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SkyPixel, DJI and Tourism Australia team up to launch aerial photography contest

04 Mar

Image: SkyPixel / Piotr Parzybok

Aerial photography community SkyPixel is launching an aerial photography contest in cooperation with DJI and Tourism Australia to showcase the natural beauty of the Land Down Under. The Australia From Above contest’s aim is to inspire aerial photographers from around the world to experience and share new photographic perspectives of Australia. The contest is open from March 3 to May 2 to both professionals and enthusiasts.

“Drone photography is gaining huge popularity in Australia, with the country home to a rising number of very talented aerial photographers,” said Lisa Ronson, Chief Marketing Officer, Tourism Australia. “Advances in technology are enabling us to tell Australia’s story in ways previously not possible, and the levels of engagement we get when we share some of these amazing drone clips on our social channels is just extraordinary. It’s really exciting to be part of a competition which provides such a great platform for this new generation of content creators to capture the rich colours, patterns and textures of Australia’s diverse landscape and share this with the rest of the world.”

The winner of the contest’s Grand Prize will receive a DJI Inspire 2 Premium Combo drone package and go on a three-day journey to Lord Howe island for two as well as a three-day trip to Kangaroo island for two. Additional prizes include a DJI Phantom 4 Pro drone, a Mavic Pro drone and one of 10 Osmo Mobile handheld smartphone stabilized gimbals. Winning images will also be showcased on the SkyPixel website and on DJI’s social media platforms. More information on the competition can be found on the Skypixel competition page. If you’d like to participate but lack inspiration, you should have a look at the winning images from SkyPixel’s 2016 competition to get the creative juices flowing.

SkyPixel Launches ‘Australia from Above’ Aerial Photography Contest

DJI and Tourism Australia Partner for Country’s First Large-scale Aerial Photo Contest

SYDNEY, March 3, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — SkyPixel, the world’s most popular aerial photography community run in cooperation with DJI, on Friday launches its first national aerial photography contest to showcase the stunning natural beauty of Australia as seen from drones and other aerial equipment.

The Australia From Above contest, sponsored by DJI and Tourism Australia, aims to inspire aerial photographers from around the world to share, enjoy and experience new creative perspectives of Australia. The contest is open from March 3 to May 2 and welcomes professionals and enthusiasts alike to share their visions of the country. Please find a link to the competition here: https://www.skypixel.com/events/australia

“Australia is a stunning, diverse country, from the inspiring expanse of its pristine white beaches to the raw power of its rich, red outback,” said Danny Zheng, DJI Vice President of Marketing. “Capturing these landscapes from above empowers photographers to see Australia’s extraordinary beauty in an entirely new way, and we can’t wait to see the amazing images from inspired aerial creators.”

The Australia from Above Grand Prize consists of a DJI Inspire 2 Premium Combo drone package, a three-day journey to Lord Howe island for two and a three-day journey to Kangaroo island for two. Runners-up have a chance to win a DJI Phantom 4 Pro drone, a Mavic Pro drone and one of 10 Osmo Mobile handheld smartphone stabilized gimbals. Winning entries will also be showcased on the SkyPixel website as well as to DJI’s millions of fans and followers across its social media platforms. Australia From Above is generously supported by media partners Australian Photography, Drone Magazine and Capture as well as other product sponsors.

To learn more about the contest and submit entries, please visit www.skypixel.com/events/australia.

The judging panel includes a select jury of renowned photographers and influencers.

Kirk Hille, Australian photographer and winner of SkyPixel’s 2015 global photography contest
Mike O’Connor, Editor of Australian Photography
Lisa Ronson, Chief Marketing Officer, Tourism Australia
Tom Rex Jessett, professional photographer travelling the world and capturing its beauty

“I’m looking forward to seeing what fellow SkyPixel community members will share over the coming months,” said Hille, who won the grand prize in SkyPixel’s first annual worldwide contest with an image of a lone swimmer off the coast of Lucky Bay in western Australia. “As an Australian, I treasure the beauty of my home country and I was happy to learn it’s the country of choice for SkyPixel’s first national contest.”

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Infographic: What You Need For Wildlife Photography

02 Mar

Want to venture into the great outdoors with your camera to catch stunning shots of wildlife? Turning your pictures from amateur shots of birds into professional quality images of the animals is tricky. Wildlife photography is one of the hardest to master. Your subject isn’t usually a willing participant and more often than not you’ll find them trying to Continue Reading

The post Infographic: What You Need For Wildlife Photography appeared first on Photodoto.

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Weekly Photography Challenge – Pets

01 Mar

As usual, start by reviewing the 18 images of our furry friends I shared earlier.

Then it’s your turn to do the challenge.

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Weekly Photography Challenge – Pets

By Yi-Chien Chang

Need some help? Try these articles:

9 Tips for Taking Better Photos of Cats
Why Taking Pictures of Your Pets Will Help Make You a Better Photographer
Pros and Cons of Photographing Dogs with a Prime Lens
5 Good Reasons to Take Your Dog on Photography Walks
6 Tips for Photographing Dogs in Action

By Madeleine

By Leandro Martinez

By winston hudson

Share your images below:

Simply upload your shot into the comment field (look for the little camera icon in the Disqus comments section) and they’ll get embedded for us all to see or if you’d prefer, upload them to your favorite photo-sharing site and leave the link to them. Show me your best images in this week’s challenge. Sometimes it takes a while for an image to appear so be patient and try not to post the same image twice.

Share in the dPS Facebook Group

You can also share your images on the dPS Facebook group as the challenge is posted there each week as well.

