Tips

A bride and groom stand facing each other in a picturesque meadow filled with wildflowers, with a backdrop of mountains and a partly cloudy blue sky. The bride holds a bouquet and wears a long veil, while the groom is dressed in a suit.

How to Get Started in Wedding Photography: A Checklist

When thinking about how to get started with wedding photography, you’ll want to make a checklist of things you need to do, have, or create. Today I’ll give you a starting point as well as prompts to help you customize your list. The first thing you might notice is that it’s not all about photography.

A split image: The left shows a wooden boardwalk winding through a dry, grassy landscape under a cloudy sky. The right features a lone tree with a dense canopy in a green field, bathed in the warm light of either sunrise or sunset.

Six Ways to Help Yourself See Like a Photographer

Chris Eyre-Walker, an OM SYSTEM Ambassador from Belgium, grew up traveling with his parents who were avid amateur photographers. These childhood photography adventures, which led Eyre-Walker to visit over 20 countries by the time he was 15, translated into a successful photography and filmmaking career.

A wedding ceremony is taking place outdoors under a canopy of trees. Guests are seated on white chairs arranged in rows, facing the couple and officiant. The background features a scenic vineyard with rolling hills and clear skies. String lights are hung between the trees.

How to Create a Wedding Photography Timeline

One of the crucial elements of a wedding day is the timeline. As photographers, the timeline dictates what types of photos you’ll be shooting and when you’ll be shooting them. Today we’re going to talk about how to create a wedding photography timeline to make your shooting experience better for you and your clients.

A dynamic seascape showing white waves crashing against dark rocky shorelines. In the background, mountains are bathed in the warm glow of a setting sun under a partly cloudy sky. The scene evokes a sense of power and serenity.

How NOT to Photograph the Ocean

This is the wave that nearly cost me a lot of money. It also taught me a few very valuable lessons that I'd like to share with everyone now, more than ten years after I took this photo.

Vision: The Most Important Skill in Photo Editing

I don’t know about you, but even though I’ve been photographing for almost fifteen years now, sometimes I feel stuck when deciding which editing direction to take with some of my images.

A total solar eclipse, composite image

The Best Tips for Photographing the Total Solar Eclipse

For those who may have somehow missed it, a historic total solar eclipse will be visible across much of North America on April 8. Photographing an eclipse can be tricky, but fret not. You'll surely capture some great photos next week with these helpful tips.

How to Shoot the Busiest Street Scenes in Asia

Shooting the busiest scenes we encounter while traveling in Asia can be very challenging. After 15 years of running photography tours and teaching in the area, I know that busy markets and streets can either be a photography heaven or a nightmare.

Nat Geo documentary

What I Learned While Shooting a National Geographic Documentary

Standing on top of the desolate mountain, 4000 meters (13,000 feet) up on the Tibetan Plateau, our bodies were freezing and our batteries were dying but we needed to get the final shot for the documentary. Nearby, the thermometer read -20 degrees C (-4 degrees Fahrenheit), but the harsh wind chill made it feel much much lower.

Wedding Photography Survival Guide: Difficult Situations and How to Handle Them

Wedding photography is a fast-paced high-stakes environment, kind of like football or poker, except without all the hitting or sunglasses and hats. It’s actually really hard to shoot with sunglasses on and tackling would damage our gear so try to avoid that too. Luckily, after over a decade of photographing weddings, I’ve picked up a few survival tips that might just help you get through your first wedding season unscathed.

Why Your Photos Suck… (And How to Fix Them)

Do your photos suck? Feeling discouraged by your photography lately? Not making the progress you expected? The good news is, it’s completely normal — all photographers grow at different rates and hit speed bumps along the way.

What Will It Be Like to be a Wedding Photographer in the Future?

It’s fascinating to look back over my 10+ years as a wedding photographer and see the evolution the industry has gone through. That’s not to mention all the drastic changes that happened before my time. It makes one wonder what it will be like to be a wedding photographer in the future.

6 Tips for Better Event Photography

My name is Simon Wiffen, and I'm a Leeds, UK-based photographer specializing in family, lifestyle, portrait, commercial, and event photography. In this article, I'll share my 6 best tips for better event photography to help you achieve the best results.

Why You Should Follow Lesser-Known and Local Photographers

Between 2008 and late 2016, I took tens of thousands of pictures and proudly vomited the vast majority of them online. While I’d toyed around with things like depth of field and long exposures, I didn’t understand anything about photography, so my camera rarely left ‘auto’. I’d checked out an online tutorial or two, but as far as I was concerned, ‘exposure compensation’ was something victims got after winning a public indecency lawsuit.

Tips for Creating Your First Contract as a Wedding Photographer

Creating your first contract as a wedding photographer? My first tip is to hire a law professional to review your contract. While over a decade of experience in the wedding industry allows me to give you some tips based on my experience, a wedding photography contract is a legal document between you and your clients that outlines expectations, responsibilities, and deliverables.

How to Shoot Outdoor Engagement Photography

Outdoor engagement photography is one of my favorite aspects of being a wedding photographer. I get to shoot environmental portraits in beautiful places without the constraints of a wedding day. Additionally, I get to spend time with my couple getting to know them and their interests in a low-pressure environment.

Michael Shainblum waterfall photography

5 Tips for Capturing Beautiful Waterfall Photos

Landscape photographer Michael Shainblum is extremely experienced across a diverse range of landscape photo subgenres, including woodland, seascape, and abstract landscape photography. Among Shainblum's favorite landscape photography genres is waterfall photography, the subject of his latest tutorial.

6 Top Action Photography Tips for Run and Gun Photographers

The phrase "shooting a moving target" certainly has more than one connotation, especially coming from an ex-military combat photographer. While I’ll be using examples from my time in the U.S. Air Force, we are specifically talking about photography. I’ll be sharing my top 6 action photography tips for run and gun photographers.

Camera height for wildlife photography

The Power of Camera Height in Wildlife Photography

Expert wildlife photographer Steve Perry of Backcountry Gallery showcases the power of camera height in a new educational video. One of the most powerful and effective ways to change a wildlife photo's story is by shooting from different heights relative to the subject.

Team Headshots: AI vs. Professional Photographer

Have you Googled “headshot photographers" lately? The results are pretty eye-opening. Right before I sat down to write this, my Google search resulted in 4 sponsored ads, right at the top, for AI headshot generators. If that doesn’t concern you, it should.

How to photograph Manhattanhenge

Manhattanhenge: When and How to Photograph It in 2024

Twice each year, the setting Sun aligns perfectly with Manhattan's street grid, illuminating the north and south sides of every cross street on the island. The event, called "Manhattanhenge," delivers beautiful vibrant colors and, unsurprisingly, is a major draw to locals and tourists alike in New York City.

How to Use People to Enhance Your Photography

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.