway. 

There are fads that come into fashion that then become passé and others that become overused clichés. Some things we do are just unethical. Here's what should be abandoned this year, and drone owners won’t be pleased.  

Some photographers have skills that blow us away. Embedding emotions into images sets some photographers apart, so I knew instantly I had to share Tianna Williams’ work with our readers. 

Like any specialist occupation, photography is an expensive one. There are big savings that can make it affordable for the professional, some of which can help the amateur too.

Minimalism is a word bandied about by some photographers and overlooked by many others. There’s so much more to it than excluding elements from our images, and embracing its wider meaning can transform the way we approach photography. 

Entry-level cameras are the best option for beginners, right? Plus, that popular brand must be the right choice, mustn’t it? As the song goes, it ain’t necessarily so. Here’s why you should consider choosing something better. 

This major midterm upgrade to On1 Photo Raw brings more exciting and unique features that will certainly win it more converts from other asset management, raw development, and editing software programs

There are several business management platforms on the market, but few are aimed solely at photographers. Light Blue is a fabulous option, and its unique features set it well ahead of the competition.  

There’s a lot more to the placement of subjects in a frame than many photographers know. Considering left and right can impact how impressive your photos appear to others, and the flip horizontal is a more powerful creative tool than most people give credit to. 

On1 Photo Raw has changed from being an app that once played catch-up to advanced software with unique features well ahead of the competition. They have released three sneak peek videos of exciting features that are coming soon. 

It was the best of tripods, it was an even better tripod. This is why I ended up upgrading what I was already very pleased with to what I think is the best tripod my money could buy. 

A long time ago, I heard someone utter this bit of nonsense. Depending upon the genre of photography you shoot, there are good arguments for using manual controls and settings. However, there are times when your camera’s automated technologies prove the Luddites wrong, then automation is king.