When people ask what makes a portrait stand out, there are quite a few answers. Concept is key, and so is location and background. Props can help a portrait pop. But the one answer that comes to my mind as the most important ingredient for a dramatic portrait is light. Light can change a portrait [...]

A lot of photographers talk about adding emotion to a photograph. But what exactly does that mean and how can you do it? Basically it means evoking an emotional response in the viewer and there are many tried and true ways to do that. Here are some easy ways to do that though there are [...]

Even if you don’t have a strobe or off camera lighting unit, you can make portraits with dramatic lighting. All you need is some natural light and a reflector. A reflector can be just as effective as a strobe and all the accessories that you can use with one.  All the portraits in this article [...]

This is a guest post by the PhotoNaturalist, Steve Berardi. Check out his amazing guides on outdoor and nature photography. Dragonflies are some of the most interesting insects found in nature. They may not look too interesting from far away, but if you look a little closer, you’ll see that they have some pretty incredible [...]

Photography can be a pretty expensive hobby. There are legends about folks who have maxed their credit and minimized their bank accounts because of all the expense of building their gear inventory, all in the hope that the next purchase will transform their portraiture to awesome sauce. Every few months or so, there seems to [...]

This is a guest post fromMischa van den Brandhof. For more cool urban wildlife photos, check out her Flickr stream. Most wildlife photography is shot with a telephoto zoom lens. But urban wildlife photography is about being up close and personal. It is not advisable to try this with all wildlife, as you risk being [...]

We all love the beach, but getting a decent photograph from your beach excursion can be a little tricky. Here are a few quick tips on beach photography that should help you improve your results. 1) Be Early or Be Late – In general the best photos you will capture at the beach will generally [...]

Black and white can add drama and emotion to many different kinds of photographs. There are however, many different ways to convert your digital images to black and white and an almost limitless amount of effects that you can apply after that. Here are some of the best Photoshop tutorials for black and white lovers [...]

Sports bring people together, adults and children alike.  Sports can teach our children how to get along with one another, confidence and humility all at the same time (with the help of a good coach).  Sports can provide memories that last a lifetime … but pictures are how you can share those memories with others. Capture [...]

Portraits taken during the golden hours – that is, the time just before sunset and after sunrise – have an incredibly powerful light to them. The dramatic back-lighting from the sun and the golden tones that flood your viewfinder can give you an incredible image. Not only that, the mood of your photo is vastly [...]