Should you color calibrate your computer monitors for editing photos? Short and quick answer, a resounding YES!

If you’ve been following me for a while now you probably know that I am partly colorblind which is a HUGE disadvantage for a photographer!

If you have been following me you are no doubt sick of all of the snake images I’ve been posting and writing about as of late. 

As exciting as it all was and even landing me in the news (KY3, KAIT8), it’s time to focus back on the magical world of photography.

We all have that (when I found a snake in my house) story, but this one takes it to a whole other level and will make your skin crawl!

15 minutes before I leave work to come home I get a frantic call from my wife Natasha with high pitched screaming on the other end!

Are you ever afraid to interact or even correspond with the competition out of fear that they would somehow steal your ideas or clients? Do you get super offended when someone critics your work, especially when you didn't ask for it? 

Have you ever been on a photo shoot where you pull your camera and lens out of the camera bag and it instantly fogs over? 

I have, and it’s a bit scary if you don’t know what to do because it can take a very long time to go back to normal and you don’t want to have your clients standing around waiting for your lenses to clear up.

One of the things that drew me into photography was the artistic side of things. I loved how you could tell a story in a single image.

When I started doing photography as a business I quickly realized that there are two types of photos, the Portrait, and the story. Each one is perceived completely different.

Should You Shoot in JPG or RAW? This was very confusing for me when I started out. I had no idea what the difference was except that one took a HUGE amount of disk space.

I eventually figured it all out and made the switch to RAW, but it wasn’t easy. 

Now I get asked this question a lot. So here is my answer to the question, should I shoot in JPG or RAW?

When I got into photography I never really give this much thought. 

It was years before I even purchased my first photography prop. 

I’m very subconscious about everything that ends up in the frame of my images, everything must have a purpose.

So here is my take on photography props.

As a photographer I’m always wanting to try new things so I can expand my knowledge and understanding of photography in as many ways that I can.

One of those things on my list was architecture photography, or real estate photography.

I finally got the chance to mark that one of my list. I will have to say though, this was completely different than what I'm used to.

IT”S SPRING!!! Time to pull out the camera and look for Spring blossoms and flowers!

This article may be a bit on the short side, but I wanted to leave a few tips for taking Spring photos.

So you’ve been dabbling in photography for a while now and you’ve been getting a lot of compliments on your work. You decide that you are ready to start taking on clients.

But where do you start? 

This article will help you to start picking up clients and get you started on your photography business adventure!

One of my least favorite things to do is take group photos, specifically at weddings! 

It can be extremely chaotic, especially when there are a lot of kids.

But, it is one of those things that you will find yourself needing to do eventually as a photographer. So here is how I take large group shots.

I’ve always wanted to try my hand at restoring and colorizing old photos. It’s almost magic to me when I see someone do this. 

I like to challenge myself to try things I’ve never tried before. That’s how we learn. 

Just for fun, I restored and colorized a couple of old family photos. Here is the process I took.

On top of mastering your craft, you must also strengthen your people skills. It doesn't matter how good of a photographer you are if you are not good with people.

I had to learn this and continue to learn it as I go a long.

Here are a few tips for how I interact with my subjects during a photo shoot.

Part of what really made my images stand out in the beginning, is when I started using professional camera lenses.

But also starting out I didn’t have any money to invest in expensive lenses. There was just no way for me to afford them starting out, and that is the case for a lot of beginner photographers.

But I found a way to get my hands on some really nice professional camera lenses for super cheap! Here’s how I did it.

As you probably know, I don’t use flash very often. In fact, I call myself a natural light photographer. I typically shoot outdoors with whatever natural light is available to me, and even when I shoot indoors I try to only use natural light coming in through windows and doors. 

If you don’t already know by now, I use a lot of manual focus lenses.

Not that I have anything against auto-focus lenses, I think they’re awesome! But here is why I use a lot of manual focus lenses.

When I first started photography I knew that I wanted that blurry background and foreground in my photos.

For me, I somehow understood how to do that. But as a photographer, I get asked this question a lot.

A lot of people think this is done in Photoshop. Are though you can add blur to your photos in Photoshop, it certainly isn’t the easiest are the best way to do it.

Photography has everything to do with light. So the time of day to shoot is very important. But remember, it all has to do with light.

Here is how I chooses the best time of day to shoot.

I want to be able to move around as I please and not be weighted down by a ton of photo gear. One of my pet peeves is that I do not want to be restricted in any way shape or from when I am shooting. 

As much as I love the latest and greatest gadgets and photo gear, flexibility is WAY more important.

Here is what I take with me on my photo sessions.