Stone Field Reverie

For this lesson, photographer Jay P. Morgan was in New York City shooting in Times Square. He wanted to explore shooting bokeh with all the intense lighting of Times Square. The term “bokeh” is Japanese and means “blur” or “haze”. Here, Morgan takes a look at different lenses and aperture settings to see how they create this cinematic look. Different lenses create different patterns and you’ll see how a 200mm lens compares to that of a 50mm lens. Read more »

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“That is such an awesome camera! No wonder you take great photos!”

If you’ve ever heard this in person, I feel sorry for you. Photographers, like most creative individuals, tend to take things very personally, and this is one of the most insulting things you could say to a photographer. I don’t need to tell you why everything is wrong about this, but because it is so frustrating to hear it, it’s very important not to get carried away in front of your client and remain calm. To defuse the situation and restore your status (also patch your damaged ego), use this anecdote: Read more »

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If you are making a living from photography, chances are some of your clients have requested all the photos from a shoot or an event, depending on the case. It is a common occurrence that I believe is due largely to a misunderstanding that people have in our work. Some photographers give in and offer all the photographs, the ones straight out of the camera, unedited. Let me assure you, this is a mistake and I will later explain why. Others refuse to do so directly, or try to steer the discussion in that direction often leaving their clients frustrated and confused. Here is why you should never give away raw files and how to explain it to your clients without harming your relationship with them. Read more »

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Thinking Creatively: Diptychs

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. But what about two pictures combined into one? When we think about a photograph, we often think about a single image. The idea seems to be to use one image to convey a subject, idea, or emotion. But we are not limited to a single photo. We can combine multiple images into one to further add to our subject or idea or emotion, and while adding too many photographs to an image may be distracting, diptychs can create quite a powerful message. Diptychs are simply images that contain two separate pictures adjacent to each other. Thinking creatively, you can create some really unique imagery with this technique. Read more »

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Photographing a car is one of those things a lot of people consider easy, but quickly reconsider once they give it a go. The truth is it is not as easy as it seems. Sure, with today’s cameras anyone can get a crisp, clean photo of a car, but if you want to do it at an artistic level or make it look like an ad, it will take a lot more than that. Photographing a car is all about highlighting the beauty of the design, capturing the exterior and interior details and about portraying the essence of the vehicle. All that requires some rather special ingredients. Read more »

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Whether you make jewelry by hand or have a collection of vintage barbie dolls, Etsy is a great place to sell your goods, and although they are well-know and have a great community, success doesn’t always come easy. But one thing you can do to improve sales is to show off your items with great photography. Products on any website are easy to pass by when the photo of said product is low quality and poorly lit. Having high quality photos on your site tells the consumer that you are professional about your business and your work. Read more »

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Portfolios are the equivalent to a resume when looking to get a job in photography or submitting to be in an exhibition, except that portfolios are far more critical. In a resume, you can say that you’ve done electrical work for ten years and you can show and tell your potential employer your skills, but he can’t actually see the work that you’ve done. In photography, it doesn’t matter how many years you’ve been shooting or how many cameras you have or how many photos you’ve taken. It’s all about your best work; it’s about those few images that make up your portfolio, and in many cases, you only get one shot. So it’s good to know a few things about creating a great portfolio. Read more »

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When you step outside and notice it’s a bright sunny day, there’s nothing you want to do more than grab your camera and get out to enjoy the fresh air. But sunny days are usually not the best time for photography. In fact, they often make many subjects look worse. On a clear day, the sun acts as a very hard light, casting sharp shadows on buildings, faces, tree, etc. Unless you have some way to balance out the sun, such as a flash or reflector, the high contrast will often make your photos look very amateurish. To avoid this, you want to shoot outside at times when you don’t have a bright overhead light bearing down on your scene. Read more »

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