Educational

Recently, our very own David Brommer chatted with famous photographer and cinematographer Vincent Laforet. They discussed filmmaking, creativity, technology, his photographic upbringing, and his new book, Visual Stories.

Get into the mind of the master himself. Check out the video after the jump.

Studio lights are essential for many types of product and fashion shots, and I’ve used them for decades. Sometimes I like to keep things simple, though, and it’s fun to challenge myself to create lighting that evokes a mood and an emotion with just a single portable flash. I recently photographed a beautiful young model, Ellecie White of Hillsboro, Tennessee, and I thought this would be the perfect time to minimize my equipment. I felt it would be less intimidating to a five-year-old, and I was sure I could create the type of lighting I wanted.

Light that comes into a scene off-axis from the camera view will ALWAYS look more dynamic, interesting and pleasing. It looks more three-dimensional, and it creates shadows on textures, shapes and form that enhance the visual appeal of the image.

And aside from that, using the flash off-camera prevents red eye and that horrible “deer in the headlights’ look that straight-on flash usually gives. You probably already know all this, though.

Of course, the main issue with using off-camera flashes is how to trigger them. Essentially, there are five different ways to trigger a remote lighting unit:

"You absolutely need to sharpen all of your photos if you're shooting RAW on your DSLR," that's what Matt from Kelby Training says. Sharpening your images will help to make them pop for a more appealing look. As always, balancing is also important to make sure that it isn't overdone. Matt from Kelby Training explains sharpening in the video below in one of the best ways I've ever seen and continues on to explain that we sharpen for the print.

Take a look at the video after hitting the read and discuss button and for more in-depth training please visit Kelbytraining.com. They also have full one day seminars at Kelbytraininglive.com.

With the US Open having wrapped up in New York yesterday, I thought I’d share some of the lessons I’ve learned in my 16 years of shooting this game. If you’re interested in pro-sports photography, you can put these tips to use—just about everyone in the U.S. lives near a pro tournament, and tennis is arguably the most accessible sport for a ticket holder to photograph. Additionally, these tips apply to shooting players of all levels, so bring the camera to your area club or public court, too.

While you’re out there, here are five things to watch out for. If you can avoid these mistakes, you’ll be on track to make some great tennis photos.

We've all heard the saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words." And if we didn't believe in the power of images to communicate, we wouldn't spend so much time capturing and sharing them. But photographs don't happen in a vacuum. There's the photographer, who interacts with the subject and their surroundings. That's where the trouble with photography comes in—managing the effects we as photographers have on our subjects and their environment, whether they are ancient historical sites, natural wonders, people or wildlife.

The topic is huge and filled with controversy, but I'd like to share with you some common ethical problem situations that arise in travel and wildlife photography, and provide some perspective on how you may want to address them on your own adventures.

Think about all the time that models (and women prepping for a big event such as their wedding) put into making their eyelashes look perfect. Indeed, eyelashes are important in a photograph as well. They're so important that the experts over at Kelby Training have come up with their own Photoshop brushes for eyelashes. In the video below, you'll learn how to make the best of those brushes.

Take a look at the video after hitting the read and discuss button and for more in-depth training please visit Kelbytraining.com. They also have full one day seminars at Kelbytraininglive.com.