Lenspiration Blog
Welcome! Wherever you are on your photography journey, learn to take better photos through the photography tips and stories you'll find in the following free articles. By learning from the experience of others, you can also start taking pictures that you're excited to share with others!
On Assignment: Scenic Seasonal Paths
After last month's relatively difficult assignment, I was excited to get out and photograph something a little more up my alley. But just because this assignment is easier doesn't mean it doesn't have its own special twist. The fun part about this assignment is the...
Is A Bug’s-Eye View The Ideal Perspective In Photography?
I do a lot of traveling and I have seen a lot of places. Let me tell you about one recent trip from my perspective! I don't think many people wake up with branches arching above them and a window-view of orange leaves at their feet, but I am used to waking up in...
How Do I Expose Properly for Christmas Lights?
I rushed out into the cold, winter night. Blue hour was quickly slipping away. But before it did, I wanted to capture the amazing display of Christmas lights that my brother had put on the house! The contrast between the lights on the house and the darkness around...
Photographing As A Group Revealed These 4 Interesting Things
It's hard to believe it's been over a year since the St. Simons Island photography workshop! As I was editing my photos from that excursion the other day, I started to notice something interesting. During the day, the group of us 5 photographers were shooting the...
On Assignment: Young Person Preparing Food (and Tips for Great Lighting!)
It's not very often that we receive a photo request from a publisher who goes into great detail about the kind of photo they are looking for. Usually, a publisher doesn't need something ultra specific, so a typical request can tend to be broad and brief. However,...
First Impressions of the Canon R6
In a previous blog post, I shared some autumn photos from a pleasant, October excursion to Swallow Falls State Park with my new Canon R6 mirrorless camera. It was my first excursion with that camera. But now that several weeks have passed and I have had opportunity...
A Day of Surprises in Indiana
It's now becoming almost commonplace to meet up with folks I've never met (in addition to long time friends, sometimes) in the dead of night in abandoned parking lots or along deserted streets. I have to admit, it does feel kinda strange to introduce myself by...
How Not to Clean a Focus Screen
For a while now, I've considered upgrading my camera to a mirrorless. I wanted to have at least one mirrorless camera to help with teaching and creating photography material, and I knew technology had advanced enough now to know that using a mirrorless camera could...
A Rare Photography Opportunity
Wow, the month of October flew by so quickly! So much happened, and there were so many opportunities for photography, but this has been the first week I've been able to sit down and actually edit some of my photos from October! So, let me start at the beginning . ....
On Assignment: Christian Womanhood
"Should we leave on Saturday, Sunday, or Monday?" The EXPLORE Waterfalls & Gorges of Western Indiana workshop was happening on Tuesday. To get to Indiana would be about an 8hr drive. I prefer not to travel on Sundays, and we were hoping to spend some time with...
One and a Half Years Later
One and a half years ago, in April, 2023, a group of photographers gathered for two photography workshops in western Indiana. After the workshop, I edited the team photos, picked out some of my favorite photos, edited them, and sent them off to the students. And...
On Assignment: Inspiring Manhood
At first, when I read the details for this assignment, I have to admit I was a bit overwhelmed. How to capture “honesty”, “integrity”....”manhood”? But when I actually went out to photograph it, I found that although there were some challenges to work through, it...
The Reasoning Behind the 12 Intricate Cutouts
After carefully going over the results of the survey I sent out the other week, I have chosen the 12 photographs and overall theme for the Lenspiration 2025 Calendar! But choosing the 12 main images is only the beginning of the calendar creation process...
Revealing the Best (and Worst) Photos from the 2025 Calendar Survey!
The results are in! You took the time to provide your input on the 50 photos I was considering for the Lenspiration 2025 Calendar, and now it’s time to look at the results! One fun fact is that there were considerably more participants this year than last year. 36%...
Why I’m Looking for Your Input
One of my favorite tasks in the year is to gather new photos for the next Lenspiration calendar! But it might come as a surprise to you from which corner of my collection of photos those new candidates come from! This year I’m putting together Lenspiration’s 2025...
