A photograph can reveal some deep human truths, but even the most intricate images may not divulge in a self-referential way. A deeply intimate scene could have been made from very impersonal practices, and similarly one could use a respectful, peaceful photographic approach to produce something obscene.
Creating spec ads is an incredible way to grow as a filmmaker and photographer for two reasons: It allows you to build your portfolio It forces you to think outside the box and create projects that would appeal to the brands you would love to work with you one day.
I recently returned from 10 days in Iceland. After years of critiquing students’ photos with respect to “haiku photography,” I thought it would be useful to point that laser at my recent shooting.
Canon pushes for the APS-C market by with the new Canon EOS R7 and EOS R10. It’s no surprise that camera giant Canon is continuing with the massively popular mirrorless camera trend. This time around, they’ve decided to shake things up by introducing mirrorless to the smaller, more budget-friendly crop sensor market with these two new camera models.
Photographing football campaigns in one of the most aggressive and intense types of commercial photography there is. While some photoshoots will have a sushi chef for craft services, football sets have doughnuts, caffeine and loud music. Football is unlike any other sport to capture, and I absolutely love it.
The Google Pixel 7 Pro introduces a lot of new software tactics to get better images, particularly at various zoom levels. I did some detailed testing and noticed something curious with the zoom processing.
Lightroom presets are all around us. You might love them as a 1-click solution to your batch editing needs or you might think that they are useless and that all the photos for which one was used look the same. Still, the truth is they are here to stay and maybe we should start thinking of how to integrate them into our professional workflows as more than crutches for your next Instagram post.
The late Queen Elizabeth II was one of the most photographed figures in history. During a long period in which British military and political reach waned, images of Her Majesty underpinned the projection of soft power and played a key role in bolstering public support for the monarchy.
As creatives, more specifically as a photographer and filmmaker, we tend to get gigs all over the city. From big production to small, low-budget clients, our commute can be taxing, especially with increased gas prices.
When I work on a blueprint for a potential documentary project most of my attention goes to unpacking whatever it was that drew my initial interest – usually a collection of themes, locations, and characters that I will visit in order to discover what direction the story will end up going in.
1990 marked the release of one of my all-time favorite movies: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I was nine years old and that warm fuzzy feeling of nostalgia is burned deep within me whenever I re-watch it.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the ebbs and flows of inspiration, particularly with the ups and downs of the last few years. Since I work with a variety of photographers, I get to observe their patterns of motivation, and it’s been fascinating to think about.
As a photographer, I have been making photographs with my own cameras my entire life. From my first Kodak Instamatic camera as a child, to the Sigma film SLR that I received as a gift in high school, to my first digital camera (a Sony Mavica in 1999 or so) to my current DSLR (a Canon 5D Mark IV) — for me photography has been both a lifelong pursuit and a passion as both a photographer and an artist.
Building an impressive portfolio is one of the biggest hurdles for aspiring professional photographers. Then again, it could be just one free photo trip away.
I created my first vertorama on the 20th of June 2007. While strolling around Cape Town with my camera early one morning, I noticed some beautiful light reflecting off the smooth polished cobbles in Greenmarket square.
Photography, as the name suggests, is the process of creating images with light. But if you use only light, the entire image will be pure white (or any other color). So we also need the absence of light, or shadows, to create and showcase what we want. It's the interplay between light and shadows that creates the final image.
If you pay attention to the world of photography, you may know that YouTube celebrity Logan Paul recently sold a collection of photos titled 99 Originals as NFTs for tens of thousands of dollars per photo.
Have you ever had a repeated inconvenience that finally makes you say to yourself, "Okay, I’m done with this garbage"? Well, that’s the exact feeling I had with using contrast filters on my enlarger. Anytime I wanted to use a contrast filter, I needed to use tape to hold it in place while I was printing.
We rarely find ourselves capturing event-based street photography and push to create stories from the everyday. However, at this point in time, we can’t imagine a more important, and historically significant day.
As an industry, we need to do better. For our craft, for new and experienced photographers alike, for those clients who don’t get the full information.
When you think about a product from Sony, whether it be one of their popular cameras to a TV, most consider them to be at the top of the list in terms of quality and functionality. Sony’s first drone, the Sony Airpeak S1, however, is not going to be part of that list. In fact, it’s about as far away from the top as you can get.
Much to the surprise of many, photographing athletes doesn’t always mean you are a sports photographer. Truthfully, I don’t know much about sports at all.
There has been a lot of talk about AI generated images and visual art. One of the projects that I found most impressive was DALL-E 2. This is a new AI system that can create realistic images and art from a description in natural language.
Being a photographer, I often get questions from friends or acquaintances about various photography-related subjects. I also often get given old cameras and miscellaneous bits of equipment because -- "George is into photography, he’ll do something with this.”
The broad strokes of an emotion can be fairly simple to translate into visual communication. A smile for joy, a tear for sadness, bared teeth for anger, wide eyes for fear. Nuance however is always present, the experience and expression of complex emotions are not always as straightforward.
Shooting dancers can be one of the most daunting photographic subjects but also one of the most rewarding in terms of the final images captured. Dance can be an unforgiving subject, and unless one delves deeper and tries to understand the movement, the choreography, the piece, and how to capture the light hitting the dancers, it will prove tough to achieve award-winning imagery.
