walkthrough

Capturing the Milky Way Over Yosemite National Park

Back in June of 2018, I was fortunate enough to make a 9-day trip to Yosemite National Park, California to capture the Milky Way galaxy over Half Dome. My entire trip revolved around capturing this image since I had captured nearly this same panorama two years prior during my first ever trip to the park in 2016.

What it Was Like to be a Photographer in 1865

Back in 1865, if you wanted to be a photographer, you needed to be patient, determined, and a bit crazy (not all that different from today, though for different reasons). As an artist and photographer, exploring new methods and mediums is an important part of the journey.

Shooting New Portraits of My Family, From Idea to Framing

In our hallway, we have some family portraits of our kids, but the portraits were taken some years ago -- time for some new ones! But we would also like to hang the portraits of their partners. The previous portraits were color portraits, and this time I would like to do some black and whites. So the challenge is taking seven portraits, each with the same look and feel. This is how I did it.

Making a Platinum Palladium Print That Will Last 1,000 Years

Photographer Tyler Shields recently paid a visit to Hidden Light LLC, a fine art printing business in Arizona. While there, he watched as printer Matt Beaty used the platinum/palladium printing process to turn one of Shields' photos into a black-and-white print that can last 1,000 years or more.

How to Use the World’s Largest Polaroid Camera

Back in its heyday, Polaroid made seven 20x24-inch instant cameras, and only six of them are known to exist today. Marco Christian Krenn of Analog Things recently paid a visit to the camera found at Supersense in Vienna. In this 10-minute video, Krenn shows how this ultra-rare camera is used.

How to Shoot and Retouch a Dynamic Cosmetics Ad in Photoshop

Highly stylized looks offer a great learning opportunity to the beginner or intermediate product photographer. When items are placed on a composite-heavy background, there are certain considerations we can make in-camera to avoid a headache in Photoshop.

On Leaving My Flashes at Home for a Portrait Shoot

It started as a regular booking inquiry from a client. They wanted to book me for an engagement shoot a month before their wedding. The destination was decided (the Port of Jaffa), and the time was set (an hour before sunset).

Photographing Perfume Packaging Using Everyday Objects

As a still life photographer, I spend a lot of time in my studio experimenting with different types of products. In a recent shoot, I did just this by photographing a perfume box. But instead of photographing the packing by itself, I used everyday objects to create the scene.

How to Photograph the Back of the Hollywood Sign

It seems that every visitor to Hollywood wants to photograph the mountain with the Hollywood sign on it but rarely do people want to make the effort for a Hollywood sign hike to go photograph the back of it. If you can put in some extra time, photographing the back of the Hollywood sign will provide you with an amazing photo opportunity and a stunning 360-degree view of Los Angeles.

Focus Stacking Made Simple: Get Pin-Sharp Photos in 90 Seconds

The popularity and widespread use of focus stacking in landscape photography have dramatically increased over the last few years. The concept typically reserved for macro photography has quickly won over countless outdoor photographers worldwide. With more and more landscape enthusiasts using wide angle lenses to capture images with dramatic foreground elements, it’s become nearly impossible to create front-to-back pin-sharp photos.

I Gave Up on Squarespace and Built My Own Photo Website from Scratch

For the past several years my photography website called Squarespace home. Among online, fully-contained, content management systems, it is hard to go wrong with Squarespace. Offering domain registration and hosting, plus well-crafted templates, Squarespace makes it easy to create a professional looking website.

How I Shot a Nova Terra Cosplay Photo in the Desert

As a photographer, I've never really planned my shoots too much. I kind of look at what I'll be shooting and think of cool-looking images. Then I try my best to match what I'm seeing in my head through photography and sometimes post-production.

How I Shot a Light-Painting Levitation Portal Photo

My Name is Swen Cubilette, and I'm a 34-year-old photographer living in the Central Pennsylvania area. I’ve been shooting photos for about 5 years. In this article, I'll share how I shot this levitation portal photo.

Shooting a Sunrise Portrait with a Drone-Mounted Flash

This idea had been rolling around in my head for years. I use flashes a lot in my photography. Whether that is a Speedlight on or off camera or in the studio with some big strobes and modifiers. But this is the first time I have ever used an aerial drone-mounted flash.

The Time Between: A Look Through the Eyes of an Astrophotographer

It is the hottest time of the day during the hottest month of the year in Montana, but two hundred feet above me a pair of nighthawks sense a change. They dive and twist with a grace somewhere between fighter pilot and falling leaf, air buzzing through their wingtips, raspy calls beckoning night, commanding the sun to set. The single, sand-rock knob that I sit on here in the prairie while I watch their aerial display will hold the heat I feel through my jeans well into darkness.

Shooting Vintage Car Lifestyle Photos for Self-Promotion

I do a lot of automotive lifestyle personal projects that I use for self-promotion and am constantly on the hunt for new ideas. A friend of mine recently turned me on to Turo, an app for peer-to-peer car rentals. In the past, you had to hire a picture vehicle company to get vintage cars for shoots, and those can be really pricey and are severely limited in terms of how far you can drive the car.

Shooting and Editing Multiple Night Exposures: Moonrise Over Car Trails

My name is Connar L’Ecuyer, and I’m a landscape photographer based in Southern California. A little while ago, I was driving on the highway at night and there is a section where the highway goes up some mountains. The moon was just rising over the highway. I thought to myself “That’s pretty awesome -- I want to get a shot of that!”, and a few weeks later I was able to shoot it!

This Guy Made a Real ‘Potato Camera’

When low-quality photos or videos are posted online, people often say that they were shot with a "potato camera." But if you actually want to shoot photos with a literal potato camera, how would you go about doing so?

How to Make a Pro Photo Portfolio

Thinking of putting together a professional photo portfolio as a high-impact way of sharing your work with potential clients? Check out this informative and inspiring 5-minute video by photographer Caleb Kerr, who recently built a portfolio of his own and put together a helpful walkthrough for anyone interested in doing the same.

How to Mix Flash and Ambient Light

Mixing ambient light with flash is a tough technique to get around. I can do it no problem, but when someone asks me to explain it I draw a blank. There’s a very good reason why it’s hard to understand: you’re smashing two distinct schools of lighting an image together.

How to Do Corporate Headshot Photography

If you're interested in branching out your photo business to include corporate headshots, here's a helpful 24-minute tutorial that can help you get started. In it, photographer Sean Tucker shares his system of effectively photographing a large number of people in a short amount of time.