Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Cathy Seaver, a commercial photographer in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She works primarily for Cull Group shooting product, corporate headshots, and other client needs. In her off time, Cathy enjoys getting out into nature to shoot what she sees around her. She is also an avid horseback rider, enjoying her time in the saddle on trails and playing around with a bit of dressage. Check out her work on Instagram. Shooting commercially, a photographer doesn’t necessarily get to choose what they are shooting, … [Read more...] about Turning a Boring Shoot Into an Inspired Photo Session
creative
Getting Creative With Instagram’s Multiple Photos Feature
Recently Instagram added the “multiple photos” feature, where an image post can include up to 10 images and/or videos which you can swipe through. Although sharing an album of shots from a trip or shoot is the most obvious choice, I am always on the lookout for new ways to share my work and the stories behind it. Below are some creative ways to use multiple photos in my Instagram posts, as well as a short primer on how to use this new feature. Ideas for Things You Can Do with Multiple Photos Action Sequence (See it on Instagram. Best … [Read more...] about Getting Creative With Instagram’s Multiple Photos Feature
Photographer of the Day – Regina Pagles
Photographer: Regina Pagles - Captain Spaghetti Head Hi everyone! Kristina Sherk here – I am excited to present today’s portrait photographer of the day, the very talented Regina Pagles! This is such a great shot, it totally made me smile this morning when I found it in the Photofocus Flickr community. Regina has amazing vision and excellent compositing skills, see for yourself! The subject of this image is a local owner of a restaurant in town. We agree, Regina, Alex looks great with spaghetti on his head! I’m definitely inspired to have … [Read more...] about Photographer of the Day – Regina Pagles
Using Shutter Speed Creatively To Blur Your Image
Using shutter speed to create a blur in your images is one of many tools in your photography toolbox. Here are some techniques to consider: 1. Panning. When panning, as you press down the shutter release button you follow the motion of your subject with your camera, from right to left, or left to right. The goal is to keep your subject as sharp as possible in your resulting image, with the background blurred. Panning is hard to get right. It requires practice and luck. The key is to move your camera at the same speed as your subject … [Read more...] about Using Shutter Speed Creatively To Blur Your Image
Photographer of the Day: Tobias Gawrisch
Category: Creative Photograph: Street, by Ric Rus Originally shared on the Photofocus Flickr community right here. To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photographer of the Day: Tobias Gawrisch
You Don’t Have To
“When clients demand something, it’s mediocre at best. You don’t have to shoot it the way they want you to shoot it.” Ewan and Brianna Phelan (out of this world amazing boudoir photographers you can read about here) said this once at a seminar I was lucky enough to be present for and the statement really resonated with me. In wedding photography, we often get wrapped up in client requests that make us groan. Not only for the simple reason that they “saw it on Pinterest” and it’s blatant plagiarism to be copying the exact image, but from the … [Read more...] about You Don’t Have To
Photo of the Day: London 2015
Category: Creative Photograph: London 2015, by Karina Ter Originally shared on the Photofocus Facebook community right here. To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photo of the Day: London 2015
Photo of the Day: A Spy in the Midst
Category: Creative Photograph: A Spy in the Midst, by Johnny [Shakedown] Originally shared on the Photofocus Flickr community right here. To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photo of the Day: A Spy in the Midst
Photo of the Day: Architecture – Past and Present
Category: Architecture Photograph: Architecture: Past and Present, by Manuel Buetti. Originally shared on the Photofocus Flickr community, right here. To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photo of the Day: Architecture – Past and Present
Photo of the Day: Isolated
Category: Creative Photograph: Isolated, by Thibault Roland Originally shared on the Photofocus Facebook community . To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photo of the Day: Isolated
Photo of the Day: Solitude
Category: Creative Photograph: Solitude, by Bernd Weller Originally shared on the Photofocus Facebook community . To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photo of the Day: Solitude
Photo of the Day: Friends Forever!
Category: Creative Photograph: Friends Forever!, by Saffat iptida Originally shared on the Photofocus Flickr community right here. To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photo of the Day: Friends Forever!
