Photography Tips & Tutorials7177 articles

Sports photography and advertising photography are arguable two of the most exciting areas of the business. Commercial photographer Monte Isom managed to combine both when he was commissioned to shoot ice hockey players, in action for an advertising campaign by Molson beer. The lighting set up, despite the complexity of the shoot was kept fairly simple and consisted of one beauty dish and two or three narrow beam reflectors, dialed down low to prevent the ice from blowing out.

When most people here the term “model” their mind instantly thinks of a sunbathed, slender bombshell, probably scantily clad in a bikini or a dress. Not Mark French, owner of the UGLY Modeling Agency. UGLY specializes in, you guessed it, ugly models. French describes his business as a character agency, explaining that there is a niche market for the less-than-beautiful. Watch the video within to see what a typical casting call is like.

There is often a lot of debate as to whether photography is or is not art. So what happens when you have a photographer, who is also an artist with a background in painting and illustration? We find out in this video where Jeremy Cowart explains how he created a beautiful and ethereal image of musician Imogen Heap. The end result leans more towards painting than photography yet is derived from several photographic images.

Let’s inject our day with a little humor by way of a rap song aimed at the photography crowd. Ira Lee and Thavius Beck wrote and performed the following song, The Photographer, which pokes fun at photographers all the while giving us something we can all relate to. The lyrics, anecdotal and quip-like, are humorous looks into the mind of a many photographers, delivered in a perfectly rhythmic manner.

Check out this amazing compilation of photographs from the first half of 2012. It is made up of 48 images from all over the world: From Mexico to Switzerland, Taipei to Poland, and even outer space! It contains everything from macro and landscape, to eclipse photography and beyond. Get a taste of the world during the first half of 2012 with this slideshow, and discover the power of photography from different people all over the world, brought together by social media.

Looking for the funnest way to learn photoshop? Here are the best two seasons of the You Suck at Photoshop series where you can delve into Donnie’s twisted personal life while learning some very valuable photoshop techniques along the way. I wanted to make a list of the classic episodes here so you can find them here easily. Feel free to bookmark this page so you can come and go as time allows. Warning: some of these tutorials go from light & funny to dark quickly.

Making a model stand out in a picture is a challenge to every photographer. This holds especially true if the model has pure white skin. How would you make her stand out against a white backdrop? Joel Grimes shows how he made flawless model Lauren Amante pop out of the picture. Watch Joel as he demonstrates his beauty lighting technique. The bigger the source of light in relationship to the subject, the softer the light.

Coping with cancer is a difficult journey for patients and their loved ones. The battle can be painful, exhausting, and disheartening. Organizations such as Flashes of Hope, a non-profit group that takes professional portraits of children diagnosed with cancer at no-cost to the families, look to bring a smile to their faces, if not reignite hope into their lives. The charity, which currently covers 72 hospitals nationwide, is made possible by gracious volunteers–many of whom are award-wining photographers.

In times long past, a flash was a pretty simple device to use. It’s options were limited, you slid the flash onto your hotshoe and took the photograph. Those days are long gone. With new technology, our flashes are getting smarter. Most speedlights have multiple settings, LCD screens with lengthy menus, and are often communicating with other speedlights as well. Syl Arena has teamed up once again with B&H Photography delivering us with an in-depth look into operating speedlights.

Colors set the mood in a scene. It may add drama and convey emotions. Every skilled cinematographer should know how to adjust the colors straight from the camera. The Canon Digital Learning Center staff demonstrates how you can make the most of your camera’s functions such as the white balance, white shift balance and the picture profiles. It’s important how you interpret light, how you see it, and how the camera interprets light. Watch how each scene can be transformed from warm atmosphere to a cold one.