Portraits: Keep It Real

Finding Creative Ways To Capture True Portraits

Text & Photography By Thomas Boyd

On the Portland Trail Blazers’ media day, the players go to a dozen stations of video and still photographers. They expect a photo to be shot in seconds, not minutes. There’s very little time to build rapport. They just want to get it done as soon as possible. They’ve had so much practice at PR, they know what it takes. My strategy is to give... Read more

Cross-Lighting

The silver bullet of lighting solves some difficult photographic problems.

Text & Photography by Tom Bol

Cross-lighting in an alley. Background light is an Elinchrom Quadra with 30-degree grid and an orange gel. Main light from the front is an Elinchrom Quadra shot through a 27”x27” square softbox with grid. Every photographer knows that beautiful light is critical in creating an impressive image. Striking subjects can look boring in flat light, while... Read more

Lit Up

Making the most of available light

Text & Photography By Danielle Cohen

Light makes photography. Embrace light. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography. – George Eastman Every photographer loves the Golden Hour, that part of the day where the light slants from the sun at just the right angle. The world changes colors. Faces soften as people exhale under... Read more

Photo Workout: Flex Your Photographic Skills

How do you become a better photographer? You can read articles in magazines like PCPhoto, study books and attend workshops. All of these pursuits will help you learn new and improved techniques for photography.

By DPMag

It’s easy to get distracted by an interesting subject and miss what’s going on with the light. Workout #1 will help you focus your attention on the qualities of the light in your scene. How do you become a better photographer? You can read articles in magazines like PCPhoto, study books and attend workshops. All of these pursuits... Read more

Five Classic Lighting Recipes

Five tried-and-true lighting styles for effective portraits

Text & Photography By Tom Bol

As much as I like to experiment when it comes to lighting, there are times I need a sure thing, and that’s when I reach into my bag of tricks and pull out one of the five lighting techniques that always work and that create a variety of looks? These techniques are ones that a beginner can master in a short time with minimal gear, and should be part... Read more

10 Tips For Better Travel Photos

Pro techniques to help you take unique and personal images for your photographic journal

Text & Photography By Nevada Wier

If you want to return home with a great travel portfolio, you need to break out of the tourist mentality and move beyond typical snapshots of postcard locations. Award-winning travel photographer Nevada Wier shares her top techniques to create photographs that are not only visually engaging, but reveal a more personal connection with the people and... Read more

Indoor Light Portraits

Capturing everyday life with beautiful light in the home

Text & Photography By Me Ra Koh

VERONICA BERNAL, a CONFIDENCE workshop graduate, captured a gorgeous moment between her grandpa and daughter. Window light creates a soft diffused look that adds to the story of gentleness and love. Do you ever have a sinking feeling that all of your photos are starting to look the same? You’ve taken your clients to the same park two dozen times.... Read more

10 Lessons For Your Best Landscape Photographs

Follow these tips and techniques for more creative compositions of the natural world

Text & Photography By Rick Sammon

“Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer—and often the supreme disappointment.” —ANSEL ADAMS Landscape photography can be great fun, but when we get back home and look at our images on our computers, we sometimes ask ourselves, “What was I thinking?” or, “How did I make that mistake?” It’s difficult to capture... Read more

Night Light

Create stunning landscape astrophotography images

Text & Photography By Adam Woodworth

The Tablelands Sky Exposure: Star-stacked blend of 10 exposures, each at 14mm, ISO 12800, ƒ/2.8, 10 seconds Foreground Exposure: Foreground Exposure: Blend of two exposures, each at ƒ/2.8, ISO 1600, 8 minutes. Nikon D810A, Nikkor 14-24mm ƒ/2.8 Get ready to stay up all night taking in the wonder of the stars. Astrophotography, which is technique of... Read more

Seven Tips For Awesome Road-Trip Pictures

Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.

Text & Photography By Rick Sammon

Comedian Steven Wright once said, “Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.” Substitute the word “driving” for “walking” and you’ll see why road trips are a great way to see, experience, enjoy—and of course—photograph roadside America (or whatever country in which you are driving). Road trips offer photographers... Read more

High-Speed Portraits

Using fast shutter speeds with flash for creative images

Text & Photography By Tom Bol

The use of a large diffuser and fast shutter speed allows for balanced light in what otherwise would have been a very harsh, backlit image. ƒ/1.4, 1/1600 sec., ISO 125 © Tom Bol You never stop learning in this business. As photographers, we spend years mastering our craft, and just when we think we get it, new technology is introduced, and we’re... Read more

How To Be A Second Shooter

Mastering wedding photography usually starts by apprenticing as a second shooter, a position that can sometimes make or break a wedding shoot

By David Schloss, Photos by Sarah Phillips

Capturing a wedding is one of the most important photographic assignments, because it is impossible to re-create a wedding and the images are cherished not only by the bride and groom, but by their families and offspring, often for generations to come. While most people book a photographer for their portfolio, skills and personality, they don’t realize... Read more

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