Street photography is an age-old photography genre that is both popular and sometimes controversial. However, contrary to the reputation some prominent street photographers give the genre, there is way more to photographing streets than being aggressive and confrontational -- it can also be a relaxing, creative, and freeing experience for both amateurs and experienced shooters alike.
Have you just gotten a more advanced camera and are looking to get better at photography? Having a good understanding of digital camera modes is an essential step in that process. If you are just starting out and are confused about all the different icons on your camera's mode dial, then this comprehensive guide to digital camera modes is just for you.
We photographers generally have long lists of projects we want to do and then we have our bucket list items -- those things we can only hope we someday get a chance to shoot. As a nature and landscape photographer, the big three on my bucket list were the Subway at Zion, Fly Geyser, and Yosemite’s Firefall.
Vintage lenses are more popular than ever, thanks in large part to the mirrorless revolution as well as affordable, high-quality cinema and hybrid video cameras. These lenses are regularly “cine modded” for video use due to their unique character and less clinical rendering, (sometimes) affordable prices compared to cine lenses, helicoid-driven focus with hard stops, and physical aperture rings (which are often de-clicked).
I have been shooting real estate now for over a decade, and as dry and uninteresting as shooting homes may sound, I have found this a very rewarding niche in the photography world. Sure, there are dull, boring, or repetitive days, but then there are some you walk into a home and you just thank your lucky stars the Realtor called you on this one.
Astrophotographer Jason Guenzel captured a photo of the James Webb Space Telescope as it flew through space toward its final distant parking orbit. The image was captured while the telescope was 1 million kilometers (620,000 miles) away.
One of the many features modern cameras have is a selection of modes for metering exposure. These allow you to choose how the camera measures the brightness of the subject or scene in order to automatically adjust camera settings for optimal exposure.
Mixing photography with digital backgrounds is becoming easier and more approachable. In this in-depth and over one hour video, Serge Ramelli breaks down how to use the free Unreal Engine to build a background from scratch and use it to create new composite photographic images.
After I published a story on sunglasses for photographers, I got a ton of emails asking how I lit the series. So, while on the road for a recent photo shoot, I took some time at my AirBNB and wrote out how I approach what is called "split color lighting."
Many years ago when I was a starry-eyed undergrad I would ask every photographer I came across the same question: "How do I take better photos?" I was extremely lucky to have many talented and generous photographers take me under their wing to show me the ropes. Without their valuable advice, there is no way I would have become the photographer I am today.
Getting a new digital camera is an exciting time for photographers and videographers. A world of possibilities and learning lies ahead as well as doors to new adventures and places to visit. But it’s not always smooth sailing when it comes to using a new camera as a beginner. There are lots of complex numbers, letters, and acronyms to wrap your head around, let alone figuring out how to operate the numerous dials, buttons, and switches. But by following the simple steps included in this checklist you should be up and running in no time.
The past decade has seen an explosion of film users. Whether this is driven by a sense of nostalgia, or a desire to experience the past (for those too young to have shot film earlier in their life), for the simplicity, or perhaps because some celebrities have taken to shooting film, it doesn’t really matter. The reality is likely a combination of many factors.
The popular YouTube channel Journey to the Microcosmos has shared a new video on the "Double Life of a Fake Jellyfish" that contains some impressive and fascinating macro footage of Moerisia (a tiny type of Cnidarian) captured by James Weiss.
What is a photograph? There are many different ways to answer this simple question, but in basic abstract terms through the lens of lighting, every photograph is a combination of highlights and shadows. The only reason we see depth and dimension is in fact shadow. Understanding shadows is crucial in growing as a photographer.
A massive and "potentially hazardous" asteroid measuring 0.68 miles (1.1km) wide flew past the Earth at over 43,000 miles per hour on Tuesday. Photographer Andrew McCarthy managed to capture real-time footage showing what the flyby looked like in the night sky.
Photographer Steven Shultz has been experimenting with the Brenizer Method on digital cameras for years, but as he has shot more film throughout 2021, decided to see if there was a way to mix that method with his Mamiya 645AFD.
The Cooperative of Photography, also known as COOPH, has shared four simple ways photographers can add additional visual interest to images by creatively using affordable lighting sources.
Camera resolution in the early 2000s was a space race to the biggest and best. Nikon ushered in the beginning of the end -- with the release of the 36-megapixel era-defining D800 -- to what became the resolution doldrums.
It is very common to hear the term "1-inch sensor" and based on the name, it would be natural to assume that at least part of it is 1-inch in size. Except that's not the case.
It doesn’t seem that long ago that we tried to revive wet smartphones by sticking them in a bag of rice and hoping for the best. Now, most modern smartphones are “water-resistant.” If water gets into them, they won’t be destroyed, like in years past. Still, we’re not supposed to dunk them in the water. But try telling that to kids.
Photography is a tech-heavy job. Camera companies do a great job of hyping up new gear and creating a fear of missing out. However, very few professionals that I know actually go and splurge on the latest and greatest equipment.
Right now, there is an 80,000 mile high "plasma tree" bursting from the surface of the Sun and into its atmosphere. This image, captured by photographer Andrew McCarthy, provides a sense of scale to the sheer mass of the Solar System's star.
As with buying anything secondhand, it is a good idea to have a good idea of what to look for when buying a used film camera lest you spend money on one that has major problems. Thankfully, there are some simple ways to check for problems in film cameras and their lenses... including smelling them.
