Pro Techniques

I recently had the opportunity to photograph poison dart frogs, and I was excited to do so because these unique creatures have brilliant colors and are endlessly fascinating. While they make for amazing pictures, they also present significant technical challenges. I had to do some thoughtful planning before I attempted to shoot them. I started out by buying several tropical plants...

Portrait photographers are responsible for a lot of happiness among a wide variety of people, because well-done family pictures grow more valuable yearly. They usually portray infants, seniors, friends, and relatives, though sometimes portraits are interpretations of unusual subjects. Thomas Balsamo knows this because he has 30 years of experience photographing families and children. His work has also led him to a personal project that originated when his good will and curiosity were extended toward individuals or groups who found their portrait sittings emotionally and psychologically unusual, as well as uplifting.

While most of us are dedicated to capturing fleeting moments by slicing seconds into ever smaller fractions, Michael S. Miller has a different tale to tell. In a project he calls Long Light, he takes the time to let the moments simply accrue.

Long Light began with Michael’s viewing of historic view camera images. One in particular—a Mississippi riverboat, blurred by the camera’s slow shutter speed—caught his attention. “The water had this mystical kind of feeling to it because of the long exposure,” Michael says, “and I thought, all right, let’s see what happens if I do some long exposures of rivers.”

As a pro photographer I get a lot of questions about my work. While many address my equipment and techniques, a lot of people want to know what I earn. There is no question more loaded than "How much do you make?" (Perhaps except...

Lindsay Silverman
Marketing Manager, SLR Program Development
Nikon Inc.
Flexible Flyer. "Don't be married to one method of shooting. Even though the cameras I use can be customized, I...

One of the first techniques I learned in photography was to use long exposures at night to blur traffic lights. I liked it decades ago, and I still enjoy seeing artful streaks of light superimposed over an urban environment. You never know exactly what the resulting images will look like, and that’s part of the fun. When the background happens to striking, like the Walt Disney Theater in Los Angeles, California (#1), the combination of abstract lights and architecture makes a winning photograph.

It's that time of year when many of us are gearing up for our summer vacations. Some folks will go to the far sides of the planet, others will stay close to home. But, no matter where we go, Shutterbug readers have one thing in common:...