Professional photographer Stephen Wilkes has a multi-decade career that melds artistic and commercial photography and has taken him around the world. He's worked with National Geographic, Apple, and Netflix, among others.
Up until recently, most introductory photography classes in colleges and universities still taught students the basics of the medium using film and darkroom processes. These days, though, the majority of schools have transitioned to digital since it is more affordable for students and doesn’t require a lab full of equipment and chemicals. But despite the obvious benefits of digital, analog photography still serves as a valuable tool for learning the medium.
Having shared numerous videos of creative photography tips and tricks, a photographer proves that you don't always need to invest in expensive equipment to create eye-catching content.
Props are a vital part of most food photography. They can help you add interest and story to your scene, but they can also help you add depth. To that end, here are a few tips to help you use props to add depth to your images.
Starting out in photography can be really confusing. There is so much stuff to learn, so many things to do, and so many resources to read, not to mention the insane amount of people screaming opinions at you all the time. It’s hard to fight through all the noise.
The straight-on angle is great for food photography because it gives your subject a sense of grandeur and can make it jump out of the picture. This angle is well suited to foods that are tall or layered as from this angle you can get a better idea of its scale or better reveal those layers.
Back when I started out as a photographer in the mid-1990s, I had to figure everything out by myself. I made a lot of mistakes, but in doing so I learned a great deal. To help others, I have put together this list of 100 tips that every beginner photographer should hear.
Want to get the best out of your photos this year? Using one photo as an example -- a photo I took in Paris with a Canon 5D Mark II to prove it can be done with a camera of nearly any age -- I will show five easy tips that will make dramatic differences in your images.
We live in a time when our technology and camera gear usually work extremely well and reliably... Until it doesn’t. Randomly. And at the worst time. When that happens, you’re left feeling unprepared and stressed which is something that none of us enjoy.
Photographer Michael Shainblum is known for some truly impressive landscape images and in previous videos has strongly advocated for the use of telephoto lenses. In this 10-minute video, he shows how he captured two days worth of images with mainly a Sigma 100-400mm.
Photographer Jens Heidler, who was recently featured for his macro video of snowflakes melting in reverse, has published a 5-minute instructional video on how to create frozen soap bubbles for dazzling macro photos.
Winter photography can be difficult and even dangerous if you don’t take the proper precautions to protect yourself and your gear. In this post I’ll show you how to take better snow photos and have a more enjoyable time in the cold while doing it.
Posing is arguably the most challenging skill photographers need to master in order to become successful professionals, and in this 10-minute video, photographer Reggie Ballesteros shows 10 poses that beginners can use in their next session.
Teleconverters are handy lens add-ons that multiply the focal length of the lens they are attached to. They can be mounted in between the camera body and lens (typically a telephoto lens) and increase the focal length of the lens to which they are attached.
Sarah Crawford is an accomplished baker and food photographer most well known for her blog Broma Bakery and in conjunction with Adobe Lightroom has shared her tips for getting the most out your photos of holiday baked goods.
This video is for all of you professional and aspiring professional photographers who want to communicate more effectively with your clients as well as feel like you’re having more effortless photo shoots.
In this 11-minute video, portrait photographer Miguel Quiles discusses five lies new portrait photographers believe that could hurt them professionally and curtail their growth as an artist.
Photographer Pye Jirsa of SLR Lounge recently put together a video that every budding wedding photographer should watch. It's basically his version of "7 things I wish I'd known when I first started out as a wedding photographer," and it answers some of the most common questions (and dispels some common myths) about this popular genre.
I love looking in detail at another photographer’s work. To immerse yourself in someone else’s creativity—to see what their ideas spark inside of you, what excites you, what makes you sit up and think 'Wow, that’s really cool!'—that’s all great fuel for your own photography.
Capturing cool reflection portraits might seem like a breeze—you just put someone behind some glass and go ham, right? But as photographer Matt Granger explains in this tutorial, even a basic understanding of the "key variables" involved can open up more options for you.
Professional photographers Daniel and Rachel of Mango Street have published a helpful video that covers the 8 most common mistakes that they see beginner photographers make. In other words: these are the 8 reasons why your photos suck, and how to fix them.
In my last article, I wrote in depth about my emotional connection to the subjects that I photograph and my artistic process in creating imagery. As I said before, to me photography is much more than capturing a single moment in time. I want to portray the sensory experiences that I have when I am immersed in nature or wilderness and pour that into an image that tells a story related to those experiences.
