Color spots are a beautiful way to add atmosphere behind your still subject. By cutting out what would otherwise we a catalog black product shot, we can invoke a vibrant, moody look that has been popular for decades. The video above is a 15-minute exploration of this 2 light setup, and it’s colorful flexibilities.
Even though photography is an art form and the final result is considered to be an artistic expression of your thoughts and ideas, there is a strong technical side to all of this. You're using a very advanced technological camera to capture the images and you need to know and understand all sort of technical concepts.
Can you use a flip-flop -- or any solid item, for that matter -- as a graduated neutral density (AKA grad ND) filter? Sure. But, it doesn’t work in all situations.
Here's a concise beginner's step-by-step guide on how to capture long exposure photographs.
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.
Here's a short 4-minute video by Light Club that looks at using a vertical or horizontal middle line through the frame, something it refers to as "a secret rule of photo composition."
Lately, I’ve seen lots of cinematic looks on Instagram. There are mostly cold tones with a rare spark of a warm look. And so I have decided to have a look, do some magic, and produce a free Lightroom landscape preset for you. I know, there are lots of Lightroom presets for travel photography, but in reality, I couldn’t find anything usable that also came with an explanation. So, read on to learn how to create cinematic photography yourself.
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.
Capturing images that grab attention is a goal of any photographer. It’s exactly this skill that separates a good photographer from an average one.
When it comes to purchasing a new lens there are two questions that immediately come to mind for me, how much is it and how sharp is it? Now, I know there’s more to the lens buying process than overall sharpness, but as a landscape photographer, sharpness is king!
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.
Photographer and retoucher Antti Karppinen has started a new series of video tutorials that aims to teach Photoshop techniques by recreating the looks seen in movie posters.
Want a simple introduction to the basics of the Exposure Triangle in photography? PHLEARN has created a trilogy of short video tutorials that explain aperture, ISO, and shutter speed using Star Wars LEGO.
Here's a 9-minute introduction to the three-point lighting setup! If you haven’t seen our video about portrait lighting, we go over five portrait lighting positions and what type of emotion you can get from those positions. So this is a follow up to that lesson and I recommend you watch it before diving into this one!
A holy grail timelapse sequence is a timelapse shot during sunset or sunrise. As the ambient light changes, so should your exposure settings. In this 11.5-minute tutorial, I’ll walk you through how to set up your camera (any type of camera with a Manual mode will do), how to shoot it properly and how to edit your sequence from beginning to end using Adobe Lightroom and LRTimelapse.
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.
I’ve always been fascinated by the night sky, and one of my favorite things to look out for is the International Space Station when it passes overhead. It still boggles my mind that there are people up there, 200 miles into space. Perhaps they are looking down too. In this tutorial I’m going to show you how to photograph an ISS transit – in other words, photographing the ISS as it flies in front of the moon!
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.
Wedding photographer and Nikon Ambassador Brett Florens recently gave this 9-minute workshop demo on how you can shoot better portraits in harsh sunlight.
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.
The three-color method of using colored lens filters when shooting black-and-white photos was one of the earliest techniques for creating color photos. This 11.5-minute video is an exploration of how this process is done.
Astrophotography is generally a race against time to capture as much subtle starlight we can before the stars create trails in our images. The movement of the Earth puts a natural limit on how much sharp, subtle detail we can reveal. We have to use super fast, wide angle lenses and high ISO values to see all the awesome detail. Fortunately, a tool exists to circumvent this barrier to reveal more of the hidden magic we have in our night sky.
Photographer Eric Floberg made this 5-minute video tutorial on the subject of composing portraits.
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.
Since I purchased my first Godox product in late 2015, I’ve been extremely vocal about their product line because of their massive price to performance ratio. It’s a weird occurrence for one of the most capable products to also be one of the cheapest.
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.
When photographing wildlife -- much like hiring a new employee or going on a date with someone you met online -- it's essential to do a background check. What is behind the animal that you're photographing?
I'm photographer David Johnson, and in this tutorial I'll be sharing how I shoot long-exposure photos of defocused fireworks.
Want to learn how to create a "flying food" photo without actually making food travel through the air? Food photographer Skyler Burt of We Eat Together made this 5.5-minute tutorial on one way to freeze time and space.