Opinion: I Think that Instagram is One of the Worst Things that’s Ever Happened to Photography

Instagram’s role in democratizing photography has also devalued it despite increasing its demand.

If I were to sit here and think about all the apps and communities that have added value to photography, I’d say that Instagram isn’t one of them despite it changing the way that we communicate more in pictures than anything else. I’d give credit to Tumblr, Behance, EyeEm (also questionable due to their AI rankings of your images), and despite how awful they’ve become over the years, 500px and Flickr. These were places and communities for actual creatives. Tumblr was all the rage for a while when it changed, and arguably it’s a place for creatives all over again with just how much emphasis there is on giving credit to creators. Instagram allowed anyone to be a “photographer” and also allowed more people to become professional photographers. But what I actually think is the bigger issue is that it has also arguably devalued the price of an image.

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3 Pentax Lenses All Newcomers to the Platform Should Add to Their Collection

Pentax may not get as much attention as Canon, Nikon, and Sony these days, but those loyal to the brand have some excellent Pentax lenses to choose from.

The K series of Pentax cameras are solid performers, and they are liked by many in the landscape and portrait sides of photography. Their excellent build quality and feature-packed bodies are complimented well with some quite excellent Pentax lenses.
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3 Outstanding Micro Four Thirds Lenses for Photographers Jumping Over to Panasonic or Olympus

While the system may not be for everyone, there’s no doubt that there are some outstanding Micro Four Thirds lenses available for Olympus and Panasonic adopters.

Since its launch back in 2008 the Micro Four Thirds format has gained a set of devoted fans and lovers who swear by the system. There are some truly fantastic cameras on the market from both Olympus and Panasonic, and there are some killer Micro Four Thirds lenses too. If you are thinking about giving the platform a try, or have bought into the system and aren’t sure what glass to buy first, this article is for you.

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Opinion: Samsung Wasn’t So Bad of a Camera Company; Folks Just Didn’t Give Them a Chance

Samsung exited the photo industry years ago with an Irish goodbye, but I think consumers didn’t give them enough credit.

Does anyone else remember when Samsung did the “Ditch the DSLR” event many years ago in an effort to win market share and convert the world over to mirrorless cameras? I do. At the time I too probably didn’t give them enough credit. But in retrospect, Samsung was an absolutely brilliant acompany when it came to cameras and envisioning the future. The problem was that we as consumers just weren’t ready for it. We were also just not able to get on board with an electronics company with no real major partners besides Schneider giving us cameras.

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Travel Photography: 4 of Our Favorite APS-C Lenses to Capture the World With

Take your travel photography to the next level with these four lenses that are designed for APS-C cameras. 

We all love to travel, and we all love taking pictures and preserving the memories we make in new lands. But which lenses are suited for travel photography on APS-C Cameras? In this article we will take a look the best lenses for travel photographers who use crop sensor cameras.
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What the Photographic Printing World Needs to Do to Appeal to a Younger Audience

The world of printing your photos is really confusing even as I’ve been doing it for years now.

Throughout all my meetings in the photo industry, what’s consistently spoken about is how little people print anymore. Indeed, it isn’t a necessary part of the photography process because you can’t double tap the images or scroll passed them. But printing is still the ultimate experience in photography. Folks of course want to get into it, but if you’re looking at it as an outsider, it’s pretty darned complicated. Your more common options are heading to a Walgreens and getting prints made there. But the bigger and better prints aren’t well known to folks.

Here’s what the photo industry needs to focus on to get better messages across about printing.

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Street Photography: Success Vs Meaning; Which Wins?

Street photography has its highs and lows. Success is not a guarantee; the relationship you have with the craft, however, is a constant.

Okay, let’s get personal. 2018 has been an extremely intense year for me, both personally and professionally. From reconnecting with my Dad after 10 years, quitting my job, through to coming away from an unhealthy relationship. Professionally, I feel I have taken my street photography to the next level and have had success to show for it. There are two images that have stood out for me in 2018, both for completely different reasons. One is an image that has generated the most popularity and success. The other provides me with a deep sense of meaning and has emotional importance.

