Creating a Top-Down Still Life Setup

Shooting from directly above a subject can be difficult. Here’s how to do it well

By William Sawalich

Sometimes, it’s necessary to place your camera in a difficult position in order to get the shot you need. No position is trickier than trying to shoot straight down from above. Imagine you need to photograph a process that’s taking place on a surface—like a cooking show, for instance, or a drawing on a desk—or perhaps you simply need... Read more

Build a DIY Fluorescent Ring Light

This inexpensive, neat little light works well for photos, and videos, too

By William Sawalich

Ring lights are cool. They produce a unique, near shadowless, slick, frontal illumination when used as a key light, and they’re an ideal on-axis fill. The only problem is, most ring lights are pretty darn expensive. So why not save a few bucks and build your own ring light. Rather than making a strobe version, though, we’re going to use... Read more

Blend Mode Basics

Layers are one of the things that makes Photoshop such a powerful image editing tool

By William Sawalich

Layers are one of the things that makes Photoshop such a powerful image editing tool. And one of the things that makes layers so powerful is the flexibility of blend modes. Blend modes dictate how one layer will interact with the layers below it, modifying colors, contrast and exposure to subtly or dramatically change the look of an image. Here’s... Read more

Three Steps For Total Contrast Control

Contrast control is at the very heart of photography

By William Sawalich

Contrast control is at the very heart of photography. Too much contrast means the loss of important image-forming details, either in the highlights, or the shadows, or—worst of all—both. So here are a few techniques to help you control contrast and ensure detail-rich photos without blown out blacks or whites. – Start with the right... Read more

Opening RAW Files As Smart Objects

One of the things that makes Lightroom such a useful tool in many photographers’ workflows is the fairly seamless way it integrates with Photoshop

By William Sawalich

One of the things that makes Lightroom such a useful tool in many photographers’ workflows is the fairly seamless way it integrates with Photoshop. A click of a button will open a RAW image file right in Photoshop, ready to be worked on with Photoshop’s even greater range of precision editing tools. By default, that image file is opened... Read more

Light Meters Still Matter

Here’s how, and why, to use a handheld light meter effectively

By William Sawalich

There are some pretty cool things happening in the world of handheld light meters these days, like Sekonic’s L-478 touchscreen light meter, which can do all sorts of amazing things like create custom profiles for cameras and lenses. But the fundamental task of handheld light meters has remained unchanged for generations: They’re simply a... Read more

Skin Retouching With Frequency Separation

I recently met a professional portrait retoucher who taught me all about her preferred method for skin retouching, commonly called the Frequency Separation technique

By William Sawalich

I recently met a professional portrait retoucher who taught me all about her preferred method for skin retouching, commonly called the Frequency Separation technique. It’s a great way to separate the texture of skin from the tonalities. It’s important to eliminate unwanted texture like wrinkles and blemishes while not eliminating good texture... Read more

Build An In-Home Photo Studio

Whether you’re shooting for fun or aspire to open your own photography business, building your own in-home studio opens up a whole new world of photographic possibilities

By William Sawalich

Whether you’re shooting for fun or aspire to open your own photography business, building your own in-home studio opens up a whole new world of photographic possibilities. From still-life product photos to refined studio-style portraits, an in-home photo studio can revolutionize the way you work. Here are a few things to consider when building... Read more

How To Photograph Football

Fall is here, and for a lot of us, fall means football

By William Sawalich

Fall is here, and for a lot of us, fall means football. If you’d like to try your hand at photographing football—whether it’s a Pee Wee league, high school or the NFL—here are five great tips from professional photographer Dilip Vishwanat who covers football for clients like Sports Illustrated, Getty Images and USA Today. 1. Equipment... Read more

Making Long Daytime Exposures

I recently found myself on an impromptu afternoon walk, camera in hand, and faced with a babbling brook and a small waterfall

By William Sawalich

I recently found myself on an impromptu afternoon walk, camera in hand, and faced with a babbling brook and a small waterfall. Wanting to make one of those classic blurred-motion waterfall images, I knew it would take a long exposure and that the fact that it was the middle of the day would make that a challenge. With the right equipment and know-how,... Read more

How To Make Digital Contact Sheets

No matter whether you’re a paid professional or a hobbyist, it’s not uncommon to need to show your work to someone else so that they can select the images they’d like to receive

By William Sawalich

No matter whether you’re a paid professional or a hobbyist, it’s not uncommon to need to show your work to someone else so that they can select the images they’d like to receive. A wedding photographer, for instance may produce a printed book of proofs for their bride and groom to browse through in order to select the images for their... Read more

Improving Color Accuracy

If you’re new to the concept of color management, this tip is for you

By William Sawalich

If you’re new to the concept of color management, this tip is for you. The topic isn’t a whole lot of fun, because it’s not glamorous, and it’s less about creativity than technical accuracy. It can also be kind of a difficult subject to get your head around. Consequently, a lot of photographers completely avoid the subject and... Read more

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