Fear not—this isn’t an instructional on how to capture better photos of pawns, castles, bishops, rooks or queens. While talking with some photographer friends, someone mentioned how they nailed an iconic photograph and emphasized this fact using the word “Checkmate!” My response was, “Great.” He thanked me. Little did he know I was referring to the fact he gave me a great idea for this week’s tip. To this day, he thinks my response referred to his image, but if he’s reading this, the cat is now out of the bag—thanks, Frank! So, what’s the connection between photography and chess? I love analogies, so hear me out. The tie in between wildlife photography and chess is actually quite logical. In chess,...

Here’s a really simple, yet really effective trick I use to make sure in a portrait my subject’s face is the brightest thing in the image. Here’s how to do it (it’s just two steps and takes all of 30-seconds). Above: here’s our original portrait, lit with one Westcott FJ400 strobe with a 5′ Rapid Box softbox. The issue here is she’s wearing a very light colored top and her arms are brighter than her face, so we need to quickly tone down that area, and we’re going to use the Graduated filter (called the Linear Gradient in LR cloud) to do it. STEP ONE: Get the Graduated filter, and lower the Exposure amount to around -1/2 stop (here I went...

No doubt, the idea of being a professional photographer is a dream for many of us, but on the other hand, the reality of it can be far more difficult than you might imagine. This excellent video essay discusses some of the hard truths about being a professional photographer that you should be aware of before you undertake it. [ Read More ]Original linkOriginal author: Alex Cooke

Photo By Vassili Balocco Today’s Photo Of The Day is “Lago Denza” by Vassili Balocco. Location: Val di Sole, Trentino, Italy. Want to get your images in the running for a Photo of the Day feature? Photo of the Day is chosen from various galleries, including Assignments, Galleries and Contests. Assignments have weekly winners that are featured on the website homepage, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To get your photos in the running, all you have to do is submit them. The post Photo Of The Day By Vassili Balocco appeared first on Outdoor Photographer. Original linkOriginal author: Staff

Today I am interviewing my great friend and accomplished macro photographer Andres Moline. With an eye for design and a love of arthropods, Moline's work is truly captivating. He specializes in shooting sharp handheld focus stacks that leave you in awe looking at all of the little details. How Did You Start Photography and Was It Always Macro or Did You Shoot Other Styles of Photography? I started photography in high school; a commercial arts class offered an intro to photography, where I learned about reflex cameras, the principles of developing film in the... [ Read More ]Original linkOriginal author: Liza Rock

The post How to Take Creative Landscape Shots Using Intentional Camera Movement appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Richard Beech. If you’re looking to capture some unique, creative photos, then I highly recommend trying out intentional camera movement photography. Now, many photographic situations rely on ensuring your camera is still as possible during exposure for pin-sharp images. But is keeping your camera still always a good thing? Instead, why not throw caution to the wind, move your camera while the shutter is open, and explore the range of creative opportunities this offers you as a photographer? In this article, I’ll show you how to do exactly that! What is intentional camera movement and why should you use...

Posing is something a lot of photographers struggle with, particularly since it is not something you can just learn objective values for like you can with camera settings. If that is something you are struggling with a bit, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you five tips for posing couples. [ Read More ]Original linkOriginal author: Alex Cooke

Photo By Jeff Nigro Today’s Photo Of The Day is “Waimea Canyon Lookout” by Jeff Nigro. Location: Kauaʻi. Want to get your images in the running for a Photo of the Day feature? Photo of the Day is chosen from various galleries, including Assignments, Galleries and Contests. Assignments have weekly winners that are featured on the website homepage, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To get your photos in the running, all you have to do is submit them. The post Photo Of The Day By Jeff Nigro appeared first on Outdoor Photographer. Original linkOriginal author: Staff

Subscribing to the Adobe Creative Cloud is a big financial step for most beginning photographers. In this article, I’ll figure out if the free and open software RawTherapee is a real competitor when it comes to developing an image. [ Read More ]Original linkOriginal author: Nils Heininger

The post How to Find Good Locations for Family Portraits appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Hunter McRae. When you’re shooting a family portrait, about nine times out of ten the client will ask, “Do you have a place you typically like to photograph?” We all do, of course, but if you take every portrait client to the same location, your portfolio will develop an undesirable, repetitive consistency. That’s why it’s important to thoroughly scout the area where you live and work, to build a list of go-to spots for any scenario, circumstance, and style. So think about your city, and build a list of these places where you can shoot: A field or shoreline with broad...

