Guide To Focus Stacking

Use this technique to gain better control of your photograph’s focus

Text & Photography Brian Matiash

Today’s cameras are impressive in how accurately they can autofocus: Look how deftly my camera locked focus on the subject’s face in a moving car as I panned and while the primary subject zoomed through the frame. But even today’s cameras can have trouble focusing in some situations, and that’s where focus stacking can help. The companies that... Read more

Classic Portrait Light

Transform your portraits by learning these four lighting patterns.

William Sawalich

Rembrandt Lighting: Named for the famous 17th-century Dutch master painter, this technique emphasizes light and shadow, adding mystery and a bit of drama. When learning to craft beautifully lit portraits, you will find no better place to start than with classical lighting patterns. These lighting setups have laid the foundation for portraiture since... Read more

Capturing Meaningful Macro Compositions

Whether shooting outdoors or indoors, macro photography is a powerful tool to help you create exceptionally expressive images of a world we don’t generally explore

By Terry Sullivan

On the day of our 25th anniversary, I bought my wife a large bouquet of red roses, which I also incorporated into my photo shoot. In this photo of a single rose, I included a small transparent ridge from the plastic wrapping that the bouquet came in, which let me add another layer of complexity to the composition by juxtaposing an artificial pattern... Read more

Ten Essential Tips For Shooting Sports Photos

Learn how to take your sports photography to the next level

Text & Photography By Patrick Murphy-Racey

For this basketball image, I used a Sony a9 full-frame mirrorless camera with a Sony 24-70mm f/2.8G Master lens. The exposure was 1/200 sec., f/4.5, ISO 200, and I used four Elinchrom 500ELC strobe units in catwalk with sport reflectors and a Pocket Wizard radio system to trigger them. I single frame all of my basketball images when shooting on strobes. If... Read more

Road Trip!

Head out on the highway for your next photo adventure

Text & Photography By Tom Bol

A classic piece of highway through an iconic landscape. U.S. Route 163 cuts right through Monument Valley; it’s hard to keep your eyes on the road cruising past the enormous sandstone formations. Head north and continue to Zion National Park, or go south and explore the Grand Canyon. Road trips have a lot of advantages for photographers versus other... Read more

Photographing Urban Landscapes

While we may tend to think of a photographic landscape as a scene from nature, a city can provide equally compelling opportunities to shoot landscapes, as well

Brian Matiash

Admittedly, when I think about landscape photos, I instinctively think of natural scenes. However, it is also important to remember that there are urban landscapes to consider as well, like the vast expanse of Tokyo. The dictionary defines the word “landscape” as “all the visible features of an area of countryside or land, often in terms of their... Read more

Manual Versus TTL

Which flash mode is best?

Text & Photography By Tom Bol

TTL flash used with the Nikon SB-5000 Speedlight. Nikon D500, AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm F2.8G ED. Exposure: 1/1600 sec., ƒ/5.6, ISO 200. One aspect of photography I really enjoy is watching how technology changes. During my photography career, I’ve seen cameras go from mechanical shutters using ISO 25 slide film in manual mode to mirrorless cameras with... Read more

Balanced Illumination

Two ways to balance ambient light with fill flash for beautiful portraits

By William Sawalich

Low-light flash photography can be frustrating, especially when you’re new to it. Balancing ambience nicely with flash seems like the mark of a masterful photographer, but it’s actually fairly easy once you know the basics. The trick to balancing ambient light with your flash is to think of these two types of light as two separate exposures that... Read more

Creative Portrait Lighting

12 time-proven lighting techniques for making pro-quality portraits

Text & Photography By Rick Sammon

Anyone can “take” a portrait. “Making” a portrait—which involves working closely with the subject, seeing the light and controlling the light—is a different story. In this article, I’ll share with you some of my favorite portraits along with 12 time-proven portrait techniques. Let’s go! 1. Balance The Light I took the photograph that... Read more

Follow The Action

Create an image sequence on your next shoot

Text & Photography By Tom Bol

Sequence created using frames at 1/3200 sec., ƒ/9, ISO 400, Nikon D4, 14-24mm F2.8. “Wow, I just missed most of that jump,” I tell Chance as I review images on my camera LCD. This is not one of my best moments. How could I miss that jump? In this case, Chance flew so high off the jump that I only see the lower half of his bike tires in my frame. “No... Read more

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