7 Steps to Choosing Calendar-Worthy Photographs
How often do you feel like all of your photos from the year are organized and edited by the time you reach the end of the year? If you’re like me, it’s practically never. I love taking photos! But when it comes to processing them? It takes time and discipline to do...
How Important is Location Scouting?
In the past, I’ve had mixed feelings about the benefits of scouting out a location before a portrait shoot. So many times I have put effort into checking out a location, thinking through the angles of light at a specific time of day, noting shadows, and jotting...
A Precarious Adventure In the Gorge
In my last blog post, I talked about our early morning excursion to Overlook #6 and the surprises that that morning had brought to us. Well, there were more surprises in store for us that day . . . and one precarious experience that was unlike any other in my...
An Underwhelming Sunrise
For a week, I had been wondering what the sunrise was going to be like on Saturday morning of that weekend! I had everything planned out perfectly. We would leave the house at 4:45am, meet up with several other photographers outside the park at 5:40am, hike in the...
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Trying to take advantage of the abundance of snow! Over a foot of snow now, I`d say.
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#landscape #landscapephotography #optoutside #photo #godscreation #creation #greatoutdoors #outdoors #explore #landscapeshot #canon #outdoorlife #photographyeducator #photoblogger #christianphotographer #photography #wvphotographer #lenspiration #snow #winter #wintery #extreme #extremephotography #cold
Have a photo of a path meandering through a pretty scene? Submit it for the latest Lenspiration photo assignment! Use link in bio.
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#landscapephoto #landscapephotography #nature #creation #greatoutdoors #outdoors #explore #optoutside #landscapeshot #canon #outdoorlife #photographyeducator #photoblogger #christianphotographer #photography #photographer #wvphotographer #lenspiration #path #assignment #photoassignment #photochallenge #challenge #bridge #winter #wintery #farmingtoncanaltrail #farmingtonheritagetrail #connecticut
Story behind the photo in the latest Lenspiration blog post! See link in bio.
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#landscapephoto #landscape #landscapephotography #art #nature #photo #godscreation #creation #greatoutdoors #outdoors #explore #optoutside #landscapeshot #canon #outdoorlife #photographyeducator #photoblogger #christianphotographer #photography #photographer #wvphotographer #lenspiration #hiddennorthdakota #northdakota #lonetree #autumn #harvest #flat #farmland #optoutside
Enjoyed some time in the fresh, deep snow last night!
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#photographyeducator #photoblogger #christianphotographer #photography #photographer #wvphotographer #lenspiration #winter #2025 #2025snowstorm #2025snow #wnter #snowscape #winter #winterwonderland #wintery #gotowv #wildwonderfulwv #wildwonderfulwestvirginia #wvhills #westvirginiamountains #westvirginiahills
Merry Christmas Eve!
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#landscapephoto #landscape #landscapephotograph #greatoutdoors #outdoors #explore #optoutside #landscapeshot #canon #outdoorlife #photographyeducator #photoblogger #christianphotographer #photography #photographer #wvphotographer #lenspiration #winter #westvirginiahills #gotowv #westvirginiamountains #westvirginia
One of the best times to photograph snowbis when it`s snowing! Things far away are lighter than things up close, creating a sense of depth. More winter-time tips on the blog! See link in bio.
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#landscapephoto #landscapephotography #art #nature #photo #godscreation #creation #greatoutdoors #outdoors #explore #optoutside #landscapeshot #canon #outdoorlife #photographyeducator #photoblogger #christianphotographer #photography #photographer #wvphotographer #lenspiration #snow #winter #winterwonderland #rural #gotowv #wildwonderfulwestvirginia #westvirginiahills #westvirginia #wvphoto #wvphotographer
How do I expose properly for Christmas lights? Check out the new post on the blog! See link in profile (www.lenspitation.com/blog)
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#story #photography #photoblog #photographer #wvphotographer #blogpost #blog #behindtheshot #christmaslights #christmas #lights #bluehour #homefortheholidays #cozy #landscapephoto #metering #exposure #longexposure #longexposurephotography
First time visiting Shades State Park this year! No waterfalls at this time of year, but it was very colorfuland secluded in October.