Becoming a competent photographer with good creative aptitude is only half of what it takes to become a successful wedding professional. This fantastic video tutorial will give you a ton of helpful tips and information on how to start and build a wedding photography business. [ Read More ]Original linkOriginal author: Alex Cooke

The post Weekly Photo Challenge – Old appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Sime. The theme this week was going to be ‘Cold’ but then I thought of all the people in snow&ice I’ve seen online this week and thought no, they’re likely quite done with ‘cold’ and then I realised I’d missed the C and thought I’d stick with ‘Old’ An old scene, an old object like some of my tools, below, or an old person’s portrait even? (And if any of you young people find and post a photo of me, there’s gonna be trouble haha!) This Week Your Challenge Theme is #dPSOld With the theme #dPSOld some things you can think about when you’re...

Photo By Stephani Holdorf Today’s Photo Of The Day is “Frosty on the Gros Ventre” by Stephani Holdorf. Location: Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. This image was taken with the Nikon D5300 and a Nikon 18-55mm lens. Want to get your images in the running for a Photo of the Day feature? Photo of the Day is chosen from various galleries, including Assignments, Galleries and Contests. Assignments have weekly winners that are featured on the website homepage, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To get your photos in the running, all you have to do is submit them. The post Photo Of The Day By Stephani Holdorf appeared first on Outdoor Photographer. Original linkOriginal author: Staff

In this case, our subject has a trademark mole just to the right of her chin. Should you remove it, or… This is a tricky retouching question I get asked a lot (the question is tricky, not the technique itself, which is simple), and the question is: “When I’m retouching a portrait, and the subject has a very prominent mole or scar, should I remove it?” This is tricky because in still photos, facial blemishes and moles and such don’t just stand out, they’re exaggerated, but if you remove them, then not only are you removing something that is part of their facial character, you run the risk of people who know the subject realizing that the image been retouched (and...

I recently tested out the Hasselblad CFV II and 907X with the XCD 4/45P lens, which Hasselblad totes as the smallest medium format setup on the market. [ Read More ]Original linkOriginal author: Robert Wagner

The post The Pentax K-3 Mark III Will Not Launch Next Week appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey. The Pentax K-3 Mark III will not launch at next week’s CP+ imaging show as was initially promised, but will instead be delayed for the foreseeable future. Back in October 2020, Pentax officially announced its long-awaited APS-C DSLR, the K-3 Mark III. The company released a camera spec list, and stated that “the launch target is around the period of the CP+ camera exhibition, which will be held from February 25 to 28 in 2021.” But now, just days before the CP+ exhibition, Pentax released a statement acknowledging a hold-up; specifically, “some of the product parts are...

Photo By Emily Kent Today’s Photo Of The Day is “Winter Hike in Narnia” by Emily Kent. Location: Vail Valley, Colorado. “A hike through the aspens in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain region on a recent winter day during a snowfall was magical,” says Kent. Want to get your images in the running for a Photo of the Day feature? Photo of the Day is chosen from various galleries, including Assignments, Galleries and Contests. Assignments have weekly winners that are featured on the website homepage, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To get your photos in the running, all you have to do is submit them. The post Photo Of The Day By Emily Kent appeared first on Outdoor Photographer. Original linkOriginal author: Staff

When it comes to landscape photography, deep depth of field and high levels of sharpness are often the name of the game. This excellent video tutorial discusses how to choose the right f-stop settings for maximizing the sharpness in your photographs. [ Read More ]Original linkOriginal author: Alex Cooke

Congratulations to Sumistha Das for winning the recent Your Best Shot Of 2020 Photography Assignment with the image, “Play.” View the winning image and a selection of submissions in the gallery below. And be sure to check out our current photography assignment here and enter your best shots! [See image gallery at www.outdoorphotographer.com] The post Your Best Shot Of 2020 Assignment Winner Sumistha Das appeared first on Outdoor Photographer. Original linkOriginal author: Staff

I think it is safe to say that the majority of people using Lightroom Classic (LrC) have access to Adobe Bridge as well. After all, if you have the Creative Cloud Photography plan subscription to get access to Photoshop and LrC, then you get Bridge as part of the deal. Now, the safe advice to all new LrC users is to simply not ever use Bridge, and it is true that not using Bridge will help avoid the self-inflicted injury that can come from moving folders and photos around outside of LrC. However, I think that it is possible to be made aware of the potential pitfalls of using Bridge and LrC so that you can avoid them while also adding...