Posts

Shoot to Edit: How to Use Masking and Frame-Blocking Transitions in Premiere Pro
Video Tutorials

Shoot to Edit: How to Use Masking and Frame-Blocking Transitions in Premiere Pro

Every Sunday morning I take a photo walk around Seattle. For the longest time, those walks were strictly stills. Then I started bringing a camera that shoots video, and suddenly I had a whole new problem: the footage looked fine on its own but fell apart the moment I tried to cut it together. Clips just slammed into each other. No flow, no feeling, nothing that matched the energy of actually being out there at 7am with a coffee and good light.

Peter Lippmann Is the Product Photographer You Should Be Studying Right Now
Video Tutorials

Peter Lippmann Is the Product Photographer You Should Be Studying Right Now

There is a particular kind of photographer whose work stops you mid-scroll. Not because the image is loud or chaotic, but because something in your brain quietly registers that what you are looking at required a level of intention you have not quite seen before. I had that experience the first time I came across Peter Lippmann’s portfolio, and I have gone back to it more times than I can count.

How to Light High-Key Portraits: Breaking Down a 3-Light Setup That Actually Works
Video Tutorials

How to Light High-Key Portraits: Breaking Down a 3-Light Setup That Actually Works

High-key portraits have a way of looking either effortlessly polished or completely blown out, and for a long time I landed firmly in the second camp. I kept chasing that bright, punchy, almost-editorial look, and kept getting images that were just… overexposed messes. The missing piece wasn’t better gear. It was understanding what each light was actually contributing before touching a power dial. Watch the full tutorial on YouTube In this Visual Education tutorial, the photographer breaks down a three-light high-key setup aimed at producing something close to a pop album cover aesthetic.

The Vanishing Role of the Photo Editor: What This Means for Visual Storytelling
News

The Vanishing Role of the Photo Editor: What This Means for Visual Storytelling

The Vanishing Role of the Photo Editor: What This Means for Visual Storytelling I’ve been watching a significant shift happen in newsrooms across America, and I think it’s worth examining what we’re losing. The photo editor—once a powerful gatekeeper who shaped how cities saw themselves through images—is becoming a rarity in modern journalism. A Seismic Shift in Chicago Recently, a major metropolitan newspaper made headlines by eliminating nearly its entire photography department in a single day.

6 Things I Learned About Documentary Newborn Photography (From a CreativeLive Pro)
Video Tutorials

6 Things I Learned About Documentary Newborn Photography (From a CreativeLive Pro)

Newborn photography is one of those specialties that looks deceptively simple from the outside. You show up, the baby is tiny and cute, you take pictures. But anyone who has actually tried to photograph a newborn in a real home environment knows how quickly things can unravel. The baby is fussy, the parents are exhausted, the light is weird, and you’re fighting the clock. I’ve been there more times than I’d like to admit.

Light Painting, Long Exposures, and Smart Gear: Pro Field Techniques You Can Use Tonight
Video Tutorials

Light Painting, Long Exposures, and Smart Gear: Pro Field Techniques You Can Use Tonight

There’s a particular kind of frustration that comes from standing in a beautiful location at night with a camera, knowing the shot is there, and not quite having the tools or the plan to get it. I’ve been there more times than I’d like to admit. I spent three nights on a trip to Iceland watching other photographers nail dramatic long exposures while I kept blowing my highlights or losing all detail in the foreground.

What Hollywood Camera Crews Know That Most Photographers Never Learn
Video Tutorials

What Hollywood Camera Crews Know That Most Photographers Never Learn

There’s a moment in every photographer’s growth where technical skill stops being the bottleneck. You know your settings. You understand light. But something about your images still feels flat compared to the work you admire most. For me, that gap started closing when I stopped studying only photographers and started paying close attention to how filmmakers solve visual problems. The constraints are different, but the creativity is contagious. In this Peter McKinnon tutorial, Watch the full tutorial on YouTube, McKinnon reacts to behind-the-scenes footage from major Hollywood productions, breaking down the practical and technical setups behind shots that look impossible.

Why Nikon Z Photographers Should Get Excited About Tamron's New 20-40mm Lens
News

Why Nikon Z Photographers Should Get Excited About Tamron's New 20-40mm Lens

Why Nikon Z Photographers Should Get Excited About Tamron’s New 20-40mm Lens I’m genuinely excited about this announcement. Tamron has just unveiled a 20-40mm f/2.8 Di III VXD lens designed specifically for Nikon Z-mount cameras, and it represents something genuinely useful for a particular group of photographers that I think deserves attention. What Makes This Lens Special? Let me break down what caught my eye about this release: The focal range is genuinely unique — A 20-40mm zoom isn’t your typical standard lens.

How to Design a Photography Logo and Watermark That Actually Looks Like Yours
Video Tutorials

How to Design a Photography Logo and Watermark That Actually Looks Like Yours

For years I resisted watermarking my photos. Partly stubbornness, partly the fear of slapping something ugly over an image I’d worked hard to get. But when you’re sharing work online consistently, especially across Instagram and client galleries, having a clean, professional mark starts to matter. The problem isn’t the watermark concept itself. The problem is that most photographers end up with something that looks like it came from a free online generator circa 2009.

Do You Actually Need a Bigger Camera Sensor? What Landscape Photographers Should Know First
Video Tutorials

Do You Actually Need a Bigger Camera Sensor? What Landscape Photographers Should Know First

There’s a version of this conversation I’ve had probably a dozen times, usually with someone who’s been shooting for a year or two and has hit that frustrating plateau where their images feel technically good but not quite there. The conclusion they’ve arrived at is almost always the same: they need a bigger sensor. A full-frame upgrade, or maybe even medium format. If the files are larger and the dynamic range is wider, surely the images will follow.

Stop Fighting the Sun: 3 Techniques for Better Portraits in Harsh Midday Light
Video Tutorials

Stop Fighting the Sun: 3 Techniques for Better Portraits in Harsh Midday Light

If you shoot portraits outdoors with any regularity, you already know the specific frustration I’m talking about. It’s noon, the light is brutal, and your subject is squinting into a sky that’s basically one giant flashbang. You twist every dial on your camera trying to salvage the shot, and every single result looks flat, blown out, or just plain unflattering. I’ve been there more times than I can count, including on a trip to Portugal where I spent three days chasing “golden hour” and completely ignored the six hours of perfectly usable harsh light in between.

When a Landscape Specialist Takes On Wildlife Photography: What I Learned
News

When a Landscape Specialist Takes On Wildlife Photography: What I Learned

Stepping Outside My Comfort Zone For years, I’ve built my reputation as a landscape photographer. Mountains, coastlines, dramatic skies—these are the subjects that make my heart race and my camera come alive. But recently, I decided to do something terrifying: I booked a safari trip to pursue wildlife photography, a genre I’ve largely avoided. The irony? Wildlife photography is what drew me to photography in the first place. As a kid, I was mesmerized by safari documentaries and dreamed of capturing those powerful moments myself.