James Staddon, Author at Lenspiration

Finding Extraordinary Photos In An Ordinary Park

Remember the story from Gibson Ranch that I blogged about last week? Well, here’s a video about how I took those pictures! As you watch me find, set up and photograph the pictures I take, maybe it will give you the inspiration or new ideas you need to start taking better pictures too. If you like the video, feel free... Read More »

Four Photographers Get Some Great Advice

Thank you, photographers, for participating in the recent Shoot to Serve photo assignment, Titus 3:5-6 VersPic Opportunity! Here’s an update from the VersePic director, Ben, on why he used the picture he used and why he didn’t use the pictures he didn’t use. This is some extremely practical education that you folks... Read More »

A Story From Gibson Ranch

Back in July, after the Sacramento Family Conference, there was a group of conference staff that needed to get to the airport early Saturday morning. Even though it meant getting up at like 3:30am to get them there (and we were all exhausted from running the conference that week), I volunteered to do the airport run... Read More »

The Photographer’s Roadmap Infographic

The last Photography Team of the year is almost here! Looking forward to heading up to Wisconsin on Monday for the Green Lake Family Conference. In preparation for it, I put together a fun little infographic that I’ll be handing out to the attending photographers. We’ll be working hard at learning as much as we can... Read More »

Behind the Shot: Spot of Green

It wasn’t the best sunset in the world, that balmy evening I spent with Jonathan on top of Enchanted Rock in Texas earlier this month, but I was very grateful that the clouds broke away just enough to make a sunburst for that one, single composition I had figured would be the best when we first arrived. The... Read More »

Is This Really What I Think It Is?

What sort of a building do you suppose this is? Do you think it could be what I think it is? An old, one room school house? I saw it setting next to the road as I was driving down the Belmont Turnpike in north-western Pennsylvania near Waymart with my family the other day. Since The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is... Read More »

Ideas for Photographing Groomsmen

Some creative ideas specifically for posing the groom and groomsmen.

Watch An Entire Photo Critique Webinar for Free!

The photo critique webinar on Tuesday night was fantastic! We delved into more advanced stuff like color schemes, balance in composition, and the difference in twilight zones at blue hour. But while that video replay is not available to the public, I thought it would be fun to pull a past, PRO-exclusive critique... Read More »

How I Came to Discover One of Illinois’ Hidden Landscape Photography Gems

We’re all familiar with the place in Colorado called Garden of the Gods, but did you know there was a hidden landscape photography gem in southern Illinois that goes by the same name? Here’s how I happened to discover it… Once upon a time, several years ago, I wrote a letter to HEAV asking if I could hold a booth... Read More »

Behind the Shot: Castle Crags

Castle Crags Wilderness in the shadow of Mt. Shasta in northern California is a pretty amazing place! But even with epic surroundings, I still have to put thought into how I compose my shots (among other factors) so they’ll still look epic when I view them later on my computer at home. This was my first vantage point... Read More »

11 Tips From My Photography Trip To California

You might say it was cheating on the last trip … It was to California, a true vacation of backpacking, hammocking, pristine wilderness, alpine vistas, epic sunsets, snow-capped mountain…yeah, who needs to be a pro to get awesome pictures with surroundings like that? (Of course, I disagree with that reasoning, but now... Read More »

Favorite Shots from the Sacramento Photography Team

Similar to last year’s Photography Team, it was awesome to see the team at the 2017 Sacramento Family Conference grow from an initial 3 expected photographers to a grand total of 6! Here are a few of my favorite shots from the team, and why I like them. Photo by Shannon I love the simplicity. I love the yellow, green... Read More »

How I Bought A New Tripod Head . . . And Why I Returned It

I’ve been learning a lot about tripod heads recently. You see, the tripod head that I’ve been using for the past 6 years finally bit the dust. So, I started looking for a new one. Here were my 5 prerequisites: Prerequisite #1 It needed to be a ball head, not a 3-way video pan head or a pistol grip style head.... Read More »

West Virginia Rainbows

With the frequent thunderstorms that have passed through West Virginia this summer, there have been a surprising amount of opportunities to take pictures of rainbows. Most of the time I only have my phone on me to take pictures with, but still, it’s better than nothing! And it sure is easier to shoot panoramas with a... Read More »

How to Watch Tuesday’s Photo Critique Webinar for Free!

Every month, as PRO members learn photography one step at a time working through the Roadmap and fulfilling their shooting assignments, they have the opportunity to submit their photos to be critiqued during the monthly Photo Critique webinars. Outsiders can listen in and participate if they want to for $19, but... Read More »

What Is Correct Exposure?

What do you say? Is the first shot or the second shot correctly exposed? After looking at the first shot, the second one looks too bright. But what if I had shown you the brighter shot first? Now the second one looks too dark! So who determines what “correct” looks like? That’s the question I tackle in the latest... Read More »

How To Photograph Tack Sharp Reflections

Reflections are awesome! And they’re awesome-er if they are truly sharp. Notice how in this photo the reflection isn’t quite perfectly, tack sharp? This is what a PRO member was talking about when they asked this question recently on the Q&A Forum: Do you have some tips for getting sharp reflection? Is there an... Read More »

A Creative Perspective on the Photography Team Group Shot

Saturday was the last day of the HEAV Photography Team! As always, we took a team group shot. Instead of doing it at the exact same location every year, I like to try and be creative by changing up locations if we have the time. This makes things a little more challenging, of course, because I never know if a new... Read More »

2 Things You Won’t Want to Miss Today

First, obviously, is the time-sensitive discount I mentioned the other day for those who might want to try PRO free for a month: Remember! Only available today, tomorrow and Saturday (June 8, 9 and 10) Go to www.lenspiration.com/pro and click to Join PRO Enter coupon code TRYPRO at checkout Second, is the phenomenal,... Read More »

Special Discount Available This Weekend Only!

Summer is the time for conferences and conventions! And there’s something very special about the one that’s happening this weekend… At the last Conference, the one at the end of May in Toccoa, Georgia, it was special in it’s own unique way. Southern sweet tea, of course, genuine hospitality and a small, close-knit... Read More »