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#landscapephoto #landscape #landscapephotography #art #nature #photo #godscreation #creation #greatoutdoors #outdoors #explore #optoutside #landscapeshot #canon #outdoorlife #photographyeducator #photoblogger #christianphotographer #photography #photographer #wvphotographer #lenspiration #autumn #hiker #hiking #hikingthegorge #statepark
There was this hole of a window in the wall....and there was this "hole" in the clouds, and I was like, that`s neat!
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#photographyeducator #photoblogger #christianphotographer #photography #photographer #wvphotographer #lenspiration #ancient #old #ruins #history #composition #circle #holeinthewall #landscapephotographer
A spot of color to brighten up a cold, wintery day!
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#photographyeducator #photoblogger #christianphotographer #photography #photographer #wvphotographer #lenspiration #wildlifephotography #wildlifephoto #wildlife #animal #godscreation #creationproclaims
#creation #creator #godthecreator #paintedbunting #bird #fowlsoftheair #colorful
New post on the blog! See profile link (www.lenspitation.com/blog)
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#story #photography #photoblog #photographer #wvphotographer #blogpost #blog #behindtheshot #georgia #stsimonsisland #boat #marsh #scenery #scenic #photographyworkshop #composition #framing #goldenhour
Polls: looks like a new feature on Instagram! Let`s try it out. On a scale of 1 (dislike) to 4 (like) how would you rate this photo I was editing the other day?
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#landscapephoto #landscape #landscapephotography #art #nature #photo #godscreation #creation #greatoutdoors #outdoors #explore #optoutside #landscapeshot #canon #outdoorlife #photographyeducator #photoblogger #christianphotographer #photography #photographer #wvphotographer #lenspiration #archetecturephotography #composition #georgia #fort #ruins #history
Loved having some dads hang out with us on the last photography workshop!
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#exploremeetup #photographymeetup #workshop #photographyworkshop #outdoors #photographyday #photographyskills #homeschooled #homeschoolphotography #homeschool #homeeducators #homeeducate #homeschoolingteens #lifelearning #homescool #photographyeducator #photoblogger #christianphotographer #photography #photographer #wvphotographer #lenspiration #explore #indiana #autumn #team #fatherson #fatherdaughter #friendship #friends
The holes in the rocks along Mill Creek can be seen in Satillite view in Google Maps! Will remember this for scouting future locations.
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#mobileoffice #onthego #office #travel #exploring #offgrid #photographybusiness #ontheroad #makingaliving #photographyeducator #photoblogger #christianphotographer #photography #photographer #wvphotographer #lenspiration #creek #indiana #geologic #geology #autumncolors🍁 #autum #reflecting
Another favorite from the EXPLORE Indiana photography meetup in October. Just announced EXPLORE The Susquehanna in PA next year!
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#homeschool #homeschoolworkshop #workshop #photoworkshop #photographyworkshop #indiana @theiahe #indianahomeschool #waterfall #godscreation #composition #compositiontechniques #autumn #autumnphotography #landscapephotographer #landscapephotography #landscape
"And he [Judas] went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him [Jesus] unto them. And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money." Just because something gives us gladness, doesn`t mean that it is good. Luke 22:4-5.
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#nightphotography #night #verse #scriptureverse #scripture #happy #happiness #pleasure #temptation #bluehour #bluehourphotography
One of my favorite photos from this past autumn! Despite there not being a clear subject, the incredible soft light makes it feel like a Baroque Era painting.
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#landscapephoto #landscape #landscapephotography #art #nature #photo #godscreation #creation #greatoutdoors #outdoors #explore #optoutside #landscapeshot #canon #outdoorlife #photographyeducator #photoblogger #christianphotographer #photography #photographer #wvphotographer #lenspiration #baroque #painting #sunrise #autumn #quiet #quiettime
Getting around to editing my autumn photos! It was a great year for color. A long season. Would love your critique! How would you have photographed this differently?
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#landscapephoto #landscape #landscapephotography #art #nature #photo #godscreation #creation #greatoutdoors #outdoors #explore #optoutside #landscapeshot #canon #outdoorlife #photographyeducator #photoblogger #christianphotographer #photography #photographer #wvphotographer #lenspiration #autumn #canonr6 #r6 #canon #canonphotographer #leaves #optoutside #outdoorphotography
