Lessons learned form the Marshall Fire

As a photographer, most of us are completely focused on creating new work. Whether you shoot landscapes, weddings, portraits or products, we are all constantly amassing new folders of work. Most of the photographers I work with have a hard drive that sits on their desk that gets new files placed onto it once a week, month, or quarter depending […]

Are cheap photographers ruining the market?

Before we go further, I should present a warning that some opinions in this article may be triggering for many professional-level photographers. Today’s topic is: do cheap/budget photographers hurt the market as a whole? I know a ton of pro and non-pro photographers and I have spent many hours pondering and debating this question. Every market has them Whether you […]

The difference between a beauty dish and a softbox

Lighting modifiers can be very confusing. I’m often asked about the difference between the light dispersal pattern for a beauty dish and a softbox when shooting portraits. Other questions you might have are: should I buy a beauty dish? Or is there a difference between a fold up beauty dish and one of those hard to store solid units? and […]

Stellar Data Recovery software

A few weeks ago, I was asked by Stellar Data recovery to test their software and review it from the perspective of a photographer. They provided me a 30-day license key so I could review their software from a clear and unbiased perspective. One of the most terrifying things about being a photographer is the fear of losing important images. […]

Canon to discontinue the 5D line of cameras.

Disappointing news for any Canon shooter who use the 5D line. I personally shoot the Canon 5DMkIV (and the MKIII) and was looking forward to the announcement of its successor. Canon will discontinue the 5D line of cameras, apparently going all in on their new mirrorless R5 and R6 as the first in line for the new 5 series. This […]

Ten things you want to say when critiquing a photo

I hang around in a lot of the online photography forums and often find myself wanting to say things that would be considered inflammatory or just in bad taste. This is a short list of some of the things I ask my monitor when I see “those” shots.   Cool job on the HDR, let me guess, are you a […]

Loading RAW files into an older version of Lightroom

I have done a ton of research and sorted out the best way to open RAW files on your computer. I have also figured out the best way to resolve the issues with opening RAW images from a newer camera on an older version of Lightroom. As a bonus, I have also discovered the best way to catalog and keep […]

Olympus to sell off their imaging division

Long-time camera  industry member Olympus announced today that they would be selling their imaging division to Japan Industrial Partners who bought the lagging Vaio laptop brand six years ago from Sony Corp. and turned it into Vaio Corp. Japan Industrial Partners has experience resurrecting  failing consumer brands. I don’t think anyone considers Vaio’s laptops as top of the line by […]

Sony product advisory for some SD cards

Sony has released a product advisory for some of their SD cards where the data would be corrupted when being written by a camera or even worse not written at all. If you use Sony SD cards make sure to take some time to check the information below ato see if your cards are affected by this issue.  The notice—first […]

What is the difference between RAW and .jpg?

We often hear about shooting in RAW versus .jpg, what is the RAW format and why is it better than .jpg? Once you have a RAW file how do you get it back into .jpg format to share it online? Why do RAW files look drab compared to the image displayed on the back of your camera? All good questions, […]

Using Native American regalia as props

Recently I posted an article about my Native American heritage, you can read the original article here. In that article I talked about the practice of using Native Headdresses as props in portrait photography and why that isn’t ok. I spend a lot of time in photography forums attempting to educate photographers on Native culture and why it is offensive […]

Disabled Artists, get your work shown.

In 1999 a car accident left me with no vision in one eye and 5% low functioning vision in the other. In the small corner of vision I have remaining, I can see light and shadow and color. I picked up my camera and began shooting seriously in 2000. My love of photography began in 1986 in college. My parents […]

Please stop using my culture incorrectly.

I often call out cliché photography styles on this blog. A simple search will yield articles on overused HDR, selective color and shooting on train tracks and roads. I totally get it, these styles are the go-to when you are just starting out as a photographer, and often portraits clients want to shoot on train tracks. We as photographers need […]

Resources for photographers during Covid-19

Financial assistance for photographers The great folks at Fstoppers put together a list of financial resources to help working photographers through this tough time. Maybe you want to apply for a grant for that project you have been working on and find yourself with the time to finish now that many of us are under stay at home orders. Check […]

Get to work, COVID-19 edition.

Well Well Well… look where we are today. Many of us are sequestered at home (some voluntarily and some not), in an effort to quell the spread of COVID-19, nearly all of my photographer friends have stopped seeing clients and are spending their time looking for something to do. I have compiled a list of ideas to direct your time […]

What is wrong with shooting on train tracks?

We are well into 2020 and it is already time for another near miss story about a photographer taking photos of a family on an active train track. diyphotography.net is reporting today on a story that has become all too familiar. We in the photography community need to do out part to spread the word about rail safety. Readers of […]

Exploring the toxicity of internet photography forums

Exploring the toxicity of internet photography forums Earlier this month, I posted a teaser on several internet photography forums for an upcoming comparison I am working on between the Profoto B10 and Godox AD200 strobes. I left the following post up for a little over 24 hours so I could gauge the overall reaction in what has increasingly become a […]

Profoto B10 vs. Godox AD200

For my photo tutorial this week I thought I might do something a bit different and ask for your input. There’s been some debate recently about “light is light” and there’s no difference between a Profoto strobe and a Godox strobe other than price (and build quality). I thought it might be fun to put the Profoto B10 (~250 watts) […]

Who owns the copyright of a photo once It has been edited?

Earlier this week I saw a question on a photography forum inquiring whether the person who edits a photo owns the copyright of that image. The short answer to this question is no, so, Who owns the copyright of a photo once It has been edited? The copyright of an image remains with the original photographer regardless of the number […]

I’m ready for a full frame camera! or am I?

You have been shooting for a while, but you feel like purchasing a full frame camera will catapult your work from amateur status to pro. Are you ready for a full frame camera? What are the benefits of taking the plunge to purchase that super sweet new gear? Let’s talk about it… Starting out Most photographers these days start out […]