In my dream I’m standing on the rim of a deep, verdant canyon. Far below, a river glinting crimson and gold in the setting sun snakes toward jagged mountains dusted with snow. My camera’s viewfinder perfectly frames this epic vista in the wilds of northern New Mexico.
People, they’re literally everywhere. At least that’s how it feels when you live in a country as densely populated as Japan. For the longest time, I was incredibly fussy about having people in my frame.
If you’re interested in photography and are trying to figure out where to start or how to grow, you’ve come to the right place. There’s a lot of information out there, how do you even determine what to focus on? Sometimes in trying to do too much we find ourselves accomplishing nothing.
The resurgence of interest in film photography is astonishing. Newcomers revel in the challenge of having only a limited number of photos per roll. They enjoy the suspense of waiting a lengthy period for the film to be processed before they see whether their photos have turned out.
Light shaping tools are very expensive. What if you could take any object and turn it into a modifier? That would save you a lot of money as well as give some unique results. In this article, I will share some everyday objects that you can turn into light modifiers to get different looks.
What kind of lighting do you use as a portrait photographer? Softboxes are great and popular, but that also makes them potentially overused and boring. If you want to spice up your portrait lighting, you can look into expanding your toolbox beyond the softbox and into other kinds of lighting.
Online sales have long been the go-to for photographers looking to earn passive income. While you reach out to editors and communicate with clients about their latest headshots or food photos, have you considered which images you’ve already made might make you some quick cash?
Dear camera manufacturers,
The photography community and content creators would like to voice an urgent need for camera gear to be equipped with anti-theft protective systems.
For a digital artist like me, getting those unique ideas for my images is one of the most important things. I see the ideas in my dreams, when I read a magazine, when I’m out for a walk, or pretty much anywhere. I have learned that ideas are everywhere if you just allow yourself to see them.
Photographer Manny Ortiz loves finding perfect portrait situations in everyday places -- locations most people probably wouldn't think of using for a photo shoot. Here's a short video in which Ortiz compares how "normal" people see the world vs how photographers see it.
I shoot a lot of photos. I try to block time here and there to enjoy them because sometimes I feel I shoot more images than I can look at. After a shooting, there will be a moment, either right after or during the same week, where I will transfer the images to the computer, open Lightroom, select, remove, adjust, flag and note. Nothing special here, it's part of the whole process.
When competing in an attention economy, giving your audience a reason to stay rather than scroll onwards is one of the most essential paths to retaining that attention.
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.
We live in a world of visual bombardment. According to the research company Internet Live Stats, there are over 1,000 photographs uploaded to Instagram alone every second. When you factor in our universal personal attention deficit, one must wonder how one gets their precious photographs seen. Here are 15 unignorable ways to show your photographs to help get past the digital clutter.
In January, photographer Jay P. Morgan shared a video where he took portraits with what at the time he called an IMAX lens on a Canon EOS R. In part two of that series, he takes it one step further and mounts the medium format GFX 100 to it.
In an endeavor that seems to be driven only by curiosity, Photographer Jay P. Morgan modded an old IMAX lens to allow it to work with his Canon EOS R. But just getting the lens to work wasn't enough, as Morgan decided to take the lens way out of its element: street portraiture.
This year, as photographers, we've been challenged to look at more ordinary subjects closer to home in pursuit of continuing our photography. 2020 has pushed us to find creative potential in the more everyday and mundane, perhaps duping us in the process that these subjects are in fact worthy of our attention.
Lake Tahoe-based photographer Tajreen Hedayet made this short, sweet, and inspiring 2-minute video tutorial on six different editorial self-portraits you can try shooting at home if you're looking for a way to exercise your creative muscles.
JT from the YouTube channel Run N Gun has put together a quick video that takes you through 10 easy macro photography ideas you can try from the comfort of your own home. If you're looking for some weekend inspiration that won't take you out of the house or wake you up at 4am, this ought to do it.
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.
The grand landscapes are beautiful to view and probably the reason you got into landscape photography but the smaller details and intimate scenes can be just as picturesque. Capturing these scenes isn’t only a great way of creating impressive art, it’s also a creative challenge that forces you to think differently.
Matt Huber over at YouTube channel The Garage Learning has put together a fun and creative walkthrough that takes a different approach to splash photography. Instead of manually throwing water onto his subject, he designed a simple 'DIY catapult' that does the job much better than he can.