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By out0fwave

By Jonathan Kriz

The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Pets by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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WPO releases short listed winners for Sony World Photography Awards

28 Feb

2017 Sony World Photography Awards shortlist announced

Alex Andriesi, Romania,

Shortlist, Open, Enhanced, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards

The World Photography Organisation has announced the shortlisted photographers for what it claims is the world’s largest photography competition – the Sony World Photography Awards. The WPO says that it received 227,596 images in total across categories for amateurs, professionals and students. Photographers from 60 countries are represented among the shortlisted and commended photographs, while entries from 183 countries were submitted.

Professional photographers are competing for the top prize of $ 25,000 plus Sony digital camera equipment, while the best amateur entry will win $ 5000 plus Sony kit and the best student will collect €30,000 of Sony equipment for his or her educational establishment.
The overall and category winners will be announced at a ceremony in London in the 20th April and an exhibition of the winning images will be displayed at London’s Somerset House. Martin Parr has been announced as the winner of the Outstanding Contribution to Photography Prize and will be exhibiting alongside the winners, as well as holding a talk.
For more information, and to see a gallery of all the shortlisted and commended images, visit the World Photography Organisation website.

Press Release

Shortlist revealed for 2017 Sony World Photography Awards, the world’s largest photography competition

Shortlists for Professional, Open, Youth and Student Focus competitions revealed
Awards’ 10th anniversary sees record number of participating photographers
Photographers competing for cash prizes and Sony digital imaging equipment
Overall winners revealed April 20, 2017
Winning and shortlisted images to be exhibited in London April 21 – May 7, 2017

Celebrating its 10th year anniversary, the Sony World Photography Awards is the world’s largest photography competition. The awards recognize and reward the finest contemporary photography from the last year entered into any of the awards’ four competitions.

“There was a truly global reach to the Sony World Photography Awards judging this year- the images were more diverse and broad ranging than I have ever seen before. In its tenth year, I can confidently say that the Sony World Photography Awards and the fine art of photography are doing extremely well.” Zelda Cheatle, Chair of the Professional jury / Curator (UK)

February 28, 2017: The shortlisted (top 10) and commended (top 50) photographers for all categories of the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards, the world’s largest photography competition, are announced today. Photographers entered 227,596 images across the awards’ Professional, Open and Youth competitions – shining a spotlight on the medium of photography and the beauty of its art.

Produced by the World Photography Organisation, 2017 marks the 10th anniversary of the awards and a decade-long partnership with its headline sponsor, Sony.

The Sony World Photography Awards’ shortlist represents the world’s finest contemporary photography captured over the last year, and displays a huge diversity of extraordinary images in terms of genres, styles and subject matter. Forty-nine countries are represented on the shortlist, reinforcing the awards’ international appeal and unique ability to present the greatest images taken by photographers from all corners of the world on a truly global scale. Photographers from a further 11 countries are seen within the commended list.

The shortlisted photographers across the Professional, Open, Youth and Student Focus competitions impressed the judges with solid narratives and strong visual language complementing the subject matters. Within the shortlist are stunning architectural images and subtle landscapes alongside extraordinary series depicting the dominating world events of the last year. Stand out subject matters include a touching insight into the domestic life of women in Saudi Arabia, heartfelt confessions of Chinese school children, Russian body builders preparing to flex muscle on stage and an intimate series of a private battle with a rare medical condition.

Key shortlists facts and stats

Strong increase in entries on 2016 from Asian and South East Asian countries including; China (90 %); Myanmar (183 %) Vietnam (108 %); The Philippines (71 %); and
Hong Kong (73 %).
Youth competition saw a 56 % increase in entries on 2016.
Entries to the Open competition increased 11 % on 2016.
Professional competition saw a 13 % increase in the number of photographers entering their work.
183 countries were represented in the submissions – with the most entries coming from (in descending order): China, United Kingdom, Italy, United States, Germany, Russia, India, Spain, France and Poland.
49 countries are represented on the shortlist, with the most shortlisted photographers coming from Italy (22), Germany (17), UK (15), China (14) and Russia (11)
Armenia, Cuba, Iceland and Saudi Arabia represented for the first time on the shortlist.

To view the commended photographers of the Open competition please go to www.worldphoto.org/winners-galleries

Commenting about this year’s shortlist, Scott Gray, CEO, World Photography Organisation, notes: “This year, more than any other, the entries to the Sony World Photography Awards have shown great integrity and are characterized by their considered approach. Beautiful works of photographic art, not snapshots, have been presented to the judges and I am delighted to see that our esteemed juries have chosen to reward the pure skill, artistic interpretation and thoughtfulness of the photographer, rather than simply the subject matter the photographer has captured.

He continues: “The Sony World Photography Awards has celebrated photographers and photography throughout its ten-year history, we now look forward to ensuring that photography has a global platform and is recognised as the dynamic, exciting and accessible medium it is.”

The Sony World Photography Awards are judged anonymously by internationally acclaimed industry professionals, carefully selected by the World Photography Organisation.

The 2017 Professional competition was judged by Zelda Cheatle (Chair of the Judges), Curator (UK); Aida Muluneh, Founder/Director, Addis Foto Fest (Ethiopia); Allegra Cordero di Montezemolo, Curator & Head of Exhibitions, Centro de la Imagen (Mexico); Denis Curti, Curator and Journalist (Italy); Russ O’Connell, Picture Editor The Sunday Times Magazine (UK) and Françoise Callier, Program Director at Angkor Photo Festival & Workshops (France). The Open and Youth competitions were chaired by Damien Demolder, Photographer and Journalist (UK), and Student Focus was judged by Andrea Kurland, Editor-in-Chief of Huck (UK); Dan Rubin, Photographer & Artistic Director (UK) and Jennifer Shaw, Founder and Creative Director, PhotoNOLA (USA).

