As an evening storm lights up the sky near Wood River, Nebraska, about 413,000 sandhill cranes—tall, bugling, crimson-capped birds—arrive to roost in the shallows of the Platte River, which is fed by the aquifer. PHOTOGRAPH BY RANDY OLSON, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC This shot happened on my last night on assignment. I was working on astory about the Ogallala Aquifer near Wood …
Van Gogh Masterpieces Reimagined with Spellbinding Tilt-Shift Effect
Vincent van Gogh is renowned for his Post-Impressionistic paintings, depicting open air scenes with lush color and swirling movement. Using Photoshop, Redditor melonshade has reimagined some of the artist’s masterpieces, blurring the backgrounds as if filtering the works through a tilt-shift lens. The digital technique appears like a modern cousin to the hyper-stylized aesthetic of the Post-Impressionism movement, warping sharper shapes …
Behind the Picture: The 2016 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year
A horseman charges across the frozen plain in Inner Mongolia. Photographer Anthony Lau captured this misty moment on his trip to the region. PHOTOGRAPH BY ANTHONY LAU, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC YOUR SHOT Nat Geo Travel spoke with the 2016 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year, Anthony Lau, to learn how he made the grand prize-winning photo. Congratulations on winning the …
How Much Should Photographers Charge In 2016?
Photography Pricing How Much? I write this annual article to help photographers with one of the toughest parts of their job, pricing their work. In the 2016 version, I’m going to add some new elements such as a little advise for photography buyers (found after the state of the industry). Another section I’m most excited about is the question and answer portion at …
How to Find Photography Inspiration
What do you do when you can’t find photography work? Pitching is a good use of time, but too much can burn out new artists. Here’s another idea: Watch every movie, go to every art gallery, and dig out every photo you can find to get new visual ideas for inspiration: This advice comes from established fashion photographer Alexi Lubomirski, who’s shot …
Photographs Are No Longer Things, They’re Experiences
TO SAY THAT digital cameras have profoundly changed photography is both true and cliché. But few of the regurgitaters of the idea can tell you exactly how. Stephen Mayes, director of VII Photo Agency, is one of those few. He argues that the rise of digital changed the very nature of photography by moving it from a fixed image to a …
QUICK TRICK FOR “HIDING THE LIGHT” FOR LOCATION SHOOTS
This is the written tutorial of something I did in my course on using Westcott Speedlight Modifiers over on KelbyOne, and the trick is a very effective, location lighting technique for a formal portrait of the bride, and part of the technique is done in camera, and then the other part in Photoshop, and the good news is — both parts are …
9 Steps to Get Over Your Fear of Off-Camera Flash
For the first three years as a professional photographer I suffered a severe case of Photophobia and Photoaugliaphobia. I tried to cover it up by saying things like, “I’m a natural light photographer” or “I really don’t like the aesthetics of flash photography”. In reality I was scared to death of using flash. I just couldn’t wrap my head around …
Lifestyle Photography: Newborns
There is nothing sweeter or more ephemeral than a newborn baby. Those sweet milk drunk smiles and three hour naps don’t last long. All parents will, at one point or another, find themselves astonished to look down at their child and realize that little baby has turned into a child. Lifestyle photography is one of two main forms of newborn …
Why you should learn blog photography & graphic design for yourself
If there’s one thing I’m passionate about, it’s about learning to do things for yourself. Maybe it’s because the things that I’ve wanted to learn over the years were things that no one I knew could teach me. Maybe it’s because I’m a combination of broke and cheap (that’s the student life!) and I would never pay for someone else …