5DayDeal: Save 96% on the Complete Photography Bundle 2020 ($89)

The 5DayDeal Complete Photography Bundle 2020 is the most comprehensive photography learning package you can get your hands on.

The 5DayDeal is back, and it’s bigger and better than ever. Do you want to learn from the most respected photographers in their respective fields? If so, the $89 Complete Photography Bundle 2020 from 5DayDeal is the bundle you’ll want to get! From October 15th to the 20th, you can save $2,875 on 25 courses from Joel Grimes, Nick Page, Serge Ramelli, Chris Orwig, Nicol S. Young, Matt Granger, Jessica Drossin, and more. Your purchase will also help out many charities too. 5DayDeal donates 10% of each sale to Make a Wish, Mercy Ships, Orbis, others. Find out more after the break.

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You’ll Learn Something New From This Street Photography Masterclass

Thorsten Overgaard’s Street Photography Masterclass will give beginners the most to chew on.

“You have to find a balance of taking photos; not too many, not too few,” says Thorsten Overgaard in his street photography masterclass. And honestly, this course is evidence of that. If you’re all about reality, then Thorsten Overgaard shoves a ton of it into his Street Photography Masterclass. Available as part of the current 5 Day Deal, you’ll get this course along with a ton of others. You can skip around to various parts. And best of all, you’re bound to learn something no matter what. As a 12-year photo veteran, I even picked something up.

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Exposure Preview: The Worst Thing for Your Camera’s Autofocus?

We talked to a couple of photographers and tech reps, and it seems like Exposure Preview could be hurting your camera’s autofocus.

Most people shooting with mirrorless cameras shoot with the Exposure Preview on. I’ve never been a fan of it, and I’ve always turned it off. In my mind, you should just learn to read the damn light meter to begin with, and not rely on what the screen says. One could think this is an old school way of thinking, but there are lots of performance benefits. If you’re shooting with a strobe, for example, there’s a great reason to turn exposure preview off. You’re usually shooting at a low ISO setting and faster shutter speeds. Plus, the camera won’t render what the scene will look like with your strobe output anyway. And for years, folks have used exposure preview as a crutch. That isn’t a bad thing, it’s just how people evolved to use cameras. I still recommend that everyone learns to shoot film and learns the art of Sunny 16: it will make you a better photographer. But all this is the long way of my saying that exposure preview is also messing with your autofocus.

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TTL vs Manual Flash: What Photographers Need to Know

Many folks don’t know the difference between TTL vs manual flash, or how it will change the way they create.

Most photographers realize that flash output is still better than constant lighting. But the biggest struggle is with TTL vs. manual flash output. Most people don’t understand it. And to be honest, most experienced photographers are also frustrated with it. But in time, you learn to tell it what to do. Think about it this way. You use your camera in manual mode, right? And if you don’t, then you at least know how to do so. The strobe and flash output that you can get is similar.

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The One Trick on How to Always Get the Softest Light From a Flash

The key to always getting the softest flash output has to do with the laws of physics: let’s explore!

When you know nothing about using a flash, you’re probably going to screw it up. TTL works well, but it probably won’t give you what you want. Here’s a fact of life: machines don’t give us what we want. They give us what we tell them to, and that’s it. If you’re using a flash in TTL mode, but you don’t like the way it looks, you’ll need to adjust it. You can tell it to go brighter or darker. Or, you can switch to manual mode and set it to do something particular. But if you want the most consistency overall, you’re best off following the laws of physics.

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Which Is Best for Portraits? 50mm or 85mm Prime Lenses? Let’s Find Out

It’s a trick question as both prime lenses are great, but you need to know when to use each one and what their strengths are.

There are two prime lenses that both new and seasoned portrait photographers will always reach for, and they are 50mm primes and 85mm primes. Both of these lenses have great qualities, and even though the focal range is not massively different, they will both produce vastly different results and they both have the best use cases. After the break, we will take a quick look at both lenses and help you understand when each should be used.

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Is Your Camera Overheating? Chill Out! Try Some of These!

To prevent your camera from overheating in the summer, try these tips.

It’s a fairly common problem with all sorts of cameras. You’re out shooting, and you suddenly feel the camera get pretty hot. We’ve had it happen with a lot of ones we test, and we always try different approaches. Some of these are tried and true methods for years now. While you can’t overcome all overheating issues with your camera, there are some you totally can. So we’ve rounded up a list of things every photographer should try. The next time your camera really starts heating up on you, give one of these a shot.

