Tips

Want to improve your macro photography game? Here's a great 12-minute DPReview TV episode in which master macro shooter Don Komarechka demonstrates some simple techniques and setups you can use to capture better outdoor shots.

This article is not about my advice on how to run your photography business with regard to legalities, releases (prop, model, and liability), safety, price, and style, etc. However, it is about what I do, how I prep, and how I take photos underwater. That’s it. Read it and if you get some good ideas and want to try, then go explore and do it safely and legally.

Due to circumstances that are generally out of our control, not all landscape photography trips are a success, but with a bit of planning you can increase the likelihood of having a productive outdoor photo shoot. The soft morning or late afternoon light that all landscape photographers are after is generally a short-lived event and being as prepared as possible will enable you to capture it when the moment is right.

Here's an inspiring 16-minute video by Lisbon, Portugal-based landscape photographer Andy Mumford, who shares the 7 most important lessons he has learned over the years.

It seems that every visitor to Hollywood wants to photograph the mountain with the Hollywood sign on it but rarely do people want to make the effort for a Hollywood sign hike to go photograph the back of it. If you can put in some extra time, photographing the back of the Hollywood sign will provide you with an amazing photo opportunity and a stunning 360-degree view of Los Angeles.

Don't have the time or money to travel to picturesque portrait locations? There's like spots for nice portraits in your own backyard. Photographers Tajreen Hedayet and Chloe V. of Tajreen&Co made this short, sweet, and informative 2-minute video on 4 portrait locations you can find in any neighborhood.

I went on a photo walk the other day with a friend who mostly shoots events and does client-focused work. The majority of the time we just talked about freelance work, but every now and then we’d see an interesting scene and capture it. We both shot on zoom lenses, but when she would show me her captures, I couldn’t help but notice how zoomed in she was.

It’s been an active few weeks in the world of new camera announcements. Between Nikon, Canon, and Fuji, there’s a slew of state-of-the-art camera choices available to entice photographers to switch brands. As I dug into the details associated with such an important decision, I set out to determine the most responsible way of identifying if making a brand change made sense for me.

What if you had the same camera, lighting and subject matter as everyone else. A groundhog day for a photographer so to speak. If we all have the same gear what would make you different?

I was interviewed by street photographer Eric Kim back in 2016, and it was a huge deal for me! I remember when I first started shooting street, his blog was one of the first that I came by.

Want to shoot powerful portraits? One of the keys to doing so is focusing on your subject's eyes. This 2.5-minute video by Light Club is an inspiring look into this critical facet of portraiture.

We all know the importance of photography, whether it's journalism's role in changing the world to a wonderful moment captured of someone’s special day. As photographers, we value our craft and the importance it has in our lives. But the market is valuing it less and less. Why is that? What is happening?

I’ve been taking photos for a long time. That said, I got into the bad habit of taking tons of disjointed photos. That is, I was not thinking of my work as project-based nor was I using my photos to really tell stories. Over the last few years, however, I’ve engaged in more project-based work. Last summer, I created several photo stories of various insects and this summer, I tried something entirely new – a photo series depicting insects and spiders awakening to the sunrise.

There are a couple of different ways to use drones for light-painting. Some people will attach LumeCubes to their drone and paint an environment with them or will fly a drone around the sky or an object and have the drones lights creating images in the sky. However, there is another way to use them that isn’t widely used yet: using the drone's camera to capture light-painting from above.

Inevitably a time will come around when a budding photographer decides to start "taking this seriously," "discouraging image theft," and (my personal favorite), "gaining exposure." And they do this, of course, with a watermark.

Although landscape photography can look easy at first, it takes more than a simple point-your-camera-and-photograph kind of action. The purpose of landscape photography is to convey a state of mind and to express something more than just the landscape in front of you.

Looking to organize your ever-growing collection of cameras, lenses, and accessories? Here's a short and sweet video in which Ted Forbes of The Art of Photography shares 6 DIY storage hacks in just 90 seconds.

