If you were to ask a photographer whether it’s better to invest in a camera or a lens, most would answer lens. After all, no amount of megapixels or camera features can save blurry or ill-rendered images. The lens is the eye of the camera, which is why photographers spend thousands of dollars on them. However, this doesn’t mean that you need an expensive lens to make compelling images.
If you feel like the place you live is boring and lacking in good photo spots, try doing a "Boring Hometown Photography Challenge." That's what photographer Wahid Fayumzadah discusses in this 11-minute video.
I always resisted writing artist statements and bios. In school, that part of every assignment or exhibition was the most agonizing. It felt overly simplistic to just describe what the viewer was about to encounter, or why objects or abstract shapes, making my specific image or groups of images, were presented in this way or another.
At first glance, all we see is a dinky point-n-shoot camera; not much to it. It slips inside my front pocket, I mean, how powerful can it be? Well, photographers shouldn’t be fooled by its size and minimalism; like many of our subjects in the street. The Ricoh GR III is called a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” for a reason.
With so many ways to be creative in photography, I get really excited with many ideas for a photograph. One area I find very interesting is sports action photography, but with a twist. It's great to capture that split-second moment and have that frame frozen, but I wanted to explore capturing the motion and freezing the action all in one go.
Wide angle lenses aren’t as easy to use as a lot of photographers think. They shrink the background and give the foreground strange proportions. They include all sorts of distractions from the scene in front of you, plus a lot of negative space. And yet… used right, wide angle lenses are incredible tools. This 7.5-minute video and article explain the ins and outs of using your wide angle for maximum effect.
Father and son wedding photographers David and Luke Edmonson were recently commissioned by Godox to test its new V1 round-head flash. The duo decided to shoot this 9-minute video and a creative photo as a tribute to English photographer Henry Peach Robinson.
YouTuber Guy Jones created this 20-minute video that offers a brief history of street photography. It's a slideshow of 182 photos -- one photo for every year between 1838 and 2019.
Camera brands have been shifting their attention from DSLRs to mirrorless cameras, with Canon even reportedly deciding to focus entirely on launching RF mirrorless lenses in 2019 with zero EF announcements. But Ricoh isn't convinced the trend will last -- it believes some mirrorless shooters will soon return to the DSLR.
As an astrophotographer, I had this dream of seeing the moonbow (AKA the lunar rainbow) one day in Yosemite, my favorite National Park in California. Every year, either water flow or cloud conditions prevented me from catching it. But this year, my dream came true.
Photographer Eric Floberg made this 10-minute video showing how he creates in-camera double-exposure photos using a tilt-shift lens, a technique he calls his "creative bread and butter."
Light-painting photographer Denis Smith is perhaps best known for creating giant spheres of light in photos. For his latest series, titled "Liquid Light," Smith brought his light tools into waist-deep water for beautiful photos of light bursting forth from the surface.
In December 2014, I decided that I wanted to practice shooting the night sky in order to expand my photography skills. Of course, I made every possible mistake. My compositions were completely off, I severely underexposed or blew out the sky and the images were not sharp.
Here's a neat slow-motion video shot on an iPhone from inside a moving car. The birds in the sky are seemingly frozen in time, making it look like the world outside has come to a standstill.
I was a 45-year-old photographer living in Santa Fe, New Mexico, when my world flipped upside down. In November 2014, I was diagnosed with brain cancer.
Composition is so important in creating an image and it's a cornerstone of the four key elements that make up a photo: subject, light, timing, and composition. However, one of the hardest things to learn in landscape photography is seeing that image and putting the elements together in the most pleasing arrangement.
Bruce Gilden is one of the top street photographers of our generation. He’s controversial, talented and he has his own style… so there’s no question as to why some might want to emulate him.
In this article, I'll discuss how I use lens filters in my landscape photography. Chiefly I use filters when I want to smooth the water in a waterfall, shoot long exposures, or balance the light in a scene.
In this video and article, we’ll show you how you can use a bridal veil to create interesting flares and light leaks in-camera. It can be hard to get the right amount of flare in an image, especially when the sun is overpowering the frame. Here is a simple trick we like to use to block just enough sun to get the perfect shot.
Living in St. Louis almost my entire life, I was lead to believe the lights of the bustling city were too bright to make seeing stars anywhere nearby impossible. As I grew older and started getting serious about photography, I realized that was correct... kinda.
As with any genre of photography, there is no "one size fits all" solution for exposure in any given situation. There are as many different means of achieving a "look" as there are photographers practicing those methods, and any can be adapted to fit into the kind of photography you want to be doing.
Easter Sunday in Saint Louis was the ideal day for a 365 project. The sky was dialed to maximum blue, and the cirrus and cumulus clouds danced together in celestial harmony, floating lazily above our park’s decked out crabapple, cherry, redbud, dogwood, and other flowering trees.
Due to the rapid growth in population, an increasing percentage of the human population lives in cities and suburbs where the night sky is completely obscured by the artificial lights. Skylines littered with lit skyscrapers reach sky high. An endless river of traffic flashing high beams. And the cities are ever-expanding. It is conceivable that most people have lived without having seen the true natural night sky.
I took some of the best photos of my life on 35mm film. It will always have a special place in my heart, even though I haven't shot on film in years.