Commenting on the Open and Youth shortlists, Damien Demolder said: “It has been a pleasure and an inspiration to be exposed to such a volume of great work, and a privilege too that I could share in the personal moments, the joys, tears, life and losses of photographers from all around the globe who recorded their experiences through their pictures. The Youth competition was a special delight to judge and I was touched on many occasions by the openness and fearless expression of the entries.”

Student Focus judge Andrea Kurland adds: “This year’s shortlist helps cement why awards like these are more important than ever. The work submitted was original, thoughtful and brave – a healthy reminder that talent will always win out and rise above the noise.”

The shortlisted photographers now compete for the latest Sony digital imaging equipment and inclusion in the 2017 awards’ book plus cash prizes of $ 25,000 (USD) for the Photographer of the Year, $ 5,000 (USD) for the overall Open winner and €30,000 (Euros) of equipment for the university of the Student Focus winner. All winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in London on April 20, 2017.

The winning, shortlisted and commended images will all be exhibited as part of the Sony World Photography Awards & Martin Parr – 2017 Exhibition at Somerset House, London. The large-scale exhibition will open April 21 and will feature rarely seen work by Martin Parr, recipient of the awards’ Outstanding Contribution to Photography prize. The exhibition will run in London until May 7 and will then go on a worldwide tour. Exhibition tickets are available via www.worldphoto.org/2017exhibition

NOTES

227,596 images were submitted to the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards across all competitions
Professional competition: 110,270 entries
Open competition: 105,692 entries
Youth: 11,634 entries

Sony World Photography Awards forthcoming announcements
March 28, 2017 – Open and National Award winners announced
April 20, 2017 – Photographer of the Year plus Professional category winners and Open, Youth and Student Focus Photographers of the Year revealed at ceremony held in London
April 21 – May 7, 2017 – Sony World Photography Awards & Martin Parr – 2017 Exhibition at Somerset House, London

SHORTLISTED PHOTOGRAPHERS

PROFESSIONAL CATEGORIES
Rewarding the best body of work across 10 categories. Up to 10 photographers shortlisted in each category. Category winners will be announced April 20, alongside the Photographer of the Year chosen from the ten category winners.

Architecture
Adi Bulboaca, Romania
Alessandro Piredda, Italy
Alissa Everett, US
Diego Mayon, Italy
Dongni, China
Julien Chatelin, France
Marvin Systermans, Germany
Zsolt Hlinka, Hungary

Conceptual
Alexander Anufriev, Russia
Carla Sutera Sardo, Italy
Jeroen De Wandel, Belgium
Joa?o San, Brazil
Sabine Cattaneo, Switzerland
Gao Peng, China

Contemporary Issues
Amber Bracken, Canada
Andrea Foligni, Italy
Danial Khodaie, Iran
Javier Arcenillas, Spain
Li Song, China
Lorenzo Maccotta, Italy
Tasneem Alsultan, Saudi Arabia

Current Affairs & News
Alessio Romenzi, Italy
Asger Ladefoged, Denmark
Ivor Prickett, Ireland
Javier Arcenillas, Spain
Joe Raedle, US
Karl Mancini, Italy
Pas?a I?mrek, Turkey
Sebastian Castan?eda, Peru

Daily Life
Alice Cannara Malan, Italy
Asger Ladefoged, Denmark
Christina Simons, Iceland
Ioana Moldovan, Romania
Majlend Bramo, Italy
Michael Tummings, UK
Nader Saadallah, Egypt
Sandra Hoyn, Germany
Toby Binder, Argentina
Yulia Grigoryants, Armenia

Landscape
Dino Kuznik, Slovenia
Frederik Buyckx, Belgium
Jayanta Roy, India
Kurt Tong, UK
Peter Franck, Germany
Tom Jacobi, Germany

Natural World
Ami Vitale, US
Christian Vizl, Mexico
Esther Whyatt, UK
Felicity McCabe, UK
Mariusz Prusaczyk, Poland
Tommaso Rada, Italy
Will Burrard-Lucas, UK

Portraiture
Craig Easton, UK
Dario Mitidieri, Italy
George Mayer, Russia
Giulia Piermartiri & Edoardo Delille, Italy
Mahesh Shantaram, India
Romina Ressia, Argentina
Ren shi Chen, China
Snezhana Von Buedingen, Russia

Sport
Andrea Rossato, Italy
Eduard Korniyenko, Russia
Jason O’brien, Australia
Mark Gong, US
Yuan Peng, China
Luo Pin Xi, China

Still Life
Ansgar Sollmann, Germany
Julien CAÏDOS, France
Christoffer Askman, Denmark
Grant Hegedus, UK
Henry Agudelo, Colombia
Paul Sanders, UK
Shinya Masuda, Japan

OPEN CATEGORIES
Rewarding the best single images across 10 categories. Up to 10 photographers shortlisted in each category. Category winners will be announced March 28, and Open Photographer of the Year revealed April 20.

