Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
In September 2016 my Photography Agents, Vaughn-Hannigan, abruptly closed their doors after 10 years in business. Since then I have been without an agent, representing myself, and I thought I would look back and ask the question which has been lingering with me through this time:
To Agent or not to Agent?
If you are just starting out with photography, you’re learning about plenty of new concepts. Depth of field is one of them. Although it’s one of the essential elements to understand, it can be overwhelming if you’re completely new to it. Therefore, I have come up with the ultimate beginner’s guide to controlling depth of field with lens aperture. While I focus on nature photography, you’ll find this guide handy regardless of the genre you generally shoot. So, let’s get right into it!
On May 30, 2019, controversial free stock photo site Unsplash announced that it crossed the 1 million images uploaded mark.
That had much of the photo blogosphere up in arms.
Many photographers hate Unsplash because it encourages people to give away their pictures for nothing — not even credit.
But, I’m going to argue that Unsplash’s 1 million photo milestone is no big deal — outside of stock photography, at least.
Getting to play with a prototype camera is a little like Christmas morning mixed with Texas Hold’em. There is a childlike excitement in getting to be one of the first in the world to try something totally new, yet it’s also a gamble, and even the best strategy can change with the flip of a card.
You can spend hours preparing for a certain shot, setting up the lights, setting the scene, and then in a flash some odd warning can pop up on the screen and you can’t consult Google or call customer service as, chances are, nobody else has had this problem yet.
Last year I joined my local photography club. The club holds regular competitions and I was amazed by the quality of the bird and wildlife photographs. I’ve never been much of a natural history photographer. So it’s not surprising that my own photographs did very poorly in competitions. In particular, a judge criticised a woodpecker photograph that I submitted because it was clearly on a bird feeder. “Hand of man!” he said as he dismissed my attempt.
Clients often ask whether they can have their photos in black & white. My reply is always that I’ll do black and white versions in the gallery if they work.
If they help the image shout “look at me”.
Last year I had written an article about why I don’t shoot at conventions. A lot of it was for logistical reasons (not enough space, the time pressure, no guarantee that the spot you wanted to use won’t be taken up by others when you want to shoot, etc). But some of it was for creative reasons. The primary one being that when you have all of these factors that are forcing how exactly you have to shoot it doesn’t leave a lot of leeway for creative interpretation. Secondly when there’s so many people around doing the same thing it’s a lot more difficult to stand out as an artist if everyone from that event is putting out work that looks similar.
I have seen so many posts across various websites and facebook groups this week all centred around one theme – wedding photography. Wedding season is well and truly upon us and I guess that everyone who’s getting married this summer has already booked their photographer. But their guests who are getting married next year or the year after? They’re the ones probably starting to think about who’s going to photograph their big day. And it’s a huge decision to make.
Let’s face it. Half the articles sharing “the top tips” for you to capture better landscape images are rather generic. Sure, straightening the horizon and photographing during the golden hour may have a positive impact on your photos but will they make you a better photographer?
Instead of looking at those basics, I want to share 7 slightly different but equally important suggestions. These tips aren’t going to instantly improve your photography but they’re aimed at making you a better photographer. Take the time to learn and try them, and I think you’ll start seeing a difference in the near future.
Like tiny crystal balls, water droplets can add a magical element to macro photographs. There are a number of moving parts to consider, but the basic concept is simple: a spherical droplet can act like a lens, refracting light from whatever is behind it.
Getting good droplets can be problematic, as most surfaces will cause water to spread out rather than to bead up nicely. Using just plain water (no glycerine or other additives), one of the easiest foreground objects to use is a dandelion seed:
You can find out more about John on his website and follow his adventures on YouTube and Facebook.
can change a lens mid-rappel, swap a memory card while treading water, or use a camel as a light stand.
To see more of his work please visit his studio website blurMEDIAphotography, or follow him on Twitter, 500px, Google Plus or YouTube.
JP’s photography is available for licensing at Stocksy United.
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