But which wins? Success Vs Meaning.

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5 of Our Favorite Lenses for the Environmental Portrait Photographer

Environmental portraits not only capture a person’s likeness, they show that person’s very essence, and to capture that you need a great lens.

Unlike regular portraits, environmental portraits capture not only who the person is, but also what that person is about. From a person’s job, to their hobbies, a good environmental portrait will tell a short story about the person in the image. Seeing as environmental portraits could put a photographer in very challenging situations in regards to weather and available light, having lenses that are built to withstand the elements, and lenses that can shoot in low light as an absolute necessity. In this article we will take a look at the five best lenses perfect for environmental portraits across a variety of platforms.

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Under $600: 3 Fujifilm Lenses for the Photographer Making a Switch

Newcomers to the platform are spoiled for choice when it comes to Fujifilm lenses, especially fast primes and high quality telephotos.

Fujifilm lenses (whether prime or telephoto) all offer outstanding image quality, fantastic build quality, fast autofocus performance, and the vast majority of the lenses are incredibly affordable. Even the more expensive options in the Fuji lineup are usually less than lenses from companies such as Canon, Nikon, and Sony. When you start building your arsenal of Fuji glass though it can be a little bit of a challenge to know what to buy, especially when it comes to primes. Here’s a look at three Fujifilm lenses that are not only outstanding performers, they’re also under $600 and won’t break the bank.

With so many amazing Fujifilm lenses to choose from it can be hard to make a decision on which ones to buy. In this article we are going to take a look at three incredible Fuji Lenses that are under $600, and why you should add them to your kit.

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7 Places to Find Inspiration for Your Next Street Photography Project

Ever wanted to create a street photography project but struggled to come up with ideas? There are plenty of places out there to get your creative juices flowing.

Coming up with a street photography project isn’t easy. There’s a lot of copy cats out there and unoriginal ideas inspired by someone else. But the key here is to find inspiration and to create something that is truly unique to you. You’ve got to find your own spin or take on something. If you are wanting to work on a project, but need a little bit of direction, here are 7 places to find inspiration.

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Elevating the Art of Cosplay Photography: Don’t Be Another GWC

Cosplay photography has become more and more popular and it’s more important to get a number of things clear.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of comic book, video game, cinema, television, and pop culture enthusiasts descend upon the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on the west side of Manhattan to attend New York Comic Con, an annual convention that’s being held later this week for its 13th year. Last year, New York Comic Con attracted over 200,000 attendees, and it is projected that attendance numbers will possibly exceed nearly a quarter of a million this year. While a majority of the people in attendance are average consumers looking to check out the latest offerings from comic book publishers, video game developers, movie and television studios, as well as panel discussions and meet and greet photo ops with their favorite celebrities, there has been a rapid growth in attendees donning costumes of characters from their favorite fandom. Ranging from casual to wildly elaborate, cosplaying (the practice of dressing up as your favorite character) has become such a big component of conventions like New York Comic Con that the Eastern Championships of Cosplay competition has been held at New York Comic Con since 2014, with winners going on to compete at national level cosplay competitions.

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5 Awesome Vintage Camera Pieces of Furniture Every Photographer Needs

Photographers, there’s no great reason why you shouldn’t have some cool and camera related house wares.

There’s a trend in the design world to take old, non-functional cameras and to make them into cool pieces for apartment decoration. I mean, just imagine candle lanterns but made out of a camera of some sort! If you’re one of those photographers who likes those Lens Mugs, then you’re probably going to adore all these cool decorations that you can get for your home at a pretty affordable price.

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How the Contax T2 Became the Most Expensive Point and Shoot Camera

The Contax T2 wasn’t exactly cheap to begin with, but a number of factors pushed it to become the trendiest and most expensive point and shoot film camera today. 

Most likely to the surprise of many, the Contax T2 took the spot as the most expensive (and hyped) point and shoot camera you can get your hands on today, that is if you can pay for it. In the last few years, prices for this premium camera have gone to insane levels, thanks in part to the renewed interest in film photography. The other part we can certainly tie to curious celebrities picking up the camera.

