REVIEWS
Join us for these live webinars
March 3 at 1 p.m. ET: Intelligent Assist with Richard Kerris
Learn all about artificial intelligence and how it impacts creative industries. Join Rich Harrington, along with Richard Kerris from NVIDIA, to discuss the latest in AI. Reserve your spot >
Industry news
In this guide, we’ll be discussing brand identity tools and how they are used to align your brand and ensure you are not confusing potential customers. Let’s dive in. Brand identity tools When it comes to branding your photography business,...
Industry news
In this guide, we’ll be discussing brand identity tools and how they are used to align your brand and ensure you are not confusing potential customers. Let’s dive in. Brand identity tools When it comes to branding your photography business,...
Latest news
The latest
Magical moments in night photography: The loudness of silence
Ken Lee
Sometimes we have these moments in nature. They may seem magical. Spiritual. Transcendent. Inspiring. Humbling. But whatever it is, we are left with an indelible
Using constant lighting for shooting film in low light locations
Joy Celine Asto
Whatever your chosen medium, good lighting is crucial when shooting portraits indoors. If you find it difficult to work with flash for your film photography,
Organize your photo collection: A few tips
Lauri Novak
Not everyone who owns a camera is a serious hobbyist or professional. For those who just want to take photos and share, print and save
Go back to the basics with this free photography fundamentals course
Photofocus Team
Photography isn’t just the act of capturing the action. Rather it’s important that a photographer compose their shots. In photography, composition is a visual language.
Support the Photofocus team by shopping with our partners
Software
Adding a split tone to transform the mood of a black and white image
Vanelli
Toning is a powerful creative tool. It corrects overall brightness and contrast for a better-balanced image. It can be used to get the right tonal
Use negative space like a boss for awesome social media
Michèle Grenier
Looking to create awesome visuals for your social media feed? Here’s how to use negative space like a boss!
ALSO
Community spotlight
This week we’re getting to know community member, Susan Liepa. Susan is from Orange County, California and enjoys many aspects of photography as you can see in her images. Haven’t joined the Photofocus Community yet? Sign up for free today! How did you get started in photography? I posted family photos on Flickr and began to notice how much better
Susan Liepa, passionate hobby photographer
This week we’re getting to know community member, Susan Liepa. Susan is from Orange County, California and enjoys many aspects of photography as you can see in her images. Haven’t joined the Photofocus Community yet? Sign up for free today! How did you get started in photography? I posted family photos on Flickr and began to notice how much better
Stop squeezing yourself into a box
As photographers, we often want to squeeze ourselves into a box. We want to know how to define ourselves so our clients understand what we do better. While this might be a good idea in some instances, for the most part, it impacts you negatively. By limiting what you do,…
Want more updates from Photofocus?
Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest from Photofocus delivered each week.
Featured videos
- LIVE
The Photographer Show, Episode 8: Jeff Moreau
51:53
Kids on Pics, episode 1: Getting started with your iPad camera
01:11
What subjects to shoot for stock video and photography
09:47
The benefits of an extension arm
02:09
More from Photofocus
Avoiding the harsh, direct flash look
Bryan Esler
One of the biggest reasons why I don’t like pop-up flashes is that it gives uneven, harsh lighting directed at your subject. Even with an on-camera speedlight, the same effect can happen. And while you can play around with the power output of your speedlight, there are other ways to
Why v-flats are a must-have for studio photography
Joy Celine Asto
When building a studio setup for portrait work, lights and modifiers should never go missing. However, these tools tend to be too expensive especially when bought all at the same time. If you’re thinking of putting together a simple setup to start with, one of the most useful and cost-effective
Easy high key lighting with two lights
Rick Friedman
Creating high key light is making sure there is enough light on your background so it is pure white, with no shadows. This can be done using strobes or LEDs or a mixture of both types of light. There are several ways to do this. My favorite way to accomplish high
A decade of travel immortalized in nostalgic Polaroid snaps
Joy Celine Asto
In its heyday, the Polaroid was a staple of family travels, getaways near and far and countless road trips. So, it’s not surprising that today’s film photographers still bring Polaroid cameras — vintage or otherwise — to their scenic adventures. Among them is Portland-based photographer and visual artist Brendon Burton,
Seeing the final image while photographing
Lauri Novak
Do you ever see a photographer’s final image and wonder how they got so lucky? How were they in the right place, at the right time, with just the right lighting and just the right moment to capture the perfect image? It’s not luck. Well, maybe once in a while
Simple tips for taking stunning photos with a kit lens
