Sharpen Your Photography Skills, Knowledge and Passion

Sharpen Your Photography Skills, Knowledge and Passion
Sharpen Your Photography Skills, Knowledge and Passion2019-01-22T09:35:54-08:00
1803, 2024

Challenge 12: Food

By |March 18th, 2024|Categories: Art of Photography|Tags: |0 Comments

Welcome to week 12 of the 2024 SlickPic 52-week Photo Challenge! Thanks for being on the journey, and being committed to improving your skills. This week’s Challenge is: Food Food photography composition focuses on artfully arranging food to create visually appealing images, emphasizing key principles like focal points, balance with negative space, and applying compositional rules like the rule of thirds or golden ratio. The choice of lens, angle, and color usage also play a significant role in enhancing the aesthetic appeal of the food. For more detailed insights on food photography composition, read 12 Tips for Making Your Food [...]

1103, 2024

Challenge 11: Bokeh

By |March 11th, 2024|Categories: Art of Photography|Tags: |0 Comments

Welcome to week 11 of the 2024 SlickPic 52-week Photo Challenge! Thanks for being on the journey, and being committed to improving your skills. This week’s Challenge is: Bokeh Bokeh in photography is the aesthetic quality of the blur in out-of-focus areas of an image, creating a soft, visually pleasing effect that highlights the main subject. Achieving bokeh involves using a wide aperture to create a shallow depth of field and positioning the subject at an appropriate distance from the background. For more information on bokeh in photography: Photofocus’ article with 5 tips for capturing the magic of Bokeh with [...]

403, 2024

Challenge 10: Low Light/Night

By |March 4th, 2024|Categories: Art of Photography|Tags: |0 Comments

Welcome to week 10 of the 2024 SlickPic 52-week Photo Challenge! Thanks for being on the journey, and being committed to improving your skills. This week’s Challenge is: Low Light/Night Low Light or Night Photography focuses on capturing images in environments with minimal lighting, often creating atmospheric and dramatic scenes. This genre requires careful consideration of camera settings, such as using a tripod for stability, choosing a wider aperture, and shooting in RAW format for better post-processing flexibility. For concise and detailed information on low light and night photography, you can explore these resources: Shotkit provides essential tips for low-light [...]

2602, 2024

Challenge 9: Reflections

By |February 26th, 2024|Categories: Art of Photography|Tags: |0 Comments

Welcome to week 9 of the 2024 SlickPic 52-week Photo Challenge!  Thanks for being on the journey, and being committed to improving your skills. This week’s Challenge is: Reflections Reflections in photography involve using reflective surfaces, such as water, mirrors, or glass, to create visually captivating and often symmetrical compositions. This technique can add depth, intrigue, and a unique perspective to photographs. Reflections can transform ordinary scenes into striking images, playing with reality and perception to engage the viewer. For more detailed information on reflections, take a look at these articles: Beginner’s guide on reflection photography from Adobe Shotkit's article: [...]

1802, 2024

Challenge 8: High Key

By |February 18th, 2024|Categories: Art of Photography|Tags: |0 Comments

Welcome to week 8 of the 2024 SlickPic 52-week Photo Challenge!  Thanks for being on the journey, and being committed to improving your skills. This week’s Challenge is: High Key High-key photography is a style that features predominantly bright and light elements, often characterized by a nearly or completely white background and minimal shadows. This approach results in images with low contrast, conveying a sense of airiness and a positive, ethereal mood. It is commonly used in various genres, from portraiture to landscape, to create a distinctively clean and minimalistic aesthetic. For further information on High Key photography, please see [...]

1202, 2024

Photography News February 12, 2024

By |February 12th, 2024|Categories: News|0 Comments

Photography News February 12, 2024 Quote: "After you have exhausted what there is in business, politics, conviviality, and so on—have found that none of these finally satisfy, or permanently wear—what remains? Nature remains.” – Walt Whitman Techniques and Tutorials: Create Depth and Subject Separation with Camera Raw or Lightroom https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY6vPW0KDRA   Real difference: Clarity, Texture + Dehaze in Lightroom + ACR https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERS6--hz6cU   Are these photographers Cheating? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nsFNUqQpJM   Photographers Who Got Caught Cheating https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXAavnORAxg   Saturation vs Vibrance in Photography (When to Use Them)   The Art of Seeing Patterns: Tips for Mastering Pattern Photography   Thought for the day: Workshop followup I went to [...]