Photo of the Day: Spotlight / Blue Gel
Category: Creative Photograph: Spotlight / Blue Gel, by Michi Nas Originally shared on the Photofocus Facebook community right here. To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photo of the Day: Spotlight / Blue Gel
Photo of the Day: Together we Stay Strong
Category: Creative Photograph: Together we Stay Strong, by Arto Leppnen Originally shared on the Photofocus Flickr community right here. To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photo of the Day: Together we Stay Strong
Photo of the Day: Cooler Study II
Category: Creative Photograph: Cooler Study II, by Liz Glass Originally shared on the Photofocus Flickr community right here. To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photo of the Day: Cooler Study II
Photo of the Day: Day Lily
Category: Creative Photograph: Day Lily, by Joe_R Originally shared on the Photofocus Flickr community right here. To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photo of the Day: Day Lily
Photo of the Day: My Daughter
Category: Family Photograph: My Daughter, by Valerie Kuepper Originally shared on the Photofocus Facebook community . To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photo of the Day: My Daughter
Photo of the Day: Under the Pier
Category: Creative Photograph: Under the Pier, by Kevin Britton Originally shared on the Photofocus Flickr community right here. To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photo of the Day: Under the Pier
Photo of the Day: Shelf
Category: Creative Photograph: "Shelf", by Marcel Theriault Originally shared on the Photofocus Facebook community . To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photo of the Day: Shelf
Photo of the Day: Laundry
Category: Creative. Photograph: Laundry by Richard Johnson Originally shared on the Photofocus Google Plus community right here. To learn how your work can be featured on the site, please read this article. … [Read more...] about Photo of the Day: Laundry
Lightroom Hangout: From Download to Mobile and Everywhere in Between: The Workflow Episode, with Vanelli and Nick Minore
You gotta join us live for our next Google+ Hangout, totally free of charge. Not only will you learn terrific techniques, but if you tune in live, you can be entered to win excellent prizes to help you in your work. (Note: MUST BE TUNED IN LIVE TO WIN). We kick of Thursday 3/26, 1:00pm Eastern, 10:00am Pacific/ 1:00pm Eastern. RSVP here and it'll show your local time. Starting with downloading from a memory card all the way to publishing finished photographs on the interwebs, these experts will open your eyes to terrific techniques for making … [Read more...] about Lightroom Hangout: From Download to Mobile and Everywhere in Between: The Workflow Episode, with Vanelli and Nick Minore
Ship or Shut Up
"What you do for a living is not be creative, what you do is ship." Seth Godin At the bottom of this post, you will find a video recently posted by a good friend of mine who owns small game publishing house. He and his partner are well-respected in their industry for delivering quality products that their audience love. So, when he posted this as a call to all creatives, I had to make time to watch. I wasn't disappointed. As creatives, we live and die by our ability to see the world, real or imagined, differently than the average … [Read more...] about Ship or Shut Up
Valuing The Creative
I watched the Kennedy Center Honors recently. It is an annual event where several iconic artists are recognized for lifetime achievement. The honors are named after President John F. Kennedy. (This is not about politics.) if you are reading this blog its highly likely you at least partly support the arts and if you don't, I hope you will after reading what I have to say. President Kennedy had a deep and abiding respect for the arts. He dedicated more resources to the arts than most Presidents. Inscribed on the walls of the Kennedy Centers … [Read more...] about Valuing The Creative
The Real Student Struggle
I'm a formal student of photography and probably will be a life-long student of it, and I'm faced with constant struggles in class. Although fighting through the completion of degree (that doesn't necessarily help you to not become a starving artist) is a very real, hefty and common problem that students face, there are deeper and more dampening issues for those photography protgs--especially for those who have been fueled by their passion and took it upon themselves to study and experiment, which includes me. While every student's education … [Read more...] about The Real Student Struggle
No Tripod – No Problem – Improvise
There are lots of times a tripod comes in handy. Of course you might not have one on hand when you need it most. Here are three of my favorite techniques to overcome the lack of a tripod. Swaddle the Camera This technique works best for time-lapse. Take a sweatshirt or jacket and ball it into a nest of sorts. The camera literally sits inside the nest which absorbs vibration and keeps the body from falling over. Find a Bar This technique is best for HDR or low-light shooting. Find a railing, a park bench, a garbage can even. The key is to … [Read more...] about No Tripod – No Problem – Improvise
Making Meaning As A Creative
Eric Maisel: Making Meaning Through Creativity from Omega Institute on Vimeo. With a hat-tip to my favorite writing blog (onewildword.com) I'd like to share a video that is designed for novelists but which applies 100% to photographers who are searching for a way to be a creative. Two minutes that might change your opinion on creativity. _______________________ … [Read more...] about Making Meaning As A Creative
Creatives: Are You Your Own Worst Enemy?
This is a photography-centric web site, photography is a creative endeavor for most. I try to post things here that will inspire all creatives, no matter how they express themselves. Today is no exception. But today's post may be one of the most translatable I've written. It's about self-doubt. I speak or teach at most photo conferences (although I have scaled back to rest and relax and give others a chance to share their views) and the thing I find most common is that photographers are often their own worst enemy. They are filled with angst … [Read more...] about Creatives: Are You Your Own Worst Enemy?
How To Find The Courage To Be Creative
Photography (practiced at its highest levels) is a creative endeavor. But creativity takes courage. It takes more courage than you may think. While many of you are focused on trying something just because it's NEW - you don't get to REALLY test your courage until you try something YOU! This post applies to any art, but I am aiming at photographers because I know many of you are struggling with this. So please read on. It's hard to be vulnerable - especially in this day and age when people can say anything they want anonymously about you … [Read more...] about How To Find The Courage To Be Creative
Seven Ways Photographers Can Improve Their Creative Workflow
Photographers tend to fixate on post-production workflow but might be better-served if they concentrated on their creative workflow first. Here are seven ways that photographers can improve their creative workflow. 1. Keep an idea book. It can be a journal, it can be a box full of pictures you like, it can be a series of web-based bookmarks - but keep a stash of supportive, inspirational ideas on hand and work on this during your non-shooting time. 2. Schedule time to shoot - preferably every day. Make it part of your routine. If you … [Read more...] about Seven Ways Photographers Can Improve Their Creative Workflow
Take Pictures or Make Pictures? The Choice is Yours!
Photo and post by Rick Sammon. . Check out this photograph. I took the portrait of a Native Alaskan in the doorway of his smoky hut, deep within the forest of a remote part of Americas rugged and remote Northwest Territory. His American name is David Ramos and his native Alaskan name is Aaskuwat'eesh. He is a Raven, of the Gineixkwaan clan of the Owl house. His owl headdress is made of abalone shells, ermine fur, rabbit fur and sea lion whiskers. To signify the Owl house, David is wearing a sewn beaded owl around his neck. He is also wearing … [Read more...] about Take Pictures or Make Pictures? The Choice is Yours!
