We’ve compiled thousands of photography tips for photographers of all sorts, from beginners to pros. Follow us for new tips every day, all from the world’s leading photography experts.
Of the many avenues to land a new photography client or job, one of the most important is handing out business cards. Other marketing activities are still important of course, but meeting a potential client face-to-face and handing them a business card definitely holds a higher chance of converting into a job. I know many wedding photographers who are approached and asked for business cards at each wedding. Another peer also told me how he was able to book a big real estate photography job after being approached while taking casual cityscape photos.
With all the amazing time lapse videos that have been making their way to the interwebs lately, you start to wonder if there is even an room for improvement anymore. Then a video like this surfaces and we become awestruck all over again. Meticulously crafted together using over 170,000 still photographs, take a moment and escape to Rio for a Carnaval celebration like no other. A motorized head assisted with most of the pans and tilts, however, all of the travelings were whipped up in post along with a handful of focus point adjustments.
Forget Mugshots: 10 Steps to Better Portraits by David duChemin aims to help you take your portrait photography to the professional level. The author tried to pick the ten most significant factors that, combined, contribute to making powerful portraits. With valuable insights and many exercises to retain the information, it is a great training resource. […]
It’s such an exciting time getting ready to photograph your newborn. With some good baby photography tips, you can get some great shots. Shot List First, create a list of shots you want to take before you reach for your camera. When taking photos of your newborn, your time is limited, as there are many […]
The stage will always be dim so you need to compensate for that light. You should be shooting in a high ISO and a wide aperture. It’s good to stay in the ISO range of 1600 to 3200 (sometimes higher if the camera can handle it without too much noise) and not dip below an f/5-6. However, be aware that these settings will create a small depth-of-field range and higher noise levels. The key is to be flexible and quick when taking your pictures. It’s also important to increase your burst rate. The more frames you can shoot per second, the better because lights will be flashing and musicians will be moving.
One of the major debates in photography at the moment concerns the use of Photoshop or similar tools for manipulating the look of images. The issue ranges from photojournalists editing out ascetically unpleasing elements from news images to the manipulation of models in fashion magazines. In this short video, photographer Rick Shaff, shows us just how easy it is to produce misleading images, in particular before and after shots, commonly used in advertising from diet programs to muscle building drinks.
Black and white photography may appear to be simplistic but, the art of taking a monochrome image is a bit more complicated. The following clip gives a few pointers on how to create effective, high contrast images. To create that contrast, Morgan calls on his Hensel Porty Pack to power a key light which is used in combination with a softbox. He also hangs a silk to filter the ambient light, thus softening the hard sun. Morgan also prefers to blowout the background, resulting in sharp silhouettes. To light the model’s faces, he brought out a beauty dish and placed a grid on it which allows a controlled light output from the strobes.
There have been quite a few timelapse videos making an appearance lately and Randy Halverson’s, Temporal Distortion, might just be one of my favorites. His timelapse takes us into remote areas in the United States and shows us what the night sky looks like sans light pollution. It’s magical and if you don’t believe me, have a look for yourself in the following video. Halverson notes that much of what we see in the video is not able to be seen by the naked eye. Halverson called on his Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 60D to capture thousands of images, with exposure times anywhere from 15 to 30 full seconds each.
Professional photographer Jay P. Morgan delivers a pair of information packed video tutorials, this time showing viewers the in’s and out’s of using light reflectors, then combining the reflectors with strobe lights and natural lighting to deliver perfectly lit scenes. In the first tutorial, Morgan discusses white, gold, soft gold, and silver reflectors and explains in which scenarios each color should be used in. The importance of using the sun as a rim light and reflectors as key lights are also stressed in this tutorial. Take a look at the first video and we’ll recap the key points.
Professional advertising photographer, Julius Ise had long held the desire to attempt black light photography. Black light photography involves shooting subjects under ultra violet lights and excluding most if not all, visible light. The results are often highly colored and powerful looking images. The final result is a collection of very striking and colorful images and an excellent demonstration of the effects of black light photography.
We are always looking for more interesting and insightful photography tips and techniques to share with our readers. We would love to publish an article by you if you are interested in writing for us. See what we are looking for and get in touch.
