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This is the easiest way to stop screwing up your lines on-camera

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Speaking to a camera is rarely an easy thing. Even for seasoned professionals, it can take several takes to get all the words out without screwing something up. Most YouTubers understand this problem intimately. But there is an easy tool to help you stop flubbing your lines, shoot in fewer takes and ultimately take less time to shoot your videos.

In this behind the scenes look at how he shoots his videos, YouTuber Manny Ortiz walks us through the gear he uses to create his videos, including his favourite tool to stop him messing up his lines, the Parrot Teleprompter 2.

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Dear introverted photographers, here are five tips for successfully working with people

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If you’re an introvert, you may find it very difficult and even exhausting to work with people. Naturally, it makes it more difficult to work as a photographer in certain genres. But there are ways to deal with it. In this video,teams up with fellow YouTuber, photographer, and introvert Taylor Jackson. They share some tips for all you introverted photographers to help you work with people and feel less awkward.

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Tests show the Eye AF on the Canon EOS R nails it after latest firmware update

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Earlier this year, firmware update brought Sony-like Eye AF to Canon EOS R. But is it really harder, better, faster, stronger than before? Well, Manny Ortiz got to test it out in some tricky lighting conditions, and it turns out Canon nailed it! In the fun video below, Manny demonstrates Canon R’s improved Eye AF in action and shares some of his impressions.

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This is what it looks like to shoot portraits at absurd 900mm

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One would say that shooting portraits with a 400mm or 500mm lens is overkill. Absurd, even. But what shooting portraits at 900mm? Manny Ortiz teamed up with Irene Rudnyk and Gerald Undone to find out. They used a Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens for shooting portraits, and to make things even more absurd, they paired with an APS-C Sony a6400. In other words, they shot portraits at around 900mm equivalent and it looks like they had a lot of fun doing this crazy experiment.

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Here’s what happens when photographer and model switch roles

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As a portrait photographer, have you ever wondered what it’s like for your models to be in front of the camera? In this super-amusing video, Manny Ortiz and his most photographed model – his wife – walked in each other’s shoes. Manny became Diana’s model for a day, and she was the photographer, and they show us what it looks like when a photographer and a model switch roles.

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Getting out of creative rut: what happens when a portrait photographer tries to shoot street photos

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I believe we all hate it when we get stuck in a creative rut. But hey, it happens, and there are ways to overcome it. One of the ways to get out of it is to try a different genre, and that’s exactly what Manny Ortiz did. The portrait photographer hit the streets and tried something new – street photography. It didn’t go quite as he expected, but he learned a lesson that will be valuable to all of you who are currently experiencing the creative block.

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Photographers, this is why you should stop comparing yourself to others

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As photographers, I believe all of us frequently look at other people’s work in order to admire it, to learn, and draw inspiration from it. But many of us also compare ourselves to others, and it can become toxic. In this video, Manny Ortiz discusses why we should stop comparing our work to other photographers’, and suggests what to do instead.

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What happens when photography gives you anxiety?

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If you suffer from anxiety, making art is one of the things that help to keep it under control. Many photographers use this medium to beat anxiety, and I am one of them. But, what happens when photography doesn’t reduce your anxiety, but triggers it instead? Manny Ortiz has this issue, despite being a professional photographer for years. He shares his experience in this video, so if you have the same problem, this is something you’ll want to watch.

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A Sony shooter’s review of the Nikon Z6

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It’s always interesting to see camera reviews from shooters of systems other than that to which the camera they’re reviewing belongs. There is no doubt that photographer Manny Ortiz is well and truly a Sony shooter after switching from Canon several years ago, but he’s started branching out lately to try the other brands and see what they have to offer.

In this video, he tests out the Nikon Z6 along with the 35mm f/1.8 Z & 50mm f/1.8 Z lenses as well as the Nikon 105mm f/1.4 F mount lens with the FTZ adapter on an urban shoot in Downtown Chicago. As a Sony shooter, his thoughts on the Nikon are quite interesting.

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Why is the photography community so toxic?

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This is a pretty interesting video from Manny Ortiz talking about an observation that I think a lot of people have come to notice over the last couple of years. And that’s that the photography community, particularly online, can be extremely toxic. To the point where I’ve actually seen people give up photography completely due to the harrassment they’ve received online.

Is it the same in the real world? outside of Facebook and other social media? That’s what Manny believes, but I’m not entirely sure. It definitely exists more online, but it’s still definitely out there in the real world, too.

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