Photography Education (Page 5)

From the Canon Digital Learning Center:

by Rick Sammon

As a professional photographer, I am often asked, “Hey Rick, what is your specialty?” I reply, “My specialty is not specializing.” That’s because I like to do it all, which includes taking studio portraits (illustrated by the opening image for this article), outdoor natural light portraits, indoor and outdoor shots, landscapes, scenic images, HDR and so on — all illustrated throughout this article.

When novice photographers come to me for advice, I suggest not specializing, because I feel that not specializing makes for a well-rounded photographer — a photographer with pictures that might attract a range of potential sales or clients. Plus, getting good at one specialty can help getting good at another.

Lately, I have been photographing with the Canon EOS M5 compact interchangeable lens camera, which I call the lightweight and compact camera for photographers who don’t specialize — because it can do it all.

B&H has the Canon EOS M5 available for preorder.

From the Canon Digital Learning Center:

by Laura Morita

The kids have been back to school for months. The weather is starting to get cooler. Before you know it, the holidays will be upon us. Holiday wish lists for games, pets, toys, and maybe even a unicorn will be made by your darling kiddos. You'll unpack your holiday decorations and excitedly plan for some fun family traditions. And then one day, you'll get your first holiday card in the mail from a family member or friend. Please tell me that you've had at least one year where that first card has rolled in, and you've been entirely caught off guard. Please tell me that that first card has been your reminder that you haven't even thought about your card yet. I want you to tell me this so that I feel better about my fairly predictable inability to prepare in advance for my own holiday card.

We can do this, people. We can get our holiday card out before the New Year. And here's some tips for wowing your family and friends with a beautiful card this season.

From the Canon Professional Network:

by Jennifer Borget

There is so much information available about taking photos of your children, and how to become a better photographer. Another important factor to keep in mind when you’re working to be your family’s historian is to make sure you’re documented as a part of their memories.

For times you don’t have someone around to help take nice photos of you and your kids together, it’s nice to know you can do it yourself. In this article, I’ll outline the tools you need to take self-portraits so you can get out from behind the camera and into the shot with your kids.

From the Canon Digital Learning Center:

Keeping yourself constantly inspired as a visual artist is essential to building a portfolio and to creating better, stronger, more interesting work. However, artistic inspiration doesn't always exactly fall from the sky.

Taking on a daily, weekly, or monthly project can really help to enhance creativity and add excitement to your photography.

Try this 30-day photo challenge with yourself or with friends. Maybe you belong to a camera club, an online photographic community, or a friend group with several other photographers. You can use this challenge as a tool to learn from one another by sharing your work for gentle critique and you’ll see how even with the same photographic subject, each person has a unique perspective.

This 30-day photo challenge is a perfect way to expand your photographic style, enhance creativity, and inspire. Play! Experiment! Follow the rules, break the rules, relax, and most importantly have fun!!

Erik Valind demonstrates how to easily and simply capture bridal details on the wedding day for albums with one speedlight, a FlashBender 2 Large Reflector and a Rogue Collapsible Reflector. Flash photography lighting video tutorial, techniques and tips.

B&H carries Rogue Flashbender products and the Rogue collapsible reflector.

This week, we discuss public speaking, mispronunciation of words, and the new show Atlanta. Adam also tells the story of how he recently fixed Norm's broken camera lens (an EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM on a 5D Mark IV) with some unorthodox problem solving. Plus, a new book recommendation!

From Sean: For less severe stuck filter problems, we suggest keeping some of these in all your camera gear bags.

From the Adobe Creative Cloud YouTube Channel:

Photographer Andrew Scrivani shares his top 5 tips on how to improve your food photography.

Note from Sean: In Andrew's second tip, "Soften light with a diffuser," I would call the tool he uses a "diffusion panel," "scrim" or "diffuser," but not a "flag." A flag is typically used to entirely block light from an area, while the other terms are used for tools that modify the light that actually hits a scene. Also, the "light cutter" tool Andrew uses is typically referred to as a "black card" used for negative fill.

B&H carries Adobe Photography Plan subscriptions.

From the Canon Digital Learning Center:

An important part of creating a botanical photograph with impact is one of the areas that people often ignore – COLOR. The use of color in your floral images can help create mood, vibrancy, electricity or tension. Choosing the soft pastel palette can create a restful, peaceful feeling. It can create a calmness that allows a respite for your eye, a certain soothing of the soul.

From the Canon Digital Learning Center:

When’s the best time for photography? When others are sleeping.

Yes, yes, that extra two hours or so in the morning may be tempting. But don’t fall victim to the siren song of sleep – this really is the best time of the day to photograph.

From the Canon Digital Learning Center:

Photographing siblings takes practice, patience and a bit of silliness. Once you know your way around your camera, you can focus on being playful and doing what you need to do to get your kids to play along, so you can get that shot of your little ones together that you’ve been hoping for.

From the Canon Digital Learning Center:

Halloween is right around the corner, and what a great holiday for photographic inspiration: From cute kids in costumes to spooky haunted houses; eerie glowing jack-o’-lanterns to pastoral pumpkin patches – Halloween offers an endless variety of unique subjects.

Here are a few photographic tips to make the most of this Halloween.

From the Canon Digital Learning Center:

by Eric Stoner

If you’ve ever made an online purchase, you know images matter! Strong, impactful photography is super important to make your products stand out to buyers. It differentiates you from the competition, it shows the condition of the product along with its unique details and it can tell a story – a picture is worth a thousand words and maybe a thousand dollars!

