Educational

Light can be one of the most challenging topics when it comes to learning photography. It takes a lot of trial and error to understand light, as there are very few resources available that teach light beyond setups.

Here is a little exercise to show how we can do things in this modern world. This is not one of those whacky geo-location stunts, this is just ordinary research, some simple geometry, and some careful guessing.

Photography, film, and art YouTube channel Chroma published this 8-minute video detailing what it takes to capture what are colloquially known as "Accidental Renaissance" photographs.

In a world of color, why would you want to create black and white photos? There are many reasons to do so, from the timeless nature of the image to the way it enhances the mood and tones in the photo. It is also a way to see differently and grow your composition skills.

Minimalism can be such an effective and beautiful way to present information, especially in photographs where there needs to be only one subject or central point of clarity. However, while many seem to subscribe to the “less is more” sensibility of minimalism, which can mean chiseling away at anything non-essential, I don’t find this a useful or practical way to work when it comes to documentary photography.

Professional headshot photographer and educator Peter Hurley recently starred in a Back to Basics 22-minute tutorial that covers the natural and continuous lighting he uses during headshot photo sessions.

With the use of a polarization filter, you can get a nicely saturated, dark, blue sky at the point of capture. However, if you use a wide-angle lens or -- depending on the camera’s orientation relative to the sun -- you might run into problems... But all problems have solutions.

If you ever had an art history, drawing, graphic design or photography class, then you’ve probably learned about the “rule” of thirds as a composition technique to use in creating more interesting photos. Or, as I prefer to call it, the “suggestion” of thirds. More about that later.

Shooting in natural light can be quite difficult. In fact, many photographers gravitate towards studio photography to avoid natural light completely. However, natural light can be manipulated in a way that will produce great work.

As part of a customization project he undertook, self-described media creator David Knop disassembled a Polaroid Go, the company's latest instant camera. Impressed with the engineering and design, Knop decided to share what it looks like under the hood.

The ethical dimensions of artificial intelligence (AI) image colorization were recently brought to public attention when several historical images were altered using digital algorithms.

Neon signs give off a unique light that can make for some stunningly colorful, glowing photographs. But the same properties that make them look magical to the human eye can also make them difficult to photograph.

In the past decade, Zeiss has launched a number of new lens lines for DSLR and mirrorless cameras with unusual-sounding names such as Batis, Otus, and Milvus. Perhaps you own one of these lenses, but did you know that each of those lens lines is named after a bird?

I wanted to see how Luminar AI works when compared to Lightroom in 2021, and to do so I took one image -- a photo of a lavender field in the south of France -- and processed it in both.

When I started my journey in photography, one aspect that fascinated me the most -- and this extends even to today -- was photo editing. I remember my first edits. I was so delighted to see how my images changed drastically by just moving a few sliders in Lightroom or Photoshop.

This article is dedicated to a very helpful yet often-overlooked photographic accessory. After scouring the Web, I have only been able to find few brief entries dedicated to those devices, so I hope my writing will be found helpful by inquisitive minds interested in the history of photo equipment.

I create my landscape photography with film and digital technical cameras and received a request to share how I compose in the landscape with the gear I use.

I’d argue that nearly all of us owned a speedlight at some point before we owned a studio strobe. When we’re looking to dip our toes into supplemental lighting, strobes seem like a big investment. It just makes sense to pick up a cheap speedlight to play with, right?

What draws us to be photographers? I'm photographer Kirk Mastin, the founder of Mastin Labs, and this is the question we set out to answer when we surveyed our Mastin Labs Facebook community for their 16 personalities results in partnership with our friends at Brevitē Backpacks. We utilized the 16Personalities website to conduct this very unscientific study.

Not every photographer needs to hire agency models for their projects, and, fortunately, there are many freelance models to choose from, however, finding and hiring can be a daunting process for some.

Picking the wrong camera lens can lead to unintended consequences in your resulting photos. Case in point: this new photo of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden meeting with former president Jimmy Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter.

The Royal Photographic Society has set out on an extensive initiative, titled "Photography for Everyone" with the goal of making the photography industry more inclusive and accessible for all through a number of projects.

Photographer Michael Shainblum is has shared multiple videos and tutorials about landscape photography and in two recent uploads, he juxtaposes what can be done with two different perspectives -- wide-angle versus telephoto -- in a very familiar environment.