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We Asked Photographers Why They Bring Their Cameras Everywhere

We wondered why some photographers bring their cameras with them everywhere, so we asked them.

There’s the old idea that photographers should bring their cameras everywhere with them. But of course, not every photographer does that. For the ones that do, we wondered exactly why. For years, I always thought it was just photojournalists who did this. But it’s a lot more than them. We asked a few photographers to tell us why they bring their cameras with them. In some cases, they feel like it’s part of them being their best selves. But it’s also a part of their identity.

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Portrait Photography: How to Shoot Stunning Portraits with 35mm Primes

Do-it-all 35mm primes are as great for portraits as they are for anything else when you know how to make the most of them.

We have waxed lyrical about 35mm primes for years here at The Phoblographer, but just know that it’s for good reasons. These seemingly simple lenses can do so much that we truly believe everyone should own one, and while you might think they might not be great for portrait photography, we have to tell you you would be wrong. 35mm primes are fantastic for portraits. After the break, we will talk you through how you can create gorgeous environmental portraits and more with your humble 35mm primes.

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Comparing Different Color Filters for Black and White Film Photography

If you’re new to using different color filters for black and white film photography, here’s a quick comparison.

Before the digital days, photographers made use of various filters to produce a big portion of their desired looks in-camera for black and white photography. As we learned in a previous video tutorial, filters allowed them to darken the skies, increase the contrast, or give flowers a more dramatic look against the rest of the foliage. Some may argue that we can simply use our go-to editing software to produce the same effects, since we’re in the digital age. But, if you’re shooting black and white film, filters will still be your best friends and produce the look you want straight from the negatives, potentially minimizing the work you’ll have to do in post. If you’ve yet to use filters for shooting black and white, we have just the video to show what to expect.

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Which Lens: How to Pick Between the Fujifilm 23mm F2 and the 35mm F2

fujifilm lenses

These two great Fujifilm prime lenses may seem similar, but their applications are much different.

Fujifilm shooters are spoiled for choice when it comes to great prime lenses, even more so when it comes to affordable Fujifilm primes lenses. Perhaps the question we get asked the most, though, is ‘which lens should I buy between the Fujifilm 23mm f2 and the Fujifilm 35mm f?’ These lenses may seem quite similar, but they are each suited to slightly different genres of photography. After the break, we will take a quick look at the similarities and the differences between the two lenses so that you can make a better decision about which one is right for you.

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Portrait Photography: The Differences Between 85mm and 135mm Primes

lightroom presets

Both 85mm and 135mm lenses are great for portrait photography, but each has particular uses.

Ask any photographer about the lenses they use for portraits, and more than likely, they will come back to you with the same answer. The 85mm and 135mm focal lengths have been go-to options for portrait photography for many years, and for good reasons, but how do you decide between the two, and what are the most significant differences between them? After the break, we will take a quick look at both prime lenses and list the pros and cons of each so that you can make a more informed purchasing decision.

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An Introduction to ND Filters for the Budding Landscape Photographer

ND filters are powerful tools that allow us to capture landscape scenes that would otherwise escape us.

If you’re thinking about starting up landscape photography, you need to familiarize yourself with some tools that can help take your images from good to great. You’ve splashed the cash on a camera, you’ve picked up a sturdy tripod, an excellent lens, and even a bag to haul your gear around, but you may have overlooked ND filters. These ‘sunglasses’ for your lens are a must-have for landscape photographers, but they are often overlooked because they seem complicated. In this introduction to ND filters, we cover what these filters are, what they do, and how you can get the most out of them.

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Video: How to Post Process Your Scanned Slide Film (Kodachrome Too!)

Alaistair Bird shows you how to process the scans of your slide film.

Recently, Mr. Bird showed us how he goes about scanning his slide film at home. Today, we’ve got a video from him showing how he edits the images. If you remember, he did it using a DSLR. It’s a fun project to keep yourself busy and to stay tuned into your hobby while quarantined. But in addition to that, it’s also just something to do. Some folks will like scanning their film using a conventional scanner. But no scanner is anywhere as robust as a full-frame sensor in a camera. So after you’ve got the right lighting, here’s what you do.

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Can You Really Produce Professional Results With Crop Sensor Cameras?

The debate between Full Frame vs Crop Sensor cameras and their ability to produce professional results have been around as long as digital cameras have.

