Even though the Zone System is over 80 years old, it is still relevant today whether shooting modern films or digital capture. This article is for photographers wanting to learn more about the Zone System for their particular workflow.
If you don’t control the background, you’re not controlling your image. In this video and article, I'll share 7 different ways to control your background and give you better images. These are simple techniques to master to improve your photography.
If you're a video game enthusiast who's also trying to get into photography, Texas-based photographer Mir-or-Image has a creative new video series for you: he's teaching photography skills through the photo modes in popular games.
Want to learn the secrets of color grading in photography? Photographer and retoucher Joanna Kustra recently gave an hour-long webinar on the subject, and she has now made it freely available for anyone to learn from.
Today we are taking a look at equivalency. Not equivalent exposure, equivalency. What the heck is that? Equivalency is a very, very complicated subject matter, but one people have been screaming about because of the last format comparison we did.
Have you ever seen long exposure images shot using 10-stop ND filters? They are visually energetic and dynamic due to the motion blur caused by the moving clouds over a long duration of exposure.
As a wedding and engagement photographer, you have an opportunity to work with a diverse range of people, but most of them will not be professional models. In fact, most of your clients probably feel downright uncomfortable in front of the camera, and that awkwardness can show in your photos. It’s up to you to direct your clients into poses that make them look at ease and in the moment.
"Take another photo and I'm going to shove that camera up your a**." Beware of small guys with big mouths. That's the takeaway here.
In this 8.5-minute video, we’ll explain the 5 primary key light patterns and the ‘why’ or purpose behind each of them. It's all about “key” or main light positions and namely, understanding the why or purpose behind each one of these 5 primary lighting patterns.
I'm photographer Jay P Morgan of The Slanted Lens, and today I'm going to talk about umbrellas!
My name is Jay P. Morgan from The Slanted Lens, and in this 6.5-minute video and article, I'll illustrate the balance of strobes with ambient light. Whether it’s inside or outside, you’re going to have to learn the formula to balance strobes with ambient light. It’s not that hard, so let’s go back to 1930 and learn the formula!
Want a free photo editing lesson? Apple wants to give you one. The company is offering 30-minute one-on-one training sessions over the phone on how to edit photos using Apple's Photos software.
At the WPPI wedding and portrait photography conference and expo this year, photographer Trevor Dayley taught this 1-hour class titled "17 Fast, Easy, Awesome Lighting Recipes." Dayley shares 17 lighting ideas you can keep in mind on any portrait shoot using a memorization story.
If you're not sure how to photograph a landscape, one primary factor you should consider is the current position of the sun in the sky. Here's a fantastic 3.5-minute video by CreativeLive in which National Geographic photographer Frans Lanting shares tips on harnessing different kinds of sunlight.
In this article, I am going to highlight 5 key things that I see portrait photographers doing that I consider to be "in need of improvement." And although there are no hard-and-fast rules to photography, try to think of it as being similar to an instrument being slightly out of tune or a meal that's perhaps a little too salty. These are glaringly obvious errors to the well-informed but may not be so obvious to those who are just starting out.
Whether you've been shooting for five minutes or five years, there will likely come a time when you'll have to book a shoot with another person. Maybe it will be a friend or coworker and maybe it will be a full-time professional model.
With well over 100,000 subscribers on YouTube, landscape photographer Thomas Heaton is popular for his behind-the-scenes window into life in the outdoors. On the recent shoot seen in the 11-minute video above, with incredible patience and dedication, Heaton spends 24 hours in the forest to capture just 1 image.
This guide is intended for concert photography beginners. If you have a DSLR camera and are interested in how to control your camera settings to take great photos at concerts, this guide is for you. If you're an experienced photographer who just hasn't shot shows before, there may be some helpful info in here along with plenty of stuff you know already.
If you're just starting out in photography (or know someone who is), here's a simple 5-minute animation that provides a crash course on the subject of aperture.
If you're just starting out in Photoshop and would like to learn the art of making difficult selections to isolate things in photos, check out this great video tutorial by Tutvid. It's a 37-minute lesson with 10 tips and tricks on methods that range from beginner to advanced.
Taking pictures out of a helicopter is one of the greatest and most rewarding things I've done as a photographer. It grants you access to unparalleled views that you would never see otherwise.
