I’d mentioned trying to get in a couple more updates before winding down on prophotolife so I sure want to follow through. This post is split into two parts: today I’ll mention some of the more philosophical things I’m realizing from starting the photo a day 2009 project. Next week, in part two, I’ll share a bunch of the technical things I’ve learned from working with the new camera and website.
Since we all enjoy learning about photography it seems a natural to share what I’m learning from starting the photo …

A few months back some friends and I did a test shoot, recreating a vintage Hollywood portrait. While mentioning some specifics from the shoot I’d also like to share a few general thoughts about approaching a test shot like this. Every photographer has their own way of doing things but here are a few things that have worked well for me.

Collaboration
It all starts with an idea and grows from there. I had a new beauty dish to test out and my friend Kelly (a talented photographer and stylist) and …

Try as we might, it’s not always possible to capture what’s needed in a single photograph. Though I prefer to do as much as possible in the camera, digital tools now allow us to create most anything. The trick is pulling the elements together to make a quality photo and not a “Frankenshot”. Luckily, my business partner (Bob) is an expert Photoshop user and enjoys a good challenge.
Shown here is an example of when we rely heavily on retouching and I thought you might be interested in the back …

When I first began in photography the square format was intriguing. My Nikon FE used 35mm film (a 3:2 ratio) but many of the admired professionals were shooting with Hasselblads and Rolleiflexes, capturing square images (1:1 ratio) on 120 film. Eventually I worked up to a Yashicamat 124G, a twin lens Japanese cousin of the Rolleiflex. The big negatives would yield beautifully smooth tonal gradations and greater detail than my little 35mm negs. Plus I really liked shooting with the square format, looking at the world in a different way.
Over …

As a professional photographer I’ve specialized in different areas over the course of my career. From food to motorsports to people (and beyond), I’ve felt fortunate to be granted many different opportunities. In case you’ve missed the discussion on any of these specialties, here are a few links to past articles on prophotolife:
Food photography: how to think like a food photographer part 1 – part 2 – part 3
People photography: one actor, one weekend, seventeen characters
Motorsports photography: my story, magazine / editorial photography
Sometimes I do feel like the old …

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Here’s something a little different for prophotolife, an eight minute video on basic photo montage technique. As you may know, I like to do most of my work during exposure and usually don’t spend a whole lot of time in post-production. Just a little knowledge can go a long way, though, when experimenting and having fun putting together simple compositions like the one in this video. Luckily, my business partner, Bob, is …

President Lyndon B. Johnson
Votes for the 2008 U.S. Presidential election are being tallied as I write this. The past year feels like it’s been one long, non-stop political conversation and many of us are relieved to see it finally coming to a close. Though prophotolife isn’t a forum for politics, it seemed a natural to tie photography into the big event somehow. Rather than looking at what’s happening today or contemplating the future, I thought it might be interesting to take a look back at Presidents and photography.
In a few …

Today’s post is about an easily overlooked subject, the leaves at our feet, and one of my often overlooked tools, the flatbed scanner.
Every fall I seem to take a few photographs of trees as the leaves change color. Most often I judge the merit of a particular fall display by how colorful a stand of trees off in the distance appears. This year the leaves aren’t particularly interesting from afar so instead I took a closer look, picking up some leaves while walking.
My main purpose for this is that I’ve …

Today, I’d like to share a few tips for taking better portraits (as mentioned last Friday, the Monday videos are on hold for a bit). Looking back at the many entries on prophotolife, I was surprised to see that the psychology of making portraits hasn’t received it’s own post. This is a huge topic (a personal favorite) and one of the reasons that photography will never shake my interest.

There are many different kinds of portraits (business, formal, classic, casual, studio, outdoor) and they may involve varying technical considerations. Learning the …

Another week, another installment of the location photography gear saga. This week we’ll look inside our kit of portable strobe units. This kit of 2 strobes and accessories doesn’t get used a ton but it’s invaluable when we need it. It’s rare that we use these as main lights since we rely more on studio strobes (primarily the Travelite 125 Travel-Pak Kit if we have no AC power). We generally use smaller strobes more as “out of the way” lights, tucked inside machines or inside an area where a studio …