The common advice for new and aspiring photographers is to take as many photographs as you possibly can – every day of the week if possible. For many, that means starting on a photo-a-day or 365 project. This is terrific advice, but I don't necessarily think it is limited to beginners. Even professionals can benefit from something like a photo-a-da…

Here's something I've mentioned before, and I believe that I've spoken of it in terms of how organization and trip planning is a good thing. Because that is the truth—none of us wants to spend a lot of money and time on a trip only to come home with no photographs to show for it. This time around, however, I want to argue the opposite. Conflicting …

Ansel Adams said, "There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept." As photographers, this is our greatest struggle — to produce images with a meaning that is immediately evident and warrants a deeper examination of the subject material. So how do we produce images like this? One way to create a powerful collection — a meaningful port…

If you're thinking of moving from photography as a hobby to a business, one of the first steps is to build a professional portfolio. Photographers of every variety – wedding, portrait, product, fine art, and more – use portfolios to showcase their work to galleries or potential clients. In fact, your portfolio will be one of your most important mar…

If you're thinking of moving from photography as a hobby to a business, one of the first steps is to build a professional portfolio. Photographers of every variety – wedding, portrait, product, fine art, and more – use portfolios to showcase their work to galleries or potential clients. In fact, your portfolio will be one of your most important mar…

Photographers like to think of themselves as observers. We stand back, we watch, we wait for something interesting to happen. But observation is only half the story. The real heart of photography often comes from connection, not distance. Today, we're going to talk about what it means to move from observing your subjects to truly connecting with th…

Understanding white balance is one of those topics that gets talked about so much that the meaning starts to blur. In simple terms, white balance is about making sure the colors in your photograph look true. When the white areas in a photo actually look white, your color is accurate... Podcast Notes: https://www.moneymakerphotography.com/determinat…

There are all kinds of things we can talk about when it comes to photography. Multitudes of techniques, basic to advanced camera controls, compositional rules, lighting, gear and even the artistic eye. There is post-processing, software, file storage and all of the other technical details. You can boil it down further and talk about papers and inks…

There are all kinds of things we can talk about when it comes to photography. Multitudes of techniques, basic to advanced camera controls, compositional rules, lighting, gear and even the artistic eye. There is post-processing, software, file storage and all of the other technical details. You can boil it down further and talk about papers and inks…

I've talked a lot about composition and landscape photography because it's such a rewarding genre. There's a lot to learn, and everyone who spends time with it comes away better for it. Today, I want to go a little deeper and look at some advanced ideas, the kinds of things that really make your landscapes stand out. Some of these ideas bend the us…

When gift-giving season comes around, photographers always get the same idea. Birthdays, Christmas, any big occasion, it seems perfect to give someone one of our photographs. It feels personal and meaningful. It feels like you're giving someone a piece of your creative vision, something you spent hours shaping. And since photographs can be customiz…

As photographers, everything we do is tied to perspective. We think about it every day as we work on our images, but we don't always think about all the meanings packed into that one word. When you hear "perspective," you probably think about the angle you shoot from. That angle is part of it, but there's much more. There is the angle itself, there…

What is the real path to artistic success? Some people say it is nothing more than practice. Not just practice in general, but practice in one single area of photography, always working on that one slice of the craft. I see it differently. I think success grows out of diversity. Different styles, different techniques, and even different genres. Eve…

When you've been a photographer for as long as I have, you start to realize that not only does this art give you joy, but it also comes with its own share of frustrations. It seems strange at times to be so frustrated with something that you enjoy so much, but it definitely isn't an uncommon feeling. Let me share some of my frustrations so that you…

What is "artspeak," precisely? It's a kind of blanket term, one you've probably seen used to refer to other activities, the type of term where the prefix is interchangeable. You'll sometimes hear the terms "computer-speak" or "techspeak." In a nutshell, these terms mean that people involved in the conversation are using language - technical terms a…

We've long made the assumption that photography is, in itself, an art. And in a general sense, that is true, the same way that painting is an art or that writing is an art. But I think we need a bit more specificity about precisely what the art of photography is. Surveys from 2014 showed that 1.8 billion photographs were uploaded online each day. N…

A reflection on preparation, perception, and what really matters when the shutter clicks. There's a familiar ritual before every photography trip. The suitcase waits open, half filled with clothes and cables, but the real challenge sits beside it—the camera gear. I start stacking lenses, checking chargers, counting batteries, and convincing myself …