Of the many creative photographic genres, it is perhaps portrait photography where two camps—the representative and the artistic—can be most clearly observed. Whilst the former requires context through captions and backstory to elevate it, in the later, the absence of such requires creative aptitude. Attempting to merge both camps in one photograph can often diminish its effectiveness.
Landscape photographer Mark Denney has put together a quick tutorial that will be particularly useful for beginners. In it, he covers the most egregious mistakes he made when he first started shooting landscapes with a wide-angle lens, and explains how you can avoid falling into the same traps.
Landscape photographer and YouTuber Mads Peter Iversen is back with another helpful tips video. This time, he's covering a very important subject that many beginners fail to properly appreciate when they're just starting out: how to create depth in your landscape imagery.
Photographer and YouTuber Jiggie Alejandrino loves to show his viewers what's possible when shooting with just one light; but for his most recent tutorial, he took the concept one step further. Not only did he shoot this using a single LED light panel, he used a point-and-shoot camera instead of his more professional gear.
Ever since the beginning of the pandemic (and, really, the beginning of photography), macro photography tutorials have all sort of blended together. The subject matter and techniques are often pretty similar: flowers, bugs, coins, etc. COOPH wanted to change that with their latest "ideas" video.
Commercial photographer and educator Karl Taylor is a working pro with an impressive portfolio to his name and major brands on his CV. So it came as a surprise when he declared recently that he hasn't used a light meter in 15 years... and explained why you shouldn't be using one either.
Our friend Pye Jirsa over at SLR Lounge has put together a great portrait photography tutorial that explains when and why you SHOULD blow out your highlights sometimes. It might seem obvious to seasoned shooters, but a balanced exposure is not always the right choice.
Landscape photographer and YouTuber Mads Peter Iversen has put together a video that's bound to spark some discussion: it's his ode to the 100-400mm lens, which he considers "the best telephoto zoom lens for landscape photography."
Landscape photographer and YouTuber Mads Peter Iversen is back with a short list of helpful tips that can help you break the mold and improve your landscape photography. These tips will be particularly helpful for beginners who feel their work is already growing stale.
If you’re lucky enough to have a wonderful dog around while you're stuck in lockdown, this is the perfect opportunity to hone your pet photography skills and try to get some beautiful portraits of your furry friend.
Landscape photographer and educator Mads Peter Iversen has put together a helpful focus 'primer' for the aspiring landscape photographers out there. In the video, he goes over auto and manual focus technique, his personal workflow, and a few basic tips and tricks that work well for him.
Chris Niccolls and Jordan Drake over at DPReview TV have put together a helpful (and timely) primer that shows you how to take better indoor portraits using only natural light, and without needing to buy any additional photography gear.
Wildlife photographer and YouTuber Steve Perry has put together an incredibly helpful video that will show you how to improve your "keeper" rate when shooting fast action with Nikon's full-frame mirrorless Z7 and Z6, and even the crop-sensor Z50.
Recently we’ve had to close our doors to portraits because of COVID-19, and it’s been heartbreaking. The most heartbreaking thing is having to say no to clients who want newborn portraits. Babies change so quickly, so I wanted to put together some tips on how to capture your newborn portraits with your iPhone (or Android phone) so you don’t miss out on those photos.
The two most commonly asked questions in photography are probably: "what gear do you use?" and "what settings do you use?" In this video, landscape photographer Mads Peter Iversen answers that second question by diving into his typical workflow and explaining when and why to use certain settings when shooting landscapes.
Photographer Joe Edelman has put together a helpful beginner's guide that explains one of the most important (and easy to overlook) details in portrait photography: catchlights. These specular highlights can make or break your photo, and in this video, Edelman covers all of the basic "dos" and "donts" of catchlights in portraiture.
I love a photography challenge and there’s nothing more challenging than shooting a church wedding ceremony. Forget everything else that happens during the course of a wedding day, the ceremony is the grand occasion. The awesome moments that your couple have been waiting for happen here, so you need to be ready.
Photographer Ashley Boring has teamed up with lighting company Westcott to create a helpful educational video that explains the difference between rear- and front-curtain flash sync, and shows you how to use this knowledge to create some interesting portraits.