In this multi-part series of articles, I’m going to start by sharing some quick tips to help you get the quality of your photography to a higher level so your products look their best. Then, I’ll share several techniques to get you started VERY inexpensively. Finally, I’ll progress into other techniques that require some investment – but are totally worth it to make your product photos truly stand out to potential buyers.

See our Canon Macro Lens Recommendations to find out which macro lens is best for your needs.

B&H carries Canon macro lenses.

From the Canon Digital Learning Center:

By Liza Gershman

Making the everyday magical in your photography can often seem like a daunting challenge, but with a little shift in perspective, some technical tips, and a bit of creative inspiration, you can turn "normal" into "extraordinary."

Looking at things with different perspectives is a key to making the everyday extraordinary. The proverbial "stop and smell the roses" expression isn't for nothing. It really can change your average day into something exceptional when you slow down, calm your mind, and see the details in life. Looking towards the small elements, the nuances, you can see true beauty. When the large picture becomes clouded and full of chaos or appears dull, take a moment to slow down and find beauty in the details with the following helpful tips.

How do we find ourselves in the normal? Start by seeking out authentic moments. Once you become an observer and allow life to happen around you, you can begin to see extraordinary things. There is no need to force this. The more relaxed and aware you can become, the more creative and beautiful your images will become.

From the Canon Professional Network:

The advent of 4K DSLR video in Canon’s flagship EOS-1D X Mark II, and now the EOS 5D Mark IV, has revolutionized still photography: this is high-resolution video, so good that each frame has sufficient quality for use in both web and print applications. Imagine what this means, not only for wildlife, sports, and other “action” applications, but also for wedding and event photographers. From a video sequence of, for example, a rodeo cowboy on a bucking bronco, the photographer can select the single frame that conveys the exact moment of peak action; separate, or “grab” that still from the video sequence; improve it in post-capture software such as Canon’s DPP and Adobe Photoshop; and use the resulting file in web applications or prints. An entire event might be captured in video, later yielding stills for promotion or other publication. We’ve known this was coming, and those who’ve embraced and mastered the video capabilities of recent DSLRs are ahead of the game. (I told you so.)

B&H carries the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and the EOS-1D X Mark II.

From the Canon Digital Learning Center:

With the launch of the EOS 5D Mark IV, Canon introduces its first camera with the ability to input IPTC metadata directly into each image file, as it’s taken by the photographer. For many years, digital cameras have been able to add numerous details of shooting data — date, time, file numbers, and even some user-defined information such as the user’s name and fields for copyright information.

But IPTC data is different, and completely in addition to the EXIF shooting data we’re accustomed to seeing in our image files. Far from simply displaying camera settings, IPTC data allows the user to input very specific types of detailed information, which can be used for numerous purposes once images are downloaded from the camera to a storage area. In this article, we’ll introduce this feature, and describe how it’s implemented in the EOS 5D Mark IV camera.

Adorama has the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV in stock with free 2-day shipping.

From the Canon Digital Learning Center:

by Jem Schofield

A vlog is really a video-based blog and can be about anything. Like a written blog, it contains the ideas, activities and opinions of a particular person or people. It can be an edited version of their daily lives, a combination of commentary and gameplay (some of the most successful vloggers in the world are gamers), or a more focused “show” that teaches others certain techniques such as how to do makeup, exercise, brew beer or in my vlog, the craft of video production and filmmaking.

In 2008, I started theC47 as an educational brand that was focused on teaching the craft of video production and filmmaking. I recently launched a new weekly vlog called “Random Acts Of…” on theC47’s YouTube channel. Basically, it covers Random Acts Of… Lighting, Composition, Camera Movement, Lighting Control, Gear and anything else that interests me as a producer, DP and all around tinkerer.

You shouldn’t start a vlog with the intention of making lots of money. It can help people build their brands, but it’s the passion for the subject matter and a commitment to creating ongoing content that are key – and the one thing many successful vloggers seem to have in common. If the content they create is interesting, and it is posted regularly (generally daily or at least weekly), they can find an audience over time.

B&H carries the Canon EOS M3.

From the Canon Digital Learning Center:

This article is the second of a two-part article on Photographing People and their Pets for the Advanced Amateur or Aspiring Pet Photographer. You can read part one here.

The following info is a list of tools and techniques that might be difficult to find elsewhere. In the nearly 30 years of specializing in photographing people and their pets, I’ve not seen a printed list or series of videos that cover this particular material. And even if you could find some of this information as it pertains to photographing animals, it wouldn’t be a matter of who’s right or wrong, but whether or not you consider using the following tools to develop the suggested techniques. If you do, you’ll be well on your way to creating not only sellable images, but images of style and distinction you can be proud of... and images your clients will treasure for a lifetime!

The Canon Digital Learning Center has posted an EOS AF Microadjustment Guidebook which can be downloaded via PDF.

There's a lot of good information in the guidebook, as in suggested test distances for various focal lengths.

The Canon Professional Network has updated its Tips and Tricks section to include dozens of tips relating to the EOS-1D X Mark II.

Topics covered include:

The Canon Digital Learning Center has added two new articles highlighting the 5D IV's touchscreen and color tone adjustment features. The links can be found below.

• What's New: EOS 5D Mark IV Touchscreen LCD
• What's New: LCD Monitor Color Tone Adjustments

B&H has the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV available for preorder.