Shortlist
Architecture
Barry Tweedy-Rycroft, UK
Claudio Cantonetti, Italy
Frank Machalowski, Germany
Franklin Neto, Portugal
Lester Koh Meng Hua, Singapore
Nick Frank, Germany
Oscar Lopez, Germany
Robert Walker, UK
Tim Cornbill, UK
Ute-Christa Scherhag, Germany

Culture
Beniamino Pisati, Italy
Emrah Karakoç, Turkey
Jianguo Gong, China
Mark Languido Vicente, the Philippines (based in Kuwait)
Michal Plachta, Poland
Pawe? J?drusik, Poland
foley hits, Malaysia
Radu Dumitrescu, Romania
Salvatore Mazzeo, Italy
Vito Leone, Italy

Enhanced
Alex Andriesi, Romania
Andrea Torres Balaguer, Spain
Chun Kin Tong, China
Gil Josquin, Brazil
Harry Botley,UK
John Chen, China
Julian Schievelkamp, Germany
Lise Johansson, Denmark
Sergey Dibtsev, Russia
Yong Lin Tan, Malaysia

Motion
Jimmy Reid, Scotland
Olga Sinenko, Russia
K. W. Hon (OqWing), China
Argus Paul Estabrook, US (based in South Korea)
Gül Y?ld?z, Turkey
Stacy Anguiano Cain, Mexico (based in the US)
Mariusz Stanosz, Poland
Oktay Suba?i, Turkey
Camilo Diaz, Colombia
Luigi Panico, Italy

Nature
Francesco Russo, Italy
Miyono Okamoto, Japan
Hiroshi Tanita, Japan
Christina Roemmelt, German (based in Austria)
Ann Ric Lau, Malaysia
Sorin Rechitan, Romania
Josselin Cornou, France (based in Australia)
Sakuma Masayasu, Japan
Elzbieta Kurowska, Canada
Maximilian Conrad, Germany

Portraits
Dalibor Tomic, Serbia
Carl Jeffers, UK
Saeid Moridi, Iran
Alexey Munich, Russia
Carloman Macidiano Céspedes Riojas, Peru (based in Argentina)
Anisleidy Martínez Fonseca, Cuba (based in the Netherlands)
Alexander Vinogradov, Russia
Tim Topple, UK
Fajar Kristianto, Indonesia
Tadas Kazakevicius, Lithuania

Still Life
Nick Pershai, Belarus
Gijs van den Berg, the Netherlands
Zani Arkadina, Ukraine (based in Germany)
Sergey Dibtsev, Russia
Iwona Czubek, Poland
Maxim Korotchenko, Russia
Wilson Lee, Hong Kong
Esthaem, Austria
Andres Gallardo Albajar, Spain (based in Estonia)
Massimiliano Balo’, Italian (based in the UK)

Street Photography
Caio Vita, Brazil (based in the Netherlands)
Jelena Jankovic Serbia
Jian Seng Soh, Malaysia
Gimmi Corvaro, Italy
Konstantinos Sofikitis, Greece
Ge Wang, China
Dina Alfasi, Istrael
Hendra Permana, Indonesia
Ash, Japan
Tavepong Pratoomwong, Thailand

Travel
Jose Maria Perez Nuñez, Argentina
Stephane Couture, Canada (based in the US)
Rob Wilson, Canada
Placido Faranda, Italy (based in Switzerland)
Zhu Jianxing, China
Vladimir Zhoga, Russia
Ralph Gräf, Germany
Swapnil Deshpande, India
Achim Thomae, Germany
Fanjing Lu, Chinese

Wildlife
Andreas Hemb, Sweden
Alessandra Meniconzi, Switzerland
Jan Ryser, Switzerland
Eugene Kitsios, The Netherlands (shortlisted twice)
Fan Chen, China
Bar Kaufman, Israel
Natsumi Handa, Japan
Nigel Hodson, UK

Commended
For the full list of commended photographers in the Open competition (up to 40 per category) please go to www.worldphoto.org/winners-galleries

YOUTH COMPETITION
Photographers aged 12-19 were asked to respond to a theme of ‘beauty’ with a single image. The Youth Photographer of the Year will be announced April 20.

Helen Kiparissa, Greece
Bella Wong, China (based in the UK)
Andrej Kiripolský, Slovenia
Taciu Rares, Romania
Katelyn Wang, US
Iryna Sylinnyk, Ukraine
Yujia Dou, China
Tanya Chinareva, Russia
Frederik Marks, Germany
Johnathan Chen, US

STUDENT FOCUS
Open to all students worldwide studying photography. The Student Photographer of the Year will be announced April 20.

Shravya Kag, School of Visual Arts, US, (Indian nationality)
Tatsuki Katayama, Kyoto University of Art and Design, Japan
Stewart Main, Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland
Ruby Gaunt, Nottingham Trent University, UK
Cole Ndelu, Stellenbosch Academy of Design & Photography, South Africa
Nursyafiqah Azlan, Multimedia University, Malaysia
Nadine Hackemer, Nuremberg Institute of Technology Georg-Simon-Ohm Faculty of Design, Germany
Sarah Schrimpf, Academy of Fine Arts Munich, Germany
Michelle Daiana Gentile, Motivarte, Argentina
Tayla Martin, Charles Sturt University, Australia

FURTHER NOTES
The Professional competition of the Sony World Photography Awards is judged by an independent panel of industry experts selected by the World Photography Organisation. The headline sponsor of the awards, Sony, is not involved in the image selection of judging of this competition.

