Photography Clips

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 does not read has no advantage over the one who c...

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 Notes: https://www.moneymakerphotography.com/the-th...

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://www.moneymakerphotography.com/why-people-didnt-smil...

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 black and white photography—it's not just a holdo...

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, it felt tedious. Repetition can wear you down. B...

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 extension of your personality and it's what sets you apart...

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. Take a trip to your local zoo and use these tips to...

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 exciting to the first digital photographers is that you...

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 of things. Photographers will always get more fro...

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 is second nature. Sure, there are technical things...

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 collection of short stories, a prequel trilogy, and...

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 to help with motivation, inspiration, and creative...

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 archives, the sheer volume of images that never got use...

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 interpret that statement as getting on social media...

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 smart and practicing art safely, we can't be too cu...

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 something else... Podcast Notes: https://www.moneyma...

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 which you go out to create new, even better photo...

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 of enjoyment in it. So what is it that people enjo...

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 today—including the invention of cameras and all th...

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 don't know what to do—and it is essential that 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.moneymakerphotography.com/10-essentials-for-beginner-photographe...

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 discuss all the ways that you get out what you put in w...

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 you're building a business, pursuing art, or simpl...

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 Notes: https://www.moneymakerphotography.com/tip...

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 the cultures we interact with. And one word that...