1102, 2024

Challenge 7: Diagonals

By |February 11th, 2024|Categories: Art of Photography|Tags: |0 Comments

Welcome to week 7 of the 2024 SlickPic 52-week Photo Challenge! This week’s Challenge is: Diagonals Diagonals in photography are a crucial compositional element, characterized by slanted lines that traverse an image. They introduce dynamism and a sense of movement, leading the viewer's eye through the photograph. Diagonals can enhance the depth and add visual interest, breaking the monotony of horizontal and vertical lines. They are often used to direct attention towards the main subject, create tension, and imply action within a still image. For further reading on the use of diagonals in photography, check out these resources: Digital Photography [...]

502, 2024

Photography News February 5, 2024

By |February 5th, 2024|Categories: News|0 Comments

Photography News February 5, 2024 Quote: “There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.” – Ansel Adams Techniques and Tutorials: Understand Colors Of Any Images With Adobe Color https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzu7mECcPaY   How to Edit images into Fine Art Photos! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m55I2-yAYyw&t=16s   Photo Critique: Getting Feedback on Your Images – Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYTBMIuC1jc   Martin Osner's Fine-Art Revelation Unveiled https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-guLM1JXgs   The Making Of A Photography Book With Alan Schaller https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCU51nzo5f4   How I Self-Publish my Photography Zines/Books – Printing, Selling, Sequencing and Design https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDV5QjbDuNA   Thought for the day: This is a good time of year to renew your favorite photos [...]

402, 2024

Challenge 6: One Color

By |February 4th, 2024|Categories: Art of Photography|Tags: |0 Comments

  Welcome to week 6 of the 2024 SlickPic 52-week Photo Challenge! By now, we’re sure that your skills and creativity are improving by leaps and bounds! This week’s Challenge is: One Color The "one color" theme in photography involves using a dominant hue to create a visually cohesive and impactful composition. This approach can include complementary colors for dynamic contrast, analogous colors for a serene feel, or a monochromatic scheme for unity. Understanding color theory and its psychological effects is key to crafting evocative and harmonious images. Photographer Gurpreet Singh does a good job of explaining monochromatic colors on [...]

3101, 2024

Macro Mode: Getting Close with the iPhone 15 Pro Max

By |January 31st, 2024|Categories: Gear and Tools, How-to Tips|0 Comments

  Apple introduced Macro Mode with the iPhone 13 and it’s improved each year since. It's convenient to be able to go from photographing landscapes or portraits to making macros with the touch of a button. No changing lenses like we do with a big camera and no need for an accessory lens (although you can get even closer with a good macro lens attached). Here are few steps for creating macro photos with macro mode on the iPhone 13, 14, and 15. You first need to turn on macro mode in the phone’s camera settings. (Settings>Camera>Macro Control>ON)     [...]

2901, 2024

Photography News January 29, 2024

By |January 29th, 2024|Categories: News|0 Comments

Photography News January 29, 2024 Quote: "Photography is a universal language that transcends the barriers of culture and time.” – Fan Ho Techniques and Tutorials: Elevate Your Night Street Photography https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59PQT0rLtSc   How to do Fine Art Photography | Techniques and Tips https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJHWomuiCfw   My Secret Landscape Photography Glow Method https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3UCxOG7xw0   How to Develop Concepts in Photography https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oF1-OJqa0o   Quick and Easy Color Grading in Photoshop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YShpJOmU1zY   How to get the fine art black and white look https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu0o6FZBnLk   Thought for the day: If you become very sick or die, can your friends and families find their favorited photos you made? Or [...]

2801, 2024

Challenge 5: Still Life

By |January 28th, 2024|Categories: Art of Photography|Tags: |0 Comments

Welcome to week 5 of the 2024 SlickPic 52-week Photo Challenge! We’re glad you’re here and committed to improving your skills. This week’s Challenge is: Still Life Still-life photography is all about creating compositions with inanimate objects. You’re in control of lighting, composition, and the subject matter. Try playing with the arrangement of objects, the play between light and shadow, and the overall aesthetic and mood of the scene.  This genre of photography can transform mundane objects into a piece of art through careful staging and attention to detail. And don’t forget to use tools like Radiant Photo, Luminar Neo, [...]

2401, 2024

Photography News January 24, 2024

By |January 24th, 2024|Categories: News|0 Comments

Photography News January 24, 2024 Quote: "The mission of photography is to explain man to man and each to himself. And that is the most complicated thing on earth" – Edward Steichen Techniques and Tutorials: The Big Secret to Photographing People https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC9EwUgoHoA&t=1s   Shooting a Fashion Editorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGUEprWE9Us   3 Simple Lighting Setups for Editorial Photography https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTUV1LIUrLc   Quick and Easy Skin Retouch with Dodge and Burn in Photoshop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKX004k2OCw   How to smooth skin using frequency separation in Photoshop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAijWkUomak   Color Grading in Fashion Photography https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv1di5U6XVQ   How to Color Grade with Julieanne Kost https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBu92r3ezTA   Thought for the day – Backups, again Another friend of [...]