2017 Sony World Photography Awards shortlist announced

Anisleidy Martínez Fonseca, Cuba,

Shortlist, Open, Portraits, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards

2017 Sony World Photography Awards shortlist announced

Carloman Macidiano Céspedes Riojas, Peru,

Shortlist, Open, Portraits, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards

2017 Sony World Photography Awards shortlist announced

Christian Vizl, Mexico,

Shortlist, Professional, Natural World, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards

2017 Sony World Photography Awards shortlist announced

Emrah Karakoç, Turkey,

Shortlist, Open, Culture, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards

2017 Sony World Photography Awards shortlist announced

Masayasu Sakuma, Japan,

Shortlist, Open, Nature, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards

2017 Sony World Photography Awards shortlist announced

Tim Topple, United Kingdom,

Shortlist, Open, Portraits, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards

2017 Sony World Photography Awards shortlist announced

Vito Leone, Italy,

Shortlist, Open, Culture, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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StyleShoots Live robotic photography studio uses AI to shoot and process photos

24 Feb

A new robotic ‘smart studio’ device aims to increase brands’ photography efficiency and productivity by replacing, to a certain degree, professional human photographers with artificial intelligence and a robotic camera/lighting system. Called StyleShoots Live, this smart studio is equipped with robotic lighting, a Canon 1DX Mark II camera, and machine intelligence for shooting, processing and exporting photos and video automatically.

StyleShoots, the Dutch company behind the smart studio, unveiled the product on Wednesday, saying it is ‘designed to create instantly edited video and stills for fashion lifestyle and eCommerce shoots in minutes.’ This is made possible via a large steel enclosure in which a model is posed. A variety of technologies then make technical decisions, adjusting lighting and camera settings as necessary to shoot content that matches brand-specified customized styles.

The resulting content is automatically processed, including things like cropping images to certain aspect ratios or stitching together multiple videos. The final content can then be reviewed by the human in charge and, if approved, exported for various platforms. A human is given control over the entire process via a built-in iPad Pro with a Live View mode of the model.

Speaking about the smart studio, StyleShoots’ Head of Product Anders Jorgensen said:

‘Fashion brands need to keep their customers engaged with fresh content every day – and video shared on social media is the most powerful form of storytelling. To keep up with the continuous demand, StyleShoots Live creates stills and video ready for publishing on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and websites within minutes – without any manual editing or post production.’

Of course, such a studio raises concerns about technology and its potential ability to replace human photographers with machines. In response to that concern, StyleShoots explained in a long FAQ sheet that it didn’t design its smart studio to be a replacement for humans. ‘To run a fashion shoot,’ the company explained, ‘you need a creative eye to compose the shot, pose the model and style the clothes — a robot can’t do that (yet).’

Source: StyleShoots

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Why Getting Outside Your Comfort Zone is Good for Your Photography

23 Feb

Getting outside your comfort zone is good for your photography. The single, biggest factor that has helped me to improve my photography was becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable. This has been across all areas of photographic work, from weddings, corporate through to my absolute passion, travel photography.

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Getting Outside Your Comfort Zone 15

Let me explain. From the very beginning I had the same concerns as many beginners in photography, where do I even start? I had built-up an imaginary wall about how I would understand the theory and mechanics of the photographic process as well as being creative in how I approached my photo work. All questions that only served to stop me from getting out there and experimenting so that I could learn by doing and implementing the theory I had poured over so many times.

The moment I let go of concern over the results I would achieve, and more importantly, what other people thought of my images, was the moment I felt free to experiment and make mistakes. That’s where the real learning happens, as I soon discovered.

Play the long game plan

I also realized early on, that becoming proficient in photography is a long game plan. It doesn’t happen overnight. It also requires effort and focus to be able to approach each challenge with a willingness to keep trying until understanding and outcome produce results that meet expectation. After my first year of taking photos, I had improved, and that improving continues to this day. Why? Because I continue to push myself outside of my comfort zone to improve as an image maker.

There is nothing better on the road to discovery and learning than feeling like you have a good understanding of what you are doing while enjoying the breakthroughs of understanding. And ultimately, capturing the images you set out to. However, it is important to remember that staying comfortable in what you are doing and how you are doing it, will reduce your growth and further understanding of different types of photography or more specifically, different approaches.

Getting Outside Your Comfort Zone 20

A few years ago this theory was clarified for me while I was working in Antarctica. We were fortunate to have two National Geographic Photographers on the ship with us who were generous enough to do a couple of presentations during days at sea. One point, in particular, helped me to understand in a different way, what I had already been doing since the early days of my image making. And the beauty is, you can apply this approach to most scenarios, be it landscape, travel, wedding, portrait, or commercial photography.

The 80/20 rule

Devote 80% of your image making time to getting the images you set out to do. Play it safe to a certain degree to be sure you come home with your planned shots. Then for the remaining 20% of the time, throw caution to the wind and experiment with no expectation of any outcome. If you think about this approach, 20% of your image making time adds up to quite a bit. Pushing yourself with the 20% will not necessarily lead you to capture amazing new images every time, but it will allow you to have little discoveries along the way that can add up to thinking of new ways or approaches for the future.

Experimenting with shutter speed, white balance, aperture, ISO, focal length, and movement are all options that can result in new ways of doing and seeing things. Ultimately, this will help you to understand the best approach to a given scenario with controlled, positive results.

Getting Outside Your Comfort Zone 10

The list of possibilities is endless. But without regard for the outcome, you are left with a more innocent, concern-free approach to getting creative and pushing the limits of your knowledge and current space of understanding.

Side benefits of learning outside your comfort zone

The side benefits of further learning of my chosen craft, even if they seem unrelated, have also helped with my ability to shoot under pressure. In regards to my travel photography, I have attributed my ability to get solid images under challenging circumstance with limited time, to having shot and assisted on a lot of weddings. For me, weddings have proven to be the ultimate space for growth with my image making ability, and it is easy to see why.