This period isn’t easy for anyone. Professional photographers are struggling with the implications of being on lockdown and suddenly having to stop all work from one day to the next. Hobbyist photographers may be in a similar situation with jobs, children and household duties all being juggled in an unprecedented dance that is completely new and unknown.
Photographer Jordi Koalitic has made his name by coming up with simple, creative ways to capture really interesting photos. And now that we're all under lockdown, he's using this skill to share 20 fresh photography ideas for the shutterbug who's stuck at home.
COVID-19 isolation is a tricky time for wedding photographers. Upskilling might already be on your radar as you think about putting time into your wedding photography business over this time where weddings have been banned pretty much across the globe. But I’d like to suggest some out-of-the-box ways that we can upskill as wedding photographers in this time that you might not have thought of yet.
With many of us stuck in lockdown, quarantine, and self-isolation, I thought I’d share 10 ideas for astrophotography that you can do from home, even if you live in a light-polluted town or city. If there’s one thing that this pandemic has taught us, it’s that we’re all in this together and astrophotography and astronomy only help to solidify that sense of unification.
You don’t have to be out and about to capture beautiful photographs of your children. The homes we live in may not strike you as being particularly photogenic, but think about how many of your childhood memories revolve around the house you grew up in. It's the ideal backdrop.
My friend Jon Gilchrist and I were talking about cabin fever and ways to stay active while also socially distancing during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. He had the idea to come up with a route on Google Earth and Street View for me to bike and take a few pictures on.
Jared Polin, AKA Fro Knows Photo, has published a set of 7 photo challenges that photographers can do while stuck at home. It's his way of helping to keep photographers sane and creative while they #stayathome and self-isolate.
Now that most of us are stuck at home with possibly no income, times are tough. But we can use these times to our ‘advantage’ and do things we normally wouldn’t do or don’t have time for. Some of us can’t even go out anymore to take pictures in nature because we’re grounded. I live in the Netherlands and we’re still allowed to go out of the house, but other countries like Italy and France for example, are completely grounded.
Instagram star Jordi Koalitic made this rapid-fire 12-minute video showing 100 of his creative photos and behind-the-scenes looks at how they were made.
Hoods - Möbius Edition may be the first-ever continuous, one-sided photography book. It is formed from a Möbius strip, a mathematical surface with only one side. This means that the book can be read from any starting point and to any point at which the reader wishes to stop or gets tired.
Tajreen Hedayet of Tajreen&Co is back with a great holiday portrait tutorial that won't waste your time. In just two minutes (actually less) Hedayet covers four creative Christmas portrait ideas for anyone who wants to create some photos with a "commercial and catalog feel" this holiday season.
Our friends over at COOPH have put together a fun video that might just inspire you to break out the umbrella for a fun photo shoot this weekend. The rapid-fire video goes through 5 creative photo "hacks" that you can do with a spare umbrella and a few other odds and ends like fairy lights, aluminum foil, and duct tape.
Creative consultant and talented videographer Daniel DeArco is one of the best there is at creating impressive transitions from shot-to-shot in his videos. In his latest video, he'll take you behind the scenes to show you exactly how he created one of the coolest cuts in his recent empathy video.
Attaching the variable neutral density (ND) filter to a lens basically means that we have added a fourth dimension to our camera. The exposure triangle -- aperture, ISO, shutter speed -- has been expanded with a fourth variable with which we can play to achieve a desired effect or outcome. This opens up for new creative opportunities in our photography and also adds a lot of flexibility to our shooting.
As a portrait photographer, it can often be difficult to keep thing interesting in the studio. Adding a unique element to your images can help them stand out while also allowing you to have little fun. The unique element that I added for my most recent shoot was just a simple piece of plexiglass. Here are three ways you can use a sheet of plexiglass and some simple household supplies to unleash your inner creative.
We photographers obsess about finding the right light. We understand how to use hard light, when to use soft light, and get excited by directional light. Portrait photographers learn how to control light using flashes and modifiers, and become experts in getting the most from natural light.
As with any genre of photography, there is no "one size fits all" solution for exposure in any given situation. There are as many different means of achieving a "look" as there are photographers practicing those methods, and any can be adapted to fit into the kind of photography you want to be doing.
Want to get creative without leaving the comfort of your own home? Here's a 5-minute video by COOPH that contains 5 ideas for macro photographs you can do with a small budget, simple gear, and everyday items.