Every once in a while, I come across a story that reminds me how connected all the creative fields really are — photography, design, printing, art. They all share one foundation: color. That's what drew me to Pantone's story. It's not just a company that makes color charts. It's the reason we can all talk about color in the same language. Pantone b…

Capturing a photograph is much more than just pressing a camera's shutter button. It's an intricate dance of thoughts, emotions, and technical considerations that come together to capture a moment in time. When I prepare to take a photograph, I go through a detailed mental checklist, each step bringing me closer to the perfect shot. Here's an in-de…

Ever found yourself wondering, "Do I love photography or do I love photographs?" It might seem like a subtle distinction, but there's a significant difference between the two. Photography is the process – the act of capturing moments, exploring locations, and crafting images. Photographs, on the other hand, are the final product – the tangible resu…

Have you ever looked at a photograph and felt a surge of memories or emotions, as if the image before you opened a door to another time or place? This is one of the most magical aspects of photography – its ability to act as a metaphor, connecting us to deeper meanings and experiences beyond the frame. When we look at a photograph, it's not just a …

Cameras are truly marvelous devices, capable of capturing moments and turning them into lasting memories. They can freeze time, tell stories, and evoke powerful emotions. But here's the catch – a camera can only do these incredible things if you have it with you when the perfect photographic opportunity arises. Mark Twain once said, "The person who…

Integrating the principles of effective communication with the realm of photography offers a unique and compelling perspective, particularly for a blog centered on this art form. Here's how the Three Rules of Communication can be beautifully paralleled with the process and presentation of photography, enriching the content for your blog.. Podcast N…

Have you ever flipped through an old family album or browsed antique photos online and noticed that hardly anyone is smiling? It almost looks like people from the past never had much fun. But the truth is, the story behind those solemn faces is a mix of technology, culture, and changing ideas of what a photo should capture. Podcast Notes: https://w…

What If Color Had Come First? Let's imagine something wild for a second: what if color photography had been invented first? Would we have ever created black and white photography at all? Or would we have dismissed it as incomplete, a technological limitation, an odd artistic experiment? The fact that we even ask this question says something about b…

In the arts, practice is everything. I know this because I lived it. In college, I was a woodwind major, playing the saxophone. My life revolved around practice rooms. Hours of scales. Long tones until my lips were buzzing. Etudes, arpeggios, and drills over and over until the notes weren't just learned, they were built into muscle memory. At first…

What makes a famous photographer famous? It's not the gear he uses, and it's normally not a single image, either. Most of the greatest photographers have a certain style that makes their images immediately recognizable. Style is the reason why you can pick an Ansel Adams landscape out from a thousand others. Style makes you unique, it's an extensio…

If you ask photographers, most would say that they'd love to go on safari or take a trip to an exotic land just for the opportunity to create amazing images of fantastic animals. However, it's not so easy to break away from daily life for a trip to the wilds. Fortunately, you can still create some amazing images while staying much closer to home. T…

You've heard it before: Whenever possible, always create RAW files rather than JPEGs. The reason given is that camera RAWs give you much more data to work with, which in turn means that you can do a lot more in the digital darkroom. The same is true if you look back at film photography. One of the reasons that JPEGs and digital images were so excit…

These things and probably a myriad other factors all lead to photographers getting a lot more from their own photographs than viewers ever will. We have an intimacy, a closeness with our own work, that is almost impossible to share. There will be things in our photographs that we see that others simply will not. Of course, this is the natural order…

Here's a little something you might not have known about me, but in college, I was a music major. What has that got to do with photography? Well, if you've never made music before, it might be a little tricky to explain, but musicians will certainly understand this feeling, I think. When a musician plays or sings, a lot of what goes into the music …

One of the best things about creativity is that it truly is without limits. We can see this in a variety of places, like in the worlds of film and literature. TV shows and movies will have spinoffs, sequels, and prequels—and novels do the same. For some writers, what starts as a single novel branches out until it becomes a 12-book series, plus a co…

Creativity doesn't happen in a vacuum. We all need things that motivate us, that inspire us, and that recharge our creative batteries. Fortunately, the creative world is a big one that goes beyond photography and into dozens of different arts where we can get what it is that we need to keep on making photographs. There are many things I like to do …

