Aspiring Photographers Learn from the Masters Some of the greatest photographers in the world made their mark by simply studying the styles, ideas and techniques of other artists, whether it was their mentor photographer or one of their favorite painters. Ultimately,...
Applying Photojournalism Techniques Adds New Angles The evolution of wedding, commercial, advertising, fashion and glamour photography now requires diversification to survive. Some of these genre photographers have added video and other offers for their clients,...
Thanks to a private instruction client of mine, Brian, I visited the Moab area of Utah in 2007 and I’ve been back to Moab every year since. On that first trip, Brian and I didn’t know what to expect, so we brought everything including battery power packs, a generator,...
For most men, a woman is a mystery but for a photographer it’s important to understand women the best you can to create great photos of them. In glamour photography of women, a photographer must gain an insight into their female subject before they even think about...
Click Photos For Lightbox View Commercial Photo Shoot By Professional Photographer Steve Thornton (Click Photos For Lightbox View) While in Cologne for Photokina, the world’s largest trade fair for photography and imaging held biennially, I shot a couple of...
Which is it? Confused? It’s not uncommon to hear photographers describe light as artificial or natural light, but more often than none, I hear photographers at my photography workshops confuse the terms, ambient, natural and existing. Throw in artificial light,...
It’s About Ability, Not Inability. I’ve taught many photography workshops for almost two decades now and I constantly see many photographers get caught up in their gear. Contrary to all the marketing hype that slaps consumers in the face on a daily basis, it’s not the...
The Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver’s 1949 Communication Model Helps Photographers The greatest photographers in the world have three things in common, a creative eye, the comprehension of their equipment and the ability to communicate both to their subject and the...
Optional Elements in Photography There are many elements in photography that help create a successful photo, from the optional elements of lines, foreground choices, clothing, accessories, props, chiaroscuro and various forms of accent lighting on your subject. Then...
As a professional photographer, it’s not uncommon for someone to challenge what you charge for your services, especially when another photographer lowballs for the same photo shoot. I’ve heard it, “Why should I pay more for you when I can find another photographer...
Recently I noticed a social media comment left on a photo about how modeling and photography are often misunderstood as easy professions. While I’m no model, nor do I play one on TV, but I’m known to photograph a model or two and can relate to that perception as I’m...
A Physics Rule for Photographers. In physics, the Law of Reflection, aka The Angle of Incidence Equals the Angle of Reflection, states that the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection. This tenet is fundamental to understand light and is summarized that...
Photography Project Shoot By Professional Photographer Steve Thornton (Click Photos For Lightbox View) I have shot with Esther several times and try to shoot with her if I’m in Germany. I was in Zingst, Germany, on the Baltic Sea, and had a photography project...
A Little Squared Humor. Often, I get interesting questions, some humor me and today was no different when a model asked me on the phone, “If lenses are round, why are photos rectangular?” I chuckled at first and then told her, “That’s a good question,” then I gave...
It’s Happening Now, Don’t Get Left Behind. In my recent blog post, Mirrorless Camera Madness, you found out that in my search for a replacement digital camera system, I noticed a paradigm shift to mirrorless cameras and how Olympus is tops in this field. A paradigm...