When shooting weddings you have no control over weather, lighting, time of day, or the environment you are shooting in. You have the responsibility of capturing images in often very challenging environments. It also means you are shooting a lot, with purpose, which I’ve always been a big advocate of for helping improve your photography.

Now I’m not suggesting to go out and shoot a few weddings just to help improve your photography in other areas. Photographing weddings is something you have to want to do. You especially have to respect the responsibility that comes with taking on such a big day in people’s lives. You have no second chance and have to be at the top of your game to consistently get it right. Over time, though, assisting or working as a second shooter for an established wedding professional would be a good way to test the waters to see if this is an area of photography you would like to pursue.

Getting Outside Your Comfort Zone 23

Some practical exercises

You can, of course, replicate these same scenarios without the time pressure or expectation of outcome only a client can have.

An option would be to visit and photograph the interiors of some local churches to gain an understanding of what it means to shoot in low light. Then slowly walk from the inside of the church to the outside (assuming this is during daylight hours) and adjust your exposure to achieve correctly exposed images over what will be a massive change in light levels. This is an extreme example but there will absolutely be situations in the future where the learnings gained from this type of exercise will be put to good use.

Getting Outside Your Comfort Zone 02

Getting Outside Your Comfort Zone 01

Another great exercise is to visit a city (which could be yours) and set up your camera just before sunset when there is still plenty of light. Then slowly take images of the same scene over the next two hours as the sun sets and the lights come on in the city. The best option for this exercise is to have your camera on a tripod so the scene remains the same and you are able to get a solid idea of how the changing light conditions affect your results.

This exercise not only helps you to understand the process of changing exposure on your camera but gives you a solid idea of the mix between natural and man-made light during the change over from night to day.

Getting Outside Your Comfort Zone 06

Getting Outside Your Comfort Zone 07

Getting Outside Your Comfort Zone 08

Getting Outside Your Comfort Zone 09

Getting Outside Your Comfort Zone 11

Visit your local beach maybe an hour and a half before sunset and take images during the changing light conditions. You will see a number of things during this experiment as there are big changes in lighting and color. You will have a greater understanding of what you need to do to continue making correctly exposed images based on the changing lighting conditions which would be different to the city example I gave earlier. Look closely at the changing color and corresponding white balance and the effect it has on your images.

To take this a step further, take your kids or some friends down to the beach and use them to experiment with taking portraits at this time of day.

Getting off Automatic

If you are currently using your camera on an automatic setting, you can start to experiment with a more manual approach to your image making. Let’s assume for a moment, you are using automatic settings for everything on your camera, aperture, ISO, and shutter speed.

Play with aperture

One option would be to experiment with Aperture Priority (setting your camera so you take control of the aperture). You can experiment and start to see what different effects you will have in your images by using specific apertures. Set up an object, focus on it and then cycle through all of the different apertures to see what happens. This is a fantastic exercise to apply to portraiture so you have a better understanding of what results you will achieve based on your chosen aperture.

85mm lens on a full frame camera, ISO 2000, 1/50th, at f/18.

Shot with an 85mm lens on a full frame camera, ISO 2000, 1/320th, at f/8.

85mm lens on a full frame camera, ISO 2000, 1/2500th, at f/2.8.

Play with focal length

Changing focal lengths on a fixed subject is also a great exercise to help develop your learning. The portraits below are perfect examples of a fixed subject with fixed camera settings. The only change was moving backward while zooming in (going to a longer focal length) the subject. The difference between the resulting images is clear.

24mm lens on a full frame camera, ISO 1000, 1/250th, at f/5.6.

50mm lens on a full frame camera, ISO 1000, 1/250th, at f/5.6.

210mm lens on a full frame camera, ISO 1000, 1/250th, at f/5.6.

Play with shutter speed

The same can be done with shutter speed. A popular subject for longer exposures is waterfalls, allowing you to blur the water to achieve a misty look. Keep in mind, a tripod is essential for this type of image. When you have time, find a local waterfall or flowing stream (preferably on an overcast day). Set up your camera on a tripod and cycle through the shutter speeds to see the differing results you will achieve based on long and short exposures and the effect it has on the water.

Getting Outside Your Comfort Zone 14

Practice, practice, practice

The above exercises may seem a little boring, but it is only through continued practice that you will understand with confidence, what you need to do to achieve the images you want. Over time, and through experience, it becomes an instinctive response to what is in front of you based on knowing, or having an idea of what result you are after.

There are many benefits to exploring locations in your area. You are able to revisit them on a number of occasions during different weather, times of day, and different seasons. You can really test yourself and build your understanding and experience in dealing with these differing light and brightness scenarios.

Travel photography

The other area where you may have limited time and no control over the variables earlier mentioned is travel photography. Often when traveling, these limitations will leave you feeling a level of pressure to get the image. It is the practice, understanding, and development you implement before you go traveling that will help you capture images with confidence, even when the time of day and lighting are not at their best.

Getting Outside Your Comfort Zone 29

Getting Outside Your Comfort Zone 30

For example, if you’re traveling to Africa to photograph wildlife, you’ll be using long lenses a lot more than if you are doing a church tour of Italy where wide lenses would often be the order of the day. The important thing here is to push yourself and get out there as much as possible to replicate, as best you can, the type of shooting you will be doing in order to build that skill set before you travel.

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Challenges of travel

Travel also often leaves you tired due to the realities of what you need to do to get to your location or full days trying to see and experience as much as possible. Try to be as healthy and fit before you go in order to maximize all the photo opportunities traveling can bring. There is nothing worse than coming home feeling like you have missed opportunities due to needing to rest or not using your time efficiently.