For any creative—and really, this is probably something that applies in many areas of life, too—the hardest thing to do is to own up to our mistakes and failures. It comes to mind with creativity and photography in particular, because when you embark on a creative path, those failures will be many. I daresay that if any of us look through our archi…

As artists and photographers, we talk about creative endeavors a lot—but we don't often talk about the people involved in those creative endeavors. And yet, these people are perhaps one of the most important parts of the process. I think it's vitally important that, no matter what type of creative work you do, you find your people. Now, one might i…

Curiosity is key to photography. It's what drives us to get outside and explore, discover, learn—and then photograph what we've found and learned so that we can share it with the world. And there's no such thing as being too curious! I think it's safe to say that we can throw out that old saying, "curiosity killed the cat." So long as we're being s…

What is it that you need from photography? Here's an interesting psychological tidbit: When you are going through tough times in relationships with others, therapists will often tell you that all relationships must offer something of value to everyone involved. This could be emotional needs met, good laughs shared, discussions that you value, or so…

Validation is a wonderful thing. In fact, I would argue that all of us need validation in the things that we do. It's a vital part of what keeps us going. If you've ever received a compliment on one of your photographs, or even something like an award, then you know the sense of pride and accomplishment that comes with it—and the renewed vigor with…

Anytime you're creating something—photography, a painting, a book—it's a question of audience. At least, for those of us who plan to show our creative works to others, which I have to imagine is most of us. While we are ultimately free to create whatever we'd like to create, we need to do it with the idea that someone out there will find some sort …

This thought of mine is kind of a complex one, but as we go along, you'll start to see what I mean. The first thing I want to express is that we are all human. As humans, innovation is a kind of our thing—it's what we do. We've been innovating since the beginning, and that desire for innovation is responsible for almost every aspect of human life t…

What do you do when you don't know what else to do? Well, that depends. The first thing to do, in my opinion, is to figure out why you don't know what to do. You see, in my last post, I discussed the value of taking a break from photography—and that's because we all become exhausted or burned out. At other times, there are different reasons why we …

"If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn't need to lug around a camera." – Lewis Hines Photography is a significant part of many cultures. Whether for career or catharsis, photography is a valuable skill in today's digital, open-source world. Here are some photography tips to guide you on your journey. Podcast Notes: https://www.moneymakerphot…

As the old saying goes, "You get what you pay for." I find that nowhere is this more true than in photography. It's not just the gear that you are paying for. In photography, you are also paying for art with your time, creativity, and effort. And, if you don't pay out much with those currencies, well, then this saying rings true. Here, I will discu…

At first glance, the life of a photographer can seem almost magical—traveling the world, creating beautiful images, and having your work admired by others. But once you step behind the lens with serious intent, reality begins to set in. Photography is deeply rewarding, yes—but it's also filled with challenges that many outsiders never see. Whether …

Today, let's talk about travel—and more specifically, what to bring when you're heading out on a photography trip. Whether it's a weekend getaway or a big vacation, a little preparation goes a long way when it comes to making the most of your time with a camera... And one word that keeps coming up, quietly but persistently, is permission... Podcast…

You know, something I've learned over the years—something that becomes clearer the more time I spend with a camera in hand—is that photography is just as much about relationships as it is about light, shadow, and subject matter. Not just relationships with the people in front of the lens, but with the communities we enter, the land we stand on, and…

Today, we're going to talk about something that's supposed to be fun—something that should feel freeing, adventurous, and inspiring. But sometimes, well… it gets a little heavy. I'm talking about the photography trip. You know the kind. That big escape where it's just you, your camera, and the world outside your front door. But if you've done a few…

A large portion of my time is devoted not just to photography itself, but to something just as important: finding new places to create it. Scouting, for me, is part of the adventure. It's a little like being on a treasure hunt with your camera bag in the passenger seat and curiosity behind the wheel. And over the years, I've discovered a few ways t…

You know, one of the hardest things about being a creative person—whether you're into photography or painting or writing—is motivation. Just getting started. I can't tell you how many times I've had every excuse in the book. I'm not feeling inspired. I don't have the right gear. There's no time. The light's wrong. You name it. But if I'm being hone…

The stereotypical image of the artist is someone who spends a large part of their life not producing anything. Then, when the inspiration strikes, the artist goes to work, spontaneously producing works of art. The artist finally had the exact right sequence of thoughts. Whatever the case is, the work is something that just came to them, spur of the…