I love being a wedding photographer. I get to work with amazing couples, travel to incredible places and do something that is fundamentally creative. While weddings offer unparalleled opportunities for creativity due to the nature of shooting so many different people in different places, there are things I consciously keep in mind to make sure I mix things up and have the best chances of always remaining creative… no matter where I am.

This headline might come off a bit pretentious for some of you. I mean, how do photographers travel any differently than the rest of the population? Fair question, but for better or for worse, we are different in our own way.

It has been bugging me for a while now: there is just something that is missing from photography. From my personal work to the majority of photographers out there. I’m talking about the photos on your feeds, be it personal to commercial. It has been bugging me and I finally found out what it is: what is missing from photography is stories.

You know those moments when you're chimping and wonder why that amazing shot that you thought was going to be, well, amazing just isn't? Your exposure was right - check; white balance - check; aperture - check; shutter - check. Lens... hmm. Let's see. Lens? Yes, I shot with the right lens. If you are shooting competently and things are still not working out like you would want them to, I have a great piece of advice for you.

While I was working full-time as a wedding photographer, I was shooting around 30 to 40 weddings a year. I would spend my weekends shooting and during the week I would be editing, responding to emails, writing blog posts, and watching cat videos… errm, I mean doing very important other business related stuff like making videos for my YouTube channel.

So, you are about to embark on your first solo wedding shoot of your career. You’ve got butterflies in your stomach, you’re stressed, and the pressure is most certainly setting in. Don’t panic, read this carefully and you will be well prepared for photographing the most important day of someone’s life.

People ask me all the time how I get my night shots with the stars, so I made a video on the subject. Here are my 7 tips for crushing night photography.

Photographer Eric Floberg made this 5-minute video tutorial on the subject of composing portraits.

When most people think of the word Zen, a meditating monk in a monastery comes to mind, a practice of enlightenment, a person being in the present or someone without attachments. When I think of Zen, I think of a lifestyle that has profoundly influenced my photography practice. I would like to dive into the ways of zen photography and how it might enlighten your creative practice.

Yellowstone is one of the most visited parks in the United States, and for good reason. It’s full of unique thermal features and one of the last great destinations for an abundance of wildlife. Even if you come for the geysers and hot springs, you’ll want to stay longer and keep coming back for the wildlife. There’s always a new experience, and you never know what might be waiting around the next corner.

In our recent ​Creative Hustle video series, ​PetaPixel​ challenged two photographers, ​Steven John Irby​ and ​Nate Luebbe​, to vlog their way through 24-hour photo challenges. This meant the photographers needed to not only be the star of the show, but also the directors and producers too. For photographers interested in giving vlogging a whirl and becoming the next Peter McKinnon, here are 10 things we learned from the Creative Hustle vlogging experience...

Have you considered offering destination wedding photography to your clients but questioned the amount of work and risks involved? We will dive deep in this article, covering various topics to help you succeed on your first destination wedding assignment.

I’ve been thinking about photography and personal style and the different ways to teach it. I’m trying to help, share and guide people along their way in finding their unique photographic style. Seeing if I can find that quick fix, that beaten path someone else has already made for us. Sadly over the many years of reflection and research, I’ve found that there is no blue pill.

If you are a landscape photographer trying to get your work out there, you have surely heard about that one big imaging platform called Instagram. So you made yourself a profile and started sharing all the gorgeous work that you worked hard for and suddenly you wonder: why is nobody liking my images and why do I have 50 followers while others have thousands and just keep growing?

I just returned from a 5-week photography trip. I had a few weeks off work between contracts and figured why not hit the road instead of paying insane rent in the SF Bay area! It was still a great idea in hindsight. However, it wasn’t all bliss and glory all-day-every-day.

If you think you may have a passion for photography, try "developing" that passion instead of "finding" it. The shift in mindset could help keep you from giving up when the going gets tough.