Recently, I worked one of the most frustrating shoots I have ever had to endure. In my day job, I work with amateur prospective models doing test shoots. Most of the people I work with have never modeled and have rarely even stepped into a photography studio before. Despite this, the people I work with tend to understand the relationship and the unspoken code.
Have you ever wondered why the images you created a few years ago look very different from the pictures you are taking now? Chances are you became a better photographer. You trained your eye and you got better at post-processing. But I am not talking about the craft. I am talking about the art behind photography. The art that feeds off your emotions.
Twenty years. They have gone by fast. I can remember the first time I saw a camera with a screen on the back of it at a sporting venue, and now a camera without one is considered vintage. However, the look of modern cameras is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to changes.
If you’re wondering why someone who loves Sigma cameras and gets called the ‘Foveon Wizard’ by his peers is writing about the Panasonic Lumix S1R, I need to take you back to 2007.
What does it take to push a farmer to this point? The point where, fed up of thousands of disrespectful photographers, wannabe “influencers” and narcissistic tourists, they feel the only way to get them to stop damaging their business and property, is to damage those people’s photographs?
I have read so many magazine articles, social media posts, and had discussions in which ‘established’ photographers don’t think new and aspiring photographers should be allowed to chart the same course that they once did (and perhaps still do). I’m referring to the general idea of starting with little or no fee to gain experience and establish themselves.
Over the past five years, Sony has done more to push digital imaging forward than just about anybody else. But their incredible pace of innovation is straining an industry that just can't keep up, and the cracks are starting to show.
My name is Liam Hawe, and I work as a video editor. When I started out in the industry I worked for a creative services agency where I had the opportunity to document behind the scenes of commercials. Four great years have passed and now that I am about to take on a new role at a different company, the process of tidying up my old files has brought on a wave of nostalgia.
I, like many of you, watched the Sony a7R IV announcement live stream on Tuesday. I saw them put up the video of the camera and its specs, which I thought looked good as an evolution of their R platform. However, when the lights came back on in the room, the kind man that is the VP of their alpha division debuted the camera to the world with the line: “medium format level image quality”
I've been fascinated with the idea of incorporating the moon into photos whenever possible. And so, with the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s moon landing on July 20th, I was excited by the possibility to shoot something special for the occasion: Putting a man "on" the moon.
I recently arrived at what I think is a worthwhile insight into the lenses I use. The material that follows should become instantly obvious once read, but the several photographers I discussed this with all commented that they had never thought of the matter that way and that it was worth some thought. Those comments inspired me to share my viewpoint here.
I had everything I could ever need, all the dream gear. Broncolor lighting, the latest professional Canon cameras and all the faster canon lenses. I had the latest Apple laptop, tethering equipment, software, c-stands, tripods, light modifiers, Polaroid cameras, all the gear I could have ever dreamed of.
Being an Underwater Photographer I've always been drawn to creating dreamscapes below the surface, it's just part of the allure for me, and trying to build a whole room underwater was one of the goals I'd set myself quite a while ago.
It frustrates me to see so many fake wildlife photographs of amphibians and reptiles on social media. That's because those staged photos of captive animals in unnatural positions and situations go viral on a regular basis, and this “success” can inspire other people to follow them in their footsteps.
Many parents don't realize that anyone can call themselves a newborn photographer; but untrained photographers can make what should be a relaxing experience, incredibly stressful. It's not just about the images, it's about soothing babies and knowing their cues. It is a great job, but newborn photographers really should care enough to invest in training.
It’s 6:30PM on the 4th of July in Boston and I had just gotten off work—one of those poor souls whose job doesn’t care about national holidays. What’s worse is that all of my plans fell through; my roomies are at a private event on Google’s rooftop, the cute gal I’m dating is visiting family in Pittsburg, and all of my climber bum friends are up in New Hampshire making the most of a 4 day weekend.
The Internet is a gold mine of information about cameras, lenses, and other photography equipment, but there’s always a fair amount of BS circulating. There are opinions masquerading as fact.
When you look through your viewfinder and things seem a little bit blurry or lacking definition, it's probably because you are using an “el cheapo” lens. So you read reviews and buy a much more expensive lens, and what do you do next?
When I first learned that Canon was planning on using a crowdfunding website to launch a new product, I thought to myself “this is going to be a PR disaster." My knee jerk reaction was to think that it's unacceptable for a company like Canon to use websites like Indiegogo in order to launch a product. Surely it has more than enough money available to develop products without asking for it from the public.
In the world of photography, you’ll find people generally prefer primes or zooms. The main benefit to zoom lenses is that you can cover multiple focal lengths in one decent sized package. In saying this, there are some prime lenses that can work well for multiple purposes. Two of these are the 35mm and 85mm primes.
UK-based photographer and YouTuber Jamie Windsor recently shared an interesting video about what he calls "The Instagram Problem for Photographers." Namely: that Instagram has quickly become the default method for sharing your work with the world.
You have found your style when you can’t do anything else. It’s your default, your normal, your nature. Style comes when imitation and influence perish. It's something that becomes one... you, yours. Defining your style or finding your style is a life’s journey.
I switched to Sony from Canon on December 31, 2014. Since then, I’ve cranked through over 50,000 frames on my Sony cameras in the past 4+ years of shooting.
Fujifilm is the largest medium format camera manufacturer in the world. Its resources are vast and the experience it has as a company is extensive. Hasselblad, on the other hand, is a tiny Swedish company that solely produces niche high-value cameras. This may seem like a David and Goliath type story, but considering the sheer differences in size between the two companies, this is more of a David and Godzilla type story.
Appropriating Indigenous cultures has been going on for a very long time. Anytime something appropriating Indigenous cultures or racist comes up, it doesn’t matter what Natives might say in protest -- most often the person doing the wrong thing claims it’s to “honor” us. Much the same way people think that Native mascots honor us. It doesn’t.
A few decades ago, Nikon was the number one manufacturer for high-end professionals. If you were a pro photographer who shot with a 35mm full-frame camera, you probably shot with a Nikon.
My name is Justin Barr, and I'm a photographer in St. Louis, Missouri, who was recently hired to shoot the Blues' Stanley Cup victory parade. I'm still in shock over the series of events.
In September 2016, my photography agents, Vaughn-Hannigan, abruptly closed their doors after 10 years in business. Since then I have been without an agent, representing myself, and I thought I would look back and ask the question which has been lingering with me through this time: to agent or not to agent?
On May 30, 2019, controversial free stock photo site Unsplash announced that it crossed the 1 million images uploaded mark. That had much of the photo blogosphere up in arms.
When it comes to negotiations, as a photographer (or any freelance artist, for that matter) you’ve got to master the art of not being emotionally invested in the outcome -- something that is nearly impossible to do. But without it, you’ll never be able to break free of difficult clients and underpaid gigs.