In a world where everyone wants to be a star photographer, there isn't nearly enough discussion about the benefits of a good photo assistant. Here are a few tips for those interested in assisting a professional photographer and a few things for photographers who may be seeking an assistant to consider.
Some photographers seem to have careers that appear to have started at the very top of the industry's ladder. For others, the early days of their photography careers are something they try to hide from. How has your photography evolved over the years?
Initially, there wasn’t much about the idea of photographing high school seniors that excited me. Boring portraits of kids wearing their caps and gowns and flashing whatever year they’re graduating with their fingers like an awkward gang-sign always came to mind. After all, it’s this type of cliche portrait that I most often stumble across online, but this doesn’t mean that all senior portraits have to be so boring. Below are a few tips that I've learned over the years.
In certain situations, having a rechargeable and portable constant light source can really come in handy. In this review I look at the Smith-Victor Edge Light, a powerful and versatile LED light stick.
Believe it or not, it hasn’t always been so easy to snap a selfie. A photograph, roughly 100 years old, recently surfaced revealing what lengths some individuals would go to in order to capture that perfect self-portrait.
More often than not, we’re our own worst enemies when it comes to landing the types of jobs we long to be hired for. Are you making it more difficult than it should be for potential clients to hire you for those photo jobs you keep waiting on?
Arizona is a beautiful state with a variety of breathtaking terrain to explore and photograph. Recently, a teen fell to her death at a popular Arizona photo destination, reminding us all to be a little more careful while we’re out exploring.
Over the last few years, something has become quite apparent: photographers are becoming reliant on social media. Some have achieved great success across the various social media platforms, but would they or you make it if social media as we know it suddenly ceased to exist?
If a picture tells a thousand words, these photographs of Baja 1000 race vehicles created after the race tell tales of blood, sweat, tears, and the epic battles that ensue every year as racers battle it out in Mexico.
There are things professional photographers do that are almost certain to get them placed on Santa’s “bad guy” list. Are you guilty of committing any of these photography "sins"?
The Fstoppers community is full of talented photographers producing images beyond the average photographer’s capabilities. When you view them all together in a gallery, there are certain things that make excellent photographs stand out beyond the mass of above-average images being shared regularly. Here’re a few of the things that catch my eye.
By now, no one is surprised by the actions of reality television star, Kim Kardashian-West. With such a massive following on social media, it seems like she could wipe her rear, post the paper on Instagram and we'd have an instant Instagram hit. After all, art is subjective, right? Were the images she used in her recent campaign to launch her newest line of perfume used in good taste, or was the advertising concept a fail supported by her massive... following?
Perhaps you’re like I was one week prior to the writing this – a West Coast native who had only gone as far as making assumptions about one of the largest cities in the Western Hemisphere – New York City. I’m back in the Arizona desert where I call home after attending PDN PhotoPlus Expo 2018 and I brought back an importantly refreshed outlook on myself and my career in photography.
Knock on wood, but I walked outside this morning following the Halloween holiday and there were no smashed eggs, no toilet paper covering my trees, and about a hundred notifications on my phone from community members who had already downloaded the Halloween portraits I had taken for them.
This year, my kids have plans for Halloween that don’t require me to be there. Instead of sitting by my front door, passing out tooth decay and diabetes wrapped in a pretty package (candy), I’m going to give my community portraits instead.
A lot can be said for the power of social media. In fact, many of today’s most successful photographers owe a lot to the beasts that we lovingly refer to as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. But are these platforms that we all invest so much of our time into the final nails in the coffin of a professional photograph industry that was built less on savvy social media skill and the latest filter packs and more on actual relationships, constancy, and hard work?
A few of the major players have recently released cameras that are attracting quite a bit of attention. The Canon EOS R, the Nikon Z7, and Fujifilm’s X-T3 are all great for their intended purposes. But are new releases enough to keep you loyal as a customer?
Over the last decade or two, photography and videography technology has evolved drastically. Computers, monitors, servers, and other digital technology are no longer being left in an office or studio somewhere; they’re showing up on set, typically on a cart or table of some type. The INOVATIV Scout EVO 37 is an equipment cart built to meet the demands of professional digital photography and video.
Who would have thought that one of the hardest yet most important things for me to do would be to say no. I’m still learning how to do it, but I’m here to remind you all that being a “yes man” all the time can catch up to you and bite you where the sun doesn't shine.
A recent trip to Disneyland had me stressing about the photos I’d capture. The experience taught me that leaving my professional cameras at home is possibly the only way I can truly enjoy myself.
If you’re anything like me, you love to print your photos. The Polaroid ZIP is an inkless photo printer that is ultra portable and easily fits inside your pocket, but is it really worth the price it's selling for?
Whether you’re traveling abroad or exploring the streets where you live, it’s important to have confidence when shooting street photography. Photographer, Pierre T. Lambert shares a few tips to help you confidently capture images that you’ll be proud of.
I recently made a trip to the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona to photograph college graduation portraits. It was my first time on the ASU campus and my first time shooting college graduation photos. Here’s what I learned.
The wedding industry is a monster of a consumer industry and when it comes to photography, there are plenty of items out there marketed towards the needy wedding photographer. Phil and Sara of PS Photo Stuff dive into their wedding photography kits to give you a candid look at the gear they find most useful when shooting weddings. Perhaps your wedding photography kit looks similar.
If you had an opportunity to photograph anyone who has ever lived, who would that person be? Photographer, Danny Clinch has photographed some of the music industry’s biggest names, including iconic rap artist, Tupac Shakur.
Has the photo industry neglected one important feature when designing monopods over the last several decades? Steadicam seems to be addressing an overlooked feature with the recently released Steadicam Air 25 that active photographers may find quite helpful.
The internet and social media are littered with photographs of guitars. Some awe-inspiring, others not so much. So how does one breath life into a stringed instrument without strumming or picking the strings?
It felt good to watch what was possibly the largest group of kids with cameras ever in my little community diving head first into photography. Are you ready to inspire the next generation of photographers where you live?
Sometimes it’s the simplest things that help you appreciate your spare time. When you’re constantly driven to create, not having a personal project stewing can be agonizing the way nails to a chalkboard stab at more than just your ear drums.
Two popular photographers and YouTube personalities are suggesting that the many of the most common terms in photography are, well, stupid. You decide whether or not the current photography vocabulary needs revamping.
For those of us that photograph motorsport events throughout the year, this short video may be rather disturbing. In the clip, a photographer can be seen standing on the outside of a sharp turn as he photographs an oncoming race car before he's hit by the car as it loses control.
A 20-year-old New York-based photographer takes a stance against the practice of using Photoshop to edit and retouch blemishes from portraits.
Would you take the liberty to Photoshop an image so drastically that it offends your clients? That’s exactly what one wedding photographer did when they gave their client a “chin tuck.”
Time is valuable. The next three minutes of this video could possibly save you a ton of time over the course of your editing career, and if there is absolutely anything I can do to speed up my Lightroom workflow, I’m all for it.
Photographing children can be a fun and rewarding experience, or it can be a stressful and daunting one. Ultimately, the type of experience and success you have photographing children is on you. In no particular order, here are a few tips that can help make working with children a little more rewarding.