After shooting cities all around the globe for the past 15 years, I managed to publish seven coffee table books featuring cities like Paris, Venice, Los Angeles, and New York. I learned the hard way when was the best time to shoot and want to save you the time and effort so you can make the best photos of cityscapes possible.

What kind of photos do you get if you shoot with a backdrop made with one of the blackest materials available to the public? Photographer Mathieu Stern recently decided to find out, and he documented his experiment in the 5-minute video above.

This article is aimed at people who would like to advance their basic photography skills. I assume that you already make decent photos and are familiar with f-stops, ISO, shutter speeds, etc. But I'm hoping that this read will prove worth your time and lead to even greater photographic skills and enjoyment.

If you've ever been on the streets of New York City, you've likely seen the iconic I Love New York slogan and logo that has been around since 1977. But if you're a photographer who sells photos, here's something you need to know: that logo is trademarked by New York, and the state is quite serious about protecting it.

Since February 2020, the entire world has been experiencing what is likely a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. No country was spared, and here at home in the United States, we somehow managed to be one of the most infected countries on the planet. More than a year later, where do we stand?



Over the past decade, selfies have become a mainstay of popular culture. If the #selfie hashtag first appeared in 2004, it was the release of the iPhone 4 in 2010 that saw the pictures go viral. Three years later, the Oxford English Dictionary crowned “selfie” word of the year.

To many photographers, getting your work printed in a magazine is the holy grail, especially if you manage to make the front cover. Sure, posting on Instagram or Facebook is great but actually seeing your work in print... to me, there is no better feeling.

Without light, there is no picture. Knowing how to use light to your advantage can help you in any genre of photography, from landscape to portrait.

I previously wrote an article on some of the gear that photographers can buy used and how I saved $15,000 doing so. It feels wrong for me to buy any new gear -- like I'm burning money when doing so. That said, here are a few photography things that even bargain-hunters like me buy new.

If you're a video game enthusiast who's also trying to get into photography, Texas-based photographer Mir-or-Image has a creative new video series for you: he's teaching photography skills through the photo modes in popular games.

Many of us enjoy quality. Be it a car or a lens, there's a pleasure in using quality things. And in the case of lenses, how perceivable is the quality of the images captured?

A few weeks ago, I was speaking with a good friend -- who is also a heck of a photographer -- about the pros and cons of using creative profiles and presets as part of your photo editing workflow. His stance was unambiguous and straightforward: as far as he’s concerned, profiles and presets are murderers of creativity.

On Monday, March 15, 2021, a record-breaking sandstorm descended on northern China, engulfing cities including the Chinese capital, Beijing. In recent decades, northern China has suffered from sandstorms as a result of increasing desertification in the north of the country which is largely dry, arid, and covered with deserts.

I'm photographer Jay P. Morgan from The Slanted Lens. In this video and article, we’re going to take a look at batteries. What you can fly with, what you feel comfortable checking in your check bags, what you should carry on with you, and what you shouldn’t take with you.

Non-fungible tokens in cryptocurrency have made a splash in the art world in recent days. If you're out of the loop and don't have time to read an in-depth explainer on what NFTs are, check out this humorous 3.5-minute Eminem rap parody by Saturday Night Live that will bring you up to speed (maybe).

Shooting timelapse is certainly a lot of fun, but trying to sell them and make money is an entirely separate story. So that leads to the question: how can you monetize the planning, time spent shooting, and the effort of editing hundreds or thousands of pictures into extra income or maybe a new career?

Unstable. Criminal. Impoverished. Absentee fathers. Neglectful mothers. “A tangle of pathology,” as the Moynihan Report, a 1965 study on Black poverty, put it. For decades, the Black family has been denigrated as dysfunctional.

When I attempt to make a great photographic print, what do I look for? What process do I go through to make the image as perfect as possible? I have spent 40 years making my exhibition-quality Cibachrome prints and I’d like to explain what goes into making a superlative photographic print.

Dr. Adrian Smith is well-known for this slow-motion study of insect species and that skill set was perfect for a detailed study of insects known as "springtails." They normally move so fast that normal cameras, as well as the human eye, cannot perceive their motion.