“How do I shoot tethered to my computer with a digital SLR?” That is possibly the most oft-asked question here at prophotolife.com. In most every instructional video I’m watching a computer monitor to view the images as they’re shot so it only makes sense that we give the process a look.
If your photography allows it this is a great way …

I do believe in luck…but I also believe that we largely make our own luck. You might get a great shot because you were lucky, standing in the right place at the right time to capture a moment. But some force put you in that place at that moment. Something also provoked your finger to press the shutter button, so …

I’m gearing up for next week, when we’ll be shooting some new location portraiture videos for prophotolife (so stay tuned). In advance I wanted to cover some of the equipment we’ll be using, hence this video showing our DIY location computer stand, large diffusion / reflector frames and a very cool new toy, a portable, battery operated studio light. And …

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Since starting prophotolife.com I’ve been paying extra attention to questions visitors ask when in the studio. There are a surprising number of inquiries about the big (at least) 100 pound camera stands we use. The stands certainly never leave the studio but we use them on an almost daily basis so I thought it was time to …

Ever have a chance to photograph a car in a studio? At Daylight Photo we’re not completely set up for car photography but we had a chance to do this fun shoot, thanks to the Ohio Valley Camera Club, who rounded up the vintage Chevrolet. Though the auto doesn’t fit on a tabletop, we’re using the same principles as in …

What do all successful photographers have in common? They’re problem solvers. When faced with a challenge they conjure up solutions, using experience and creative thought as a guide. Whether it’s a photojournalist seeking access to a story, a portrait photographer with a difficult client or a commercial shooter with a troublesome product, they all face challenges head on and deliver …

This is probably my favorite video yet, a dramatic tabletop shot created using just one light and a handful of mirrors and silver cards. I remember the first time I used mirrors, that was years ago and they are still my favorite tabletop light modifier.
The original series of images may be viewed in this gallery, they are darker and more …

Today “the look” in advertising and editorial work is often a clean white background. At Daylight Photo we’ve set up a semi-permanent large white sweep for just these jobs. White seamless paper was too temporary a solution and a permanent cyc wall (cyclorama) would be too costly for what we needed. We ended up going with a 10 foot wide …

This video shows the process of thinking like a studio photographer working with environmental product photography. We’ve covered many techniques in previous videos (all are in the video library) but haven’t really had a “review” video where the techniques get tied together. That’s what we’ll be doing here, throwing in something new and referring to something old. If you have …

I look at many of the videos here on prophotolife as building blocks. What do you do with building blocks? Well, once you’ve collected enough of them it’s time to build something. That’s what this video is all about, connecting the dots on some prior lessons and combining them to create a product photo in an environment. There’s a little …