Ahh, NFTs… where do we even begin? What on earth is an NFT and why does that guy at the coffee shop with an ape on his sweater keep smugly talking about them? Does photography, a medium that we traditionally have come to understand as largely physical, have a place in this new format?
A big question every beginning commercial photographer asks themselves is how they should price their work. There is always a wide range of price points in all genres of photography, and they all depend on your level of work. But there is one truth that may apply to most photographers: you can’t apply a simple pricing strategy to your work.
China's Chang'e 5 lunar lander has found the first-ever on-site evidence of water on the Moon's surface. Photos shot by the probe show the Moon rock and surrounding lunar soil that the water was detected in.
Manufacturing silicon is patently not required in order to make cameras -- anyone can put together a pinhole model -- however, the wider point is more pertinent. To be a competitive, global, manufacturer, do you need to make the sensors that actually go into camera bodies?
What kind of lighting do you use as a portrait photographer? Softboxes are great and popular, but that also makes them potentially overused and boring. If you want to spice up your portrait lighting, you can look into expanding your toolbox beyond the softbox and into other kinds of lighting.
One of the most exciting advancements in digital photography over the last several years has been the rapid increase in the ability to shoot and edit RAW photos.
Henri Cartier-Bresson is famously credited with the saying, "Your First 10,000 photos are your worst." Looking back at his first photos, photographer Gordon Laing tends to agree.
As cameras have rapidly evolved over the last decade, so have the requirements to get the most out of them. Specifically, what a photographer should care about when it comes to a computer has gone from simple, to somewhat complicated and often nuanced.
When you're a photographer just starting to work with video, it can seem like color grading is a mystical art. However, it's simply the process of adjusting the colors in your video footage to achieve the final look you want.
The Hakone Shrine in the touristy town of Hakone, Japan, is a popular photo location for Instagrammers. It's also a good "Instagram vs. Reality" example of how what's seen in social media photos often does not tell the whole picture.
If you haven’t joined the resurgence of film photography in the past few years, you might be asking yourself, “Should I start shooting film in 2022?”
As an art form and a technology, photography’s youth is only matched by its blisteringly rapid advancement. This creates something of a paradox for us as enthusiasts and professionals, where the history of the medium we so love can feel both short and overstuffed. Neither condition is conducive to any one camera gaining, let alone maintaining, a sense of permanence or constancy.
A while back, a young man contacted me about a photo digitization and restoration project for his grandfather, who served in the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. They had some photographs from this period in his life—of friends, scenery, and the culture of Vietnam—that they wanted to use for an album.
Amateur astrophotographer Ethan Gone went out recently to shoot a nebula and ended up creating a time-lapse of the newly-launched James Webb Space Telescope flying through space.
Taxonomy was once the domain of white-coated scientists with years of university training. While this expertise is still important, everyday Australians are increasingly helping to identify species through citizen science apps. Rapid advances in smartphone and tablet cameras are helping to popularize this activity.
Umbrellas are perhaps the most under-appreciated light shaping tool around. Due to their low price and wide availability, they are considered by some to be only for those who are beginners. This couldn't be further from the truth.
After decades of studying the classic works of photography, I’ve determined there is a historic and philosophical bifurcation in the works created. For convenience, I classify all works as falling into one of two camps, and the group I’m personally drawn to — and one that I find most applicable in discussing current photographic creativity — is what I call “neo-modernism.”
As Comet Leonard whizzed by Earth during Christmas festivities on its journey through the Solar System, photographer Andrew McCarthy went out into his backyard and captured incredible photos of the colorful "Christmas Comet."
Canadian conservation photographer TJ Watt has been using his camera to protect endangered old-growth trees from logging. His powerful before-and-after photos aim to show the devastation of ancient forests that is left in the wake of clearcut logging.
The Cold War is the conventional name for the period of political and military competition between two blocs led by the US and the USSR. This rivalry was mainly ideological and economic, intensified by the conventional and nuclear arms race.
Astrophotographer Jason Guenzel has captured one of his most detailed solar images in his years of photographing "the curiosities of the universe." It's a stunning photo that reveals the twisted "surface" of our Sun.
In many art practices, a new method or process does not usually automatically override the old one. You can still use berries and charcoal to paint a cave wall, paint on a canvas, or put pencil to paper. These do not become irrelevant just because a Wacom tablet can be used to make a digital illustration or a VR for a 3D painting.
Nikon has published three videos that cover the various parts and features of the company's new flagship camera. Shared through its Digitutor YouTube Channel, the videos are some of the closest and most detailed looks yet at many features.
The topic of proper backup and storage strategies for creatives has been a heated debate for years. While there are a plethora of best practices to follow, arguably there is no "one size fits all" solution to cater to every photographer's needs.
When it comes to photography, depth refers to the balance of what is in and out of focus. The right depth creates a sense of space and helps draw the viewer in, and adding depth to your product photography will help the product pop.
The color grading panel in Lightroom offers powerful tools that can completely transform an image. Photographer Kevin Raposo has put together a brief tutorial to show what these tools are capable of.
Are you looking for new landscapes away from the crowds and the tripod holes of the national parks? Are you seeking a more adventurous and out-of-the-beaten-path experience? If so, how about a visit to America's national monuments?