Recently, I was asked to provide feedback on an unreleased product: a cocktail shaker from a well-known culinary brand. The company asked me to take it for a spin, make a few cocktails, and fill out a survey. Survey?! Boring. I’ll do you one better - I’ll make a whole promo product video, right here in my dining room.
Every time I go on vacation, I run into the same problem: I start with an empty bag, pack one camera, and think that’ll be enough. Five minutes later, I come back to my bag and pack another one. Just in case. Then I see there’s still room, so I pack a lens. Or Two.
Photographing fireworks offers a unique opportunity to experiment with light, color, and motion. While the classic long-exposure image is always a favorite, there’s a lot more you can do in-camera and in post to elevate your results. Here are five easy, fun techniques to help you capture more dynamic, creative fireworks photos.
OM System Cameras have an enormous range of unique and uncommon features. Getting to know what they do can open up whole new photographic opportunities.
Linear Camera Profiles are one of those things that have been floating around the Lightroom community forever, but only a few people seem to use them. And while there are a lot of video tutorials on how to make a linear camera profile for your camera, there is almost nothing on how to use them in your editing workflow.
Although photography is the art of capturing light and shadow, it also portrays depth in a 2D image. Understanding how depth works is key to making photos feel more engaging.
Transform tiny subjects into striking works of art using advanced macro techniques that go far beyond simply getting close. In this guide, we’ll explore how experienced photographers build depth, control light, and craft intentional compositions that turn the smallest details in nature into powerful, visually compelling images.
Want to see what radiation can look like on camera? This short 1-minute video reveals what happens when an old cell phone with a CCD camera is pointed at a source of beta radiation.
Looking to improve your macro photography? This guide explores techniques for capturing sharper close-up images of flowers, insects, products, food, and more, along with recommended camera settings, lighting setups, lenses, diffusers, focus-stacking tips, and creative tricks to take your macro shots to the next level.
On June 4, the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) is hosting a free educational webinar where the organization's CEO Thomas Maddrey, who is also a lawyer, will explain the difference between an employee and a contractor as it pertains to photographers.
Have you ever thought closely about how much or little your photos change with just one stop of shutter speed? Here's what happens to the same scene shot from 1/3200 to 60 seconds.
Even if we are only shooting video occasionally, we need some information and one accessory that makes an enormous difference.
Is it foolish to buy a 40-plus megapixel camera? Does it make any difference to your prints? Here are further reasons why it may be a false wish.
Autofocus is one of the great invisible revolutions in photography. When it works well, it disappears. A photographer raises the camera, half-presses the shutter, sees a box snap to an eye, a bird, a car, or a face, and the lens silently moves to the right position.
This week, the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) is hosting a free educational webinar where the organization's CEO Thomas Maddrey, who is also a lawyer, will detail how to to incorporate AI provisions into photography agreements and contracts.
Just as Tolkien did in "The Lord of the Rings," photographers encompass cultural, historical, and personal viewpoints in their work. However, as in that book, a complex interaction exists between the photographer's intent and the viewer's interpretation of the image.
Is it foolish to buy a camera with 40-plus megapixels? Photographers are still pushing for higher megapixel count, but that may be too many.
Photography has always had a weakness for metrics, but dynamic range has taken on a peculiar authority in the digital era. It is treated not just as a specification, but as a verdict. Cameras are ranked, dismissed, or praised based on differences of less than a stop, as if such a number alone could determine the quality of an image.
This week, Canon published a Service Notice to its websites urging photographers not to use lithium or lithium-ion batteries in its Speedlites, battery packs, and macro twin light products, surprising many that this was suddenly an issue. The thing is, it's not sudden at all, and almost every manufacturer cautions against it.
Although we think a lot about a photo's subject and its sharpness, what's happening elsewhere in the photo is critical to its success.
Photography can be an expensive pastime. However, you can launch yourself into photography without breaking the bank.
I’ve looked at thousands of black and white photographs over the years -- both my own and those of others -- and I’ve noticed something that nobody talks about enough.
