Photo community and a contest platform Viewbug has launched a new service that helps you make money by photographing strangers. It’s called Viewbug Gigs, and it lets you upload your photos of people you take in the street, at events, at the beach, or any other place. The concept requires you to share your Viewbug profile with these people and have them buy photos of themselves that you took. The concept sounds cool, but it does have certain drawbacks, and we’ll go through them in this article.
A real-world test of the new Canon Speedlite EL-1 professional flash
The Canon Speedlite EL-1 flash was announced late last year, and like many of you, I saw the price tag and thought that I would save some money and keep using my old Canon 600EX-RT flashes. Let’s face it, at $1099 each, these things are not cheap. But about a month ago, I decided to pull the trigger and purchase two of these flashes. Even though I typically use 6 flashes when shooting events, I had a very specific use for these two new flash heads. But that would be getting ahead of myself, so let me tell you a little about these newer flashes.
The first thing I noticed when unpacking the Speedlite EL-1 is that it is noticeably larger than the previous Canon flash heads. I believe that a big part of this is the fan which is integrated inside the Speedlite EL-1. Yes, there is a fan in these to help keep them cool, even when being used heavily.
This is the one simple thing you need to know about working with bounce flash
Sometimes, as much as we might hate it, we’re forced to stick a flash on the hotshoe. Perhaps it’s something not too important and we just want a bit more light on things. But maybe it’s something very important and you really need to not screw it up. Whatever the reason, getting great light out of an on-camera flash isn’t that difficult. There’s just one thing you need to think about.
In this video, photographer Neil van Niekerk explains that one important thing and how it affects your photos in very simple and easy to understand terms. Yes, I’m going to spoil it now, but that one thing is the inverse square law. But don’t worry, there’s no maths or charts here. Just a simple practical demonstration that’ll make it easy for you to get decent shots when using on-camera flash.
How to make money as a beginner photographer
One of the age-old questions in photography, especially for beginners, is when your work can start making money? How does one even find the clients?[Read More…]
Mitsubishi reported to be leaving the photography market
I’ll bet most of you didn’t realise Mitsubishi was even in the photography market and just made Shoguns, Galants and various other 4-wheeled whatnots, right? Well, no, that’s Mitsubishi Motors. This is Mitsubishi Electric (confusing, I know) and they’ve been making dye-sub photo printers since the 80s. They’re also one of the most popular brands of on-site printer out there for event photographers.
Well, PhotoBite in the UK is reporting that Mitsubishi Electric is getting out of not only the photography printing market but also the medical printing sector, too. They say that the news has been confirmed to them by Mitsubishi Electric’s Regional Manager for the UK, Middle East and Africa, Paul Jones.
Sony’s new “Visual Story” app for iOS creates AI-curated galleries for wedding and event photographers
Sony has launched a new Visual Story app for iOS aimed squarely at wedding and event photographers. Or at least, ones that shoot Sony cameras. It allows for easy editing, gallery creation, cloud storage and web delivery solutions to get your images to your clients as quickly as possible.
Visual Story is a free app for Sony & iOS users. It utilises automated image transfer from compatible Sony mirrorless cameras to the cloud, after which users can instantly edit and deliver digital albums to their clients. And to help you with camera metadata and image selection, it uses AI to help pick your best images.
Read this before you ask event photographers for photos
Any event photographer gets tons of requests from people asking for specific photos from an event. Sometimes they will acquiesce, but often not. Don’t nag them if they don’t get back to you or say no.
Here’s why (TL;DR at end).
This is why location scouting is so important for destination and event photographers
I’m lucky with my photography. It’s almost all on location, but I mostly get to choose the location myself. They’re places I’m familiar with, that I’ve scouted regularly for several years. So I know what to expect when I show up, where the light’s going to fall at different times of day or year. For a lot of photographers shooting on location, though, you’re often in locations you’re only just seeing for the first time.
Photographer and YouTuber, Rob Hall, recently shot a wedding at a venue in another state he’d never been to before. But the first thing he did when he arrived at the location was to go and location scout the area. In the 8-minute video, Rob talks about how to do that and why it’s so important.
The complete A – Z guide to becoming an event photographer
Are you thinking about becoming an event photographer? This article will begin by giving you some insight into what the job entails and the beginning steps for getting started. By its end you should have a fundamental roadmap for getting started.
Behind the scenes and some tips for shooting video in the dark at high ISO
Shooting a wedding is a demanding task on its own. But add low light and no flash to the equation, and you get a bit more stress and challenge. In this video, Taylor Jackson takes you behind the scene of a wedding he had to shoot in very low light without the flash. He shows you his workflow but also shares a couple of great tips if you ever find yourself in a similar situation.
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