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Three Must Have Sony Lenses for Newcomers to Sony Cameras

Photographers have a whole host of Sony lenses to choose from, but some are better than others for newcomers to the platform. 

It’s always an exciting day when you pick up a new camera, but sometimes it can be a little hard to take it all in. From learning the new system, to picking out new lenses, there is a lot going on. Each platform has great glass to choose from, and there are some fantastic Sony lenses that are stellar performers which should be considered must haves.

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Four Stylish Yet Practical Camera Bags for the Modern Photojournalist

Demands on Photojournalists are high, and they expect their camera bags to perform to the same level that they do.

Good camera bags that can hold up in the high demands world of photojournalism can be hard to find. For a bag to succeed in this role it will need to keep your gear secure, safe from bumps and bangs, keep it safe from the elements, and offer quick access to all of your gear.

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Four Outstanding Telephoto Lenses to Pack in Your Bag for Landscape Photography

Landscape photography isn’t always about sweeping panorama’s and wide angle lenses; telephoto lenses have place in this genre too.

When it comes to landscape photography most people think about using wide and ultra-wide lenses to shoot images that show wide sweeping vistas, mountain ranges, or large portions of countryside. But sometimes focusing on one tiny area of detail can offer much more impact. Telephoto lenses are able to bring far away objects to us, and they offer amazing compression which can lead to some incredibly dramatic shots.

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Sigma: Thank You for (More or Less) Giving Up on the SA Mount

Dearest Sigma, Your time and resources are better spent not on the SA mount at all.

Before the world all agrees with a sigh of relief, I think that Sigma should be given adequate amount of brownie points for keeping the Sigma SA mount alive for so many years. It is a mount that dates back to the film days as the company tried to create and push their own cameras. With the transition to the digital world, we saw that the Sigma SA mount cameras on the market just really couldn’t keep up with the far less Jurassic feeling products made by a number of other companies. Sony, Canon, Nikon, and even Ricoh tended to run marathons around Sigma’s autofocus and Sigma’s battery life was just never all there. But now, there potentially is a large amount of hope.

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Shooting Landscapes: Exploiting the Benefits of Medium Format

Guest Blog post written by Matt Lief Anderson. All images by Matt Lief Anderson.

A lot of things need to come together for me to snap the shutter. The light needs to be right and the composition needs to be perfect. A lot of times this can mean a lot of waiting, moving closer to the subject, or a lens change before I feel like taking the photo. When I feel like the time is right, I take the shot. Sometimes the photo comes out the way I envisioned, but most of the time it doesn’t. That’s when more adjustments come into play and it’s that type of problem solving that makes photography so difficult. You can take hundreds of photos before you feel like you have the right shot. It’s a slow but rewarding process.

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The Best Portrait Lenses Under $500 That Will Take Your Images to the Next Level

Just because something is cheap it doesn’t always mean it’s bad, and these portrait lenses under $500 prove that point.

Sure, you can go out and spend big bucks on portrait lenses that will get you top results, but you can also great performance and images with more budget friendly options that will make you, and your clients say “wow”. We are always told that buying expensive lenses is the only way to get quality results, and in the past that may have rang true, but now, thanks to increasing competition between first and third party lens makers, even budget lenses perform incredibly well. When it comes to portrait lenses you want to make sure the glass you are using produces sharp images, and that color reproduction is on point. The portrait lenses listed below are what we believe to be the best options under $500. They are all razor sharp, all have excellent build quality, and they all punch well above their weight. Here are our picks for best portrait lenses under $500.

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5 Pieces of Gear an Aspiring Portrait Photographer Needs and Why

Making people come to life in images can be tricky, but portrait photographers know how to get the best out of their models.

No matter how good we are with people, we can benefit from the help of accessories in our line of work. If you are an aspiring portrait photographer, your charm and wit will serve you well, but being prepared from an equipment standpoint will do you well too. You don’t need to break the bank to be ready, but there are some key items that will help make you a successful portrait photographer.

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