Facebook and subsequently Instagram thrive on interaction. The company is only profitable if it keeps you on its platform and it will do anything to keep you there, even at the cost of your own health.
Lighting as a thought process is fundamentally easy to apply to schemata. Water is not.
I recently brought the new iPhone 13 Pro to historic Savannah, Georgia, to shoot an entire new episode of my YouTube Photowalks travel photography series.
The “purple mountain majesties” which Katharine Lee Bates reflected on when writing the words of America the Beautiful, would likely be unrecognizable to her today.
While the broad strokes of what is wanted on a camera usually revolve around the imaging fundamentals -- resolution, ISO performance, AF, et cetera -- there are some functions of camera design that have a significant impact on creating that often can be overlooked. The aspect that I want to discuss today is that of balance.
I’m a pro photographer. Do I want the new iPhone 13 Pro? You better believe it. Based on what Apple presented, this is a big upgrade for us photographers.
Canon has spent the last five months hyping up its new sports camera and if there is anything to take away from it now that the R3 has been fully announced, it is that Canon has done a remarkable job closing the technology gap with Sony.
Live music and the resumption of public schools have become a flashpoint (1, 2) in the battle about masks and vaccines in the public sector. My son is homeschooled so I cannot speak to that, but I can speak about live music.
The overall measure of success for any photographer will likely be at least partially attributable to the effectiveness with which they are able to edit their own work.
A few of you may remember, but most might have missed it entirely: Around 2018, the mobile social networking app Vero experienced short-lived hype. Within a day the user numbers exploded from about 150,000 to over 3 million.
Is Apple actually snooping on your photos? Jefferson Graham wrote an article last week warning this based on the company's child safety announcement. An attention-grabbing headline? Certainly. Accurate? It’s complicated.
The photos on your iPhone will no longer be private to just you in the fall. The photos are still yours, but Apple’s artificial intelligence is going to be looking through them constantly.
Back when I was taking pictures just for the fun of it, I never once thought to optimize my preparation. There was no preparation -- no shot list, no scouting, no mood board. That all changed when making pictures became my job and my livelihood.
Among the most important concepts learned when beginning to ride a motorcycle is that of target fixation. This attentional phenomenon occurs when an individual becomes so focused upon an observed object (whether it is a target or hazard) that they inadvertently increase their risk of colliding with it.
The Digital Age has well and truly established itself and has transformed the photography industry in ways that seemed impossible just a few decades ago. Over the last several years, analog photography has been put on life support, only keeping a pulse thanks to a determined community of film lovers.
From my beginning days in photography, roughly 1969, I had the ambition to travel and make photographs. Somehow, I felt a great satisfaction in producing photographic art that came from within.
Nikon's recently announced Z fc is a camera that shows how not only can the company learn from and fix past mistakes, but also illustrate how it plans to succeed today as well as where the company can move in the future.
Photo organizing software Mylio (which stands for "My Life Organized") has re-emerged after nearly seven years thanks to a recent wave of updates and partnerships with influencers like iJustine. After a tepid launch back in 2014, is the service worth revisiting?
Like all major camera manufacturers, Nikon has different teams for different regions. As part of that, each gets its own budget to market new products, and comparing Nikon USA's choices versus that of Nikon Asia presents two wildly different approaches to selling the retro-inspired Z fc.
As reported recently here on Petapixel, the FAA has rolled out a new testing program for recreational UAV (a.k.a., drone) users, created to “provide education and testing for recreational flyers on important safety and regulatory information.” As with many government-mandated programs, it provides neither education nor safety.
As a landscape and nature photographer with a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology, I often enjoy trying to blend the two disciplines to better understand the human experience as it relates to photography. One subject that particularly intrigues me is the impact of social media on photography and photographers.
With the increasing power of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence available on both phones and PCs, we have reached a point where it has become increasingly difficult to distinguish between photography and composites.
The world clamors for our attention and technology demands our hard-earned money, but what has happened to the quality of the experience and the investment in ourselves? Our time is now owned by social media, competitions, and the need to prove how good and well-received our images are, usually to the detriment of the images and our self-confidence.
Today marks three years since the world lost one of its most interesting and likable public personalities. Anthony Bourdain was one of those unique souls that found a way to inspire people from all walks of life: Foodies, filmmakers, photographers, and casual travelers alike.
The development of personal vision in photography often gets mired in thoughts of what to avoid, the suppression of familiar ideas, and the desire to do something different.
Why do we create photos? Well, for a variety of reasons, but the one reason that connects them all is we feel we have made something that we want to share and we feel is worth time and attention. So, how can we create photos that are worthy of another’s time and attention?