Joy Celine Asto
When you’re starting out with photography and have just decided to get your first camera, you’ll most likely be using a kit lens — or the lens that initially comes with your camera — for a while. This lens typically regarded as all-around, low-budget lens that is inferior in quality
Four tips for creating beautiful cinematic photography
Joy Celine Asto
Not so long ago, we shared some tips on how to draw inspiration from movies to improve your cinematic photography. Today, we’d like to add more to that with some insights from Oklahoma-based cinematographer Spenser Sakurai. In the video above, he shared his four tips on creating great cinematic imagery
Just keep training: Photography is a skill as much as it is a passion
Sean McLean
Just like with sports, if you don’t train then you won’t perform very well. Is this another article about keeping inspired during Covid-19? Not quite, but it is about keeping in practice. Keep training You need to keep your eye trained. You need to identify quality light, notice angles that
Today at 1 p.m. ET: Intelligent Assist, with NVIDIA’s Richard Kerris
Photofocus Team
Be sure to join us today, March 3, 2021, for the first episode of our new webinar, Intelligent Assist! This month, Rich Harrington will be joined by Richard Kerris, General Manager, Media and Entertainment at NVIDIA. They’ll discuss the prevalence of artificial intelligence when it comes to photo editing. Richard’s
Save on gear from Tamron, Nikon, Olympus, Sigma and more
Photofocus Team
B&H has some great deals this week on cameras, lenses and more. Below are some of our favorites; you can see all the deals at bhphotovideo.com. Cameras and lenses Tamron 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3 Di III RXD for Sony E: $499; savings of $50 (read our review) Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC
Magical moments in night photography: The loudness of silence
Ken Lee
Sometimes we have these moments in nature. They may seem magical. Spiritual. Transcendent. Inspiring. Humbling. But whatever it is, we are left with an indelible memory. The hike to nowhere We began our May hike to nowhere. This was the middle of the desert. There were almost no cars. No
Using constant lighting for shooting film in low light locations
Joy Celine Asto
Whatever your chosen medium, good lighting is crucial when shooting portraits indoors. If you find it difficult to work with flash for your film photography, you might want to consider using constant or continuous lighting instead. As with flash, you can use it bare, pair with modifiers, place behind scrims
Organize your photo collection: A few tips
Lauri Novak
Not everyone who owns a camera is a serious hobbyist or professional. For those who just want to take photos and share, print and save them for the future, here are some things you can do to help keep your photo collection a bit more organized. Duplicates, bad images and
Go back to the basics with this free photography fundamentals course
Photofocus Team
Photography isn’t just the act of capturing the action. Rather it’s important that a photographer compose their shots. In photography, composition is a visual language. Changing composition can completely alter the mood and tone of an image. Photos can be jarring or soothing, vast or constrained. In this chapter, instructor
Avoiding the harsh, direct flash look
Bryan Esler
One of the biggest reasons why I don’t like pop-up flashes is that it gives uneven, harsh lighting directed at your subject. Even with an on-camera speedlight, the same effect can happen. And while you can play around with the power output of your speedlight, there are other ways to
Why v-flats are a must-have for studio photography
Joy Celine Asto
When building a studio setup for portrait work, lights and modifiers should never go missing. However, these tools tend to be too expensive especially when bought all at the same time. If you’re thinking of putting together a simple setup to start with, one of the most useful and cost-effective
Easy high key lighting with two lights
Rick Friedman
Creating high key light is making sure there is enough light on your background so it is pure white, with no shadows. This can be done using strobes or LEDs or a mixture of both types of light. There are several ways to do this. My favorite way to accomplish high
A decade of travel immortalized in nostalgic Polaroid snaps
Joy Celine Asto
In its heyday, the Polaroid was a staple of family travels, getaways near and far and countless road trips. So, it’s not surprising that today’s film photographers still bring Polaroid cameras — vintage or otherwise — to their scenic adventures. Among them is Portland-based photographer and visual artist Brendon Burton,
Seeing the final image while photographing
Lauri Novak
Do you ever see a photographer’s final image and wonder how they got so lucky? How were they in the right place, at the right time, with just the right lighting and just the right moment to capture the perfect image? It’s not luck. Well, maybe once in a while
Simple tips for taking stunning photos with a kit lens
Joy Celine Asto
When you’re starting out with photography and have just decided to get your first camera, you’ll most likely be using a kit lens — or the lens that initially comes with your camera — for a while. This lens typically regarded as all-around, low-budget lens that is inferior in quality