A photography professor in Oklahoma recently had an awesome idea for teaching his students about the beginnings of photography: he turned his classroom into a giant camera obscura.
Here's an 8-minute video lesson by photographer Mike Hagen of Nikonians and Visual Adventures on how and why to start using back button focus on your camera.
The lesson of the video below can be summed up in one very simple phrase: always pay attention to your surroundings. This photographer didn't, and he got called out on television for his lapse.
What do you do when you find a good location to photograph, but the time of day isn't right due to strong sunlight and harsh shadows? That's the subject of this 12-minute tutorial by photographer Mike Browne.
Let me begin by saying that I’m not a hunter. But I am surrounded by hunters because I live in Minnesota. I’ve heard countless stories about deer hunting from co-workers and friends, but the most interesting story was from a seasoned hunter who told me that now he only hunts for a “trophy buck” because he’s hunted everything else and he’s only interested in getting “the big one”.
He goes on to describe what the big one may look like – broad shoulders, big neck, and apparently the size of the rack doesn’t matter. When he goes hunting he may let herds of less attractive deer walk by during the course of a weekend without lifting his gun. This may sound like an elitist attitude, but it made me think about using this strategy in street photography.
Want a crash course on the history of photography? COOPH just published this …
My name is Tavis Leaf Glover, and I’m an artist just like you, trying to create art that I can be proud of and share with the world. Though, something really hindered me in the beginning... the Rule of Thirds.
I want to shed some light on the Rule of Thirds Myths we’ve all been forcefully spoon fed during our creative infancy, which continues to linger as our compositions mature.
Here's a new 18-minute educational video by Filmmaker IQ about the subjects of depth of field and its relationship to different lenses and sensor sizes. "Through some fundamental scientific demonstrations, we will clarify concepts like circle of confusion and lens equivalency," the video says.
If you have a lens of one mount and a camera with another, there’s a good chance that there’s …
Los Angeles-based photographer John Free is one of the great street photographers of …
The key to mastering photography is not to follow the rules but to understand them. Understanding the photographic principles that define photography is a barrier that must be broken to truly unlock your full potential as a photographer.
The problems that plague beginners are the same problems faced by the pros, that is controlling your image with the exposure triangle; shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. This article will focus on understanding depth of field (DOF).
Photographer Steve Perry of Backcountry Gallery sent in this 14-minute video he recently …
Travel photographers get to traverse the world in search of one-of-a-kind photo ops, so finding interesting things to capture usually isn't a problem for them. But what if you're limited in terms of mobility and find yourself shooting in the same locations, day after day? Things can quickly start to feel dry and "boring."
If you're just starting out in photography and that describes how you feel about where you are, here's a nice video that may inspire you and jump start your creativity. In it, photography instructor Mike Browne offers some advice on how to take interesting photos in seemingly mundane places.
Here’s a short and inspiring video in which renowned photojournalist Steve McCurry talks …
YouTube user Jared Michael learned a valuable lesson recently when he attempted to take a selfie too close to a moving freight train and received a kick to the head as a reward.
A Colorado mother learned an important lesson of her own last week when her plan to teach her daughter just how quickly a photograph can spread online through social media worked far too well.
Want to take better photographs using your mobile phone camera? It helps to know what you are working with. I'll assume you already know the basics for all kinds of photography (composition, exposure, focus and DOF, shutter speed, aperture, et cetera).
Once these are set, its time to get to know your equipment, and using that knowledge to your advantage.
Quite a few years ago I took a solo trip down to Key West, FL. It was the first time I had gone on a vacation by myself, and since I was free of the distraction of friends and family, I decided it would make a great opportunity to expand upon my photography skills.
You see, the trip was shortly after I had decided to take this whole photography hobby of mine seriously. I had worked with video for years but now I wanted to work on becoming a good photographer as well, not just one that took as many photos as possible and then looked for the three good ones out of the hundreds shot (seriously, it's a horrible method and I wouldn't recommend it to anybody).
Film photography is similar in many ways to digital photography, and most of your standard digital photography techniques apply to film too. You just have to understand the peculiarities of film and its limitations and you’re good to go.
That will be explained in detail in this article, which presumes readers are already reasonably proficient at digital photography and are embarking upon film photography for the first time.