Successful travel photographers are always well-researched and prepared to go as much as possible. The know that they need to maximize their time in order to come home with a full body of work that will help justify all that goes into a travel gig. This usually means starting before sunrise and working through to night time to capture specific locations in all their various forms.

This has been the case for me on many occasions. When working in Antarctica and South Georgia, we had a lot of exploring time in the zodiacs (small inflatable boats). On one particular occasion, we were advised of a one hour cruise which turned into 3.5 hours due to the many photo opportunities we had. It was a cold day and snowed the entire time. That added to the challenge of shooting, often with a long lens from a moving craft amongst 10 other people also working hard to get the shot in the confines of a small boat. Once we were all loaded safely back on board, almost all participants went inside immediately, either for a warm shower or warm drink, and rightly so, it was very cold.

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Another photographer and I stayed outside the ship to see if there were any other photo opportunities that presented themselves before we pulled anchor and continued on our way. The images above were just a few that made the effort completely worthwhile. We pushed ourselves and were rewarded with many great images which no one else captured. We were only outside for a further 30 minutes, however, the response from fellow passengers upon seeing our images confirmed we had made the right decision to continue pushing on and taking advantage of the conditions in front of us. This has been a consistent factor with all of my photography based trips over the years.

When you travel, you are surrounded by so many photographic opportunities. Remember to take full advantage of these and everything that travel offers. Of course the most important thing is to enjoy yourself, however, if images are a top priority, be sure to take advantage of the time you have and be out and about as much as possible.

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Conclusion

It is also worth researching other photographers to see what they have done in the same locations you are planning to visit. Look at what you like and don’t like, then try and photograph the same scene in a way not yet done by others.

Growth in photography, as with most things, comes from pushing yourself to improve, going beyond your comfort zone and identifying areas you can experiment with and learn from.

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Save 96% On The Ultimate Photography Bundle – 41 Training Resources That Will Transform Your Photography

23 Feb

This is a post I’ve been looking forward to publishing for months now because it has the potential to transform your photography and take average photos to great!

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Today dPS is proud to be part of putting together one of the most unbelievable bundles of photography teaching that has ever been assembled – it’s called the Ultimate Photography Bundle.

Now I don’t claim that this bundle is “unbelievable” lightly. When you see what’s included you’ll see what I mean.

It’s got so many photography training resources including 10 courses, 16 eBooks, 4 sets of video training and 11 interactive tools – all bundled together at 96% off the regular cost of buying them all individually.

This bundle is worth over $ 4100 but today you can grab it for just $ 147.

Here’s just some of the teaching you’ll get in this bundle:

Master Your DSLR by David Molnar (normally $ 297)
Family Session with Family Posing Guide by Angie Monson (normally $ 129)
Photograph the Everyday Understanding Light and Composition by Courtney Slazinik (normally $ 199)
Master Editing in Lightroom by David Molnar (normally $ 297)
Milky Way Mastery by Joshua Dunlop (normally $ 147)
6 Weeks to 6 Figure Business Course by Zach and Jody Gary (normally $ 599)

And that’s just a few of the resources you’ll get – there’s so much more included, including our very own ‘Going Pro’ eBook (one of our most popular guides).

Check out the full list of included resources here.

But pleasez don’t wait – the Ultimate Photography Bundle is available for six days only – so grab it before it disappears.

PS: as with all the photography training we promote – this one comes with a 30-day happiness guarantee – so there’s no risk at all.

The post Save 96% On The Ultimate Photography Bundle – 41 Training Resources That Will Transform Your Photography by Darren Rowse appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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How to Introduce Lifestyle Photography to Families

23 Feb

Firstly, what exactly is lifestyle photography? Most people are familiar with a family photo shoot, where they go to a studio and get a nice group shot of the family, all smiling in front of the camera. While this is perfectly nice, it feels rather static. Enter lifestyle photography.

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Here, the photo shoot is mostly done at their home and the idea is to capture candid moments in their lives, without getting them to pose specifically for the camera. This helps in getting natural expressions and renders the photos a lot more memorable. Of course, there will still be a few certain posed shots, but the look will be more natural and easy-going. The problem is that most families have not been exposed to the idea of “Lifestyle Photography”, so it is important to understand a few things before you go ahead.

lifestyle photography

Whether you’re an amateur with a point-and-shoot or a professional photographer, getting families to pose during a photography session can be a real challenge!

Let’s consider a typical situation. You are off for a family photo shoot, well equipped with your camera, a nice set of portrait lenses, a couple of off-camera lights, and a few props (hats, jackets, plastic balls, Frisbees, etc.). The shoot is scheduled at their home. You have informed the family to be ready with the right colored clothes. It’s a regular family with the husband and wife, their parents, two kids, and a dog. You have decided to shoot early in the morning to get the magical golden light, having allocated three hours for the photo shoot, allowing for three clothing changes and three locations.

Once you enter, you realize that the living room and the backyard are in a mess, the color coordination of their clothes is off, and the kids are groggy. There is hardly any safe space to set up your lights with the kids and a dog around. What do you do?

lifestyle photography

Well, there are a few things that can be taken care of initially, so that such a situation can be easily handled. Here is what you can do to make it easier for you and the family you are photographing.

1. PLANNING

It’s very important to sit with all the members of the family and discuss what you intend to do, well before the shooting day. Tell them why you intend to start so early in the morning, or maybe reschedule the shoot for late afternoon. This is also a great way to get to know all the family members and for them to get to know, and be comfortable, with you. This is especially helpful in the case of kids and pets.

