The Gift of Photography

by | Nov 28, 2020 | Perspective

The Gift of Photography
For the past couple of months, I’ve been looking forward to going out to St. Louis for the wedding of a good friend of mine. The wedding is next week. So I decided I had better figure out my travel schedule and decide whether or not I’d make some time for photography along the way. My initial thought was to head out... Read More »

Editing Out Reflections in Glasses

by | Nov 21, 2020 | Tips & Tricks

Editing Out Reflections in Glasses
I very much enjoy using off-camera flash when doing indoor shots at a wedding. It's just so soft, and it does a really great job of pulling subjects off the background! However, there can be a problem. Bright directional light creates reflections in glasses. After shooting Thierry & Hannah's wedding in September,... Read More »

The Truth Revealed

by | Nov 12, 2020 | Perspective

The Truth Revealed
Can you tell me what this is a picture of? Maybe it’s a picture of an epic ocean sunrise. Maybe it’s a picturesque old barn on the midwestern prairie. Maybe it’s a grizzly bear on the steep slopes of an Alaskan mountainside! Who knows. You can’t tell. It’s totally not properly exposed. Now, since I’m the... Read More »

On Assignment: Autumn Reference Photo

by | Oct 30, 2020 | Assignments

On Assignment: Autumn Reference Photo
Maybe you can’t tell…but I had no idea how to go about shooting this great assignment, Autumn Artwork Reference Photo! November is late to be photographing fall colors. I suggest you try to photograph this assignment as soon as you can. Just a couple days can make a big difference in how much fall foliage there is... Read More »

Playing with Tone Curve

by | Oct 24, 2020 | Tips & Tricks

Playing with Tone Curve
While editing the Assateague Island Field Day group photo not too long ago, I felt my typical adjustments in the Basic panel just weren’t getting it right. Maybe it had something to do with how bright both the foreground and background were? I don’t know. Here’s the best I could do using just the Basic sliders like... Read More »

A Twinge of Sadness

by | Oct 17, 2020 | Perspective, Stories & Expeditions

A Twinge of Sadness
Have you ever been out taking pictures someplace that you’ve never been to before, enjoying the beauty of the place simply because it’s a beautiful place . . . and then someone starts giving you a glimpse into the history of the place? It gives a deeper perspective on the way you view the location. No longer is it... Read More »

Behind the Shot: Crimson Display

by | Oct 10, 2020 | Stories & Expeditions

Behind the Shot: Crimson Display
It was a quaint little place. Not all that attractive in and of itself. But the view was amazing! An especially great place for morning devotions, even when it was cold outside. But on one particular morning, I saw the horizon begin to glow red, I knew it was time to jump into my wool socks and wind-proof jacket!... Read More »

On Assignment: An Illustration of Selfishness

by | Oct 2, 2020 | Assignments

On Assignment: An Illustration of Selfishness
Oh, this is going to be a good assignment! Surely, everyone has a water hose, an algae-covered pond, or an old rain barrel somewhere close by! But has anyone ever thought to take artistic pictures of them?? The pond that was supposed to be all stagnant and ugly turned out to look way too healthy to illustrate the... Read More »

Creative Posing Ideas

by | Sep 4, 2020 | Assignments

Creative Posing Ideas
This month’s photo assignment, Creative Posing, is a little different than normal! Instead of asking you to photograph a concept or come up with your own interpretation of an idea, this assignment is to photograph something specific. Very specific! So specific, in fact, that it will require you to study provided... Read More »

Constraining Factors

by | Aug 19, 2020 | Perspective, Pic of the Month

Constraining Factors
The sound of my alarm going off was evidently louder than the pitter patter of water dripping off the trees onto the rainfly. Everything inside the tent was still pretty damp from the previous evening’s rain, but outside, the moon was making it’s appearance through broken clouds. Our group of four slowly piled into... Read More »

On Assignment: Harvest!

by | Aug 4, 2020 | Assignments

On Assignment: Harvest!
We’re shooting to illustrate two different verses this month, both with a theme of “harvest” (more details about the assignment here). If you live where golden fields of wheat or rye are around, photograph that! That’s what we’re really looking for. But if you’re like me, and the only kind of harvest around is the... Read More »

Quick Tip: Shoulder to the Sun

by | Jul 17, 2020 | Tips & Tricks

Quick Tip: Shoulder to the Sun
Last night, I was putting together a training video about the different times of day and how they relate to photography. If you’ve done much photography, you’ll know that each time of day offers the photographer something completely different to explore! Anyway, I came across these three photos from my archives that... Read More »

What Quality Setting Should I Use for JPG Photos?

by | Jul 13, 2020 | Recommendations

What Quality Setting Should I Use for JPG Photos?

The topic of image quality (specifically JPG format image quality) comes up every so often in photography circles, and Lenspiration is no exception. I’d venture to say that all of the photographers here at Lenspiration are shooting for the best, so they naturally want their photos to be the “highest quality” possible. However, the downside to high quality is high file size!

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Homeschooling Photo Shoot!

by | Jul 3, 2020 | Assignments

Homeschooling Photo Shoot!
If your family already does homeschooling, this month’s photo assignment should be easy! To make it more challenging for me, I focused on lighting and doing what I could to get it just right…. While bounce flash certainly is better than direct flash or no flash at all when photographing not-so-well-lit areas, I feel... Read More »

Caught by Storm Chasing

by | Jun 29, 2020 | Tips & Tricks, Stories & Expeditions

Caught by Storm Chasing
A self-described country boy from a farming family on the coast of southern Virginia, John has been active on the Lenspiration forums since 2015 and a member on Lenspiration since 2018. When he has time for photography, his excursions tend to evidence his undeniable hard-work ethic, love for adventure, and complete... Read More »

A Little Experiment with Focal Length

by | Jun 22, 2020 | Perspective

A Little Experiment with Focal Length
I’ve been having way too much fun preparing the Premium Training for next week’s photo assignment launch! After doing some video recording with Jonathan at a lake, we went driving around on some local back roads to find a good spot to run an experiment I wanted to do with focal length. I wanted to illustrate how the... Read More »

Locals Are the Best!

by | Jun 15, 2020 | Stories & Expeditions

Locals Are the Best!
Last Friday, I went out waterfall hunting! Needing some specific photos related to flowing water for a new training video, I headed to Valley Falls State Park. It was about an hour away, but it was the closest place I knew of where I could find a “big” waterfall. Well, when I arrived, there was this guy fishing on... Read More »

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