Tutorial

Outdoor engagement photography is one of my favorite aspects of being a wedding photographer. I get to shoot environmental portraits in beautiful places without the constraints of a wedding day. Additionally, I get to spend time with my couple getting to know them and their interests in a low-pressure environment. These tips for how to

Gradient lighting is a more advanced technique that brings extra nuance and refinement to strobe lighting. It is an effect that is mainly used by product photographers but can have other applications as well. In fact, I think it is so important for the genre that I listed it as one of the key skills

Let’s face it, not everyone who ends up in front of your camera is going to have amazing white teeth like the model in the photo above. There are going to be times when you have a client whose teeth might be stained. It’s not just things like coffee or certain foods and beverages that

Sometimes there is too much going on, in which case simplifying a scene can make it easier on the eye. We can choose to highlight particular shapes or colors and leave out or remove others. Chaos can become peaceful and meditative. Clutter can give way to a clean, neat orderliness. By going down the path

Finding subjects for wildlife photography in summer is a challenge. As I look forward to arguably my favorite time of the year – the fall mating season for big mammals such as elk, moose, bighorn sheep, and so on – I first have to make it through the summer. Long days filled with harsh light

One of the most exciting things to photograph is a live concert. Rock concerts in particular have an air of electricity about them that you can feel. When you are hired to photograph one you automatically feel like you are a part of that excitement. With this guide, I hope to get you prepared for

Side-by-side photos show natural light (left) and 365 manometer UV illumination (right). Sphalerite (Hot Springs, North Carolina, USA) Ultraviolet-induced fluorescence (UVIF) occurs when molecules in an object are excited (energized) by high-energy ultraviolet wavelengths (from our UV flashlight) and as a result, emit longer wavelengths in the visible portion of the spectrum (red, green, and

If you shoot headshots and/or portraits, clamshell lighting is something you should definitely become familiar with. This versatile and easy-to-create lighting setup produces a very flattering look useful for a variety of portrait situations. Clamshell lighting gets its name from the way the light sources are placed, with one light above and in front of

Product photography is a major branch of commercial photography that is ubiquitous in our world, as product photos are used for everything from billboards and print ads to catalogs and store displays. If you’d like to learn how to become a product photographer, you’ve come to the right place. This article is a guide to

We all want people to like and enjoy our images. Social media is plastered with countless pictures whose owners are all seeking attention and some kind of approval from others. As we progress, it can become apparent that many of these opinions or “likes” are from people who don’t understand photography in any depth and

Growing up in the crowded European country of Belgium, few things symbolized the American Dream as much as the iconic Mustang. No, not the Ford muscle car. The wild horse! While the last wild horses in Europe were officially declared extinct in 1909, the U.S. seemed to be teeming with wild horses. I specifically remember

An unedited image from a high-voltage spark discharging on a thin sheet of mica. Descriptions of the setup are shown in this article. f/2.8, ISO 40,000 camera on bulb setting, only one discharge shown here. The recording of the patterns made by static electricity date back to the invention of the technique in 1777 by

Using flash in your wedding photography can take your work to the next level. It can look more professional and dynamic. Additionally, there are a variety of scenarios when flash makes certain things possible that wouldn’t be if you’re relying on natural light. But how do you use wedding photography flash in a way that

[embedded content] Researchers from the University of Toronto have created an intuitive robot camera designed to film “How-To” tutorial videos for YouTubers and video creators. Dubbed “Stargazer,” the interactive camera follows implicit and explicit cues from the person in front of the camera allowing creators who don’t have access to a film crew to create

One of the most common errors when using Adobe Photoshop has to do with Photoshop not being able to start or complete a command because “the scratch disks are full.” If you’re having this issue, you’ll likely see a message that says “Could not initialize Photoshop because the scratch disks are full” or “Could not

Amazingly, in the age of AI image creation, film photography is not only popular but it’s growing again after an initial decline. More and more, people are finding value in timeless, handcrafted imagery. In 1999 when I took my first real photography class, you could walk into any shopping mall and walk out with a

It’s a common problem — dozens of nearly identical photos on your iPhone, eating up your storage and making it difficult to find what you’re looking for. How does this happen, and, more importantly, how can you delete or merge those duplicate photos? The iPhone has a built-in feature that can help, but iOS is

In this article, we are going to take a look at rim lighting. As you might guess, rim lighting is used to light a portion of the edge of your subject. While it is most often used as part of a multi-light setup, it can be used on its own for dramatic effect. This type

Just like most things in life, success can depend on location, location, location. I know that I’m coming from a state where there are a lot of beautiful backdrops so I’ll do my best to give tips that will apply to you wherever you happen to be. I’ve shot sessions in a variety of locations