Let’s face it, Crop Sensor cameras have been getting a pretty bad rep for some time. By and large, you have the Full Frame or bust crowd to thank for this stigma. Full Frame cameras were the de facto standard for a long time thanks to their performance advantage over their Crop Sensor brethren. This was certainly true during the nascent days when the industry was just beginning to adopt digital. Fast forward to today, however, the performance differential between Crop Sensor and Full Frame bodies is borderline negligible.

In fact, Crop Sensor cameras are amongst the best bang for the buck available on the market. As a professional photographer who also reviews photography equipment for a living, I’ve had the privilege of shooting with just about every camera commercially available. The fact is, professional results are absolutely achievable regardless of your camera’s sensor size. The key lies in mastering the fundamentals of how to properly utilize a camera and understanding the relationship between sensor size and its real-world applications.

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Explaining to a Hobbyist Photographer How ROI Works for a Professional

I want to take a few minutes to talk to all of you about why I’ve been editing photos a whole lot less these days.

I’m not saying that photo editing is bad. But instead, indeed it’s honestly essential. I’m saying that true masters of photography work at least 80% in camera and the rest is all done in post-production of some sort. Heck, I’d even sometimes argue even less is done is post. I want you to think about this almost like swimming as hard as you can to keep your head above water.

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Video: How to Do the Film Grain Look Right and Embrace the Noise

Film grain: are you doing it right, or does it just look like noise?

For photographers, the idea of film grain is pretty new if you’ve only been shooting for a couple of years. Digital noise is one thing, but film grain can look pretty beautiful. It’s an organic look and with the right exposure, can add character to your scene. In today’s video tutorial, we’re taking a look at the different types of film grain and how to use it to your image’s advantage. Certain camera systems have it built in such as with Olympus, Leica, and Fujifilm. But other camera systems don’t. In fact, camera makers have been working for years on trying to beat it. In fact, we’re that many of you didn’t even know that there are different types of grain.

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How to Scan Slide Film with a Camera and What You’ve Got at Home

“Thou shouldst not have been old till thou hadst been wise.” – William Shakespeare, King Lear, (I.iv)

“I think it would be best if we delay the shoot.” That was part of an email I received in early March, right about the time I was thinking that my year wasn’t looking too bad, business-wise. I work as a commercial photographer in Vancouver, Canada, and I had enjoyed a fairly prosperous couple of months. Early 2020 was looking better than 2019, that’s for sure. Then everything ground to a halt: I don’t have to go into much more detail than that, as I’m not alone at all in this situation. The entire planet feels at a standstill.

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Video Tutorial: A Guide to Creating Beautiful Black and White Photos

When I mention notable photographers like Edward Weston, Dorothea Lange, Ansel Adams, and Michael Kenna, what pops into your mind’s eye? If you thought “masterfully orchestrated fine art black and white photography,” you’d be correct.

The work of Ansel Adams and Michael Kenna, along with that of Herb Ritts, influenced my approach to black and white imaging when I took photography in high school. Nearly failing every class in high school, I was not the best student. I found school dull and uninspiring, excelling only in the photography courses available. We learned exposure basics while using cameras like the Canon AE1 and Pentax K1000. I loved every minute of learning how to process film and prints in the darkroom, secretly wishing that I could quit school and focus my time and energy on pursuing photography.

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How Versatile Are Raw Files From the Sony a7r IV? We Tested Them

We tested the raw files from the Sony a7r IV. Take a look at the results.

The Sony a7r IV ($3,498 usually) is a fantastic camera: no doubt about that. Our gripes with it weren’t about the image quality, and we’re proving that with our in-depth look at the RAW File versatility. The camera has a sensor with over 60MP: it’s the highest of any full-frame camera currently on the market. So we wanted to take a closer look at just how versatile the RAW files are. In summary, we still found that good exposures are needed, but this sensor is really pushing the limits of what’s capable with full-frame sensors.

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How Capture One 20’s Process Will Make You a Better Photo Editor

Got nothing to do right now? Consider teaching yourself Capture One 20.

The editing process in Capture One 20 is far different than Lightroom’s, and it results in many of the images that really make jaws drop. The science behind the editing engine in both Capture One 20 and Lightroom is far different. And while Lightroom is the more popular and more convenient option, Capture One 20 lets you do most of what both Photoshop and Lightroom can if you’re a photographer. Today, we’re taking a closer look at the editing process and the idea of focusing on one thing at a time.

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