A few months ago I headed to Iceland to check out some of the beautiful scenery the country has to offer, which, as many of you who have visited or are following Icelandic photographers on social media will attest to, is a considerable amount.
While photographers hone their skills, brand their services, and optimize their marketing to be more successful, another factor can have as much of an impact as all of the above: their home base. A photographer’s location can also dictate the kind of clients and jobs a photographer can access.
Wedding photography is a fast-paced high-stakes environment, kind of like football or poker, except without all the hitting or sunglasses and hats. It’s actually really hard to shoot with sunglasses on and tackling would damage our gear so try to avoid that too. Luckily, after over a decade of photographing weddings, I’ve picked up a few survival tips that might just help you get through your first wedding season unscathed.
Do your photos suck? Feeling discouraged by your photography lately? Not making the progress you expected? The good news is, it’s completely normal — all photographers grow at different rates and hit speed bumps along the way.
It’s fascinating to look back over my 10+ years as a wedding photographer and see the evolution the industry has gone through. That’s not to mention all the drastic changes that happened before my time. It makes one wonder what it will be like to be a wedding photographer in the future.
My name is Simon Wiffen, and I'm a Leeds, UK-based photographer specializing in family, lifestyle, portrait, commercial, and event photography. In this article, I'll share my 6 best tips for better event photography to help you achieve the best results.
Between 2008 and late 2016, I took tens of thousands of pictures and proudly vomited the vast majority of them online. While I’d toyed around with things like depth of field and long exposures, I didn’t understand anything about photography, so my camera rarely left ‘auto’. I’d checked out an online tutorial or two, but as far as I was concerned, ‘exposure compensation’ was something victims got after winning a public indecency lawsuit.
When you look at your wedding photos, do they tell a story both individually and collectively? Can you feel like you’re back in that moment? Does the image help you remember not only what it looked like but how it felt?
Want to know the key to finding your ideal wedding photography clients? Be true to yourself. I know, it doesn’t seem like it can be that simple but it really is.
Creating your first contract as a wedding photographer? My first tip is to hire a law professional to review your contract. While over a decade of experience in the wedding industry allows me to give you some tips based on my experience, a wedding photography contract is a legal document between you and your clients that outlines expectations, responsibilities, and deliverables.
Have you Googled “headshot photographers" lately? The results are pretty eye-opening. Right before I sat down to write this, my Google search resulted in 4 sponsored ads, right at the top, for AI headshot generators. If that doesn’t concern you, it should.
People, they’re literally everywhere. At least that’s how it feels when you live in a country as densely populated as Japan. For the longest time, I was incredibly fussy about having people in my frame.
Let’s talk about gear, I know some of you are obsessed with it and the act of photography is just an excuse for acquiring more gear. I can kind of relate because chips are just delivery devices for salsas. But for me, it’s actually the other way around, photography gear is all about making my job easier so that I can do it better, anything else is just in the way.
As we all know, there are many things that can make or break a photograph. While technical aspects might immediately jump to mind and the light may grab our attention, one word that tends to pop up a lot in my feedback is “intent”.
We all want people to like and enjoy our images. Social media is plastered with countless pictures whose owners are all seeking attention and some kind of approval from others.
Like many photographers, we used to be more “jack of all trades” when it came to shooting professionally. We’d shoot a wedding one day and a product shoot the next.
Being a professional creative means that you don’t always (ever) have the luxury of waiting for inspiration to strike. It means you have to create your work, on demand, regardless of the circumstances. Building practices to help reduce your stress and increase your creativity before a photoshoot will make creativity less illusive.
Using flash in your wedding photography can take your work to the next level. It can look more professional and dynamic. Additionally, there are a variety of scenarios when flash makes certain things possible that wouldn’t be if you’re relying on natural light.
Voting with your wallet means buying products you believe in, supporting companies you want to see more of as well as products/practices you approve of. Buying one brand over another, buying locally rather than from a chain, or choosing not to buy from a certain industry at all would all be examples of voting with your wallet.
There just aren't a lot of ultra-wide full-frame prime lenses to choose from. There are plenty of zoom lenses to choose from, however, compact dedicated ultra-wides are in short supply. Cue Sigma to save the day with its brand new Contemporary series 17mm lens. But is this the hero we were looking for?
I recently wrote a pair of pieces about giving and responding to critiques of photography with a certain level of decorum. As many of you already know, criticism is best given when actually asked for.
As a parent, you hope that your children will emulate your best traits, but also blaze new trails and achieve greatness beyond their own. You hope that lessons will be learned from your own mistakes and that your weaknesses will not be theirs. Is the Nikon Z9 a proud parent?
Just like most things in life, success can depend on location, location, location. I know that I’m coming from a state where there are a lot of beautiful backdrops so I’ll do my best to give tips that will apply to you wherever you happen to be. I’ve shot sessions in a variety of locations and while I have my locations and preferences, of course, I think it’s possible to make the best of whatever you have to work with.
I've been doing some freelance web development and photography and I was recently contacted by an acquaintance who's looking to start her own real estate office.
Wedding photography is arguably one of the most important parts of a wedding, of course (though I’m biased being a wedding photographer and all). But at the end of the day when the music stops, the cake is eaten, and the honeymoon begins, the photos are what helps our couples relive the magic of their wedding day. This is why it’s important that you know how to make a wedding photo album your clients will love.
Normally when I write articles about photography, I’m not very polemic -- I try to stay neutral and give advice that photographers can apply to their own personal wedding photography style even if it differs from my own. I care more about giving people solid advice than worrying about clickbait.
As a photographer, it's easy to fall into a rut of shooting the same types of photos over and over again. Sometimes it is easy to slip into a routine once we have a good grasp of exposure and composition.
Photography, like every art form, is subjective. As such, anything we create is open to criticism, whether we like it or not. When criticism is given with the best of intentions, it can lead to growth.
I’d like to start by saying that I feel the word ‘criticism’ is interpreted by some as inherently negative, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Throughout this article, I’ve used the words ‘critique’, ‘criticism', and ‘feedback’, interchangeably, because I consider them to be more or less the same in this particular context.
Headshot photography is an exciting and lucrative niche in the photography industry, and if you're looking to make a name for yourself as a headshot photographer, this article is for you.