“A bathroom is private, it’s the most personal space in a home, and every person has their own particular relationship to it,” clarifies commercial photographer Michael Marrero about The Bathroom Series. Locked in a house for six hours and given a confined space to shoot in, he and his team came up with some witty stills. Things did look like they got a bit out of hand during this, and Marrero tells us more about it in this interview.
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Years ago, we published an article called This Is Why Your Pictures Suck. To date, it’s one of our most popular articles. And it contains brutally honest advice from long-time photographer and podcast host Ibarionex Perello. He’s interviewed tons of photographers over the years who share their frank opinion on things. But since its original publishing in 2013, things have changed. You all have become better photographers for sure. Everyone, however, can deal with a little bit of exposure therapy. We’re not attacking anyone with our own hatreds or motivations. I’ve been on the receiving end of those, and they’re awful and moronic. So trust us, this isn’t that. They’re just plain facts. Here is why your photos suck.
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Let’s be honest here; traditional photography is starting to get boring. These days, we define traditional photography as shooting then editing. It’s monotonous. Instead, finding a way to get it right in-camera is more entertaining. And that’s why we’re fascinated by the PrismFX Centerfield Split Diopter Filter. It’s designed to inspire you to think differently. Remember when Instagram used to do the tilt-shift effect in a certain area only? Well, that’s what this is like. Except, in this case, you only have it in the center. And you can rotate it however you’d like.
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There is a term that has annoyed me for many years now. That term is Natural Light Photographer. It’s been obscured by the idea of an available light photographer. But the natural light photographer is the most pretentious smoke and mirrors talk I’ve ever heard. Lighting is easier to use these days than it has ever been. A lot of high-powered flashes have constant lights built into them. You can use either one for your needs. But the Natural Light Photographer is one who often captures instead of creates. These days, anyone can capture: not many can create in-camera with little effort.
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“Sometimes you put things together to change their meanings, to get even more beauty,” says Thomas Koch about his project, Ferro Flowers. This was a collaborative effort between Thomas, Frederic Schlosser, and Bruno Damião. The aim of the Ferro Flowers team was to show what nature might look like in the coming years due to the effect of mankind’s actions on our planet.
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If you’ve read this site for years, you probably know about something that makes me special. I’m legally blind. You can see it in my images and even on my personal website. But the fact is that as a legally blind photographer, I still end up nailing focus and having better images than most folks. Millions of people come to this site to trust the reviews I write and the work that I oversee amongst the staff. So you’ve got to wonder then how a blind guy gets so far, right? I mean, this is a photography blog, after all. Well, I’m going to get personal and hope that it inspires someone out there.
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“By applying computational photography to the Micro Four Thirds system we want to give people image quality more like that of a full-frame camera, at the price, size, and weight of an MFT camera…” states Liam Donovan, CTO of Alice Camera in an interview with us. In my 12 years of journalism, I can say that’s a very big claim. For the future of the camera market, I’m hoping Alice Camera can hold themselves true to it. Alice Camera is being funded on IndieGogo and promises to be completely different.
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“Many people find this incredibly difficult because it involves fully creating a scene and not just capturing it,” explains Sudhir Ramman. Indeed, Sudhir is a bright star shining at night while you’re at sea. You can’t help but not stare at his work. And a part of it is because he’s actually, truly creative. There isn’t a whole lot like the work he produces. He’s into concepts and not gear. However, Photoshop and Lightroom are very important to Sudhir. So too is natural light!
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You’re all very bored. And trust us, we are too. So, we were looking for inspiration in our own pieces. We looked at a number of photography projects that photographers do when they’re bored or commit to a project. On our Flipboard, we rounded up a few things. There are photographers doing projects at home, fun projects, dealing with anxiety creatively, taking early morning walks, and seeing what photographers are doing now. And we discussed that in our recent episode of Pro Camera Reviews.
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I’m writing this article partially because someone asked me about how to get your work into a gallery. But I’m also writing it because I’m honestly not even sure that galleries are worth it anymore. Are they cool? Sure! When we’re all vaccinated against the pandemic, and we go back to a semblance of what the world was before, that might change. However, I think that the way the public views photography isn’t necessarily as art anymore. At least, traditional capturing isn’t really necessarily art. There’s too low of a barrier of entry for lots of folks.
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My name is Adrienne Catanese, and I am a female emerging fine art photographer living and working in Long Island, NY. My current work is mostly conceptual still life created in my “studio” (read: tiny kitchen), but I also love shooting on-location portrait sessions, street photography, etc.
I am primarily a digital photographer; my gear is minimal: one Canon 5D Mark III body, one Canon 24-105 f4 lens (L series, came with the MarkIII), a cheap Amazon tripod, cheap Amazon speedlights, cheap Amazon triggers. I have a Canon T6 Rebel and a nifty-fifty that I carry for back-up when shooting weddings / paid jobs.
