Advanced Photography Techniques

April 2, 2021

On Assignment: Why I Decided to Photograph My Own Portrait (And Why You Should Too!)

Self portraiture is a great way to put yourself in your client's shoes

By Susan Stripling

Editor’s Note: Have you ever wondered how your favorite photographers capture the images they take? Digital Photo Pro’s new monthly column “On Assignment” is where Canon Explorers of Light, past and present, share a backstage look at one of their favorite assignments and how they delivered the goods. This month we go On Assignment with... Read more

March 25, 2021

How to Create a Professional-Level YouTube Studio in a Small Space

6 tips to get you looking good on YouTube even if you live in a tiny apartment

By Dan Havlik

More and more pro photographers are starting YouTube channels to promote themselves and their work. But if you’re a photographer who hasn’t yet joined the YouTube craze, you’re probably wondering how to get started. And perhaps one of the most intimidating things about YouTube is figuring out how to create an attractive studio to shoot... Read more

March 16, 2021

How I Made It: The Story Behind Eric Smith’s Surprising Whale Photo

The moral of the image: don't forget to look behind you!

By Dan Havlik

Talk about a whale of a photo! Eric Smith captured the surprising image above about a year ago in Mexico just before the pandemic shut the world down. Smith’s shot surfaced again on social media this past week as a reminder of the way things were before group photo shoots like this became risky business. We caught up with Smith to find out the... Read more

March 9, 2021

On Assignment: How to Turn an Image from a Dream into a Real-Life Portrait

Regis and Kahran Bethencourt of CreativeSoul Photography explain the process behind one of their assignments

By Regis and Kahran Bethencourt

Editor’s Note: Have you ever wondered how your favorite photographers capture the images they take? Digital Photo Pro has launched a new monthly column called “On Assignment” where Canon Explorers of Light, past and present, will share a backstage look at one of their favorite assignments and how they delivered the goods. This month we go On Assignment... Read more

February 18, 2021

On Assignment: How to Use a Portrait Photography Self-Assignment to Spark Creativity

Photographer Vanessa Joy walks us through a recent self-assignment project while sharing tips

By Vanessa Joy

Editor’s Note: Have you ever wondered how your favorite photographers capture the images they take? Starting this month, Digital Photo Pro will be launching a new monthly column called “On Assignment” where Canon Explorers of Light, past and present, will share a backstage look at one of their favorite assignments and how they delivered... Read more

February 16, 2021

5 Classic Techniques for Using a Beauty Dish in Portrait Photography

These tried-and-true lighting setups never go out of style

By Dan Havlik

We recently published our guide to the five best beauty dishes you can buy, so we thought it was a good time for a quick refresher course on some classic techniques for using this type of light modifier in portrait photography. In the below video, portrait pro Miguel Quiles shares five ways he uses a beauty dish to take studio-style portraits. While... Read more

February 4, 2021

How I Made It: The Story Behind Ira Block’s Photo of Myanmar

Location scouting and a clear goal helped produce a memorable image of Myanmar in a more peaceful time

By Dan Havlik

Photographer and educator Ira Block recently shared the above photo he shot a few years ago in Myanmar on his social media pages the day after the country’s military staged a coup and arrested a large number of pro-democracy leaders including Myanmar’s president Aung San Suu Kyi. We wanted to learn more about the image and how Block captured... Read more

February 1, 2021

Try These 5 Quick Lighting Techniques to Give Your Photos Some Spark

Project light through gobos to create head-turning looks for portraits

By Dan Havlik

Lighting tips and techniques come in many forms. Some are elaborate lighting set-ups that require hours of preparation to produce a single look. Other lighting tips are fast, simple to produce, and can help you create several different styles in minutes. Manny Ortiz‘ new lighting tutorial below is of the quick and easy variety. In the video below,... Read more

January 25, 2021

Lightroom Pro Tip: How to Use Range Masks to Make Targeted Edits on Photos

Speed up your Lightroom workflow with this great tool for making refined localized adjustments

By Dan Havlik

Adobe Lightroom is an incredibly deep image processing and organizing program full of more editing tools than most of us have the working hours to test out. But what if there was one Lightroom feature that could transform your photos in minutes without compromising their professional quality? If you’re not aware of it already, that tool is called... Read more

January 14, 2021

LED Continuous Lights vs Strobe Flashes: Which Is Better for Studio Photography?

LED and strobes have their pro and cons but there's one clear winner when it comes to serious studio shoots

By Dan Havlik

Strobes have long been the primary lighting choice for studio photographers but that’s changing with the advent of better and more powerful LED continuous lighting systems. Thanks to their improved color accuracy, the ability to easily adjust color temperature and brightness on the fly, and their overall ease of use, LED lighting has gotten more... Read more

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