Search results for: photography tips solutions how to choose your next lens
About 47 filtered results
by Mathew Malwitz · Posted
First, a disclaimer: Like composition, lighting portraits is a subjective exercise. A setup that works for one situation may not work for the next, and lighting that one photographer adores might repulse another. Cultivating a personal lighting style involves an awareness of conventional approaches and willingness to go beyond what everyone else is doing. Study portraits
by Todd Vorenkamp · Posted
Taking a look at any modern mirrorless or DSLR camera, you’ll notice a slew of controls, buttons, and dials. Atop nearly all cameras sits a large dial labeled with many letters and icons. This is our mode dial. It is how we control the level of power we give to our camera or take for ourselves.
One of the wonderful things that modern electronic digital and film cameras give you is many high-tech options for your image making. One of the horrible things that modern electronic digital and film cameras give you is many high-tech options for your
by Mathew Malwitz · Posted
As photographers, we are faced with a wide array of lighting conditions, ranging from bright sunlight to dimly lit interiors. Using ambient light as your main source is often preferable; however, in a situation such as an event or portrait where time is of the essence, you will need to know how to properly expose all these varying scenes using both natural and artificial light sources.
Being resourceful with your lighting setups lends greater efficiency, and having a lighting system you can easily move from one situation to the next quickly is
by Todd Vorenkamp · Posted
Before you venture out to photograph your first lunar eclipse, you should get some practice taking photos of the moon. If lunar photography is varsity-level stuff, lunar eclipse photography is all-pro. There are some unique challenges to the art, and great ways to get creative results, but the basics of lunar photography apply. Unlike
by M. Brett Smith · Posted
Thanks to the continued development of drone technology, aerial imaging has become a much more viable and potentially lucrative option for wedding photographers and videographers. Modern drones can capture images like never before, whether it’s a breathtaking still from a new and previously unattainable perspective or a cinematic tracking shot of the entire ceremony. With the right drone, the
by Rachel Leathe · Posted
I can’t count the number of times a stranger has approached me while I’ve been setting up my drone to ask if they can watch the launch. I imagine this is how the world’s first television owners must have felt as the neighborhood kids crowded around the only television on their block to witness such groundbreaking technology.
by Allan Weitz · Posted
When it comes to travel, landscape, and seascape photography, I always try to keep at least one long focal length lens in my bag for photographing subjects to which I either cannot get closer or—in the case of a Siberian tiger guarding her cubs—to which I have no business getting closer.
Photographs Ó Allan Weitz 2020
The definition of a long telephoto lens depends on whom you ask, not to mention what format camera they are using. For some, a 105mm lens is long. For others, it’s anything beyond 200mm or 300mm. For me, 300mm has always been the
by Emily Mandagie · Posted
"Alright, your time in flight will be approximately twelve minutes." Berty and I swallowed that weighted sentence and nervously nodded in response. Smiles were on the outside, but deep inside we were wondering how in the world we were going to make the most of those fleeting seconds in that helicopter and capture exactly what we wanted from the sky!
Aerial photography can be exciting and exhilarating. But it can also come with a lot of added challenges, such as time limits, weather conditions, and—let's be real—a large expense! (Flights aren't
by Todd Vorenkamp · Posted
When the moon passes directly between Earth and the sun, those on Earth are treated to one of nature’s greatest spectacles—a total solar eclipse. It is a phenomenon that almost every observer would like to capture in a photograph.
Due to the rarity of the event, the short duration in which to capture it, and the dynamic nature of the subject, it is one of those photographic opportunities that requires the proper gear, setup, planning, and practice.
Eclipse and solar
by Brian Zwiebel · Posted
The technological advancements in photography could hardly be imagined by photographers using slow film with manual focus, non-stabilized lenses just 20 years ago. Go back further and cameras did not even have built-in meters. Photographers had to use an incident meter to determine a proper exposure, then dial-in the settings manually. Everyone had to know how to use manual mode!
Above image: Black-billed Magpie; manual mode; 1/2000 second; f/8; ISO 800
The above image was the ultimate exposure challenge. A high-contrast bird was flying in
by Brian Zwiebel · Posted
When winter rolls around, many bird photographers choose to hibernate like a bear or fly south like a bunting. However, with a few precautions and considerations, winter can be an excellent time of year to photograph birds, even in the northern climates. Over the years, I have made dozens of trips to photograph birds in some pretty extreme locations, such as the high arctic, northern Michigan, and northern Minnesota. In this first part of my two-part series, I will share my strategies to prepare yourself and your gear in the best ways for
by Jess Santos · Posted
Thinking back to my first time photographing the stars, let’s be real: I had no idea what I was doing. I spent the afternoon watching video after video, and after several hours felt confident enough to attempt it. Now keep in mind I had done the research on settings, but completely skipped over the planning phase. I didn’t run into one video that talked about things like the moon phase or dark skies, some pretty important information to know when getting into astrophotography. Nonetheless, a couple friends and I headed out at eleven o’
by Todd Vorenkamp · Posted
Specular out-of-focus highlights have appeared in photographs since the first photos were taken through lenses. In 1997, Photo Techniques magazine introduced the word “bokeh” to the photography world’s vernacular and the out-of-focus areas of photographs have been scrutinized ever since. Before the term, there was certainly discussion about the aesthetics of the out-of-focus specular highlights of a photograph, but until 1997, there wasn’t a good word in the English language to describe the phenomenon. Credit goes to Mike Johnston, article
by Bjorn Petersen · Posted
Photography is a great way to get out of the house, explore the world around you, and can be a reason to visit new places. Sometimes, though, your own home and time spent indoors can also be a key source of inspiration and a tool to work through any creative droughts in which you might find yourself. Whether you’re confined to home because of weather, a global pandemic, or just because you feel like staying in, don’t let staying at home be a limitation to your photography practice; let the challenge of being indoors ignite new ways to approach
by Todd Vorenkamp · Posted
When most of us think of “sports photography,” we immediately think of iconic images from the world of land-based sports—American football, track and field, boxing, baseball, and others. One could argue, however, that yacht racing and sailing regattas provide the canvas for some of the most spectacular images in all of sports. And, if you have spent time around the water, seen the framed print on the wall of my physical therapist’s office, or flipped through the pages of any sailing magazine, you might have noticed that professional sailboat