Category Archives: instruction

Watch The Replay of My B&H Photo Event Space Webinar

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Today I did an hour-long webinar for the B&H Photo Event Space, titled 5 Tips for Composing More Powerful Photographs. If you weren’t able to tune in live, you can watch the replay here.

During the session, I outlined what I feel are some of the most essential compositional techniques that can help you increase the visual power of your imagery, and I also answered questions from the participants who had tuned in to watch the talk.

This was, by far, the more interesting and fun part of the event, because it’s always more fun to engage with viewers and expand on the dialog that each question introduces than sit there and lecture the iPad screen.

In fact, most of the time was spent answering questions and sharing my insight about a number of different photography topics and ideas.

This has been a weird year indeed. Usually by the middle of summer, I’ve done a number of in-person talks and presentations in different areas around the country, but obvious with the Covid pandemic, we’re limited to doing webinars and Zoom chats.

They’re ok, but I can’t wait to get back to regular social life.

In the meantime, you can watch the replay of my B&H webinar here.

Shooting for the Moment – Why You Should Embrace the FUJI JPEGS

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In my recent YouTube lesson videos, I’ve been showing you how to use the creative tools inside your Fuji camera in order to expand your “in the moment” creativity when you’re out shooting.

I’ve culminated my ideas about this topic in my latest video, called SHOOTING FOR THE MOMENT: Why You Should Embrace the FUJI JPEGS.

The Fuji’s all have great sensors and they do produce wonderful RAW files, but there’s a certain magic that you gain when you move away from the traditional RAW workflow and embrace the creative moment with your photography.

Now, I’m not saying that you should never shoot RAW, but we’ve all been indoctrinated by the big names to believe that we HAVE to shoot RAW all the time if we want to be serious photographer and produce good quality work.

However, that’s simply not true. 

The color and tonal processing technology inside your Fuji camera is so good, that in most cases, you’re not losing anything by shooting JPEG, and in fact in most cases, you gain a huge amount of creative liberation, freedom and “in the moment” magic that’s lost if you wait to process your images later.

When you shoot JPEG, you’re not giving up any resolution, you’re simply letting the camera do your processing. You’re simply taking advantage of the color science and expertise that Fuji has perfected in their 80+ year history.

Add in all of those tools I’ve been talking about in my recent videos, and you actually have a great deal of control right in the camera.

In many cases, you can actually get as good or better results than if you sat in front of your computer doing post processing. Besides, what does that really give you, except more time at your computer?

Sure, maybe you’ll be able to rescue a few lost highlights or shadow tones, but does that always make the image better? Maybe rescuing those tones doesn’t really matter in the overall message of the image. Not showing everything can actually make your photograph even stronger.

So, whether you’re a RAW only shooter, an occasional RAW shooter, watch my latest lesson and see why I think it makes sense to embrace the Fuji JPEGs. And if you’re already a JPEG shooter, check it out anyway; it will validate your method even more with a positive, “feel good” message.

Either way, thanks for reading, enjoy the video and have a great weekend!

Watch My Mini Alaska Virtual Photo Workshop Video Lesson

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As I expand the scope of my YouTube video lessons, I’ve come up with a new idea: Mini Virtual Photo Workshops, the first of which I have now posted to my channel. 

In this bite-sized, fifteen minute workshop, I take you to the shores of Colony Glacier here in Alaska, where I explore a small section of the scene and walk you through the process of creating a few landscape images right there on location.

With clear instruction, I explain my process for evaluating the scene, looking for possible subjects and narrowing them down into a workable composition. Using a selection three different lenses, I break them down into Wide, Middle and Long, and give you specific tips for maximizing each kind of lens when working your frame.

I also deal with exposure issues and show you how it’s possible to create a series of compelling images, even when you don’t have very dramatic light. In fact, I think that shooting in less-than-ideal light can offer a better opportunity for learning, because most of us already know how to make photos in beautiful light.

In addiiton, when you have that kind of brilliant, magical light on your subject, it’s easy to focus solely on that and miss some of the other compositional tips that can lend to a more powerful photograph.

This lesson isn’t just for Fuji users. Even though I use my X Series cameras and lenses to create these photos, the methods I talk about are universal. The process of seeing, composing and using different focal lengths applies to any kind of camera system, and the general look and feel of my Fuji-specific adjustments can easily be created in post processing, if that’s your preferred workflow.

I’m pretty excited about this lesson, and I definitely plan to do more of these \\mini virtual photo workshops. Not only does it allow you to come along with me in places that you might not normally be able to visit and get direct, real-world photography tips from me on location, I see this style of instruction as a natural progression of the kinds of online tutorials that I’ve been working up to.

So join me for my Mini Alaska Virtual Photo Workshop Video Lesson, enjoy the lesson and let me know what you think!

Doing In-Camera RAW Conversions on your FUJIFILM Camera

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One time I asked Billy from The Fuji Guys what program he uses to convert his RAW files. His answer? “The Camera.” Inside the Playback Menu of every single X Series and GFX camera, you’ll find a special RAW CONVERSION … Continue reading →

Video Lesson – How to Use Fuji’s Highlight/Shadow Tone Controls

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I have just uploaded my latest video lesson, How to Use Fujifilm’s Highlight and Shadow Tone Controls. In this 10-minute tutorial, I show you how to make use of one of the most powerful and easy-to-use tools that’s found on … Continue reading →

Get My Photography On The Brain Lesson 1-10 Bundle

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Starting this month, you can now purchase the entire first 10 lessons in my Photography On The Brain Course as a complete collection. I’m offering the Lesson 1-10 Bundle at a special price, which means you’ll be able to download and binge … Continue reading →

New Video Tutorial – 10 Essential Autofocus Tips

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My latest video tutorial just went up on YouTube, it’s called 10 Essential Autofocus Tips for Shooting Sports and Action.  In this lesson, I give you what I feel are the most fundamental tips for getting the best performance out … Continue reading →