2101, 2024

Challenge 4: Leading Lines

By |January 21st, 2024|Categories: Art of Photography|Tags: |0 Comments

Can you believe it’s already the 4th week of our 52-week photo challenge? Congratulations on making a commitment to improve your skills and inspire others with your photos! This week we’ll be diving into the genre of Leading Lines, which hopefully will broaden your awareness of the world around you. Leading Lines are lines that have been intentionally framed or positioned by photographers to draw a viewer’s eye towards something in the photo. It’s often used to get people to look at a specific part of an image.  Here is a primer on leading lines from Photofocus to give you [...]

1501, 2024

Challenge 3: Silhouettes

By |January 15th, 2024|Categories: Art of Photography|Tags: |0 Comments

Welcome to week 3 of our 52-week photo challenge, this week about the fascinating genre of Silhouettes. Fun to capture, and sometimes haunting, silhouettes are typically a dark shape and outline of a person or object against a lighter background. Here’s a nice article from Digital Photography School on How to Photograph Silhouettes to give you some tips and inspiration. The Scoop: Submissions will be accepted until the end of the day, Jan 21, 2024 Submit 3 images by clicking the following link Please submit images in the JPEG format and uploading photos that are at least 2500 on the [...]

1501, 2024

Photography News January 15, 2024

By |January 15th, 2024|Categories: News|0 Comments

Photography News January 15, 2024 Quote: "A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart, and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it" – Fan Ho Techniques and Tutorials: Remove And Retouch Flyaways Hair in Photoshop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j79JJppNDaI   How to create a sharp Orton glow in Photoshop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUWlzw39YAo   How to Edit Muted Tones https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kscQr4VoEOU   Creating Dramatic Black and White Images https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8YftP1M3n0   Make the model the client and some training https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCeZcS-Zdaw   Wabi-Sabi in Photography: The Art of Imperfection https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkkuW1ZPtXw   Thought for the day: "Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking" by David Bayles [...]

801, 2024

Challenge 2: Intentional Camera Movement (ICM)

By |January 8th, 2024|Categories: Art of Photography|Tags: |0 Comments

Welcome to week 2 of our 52-week photo challenge! Thanks for being on the journey, and being committed to improving your skills. This week, we’re going to explore the amazing world of Intentional Camera Movement (ICM). It’s a cool and clever technique where - in many cases - you intentionally move your camera during capture so that the end result is a uniquely blurred image.  But there’s SO much more to it than that. Check out this blog post for a terrific primer on ICM from our friend (and ICM “guru”) Roxanne Bouché Overton! A simple search on Google will [...]

801, 2024

Photography News January 8, 2024

By |January 8th, 2024|Categories: News|0 Comments

Photography News January 8, 2024 Quote: "A camera is just a tool; the photographer's mind and heart are what create the image.” – Fan Ho Techniques and Tutorials: Who I Would Learn Black And White Photography From – If I had to Start Over https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJj21MB2lMs   The Simplest Way To Better Photos.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PZ02I9p8Sk   Make Your Subject Stand Out – Tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qk2al8SZro   How To Get Soft Tones In Portrait Photos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjg1rOF4_Zw   How to get an ethereal look for your photos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrSxI3-WJJQ   Surviving 96 Hours with Nat Geo Photographers – found by Paul Pokrywka https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_w-g0eyf9c   Thought for the day – Backups Boring subject, [...]

301, 2024

Why Should I Commit to a 52-Week Challenge?

By |January 3rd, 2024|Categories: Art of Photography, How-to Tips|Tags: |0 Comments

Check out this blog post on all the benefits of participating in consistent photo exercises like this challenge. Why should you commit to a 52-week photo challenge? Great question, and we’re glad you asked! Committing to and participating in a weekly challenge of any kind can be a little daunting at first, but soon becomes a beneficial habit - like taking vitamins! To become better at virtually anything, you need to do it consistently. A weekly challenge featuring a wide variety of assignments will literally “force” you to grow as a photographer. That regular practice will bend your brain around [...]

201, 2024

Photography News January 2, 2024

By |January 2nd, 2024|Categories: News|0 Comments

Photography News January 2, 2024 Quote: “Camera lies all the time. It's all it does is lie, because when you choose this moment instead of this moment, when you... the moment you've made a choice, you're lying about something larger. 'Lying' is an ugly word. I don't mean lying. But any artist picks and chooses what they want to paint or write about or say. Photographers are the same.” – Richard Avedon Techniques and Tutorials: Gear Confessions: 7 Photographers Share Their Best and Worst Purchases Best New Video and Photo Products of 2023 – per LensRentals Is Natural Light the 'Best Light'? Learn the Secrets to Professional Color Management [...]