McWay Falls has been a tourist destination for longer than many of us even heard of the place, but it wasn't until 2012 that photographer Steven Christenson really "discovered" the potential of the site at night. Nestled in the rugged and gorgeous part of the California coast better known as Big Sur, McWay Falls enjoys extremely dark skies.
A very common piece of advice for photographers looking to take their work to the “next level” is that they must invest time in themselves in the process of developing a “style.” A photographic style can mean many things; a theme within the subject matter, a specific color palette, a certain compositional approach, and anything else that leaves the artist's work with a distinct "fingerprint."
Want to get creative without leaving the comfort of your own home? Here's a 5-minute video by COOPH that contains 5 ideas for macro photographs you can do with a small budget, simple gear, and everyday items.
So you have just picked up your first light or you have had one light for a while now, and you are wondering what more you can create with just that one light. Well, you can create loads.
The prestigious Sony World Photography Awards has announced the winners of the 2019 photo contest.
My name is Brian Carey, and I'm a photographer in St John's Newfoundland Canada. I'm like a lot of photographers in that I like to complement my professional work with something personal, something I can connect with.
Street photography is one of the best ways to exercise and train your eye for application to photojournalism projects. I've written before about the way I apply the techniques and style from my street photography to my set stills and BTS as well as my long term fashion BTS project and I think that practicing some form of street photography every single day is an incredible way to keep your eye active and your mind constantly searching for new possibilities.
Modern Collodion has just announced the winners of the 2019 Wet Plate Competition, the second annual contest for wet plate collodion photographers around the world after launching last year.
Before a presentation we did during a bad-weather day on a photography workshop I co-guided in Northern Norway, I was asked to give my best advice for landscape photographers. I wanted to talk about some slightly different topics rather than repeating standard tips such as "straighten the horizon," "use f/11," and "photograph during golden hour."
PUTPUT is an artist duo based in Copenhagen, Demark, that works at the intersection between still life photography and sculpture. Its goal is to "create distinctly ambiguous images that challenges the viewer to look twice."
It might sound strange to suggest that writers can teach us anything about photography. I believe, though, that any creative pursuit springs from the same space within us, whether it’s photography, writing, painting or even making exquisitely beautiful cakes.
A very slight and easy change one could implement to an otherwise straightforward approach in street photography (as well as other genres) is to play with shooting from angles other than eye-level. It may an unconscious choice by some people that their perspective doesn't shift much from their own, so I think it's important to discuss how even a minor alteration in angle can improve, or at least change, the image.
The state of photography is chaotic and rapidly changing. The definition of photographer is evolving, the barrier of entry is at its lowest yet, and imposter syndrome is taking hold. Let’s review the mental gear needed to shoot in this new landscape.
In 2018, the NYC camera superstore Adorama sponsored 8 water tanks in collaboration with the non-profit Ubuntu Life to bring easier access to clean water to the Maasai tribe of Kenya. Photographer, Sony ambassador, and travel guide Erin Sullivan visited the country to capture the human stories of the effort and to discuss ethical travel photography.
There is an observation about stand up comedians that once they reach a certain level of fame their material becomes less about "grounded" observations and criticisms and instead becoming more about airplane food and hotel rooms.
Well-known London street photographer Nick Turpin has started a new point-of-view video series to allow people to "come along for the ride" as he creates his work. The 17.5-minute video above is a look into how he works and things on the streets of the UK's capital.
"Eyes" is a collection of multiple exposure photos by Leeds, UK-based photographer Ben Dauré. What's impressive about the surreal photos of human eyes is that they were created entirely in-camera rather than with Photoshop.
"Streets in Mind" is a new short film by SmugMug Films that looks at the life and work of London-based street photographer Alan Schaller. Walking the streets of NYC, Schaller offers thoughts and insights on shooting street photos in major cities.
Photographer Miguel Quiles made this 7-minute video tutorial on a trick you can use to shoot eye-catching portraits. It's all about paying attention to and manipulating the catchlights in your subject's eyes.
"Process" is a 3-minute short film by director Will Campbell that looks into the mind of a large format photographer.
Portraiture has never been a genre that resonated with me as a creator, which is odd because there are many examples of portraiture that I enjoy, and I’d absolutely love to be able to create meaningful portraits of people in the same way that I feel I’m able to create meaningful images in other genres.
When two of his good friends got engaged, photographer Mike Soulopulos flew his drone above them and got this creative proposal photo that captures the couple in a romantic shadow.
Thinking about which lens to buy next? You might want to take a look at this 9-minute video first. In it, photographer Jamie Windsor argues that choosing the right focal length is more than a technical decision based on what type of photography you want to do -- your choice affects the dynamic and meaning of your photos.
When I look back at my journey as a wildlife photographer especially as I scroll through my images on my editing screen a few things become apparent. Firstly, most of my pictures were either action or close up portrait, and secondly, the editing was awful.
What is it like to shoot a travel assignment for a major publication? What’s the process from start to finish? Every publication is a little different but I’ll speak from my experience shooting dozens of assignments for The New York Times travel section throughout Southeast Asia for over a decade.
What is style? This is a question to which I've given a lot of thought. The best answer I've come up with is that your style is the sum of all your choices.