I’m writing this blog post fully admitting that I haven’t done a truly creative project or even image in a little while. It’s been well over two years since I’ve given myself a project and a few months since I created an image. When I say create, I don’t mean document. I don’t mean put a light in front of a model and just shoot. I mean full set creation, manually controlling every aspect of the scene, an original idea, etc. What I’ve known for many years is that new cameras don’t make you a better photographer. They help you do new things that you couldn’t do before if you use certain features, but at the end of it all, you’re the one who creates the images. And a solid creative can shoot sports with a pinhole camera in a very unique way that only they can do.
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If you’re going on a photo walk, then there is a strong chance you’re doing it for fun or trying to clear your mind.
Sometimes I think photographers (especially professionals) do too much to harm one another in fears of competition instead of working to boost one another. But after years of photo walking, I can’t begin to tell you how much enlightenment I’ve gained from talking to others and spread in kind. Of course, it requires breaks and some time to pass between walks, or at least a variety of people to walk with, but we can truly help one another. With all of this should be candidness and transparency with one another. Above all, I think what is required is good intentions with one another.
You can make dreamlike, surreal images with long exposure photography, and this guide will show you how.
Long exposure photography in itself is not very difficult to master; anyone can set a camera on a tripod and can slow the shutter speed down enough to cause some blur in the clouds or rushing water. But, do you know how to create captivating images that aren’t the same thing everyone else is creating? Can you create otherworldly long exposure images that tell a story? This new long exposure photography guide from Sharon Tenenbaum will teach you how to make images that will blow your mind and set you apart from the rest. The best part is that, for a limited time, you can pick up this tutorial for just $29. Join us after the break to find out more about this deal. Continue reading…
Your options are limitless when it comes to travel photography, so why copy everyone else?
Open Instagram and type in the name of any landmark or any iconic place anywhere in the world and you will see hundreds of thousands, sometimes even millions of images that all look the same. Travel photography is nothing new; capturing images of the places we visit is a favorite pastime of many. But why do we feel the need to copy images that have been taken before? A new app has just been released that makes us ask this question, and we have to wonder if services like Instagram and apps like Explorest are killing the desire to make original content. Lets explore this a little further after the break. Continue reading…
Some believe Professional photography is under siege; they don’t believe it can survive the onslaught and rise to new heights, but is that really the case?
10 years ago or so, if someone had said professional photography will die due to ultra affordable cameras and powerful smartphone cameras, professional photographers would have roared out with laughter so loud it would have been heard in camera shops and studios around the globe. But here we are in 2019 where everyone with an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy something-or-other can take really great quality pictures. Couple this with the fact that cheap, yet powerful DSLR and Mirrorless camera kits sold at big box retailers all seem to come with a Facebook page entitled {insert name here} photography, and you can begin to see why some think the role of the professional photographer may be against the ropes. Join us after the break as we explore this a little further. Continue reading…
All photos by Valentina Corral. Used with Creative Commons permission.
Commercial photographers may seem to be missing out on fun projects to some, but it couldn’t be farther from the truth. In one of her projects, Chilean art director and photographer Valentina Corral proves to us that with some imagination and playful execution, the right concept will shine for any body of work.
The free video vault over at the Masters of Photography will inspire you to no end.
If you’re looking for a source of inspiration you’ll love what the guys and gals over at Masters of Photography have assembled. Whether you want to find out about ‘The Decisive Moment’ from Henri Cartier-Bresson, or have wondered how Martin Hartley captures stunning images from his Polar expeditions, the Masters of Photography has your back. After the break learn more about how you can watch more than a dozen inspiring videos that feature some of the greatest photographers of our time for free. Continue reading…
Why create images that look the same as everyone else’s when you can use specialty lenses and be radically different.
We as photographers always want images that are super sharp, have perfect color rendition, and have gorgeous bokeh, and while there is nothing wrong with that, ultimately a lot images that are taken end up looking the same. A quick scroll through Instagram will show you thousands of portraits or landscapes for example that are all technically perfect and pleasing to the eye, but honestly they all look the same, and it can be hard to tell one photographers work from another. It’s always nice to nail the perfect shot, but striving for perfection all the time can take the fun out of photography. These three specialty lenses will allow you to channel your creative side, be different from everyone else, and will make photography fun again. Continue reading…
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In-camera double exposures are easy-peasy when shooting with film cameras
Feeling stuck in a dry spell with your creative projects? Time to shake things up and pick up a film camera. Whether you’re doing it for the first time ever or first time in a long time, the constraints of film will definitely get you thinking about your photos and squeeze creativity out of you. One of the ways film photographers (then and especially now) get creative is by doing double exposures — in camera. We’ve got some pretty interesting examples that will get you curious to try it out yourself!