I called the Google Photos photo sharing and management app the Turkey of the Year in my 2020 USA TODAY round-up of the apps and gadgets that screwed over consumers last year. Reason: Google Photos was free for all, but starting June 1st, it switches to a paid model after five years of bait and switch.
Long before photography was even a dream, people were trying to document the beauty of landscapes in a two-dimensional medium. From romantic interpretations of natural beauty to the realistic and mystifying Hudson River School painters, there have always been trends in how we see the landscape.
After almost five years in Germany, I've amassed an impressive body of work. I love many of the photos I have taken here, and some of them are even selling rather well. Yet, I have very few images to show when people ask me to show photos of Germany as most people are not into architectural abstracts.
When taking a look at Sigma's newest zoom in its Contemporary lineup, one can't help but draw comparisons to the myriad of other standard-range zoom lenses available. Let's be honest -- it doesn't break any new ground.
Last week I was in San Francisco, one of the most beautiful cities in the world on a video shoot for Kelby One on Crissy Field -- one of the premier spots in town -- at the foot of the majestic Golden Gate Bridge when one of my cameras was stolen right in front of me.
One night two years ago, someone stole $10,000 of my camera equipment. Just recently, I found one of my more iconic lenses -- a pink Handevision 40mm f/0.85 Mark II -- for sale online. The police are slow to respond, and eBay won't help until law enforcement is involved.
Of the many questions I receive from my students and from viewers of my photographs, “How was it shot?” is perhaps the most frequent. But is it the right one?
Digital rights ownership and control are at the heart of a losing battle that photographers have been fighting for decades. One of the interesting, but overlooked, offshoots of the NFT craze is a technical one: the capability that underscores the value of an NFT is the ability to sign and authenticate it.
Over the many years I have spent teaching photography, one question I constantly get -- over and over again -- is, “How do I find my style?”
Any writer worth their salt knows that a good story is comprised of three primary components: Character, Setting, and Plot. The same can be said of visual storytelling, regardless of the medium.
Photography is the art of telling stories with light. Millions of photographs evoke emotions and photographs have dramatically changed history, but there is something dishonest about photography. Something that begs the question: Is this a lie?
Mirrorless, mirrorless, ah the joys of mirrorless. Isn’t it better than DSLRs in every way possible? It may be. But honestly, I couldn’t care less. While that may sound egoistical, the reason I don’t care is that I’m not upgrading to mirrorless anytime soon.
Over the last several years, smartphone cameras have started to meet and exceed expectations when it comes to photo quality. For example, it could be argued that the current iPhone camera can capture better photos than the Nikon D100 from just over a decade ago, and is much smaller and easier to use.
By now, we understand the need to cultivate diversity in conservation photography and filmmaking. Scientific analyses urge diversity across multiple disciplines. Countless articles criticize and dissect the lack of minorities in photography. Conversations like #blacklivesmatter are rising in volume.
The first iteration of the Internet, the one we are still somewhat experiencing, was built on the fundamental belief that content should be free.
As a creative director, photographer, and self-proclaimed content evangelist whose lifelong dream is to travel to space, I was left scratching my head when the pandemic hit.
One of the most frequent questions I am asked is about social media likes and followers and how to ‘boost’ those numbers.
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?
One of the most common arguments that I hear in favor of Fujifilm cameras is about how great its color science is. I frequently hear about how Fujifilm camera produces the best colors and unfortunately this is not a sentiment I can co-sign. As much as I love Fujifilm cameras, I believe the colors they produce require some adjustment.
When starting out, you will inevitably stumble upon someone telling you to use a three-light setup for portraits and a beauty dish for fashion photography. I think that’s a whole bunch of nonsense. Lighting setups don’t teach you light -- they only confuse you and derail you from progressing.
I have always been interested in technology. When I was a kid, I had a computer very early and I was writing and learning code at around the age of 7 or 8 years old, simple stuff such as making the screen flash different colors -- important skills I have since forgotten. However, from computers to phones to TV systems, I have always embraced technology and I love playing with gadgets.
I am not brand loyal. I merely see a camera as a piece of technology that enables me to push my creative process. However, that being said, it doesn’t mean that all cameras are the same. Each system from the various companies out there brings with them both pros and cons against one another and it is down to you, as a photographer, to find out which works best.
There are countless distractions that often hinder our creativity and photographic expression. The pressure and comparison that comes with social media can make digital photography end up feeling like a burden: Each shot must be better than the last and a photo with subnormal likes is a failure.
If you're a wedding photographer who has had a change of heart about your chosen path in this industry as lockdown restrictions and subsequent client cancellations continue, you are not the only one. It's never too late to make a career change!