2. SCOUTING

This is something that is almost always overlooked, but the importance can never be overemphasized. Go to their place and have a look at all the spaces available. This will help you identify the best locations to shoot, considering the best light available and the best settings. You will also be able to find secure places to set up your equipment and make sure it is out of reach of the kids and pets. Plus, it will also help you plan your equipment in a more efficient way.

lifestyle photography

3. CLOTHES

You need the right colored clothes to create the mood you wish to show in the photos. This needs to be communicated to the client in specific terms. If the client is comfortable, you may even have a look at their wardrobe and select clothes for each member of the family. Allow enough time for at least three changes. You can even think of going for coordinated colors for the family, but don’t select matching ones, as it may not look natural.

4. PROPS

Not a requirement, but you can carry a few non-imposing props like toys or clothing accessories, especially for the kids and any pets.

Almost all kids love their pets and making them pose with their pet will get you better expressions most of the time. The car bonnet is a way better location to get natural expressions than a living room sofa!

5. LENSES

Considering it’s a family portrait shoot, you will need fast lenses for a shallow depth of field, and depending on the space available, you will have to make your choice between a 35mm, 50mm, 85mm or at the most a 100mm. Aperture needs to be wider than f/2.8 for a couple reasons – better indoor photos and shallower depth of field.

Note: make sure, however, that you have enough depth of field to cover everyone in the photo especially when doing groups.

6. LIGHT

Natural light works best, especially if the house has large windows and big reflecting walls. But not every situation is ideal, and you might be stuck in a place without decent light. In this case, you can consider using off-camera flash, or bouncing it off the ceiling to get nice diffused light, spread evenly across the room. It’s better not carry a lot of equipment as it can feel imposing for the family members.

Backlighting can work wonders! This was shot in the late afternoon, and we had nice golden light behind the subjects.

7. POSING

Not everybody is going to be comfortable posing for the camera. Consider that as a given. You will have to work at making the family comfortable to capture more candid moments. You will get the best candid moments before and after the posed shots.

If you still want to try formal poses, go ahead and give it a shot. But you will get some lovely shots when no one is posing, while they’re having a conversation, sharing a joke, or sipping coffee. So be sure you are ready with your camera every single moment.

A children’s play area can be an out-of-the-box location for a family pose, but it sure makes for a nice candid moment, and most importantly, makes the children comfortable.

8. KIDS

The kids, especially younger than five, will almost never be comfortable posing. If there is more than one kid, it will be easier to photograph them while they are playing with each other. If it is just one, you can use toys as props, or make the parents, or better still the grandparents, play with them. Chocolates, ice cream, and candies could be used as props (ask the parents first), and you are sure to get some nice expressions of joy and delight on their faces. You can even have the kids play some games, like a running race or even hide-and-seek, to capture natural expressions.

A great way to capture candid photos of children is to let them play. If the location has a garden or a backyard, that’s the place to be.

9. POST-PROCESSING

A tricky thing, but I believe that every photo needs cleaning-up and a little bit of enhancement. Photo manipulation is debatable, but removing that distracting cable, a piece of paper or some lens spots is perfectly fine. Use warmer tones in White Balance and go slightly soft on clarity.

Conclusion

So if you want to do something a bit different for your family portrait sessions, consider trying lifestyle photography. Please share your images and comments below.

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Photography fundamentals explained

19 Feb

Want to brush up on some basic concepts? Here you’ll find detailed explanations of some of the fundamentals of digital photography. Get your science on and impress all your friends at the next dinner party.

Sources of noise part two: Electronic Noise

Following on our look at the effects of shot noise, our attentions turn to the electronic noise added by your camera. In this second part of the series, we look at read noise and how your sensor’s behavior defines what your camera is capable of and consequently, how you should shoot with it. Read more

A quick look at the effect of sensor size and pixel size on noise.

What's that noise? Part one: Shedding some light on the sources of noise

How would you react if you were told that the aperture and shutter speed you choose make more difference to image noise than the ISO setting? You might be surprised to discover that a lot of the noise in your images doesn’t come from your camera at all: it comes from the light you’re capturing. Our own Richard Butler explains. Read more

What is equivalence and why should I care?

Equivalence, at its most simple, is a way of comparing different formats (sensor sizes) on a common basis. Sounds straightforward enough, but the concept is still somewhat controversial and not always clearly understood. We thought it was about time we explained – and demonstrated – what equivalence means and what it doesn’t. Learn more

Sensitivity (ISO) in digital imaging is the subject of quite a lot of confusion – it’s becoming common to hear talk of manufacturers ‘cheating with ISO.’ Here we look at why sensitivity can be hard to pin down, why we use the definition we do and how it’s really as complicated as it can seem.

Sensors, sensitivity, exposure and dynamic range (blog post)

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Weekly Photography Challenge – Black and White Architecture

18 Feb

Earlier I shared some moody and dramatic images of architecture in black and white. Now it’s your turn!

Weekly Photography Challenge – Black and White Architecture

Even in harsh midday sun, you can often create stunning and dramatic images of architecture. Let’s take a look at a few black and white images of architecture. I’ll start you off with a few of my own from Turkey.

The library at Ephesus

Inside the great Haga Sofia in Istanbul.

Your challenge this week is to photograph some architecture. You can do this no matter where you live. If there are buildings, you can do this. Even a hut or shack is architecture! Use a wide-angle lens or go for details, maybe shoot at night? It’s up to you how you approach it, just get out there shooting.

If you need some tips here are a few articles to help: