Lightpainting, a fun and easy portrait technique

Are you looking for a simple, fun, and creative way to spice up your portraiture? I created this image in a single frame (no photoshop other than to adjust the shadows) with a single strobe and some stuff I found lying around the house. The technique is called light painting, and depending on the light source you use and it’s […]

Preparing for your first photo exhibition

After spending some time in the photography journey, many shooters find themselves with a number of good to great quality images in their portfolio. Around this time, the aspiring photographer will seek out opportunities to exhibit and sell their work. How long should one wait before showing their work or approaching galleries for inclusion into group exhibitions? How much should […]

Goodbye 2022

As 2022 draws to a close, I take a few moments to reflect on the year that was. I hope everyone reading this has had a fun safe and fulfilling holiday season, and wish you the happiest of new years. I have never been one of those new year new me kind of guys, nor am I one of those […]

Should I buy/use a C stand in my photography?

A C Stand is a heavy metal stand which holds its roots in early film production. The stands were used to hold lights, modifiers, silks, backgrounds and much more on film sets. Their stability and versatility make them a staple for any studio work. One of the most common questions I get is what is a C Stand, and do […]

Camera with a screen reader

There are a lot of visually impaired people who use still cameras as an important tool to capture a scene (like birthday party, or other special event) and see it later on a larger computer monitor. The inherent problem with this solution is that until recently, there were no DSLR cameras available with accessible menus. In late 2021, Sony launched […]

Are AI photo editors harming the photography industry?

AI (Artificial Intelligence) photo editing has been around for a few years now. How have programs which implement Machine Learning and AI to simplify complex editing tasks changed the photography industry? What are the positives and negatives for utilizing these programs in your editing workflow, and what is on the horizon? The driving forces If you are a professional landscape […]

Luminar Neo Review

I have been using Luminar in my workflow for a few years now. I always found the program to have specific uses in my photography workflow, in earlier versions I liked the color adjustments a bit better than Lightroom, and in later versions I liked the Accent AI for the vibrance it added to an image when used in subtle […]

Shooting big events, is it worth it?

In a recent article by Dan Zafra from PetaPixel, the ugly truth about shooting big locations and events is revealed. Dan talks about his experience shooting Yosemite’s Firefall. Once a year during the first couple weeks of February, the sun lights up Yosemite Horsetail Falls giving it a lava-like or fire-like appearance. The rampant popularity f photography has caused events […]

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 […]

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, […]