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How to become an overnight success, and other mythical tales

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The average overnight success takes around 10 years. Yes, you read that correctly, and I’m not joking. That’s in most creative fields, not just photography. So how long does it take to become a professional photographer? By professional, I mean able to derive the majority of your income from photography or photography-related activities. My gut response is that again, it takes most people around 10 years to really make any kind of headway. Quicker than that can happen of course, but it’s usually an anomaly.

Scott from Tin House Studio gives us his thoughts in this honest and candid video. Amazingly he’s dropped around 300 videos now on YouTube. Impressive if that’s part of your strategy and it goes to show that showing up and being consistent will always win. Here are his thoughts on how long it takes to become a successful pro photographer.

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7 tips for shooting sharper landscape photographs

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No matter what genere we shoot, photographers always seem to be on a quest for sharper images. No matter how sharp they may already be, we’re always trying to squeeze just a little more sharpness performance out of our cameras and lenses. There are a few things we can do though, particularly for landscape photographers, that don’t involve going out and buying more expensive lenses.

In this video, landscape photographer Mike Smith walks us through seven of his top tips for getting sharper images when shooting landscapes. Some of them you may already know and apply to your own photography, but there are probably at least one or two that you might not have tried.

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How to use a ring light with colourful backdrops for amazing portraits

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I share a lot of lighting setups on here and every time I do, not only am I trying to share something unique, but I’m also trying to share something that’s practical and easy to implement for as many people as possible.

For the most part, I think I achieve that and although not everybody has access to all the kit I do, I still believe that certain elements of every setup I share are accessible by all. This is me trying to soften the blow of this week’s setup, as although not everybody will own all of this kit, cheap alternatives are viable and failing that, at least the DIY background and basic lighting principles involved are very much achievable by all. As always, if you have any questions about any of it, don’t hesitate to drop them down below.

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Seven reasons your photos are blurry and how to fix them

Unless we choose blur for creative artistic expression, most of us want our photos to be as sharp as possible. However, it may sometimes be difficult or even impossible to achieve, which is especially the case if you’re brand new to this wonderful hobby of photography.

But Julia Trotti has you covered. In her latest video, she shares six reasons for blurry photos and how to fix them. And since I have my own experience to share, I’ll add one more at the end.

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Four ways to fix a shiny polaroid print

If you’re like me, you largely prefer matte prints over glossy ones. And if you use an instant camera, you’ll get the super-shiny prints that you wish were matte.

Dave Knop a.k.a. knoptop will help you to make your wish come true. He suggests three methods for mattifying your shiny polaroid prints, with one of them being pretty unordinary. And as a bonus, and I’ll also suggest one of my own ideas.

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Watch: A complete 90-minute video crash course on retouching portraits

When you look at all those beautiful portraits, you may want to start shooting and editing them yourself. But then you realize that it may be more challenging than it seems. Thankfully, portrait retouching is a skill you can learn, and photographer Sean Tucker is on a mission to help you on this creative journey.

Sean has just published a series of six videos that guide you through portrait retouching techniques, tips, and tricks. There is nearly an hour and a half of video material for you to watch, learn, and follow along.

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Five tips to improve your backlit portraits on location

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I don’t know about you, but for me, backlighting a subject – especially on location – is one of the things I love to use and experiment with during portrait sessions. Whether it’s the nice bright clear sun producing a glowy halo or you’re faking it with a strobe, it’s a great way to add some interest and drama into a portrait. They can be very easy to mess up and not get the results you were expecting, though.

In this video, Julia Trotti walks us through her top five tips for shooting backlit portraits using the natural light approach. And as well as talking about the ways to shoot with backlight on location, she also points out some of the pitfalls of using the sun as a backlight and how not to shoot it so you can learn to not mess it up.

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Want to take macro wildlife photos? Start with these five tips

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Macro photography is fun and it opens up a whole new world of creative possibilities. Naturally, the same goes for macro photos of wildlife such as snakes, frogs, spiders, and other tiny creatures roaming the earth.

If you’d like to start photographing the wildlife up close, especially in remote locations, there are a few things to keep in mind. And in this video from B&H, photographer Colby Brown shares with you five tips to help you get started.

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Don’t spend a fortune on backgrounds, here are 3 ideas to make your own

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What do you use for backdrops? If you’re like most tabletop photographers you have probably built up a bit of a backdrop library, but it’s never enough, you always need another one! Perhaps a light-coloured wood effect when you only have dark wood, or a marble effect when you only have granite. It can get expensive.

Well don’t worry, Scott from Tin House Studio is here to show you how to make and repurpose backgrounds for tabletop photography, on a budget.

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Want to be a wildlife photographer? Start here

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I grew up watching wildlife documentaries and David Attenborough was always a favourite in our household. So naturally, when I started my photography journey I fantasised about photographing exotic wildlife in beautiful locations: polar bear cubs in Svalbard, emperor penguins in Antarctica, snow leopards in the Nepalese mountains. Funnily enough all cold-weather locations but maybe it’s just because we are currently in a heatwave!

Getting started in wildlife photography can seem daunting at first, but it really doesn’t have to be. You can start small, and even if you live in the middle of an urban jungle you can still find plenty of interesting wildlife to photograph. In this excellent video, wildlife photographer Roie Galitz shares his top 10 tips for beginning to shoot wildlife (with a camera obvs).

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