Here’s a question that I’ve asked myself many times over the past few years: does it make sense to travel abroad to take photos?
At some point in their career, an artist will be approached by a gallery or will approach galleries looking for representation or to have an exhibition. You’ve had some success at local art shows and fairs and have made some inroads selling your photography online, but now you want to get your work out there and start looking for galleries to show your work or represent you.
Away from the world, the city, and the light pollution, I stood in a green forest where the breeze couldn’t even penetrate the trees surrounding me. It was an area that only existed to me in my imagination after multiple times of poring over Google Maps and allowing my mind to wander.
You have a photograph in mind and now you want to try and make it a reality. Or, a client has contacted you to help them realize a photograph they have in mind. What now?
Want to see an example of sheer determination in a photographer? Look no further than the life and work of Tara Kerzhner, an award-winning artist who has combined her talent for rock climbing with her skills in photography and cinematography. Kerzhner is a featured photographer in SmugMug's "This Lens" campaign.
If you’ve ever tried to photograph lightning during the daytime, you know it’s almost impossible. By the time you press the shutter button, it’s gone. That’s why lightning triggers, while no guarantee of success, exist. But the addition of the new “Pre-release” feature in the Nikon Z9 mirrorless camera now makes those triggers obsolete. It guarantees success, as I found out last week.
The last time I visited West Greenland was in 2019. It was a beautiful summer with calm and sunny weather almost every day. Because of COVID-19, I didn’t get to visit again until this year, and this year it was different.
Of all the arts available to mankind, my heart belongs to music. Perhaps it’s a sentiment that doesn’t serve my self-interest much, as my only achievements in the arts have come through photography.
What is the most common compositional rule in photography? Most likely your answer is the rule of thirds. Undoubtedly, this is a very powerful technique to compose an appealing photograph, but is it the only way? Of course not.
If you’re trying to establish your name as a professional photographer, building the right website and choosing a proper domain name for your business is essential to your success.
At some point in time during your photography career, you will probably decide to start offering limited edition prints of some of your best work. It’s a good idea to sell your prints as editions because it’s the way you can court collectors and galleries to purchase or represent your work.
GuruShots, the "World's Greatest Photo Game," has announced the winners of its "Into the Night" challenge, which received thousands of entries and over 45.7 million votes. The "Top Photographer" winner of the contest is Viktoria Farkas of the United States (whose photo is seen above).
When I think of Ansel Adams, I think about beautiful landscapes, the zone system, and preserving the environment. I would have to say that Ansel Adams and Playboy Magazine are not words I would put into the same sentence, yet here we are.
I thought I'd have a bit of fun when out shooting the street, so I started naming my street compositions according to winning hands when playing cards. So from a truly exceptional hand (a brilliant composition filled with complexity) to the simplest card (a simple snapshot of a straightforward subject).
I'm surprised by the number of people I meet who love to shoot but hate to process. For me, seeing what I captured and what kind of art I can make of the image is half the fun! Printing, of course, is part of that equation.
Looking to make basic adjustments to photos without having to shell out a lot of money for image editing software? There are a large number of online photo editors these days that can be used completely for free within your web browser.
The Nikon Z9 is here and ready to take on the Sony A1 and Canon R3 for the title of ‘Mirrorless Flagship.’ We can argue all day about which camera is the best, but there’s no question that this one is the biggest. Mirrorless cameras have all been lighter and more compact than their DSLR counterparts, but with Z9 and the R3, Nikon and Canon have changed that.
I’ve used poly-boards, bounce-boards, and even white sheets and white walls as lighting modifiers to soften the light in the past, but arguably the quickest and most efficient way to instantly achieve beautifully soft light, is the V-Flat.
Let's consider a situation. You went out for a photo shoot with your trusty camera or phone. On location, all the photos looked sharp on the small screen and when you returned to base and opened the photos on your computer you found some photos had missed focus. Worse in some photos the entire image seemed shaken and out of focus.
Photographer Elke Vogelsang, also known as “Wieselblitz,” is best known for her photo projects with canines, but she is currently capturing the essence and allure of the other popular pet: felines.
Your customers are hungry for video content. And their need to feed is increasing every year. With video-based social media apps like Instagram and TikTok taking a commanding lead over traditional social media, the need for a constant video presence is more important than ever for your brand.
The Fujifilm X-H2S has many new and vastly improved features and capabilities, all in a package that’s different than the X-T lineup of cameras with traditional control dials. I’ve had a few days with my Fujifilm X-H2S and here’s my experience with their new flagship APS-C camera.
The first task I give photography students is to create a starscape. To do this, I ask them to sweep the floor beneath them, collect the dust and dirt in a paper bag, and then sprinkle it onto a sheet of 8x10 inch photo paper. Then, using the photographic enlarger, expose the detritus-covered paper to light.
One of the best things about photography is it is an art form that is currently easily accessible to practically everyone. From creatives shooting on analog systems with film to professionals with the latest and most powerful DSLR and mirrorless systems to influencers working with a smartphone. No matter what is being used, everyone can capture life's most important moments.