I still can’t believe it: 15 years of being addicted to capturing the night sky. Did you know this addiction all started with my first bear encounter?
Your photos have meaning intrinsically linked to your own and your viewers' personalities and subjectivities. Understanding how that works helps us to break free from bland, mundane images and create something more compelling.
Whether you are an exhibitor or a visitor at a Camera trade fair, there are important things you should know before you go.
The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA), and PetaPixel are hosting a new free, bi-weekly town hall series called Creative Focus to address how AI is changing the photography industry.
When we decide whether a photo is good or not, we apply subconsciously a set of principles that make the image appealing. Understanding those helps us better grasp why some photos work better than others.
Most commonly, blurry images are caused by either poor focus or the wrong shutter speed. Here is why that is so and what you can do about it.
There's more to running a successful professional photography business than just taking good pictures. True success lies in how effectively you run your business.
Many photographers head out with their cameras expecting to get sharp photos. Yet when they load them onto their computer, they are disappointed to find that part of, or all of, the photos are blurred.
Bird photography is one of the most rewarding and yet challenging genres of photography. Here are some tips for better avian photos, along with why photographing birds is good for you.
In landscape photography, we usually want to capture either the grandeur or the subtlety of the natural world, and sometimes both at once. It's the light that dictates the scene's atmosphere, and planning for it is all-important.
Bird photography demands technical skill, patience, and respect for wildlife. However, the rewards of capturing their grace, power, and beauty in their natural environment make the challenge worthwhile.
Usually, we photographers are looking at new things that have come on the market. However, historically, some fabulous books were published that are still full of incredible information.
Just walking out with your camera and hoping for the best reduces the chances of getting good photos. With a little forethought and the right tools, however, you can take fabulous shots. Landscape photography requires planning.
Discover how and why controlling color is essential in photography.
Hipcamp has introduced a new 2026 California Superbloom Forecast, an interactive tool designed to help travelers plan spring camping trips around the state’s highly anticipated wildflower season.
Lens makers Funleader and Mr. Ding have teamed up again to deliver a new Contax G to Leica M Conversion Kit, this time for the legendary Contax 28mm f/2.8 Zeiss Biogon T* lens.
Photography has everything to do with light. Therefore, the more we know how it behaves and interacts with our equipment, the greater the chance of getting a successful photo.
Landscape photography is arguably one of the most popular genres. However, it comes with one of the biggest challenges that you may never overcome.
The secret to a good photograph lies in your eye for composition and in how you see light interacting with both the world and your camera. In this, the first of a series of articles on light, we look at how its interactions with subjects can affect the feel of our photos.
As technology has advanced, so too has noise control. Here's the basic information about why noise appears in your photos and how to deal with it.
What if creating a truly unique landscape photograph isn’t about finding somewhere no one has ever stood, nor simply revisiting the places everyone knows, but about noticing the extraordinary in both?
Abstract photography is one of those things that you either love or hate. Either way, it’s a genre worth dabbling in, as you can learn a lot about your camera from it.
There’s more to photographing the sea than many people realize. Here are some handy techniques for safely photographing one of the most exciting and evocative subjects on our planet.
Photography has never been more accessible, yet truly distinctive images feel harder to come by than ever. With social media reinforcing familiar compositions and popular locations, many photographers find themselves asking how to create work that feels original and fulfilling. This three-part series is designed to explore that question across three genres: wildlife, landscape, and night sky photography. In this first article, the focus is on wildlife and how slowing down, understanding animals …
Social media was once the backbone of marketing for photography businesses. However, we now have strong reasons to leave it behind and adopt a different approach to photography. Why did my recent behavior change prove this to be true?
When we print, we usually want colors and tones to be as accurate as possible. What appears on the paper should match what is on our screens. There are important steps to achieving that.
Printing is the ultimate step in the photographer’s workflow. Getting to grips with the basics is essential, and there is more to it than meets the eye. In my first article, we discussed the printers and inks. In this second one, we examine the paper.
Photographers often embrace beauty and the sublime, unlike the current trends in other arts that downgrade their importance. There are good arguments for both rejecting and embracing aesthetics in our images.
