Shooting

Dynamic Portraits

Add visual excitement by introducing moving elements

Text & Photography By Tom Bol
I love creating portraits. There’s just something about making that connection with my subject that sends chills up my spine. But sometimes I want more. How can I improve this portrait? What can I do to create more mood and feeling in the shot? How can I liven up a standard headshot? The answer to all these questions is simple: Add a dynamic element. Dynamic... Read more

High Key

To emphasize the eyes in these portraits, Victor Valero uses precise lighting and postprocessing to deliver high-key glamour

By William Sawalich, Photography By Victor Valero
When Vancouver-based commercial photographer Victor Valero held a casting call for a shoot in Mexico, he encountered a model who inspired him to embark on a visual journey exploring the intensity of eyes. They have the ability to transform a photograph, as evidenced by these images that are a part of that ongoing series. To start, Valero found two models... Read more

A Travel Story

10 Tips for capturing the bigger picture of your photo adventures

Text & Photography By Rick Sammon
As photographers, we’re storytellers. Even a single photograph can tell a story. A series of photographs can tell a more detailed story, however, revealing different chapters of one’s experience, if you will. That experience might be a photo safari to Africa, a photo tour of a national park, a photo trek to a nearby city and so on. In this... Read more

Classic Portrait Light

Learn these traditional lighting patterns to create the ideal effect for every face

By William Sawalich
When learning to craft beautifully lit portraits, there’s no better place to start than with classical lighting patterns. These lighting setups have laid the foundation for portraiture since long before photography existed, when master painters relied on them for ideal illumination of the face. There are four traditional lighting patterns: Butterfly,... Read more

Breaking Habits

Get out of your comfort zone to grow creatively

Text & Photography By J. Dennis Thomas
It’s very easy to develop habits and get stuck in a photographic rut. This process can be so gradual that you may not even realize or notice that you’re stagnating creatively. Your pictures can look perfectly fine, but you may have stopped growing and advancing as a photographer without even knowing it. The key to keep growing as a photographer... Read more

Remote Control

Controlling your camera remotely is useful in a variety of situations, from macro photography to group portraits to positioning your camera in places where you can’t comfortably be.

By Wes Pitts
CamRanger Wireless Camera Control Controlling your camera remotely is useful in a variety of situations, from macro photography to group portraits to positioning your camera in places where you can’t comfortably be. While remote controls for cameras aren’t new, the smartphone has made it possible to do a lot more than merely trigger... Read more

Ground Control

Exploring aerial photography with DJI’s Phantom 2 Vision+

Text & Photography By Ryan Noll
Drones are a hot-button topic. It seems every few days there’s a new story considering the implications, good or bad, of aerial photography and videography, not to mention the contentious debate pertaining to the legality of using them commercially. But, really, with so much chatter about drone use, what’s it actually like to fly one of... Read more

Photo Experience

Classes, tours and workshops offer valuable instruction and insights to sharpen your skills

By Ashley Myers-Turner
Whether you’re a total beginner or an experienced pro, there’s always something new to learn in photography. Practice is essential, learning through trial and error, but you can fast-track your improvement by interacting with other photographers, sharing difficulties and successes, and getting feedback from expert instructors. Whether you... Read more

Seeing The Light

We all want to get the very best in-camera exposure, and a good exposure is all about correctly capturing light, the main element in every photograph.

Text & Photography By Rick Sammon
We all want to get the very best in-camera exposure, and a good exposure is all about correctly capturing light, the main element in every photograph. That said, your idea of the best exposure might be different from mine because, for one reason, you may prefer photographs that are a little darker or lighter than I prefer. The first step in capturing... Read more

Street Portraits

Mixing the spontaneity of candid street photography with the goals of portraiture

Text & Photography By J. Dennis Thomas
There’s some debate about exactly what street photography is, and this debate also spills over into the realm of street portraiture. Many people insist that all street photography must be undirected, and the photographer should simply capture the event as it unfolds. While it’s great to be an outside observer capturing interesting, absurd,... Read more

Exploring Fall Colors

Capturing the essence of autumn and the change of seasons

Text & Photography By Meredith Winn
We come inside with dewy shoes and arms full of firewood. The air shifts, the leaves fall, and the farm stands are full of crimson, browns and orange. The cooler wet weather creeps in; we light the first fire in the wood stove and walk slowly into autumn. Welcome to fall in New England. Through the early-morning fog, we drive past ponds where mist rises;... Read more

Stranger In A Strange Land

When we travel, either to the other side of the world or to the other side of the country, making good people pictures can be a rewarding experience.

Text & Photography By Rick Sammon
When we travel, either to the other side of the world or to the other side of the country, making good people pictures can be a rewarding experience. Yes, that experience comes with some challenges, but it’s pictures of people that make slideshows and web galleries come alive. Strong portraits, pictures with impact, can also be showstoppers on... Read more
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