Shelly Perry
Photoshop is Fair Play - Sometimes
I've offered tips on editing your photos in Photoshop before, but if you want to sell your photos for editorial, you should know a few things, first, before you go fiddling with your images.
Commercial vs. Editorial: What you need to know about model releases
Professional photographer Shelly Perry details when and why you need a model release.
December Winners: "Traditions"
Last month's photo challenge theme was "Traditions" -- and everyone must have been very busy with their own as we didn't have many entries. Nevertheless, there were great shots among those who did submit entries. Here are the winners... **First Place goes to dwphoto for "Thai Festival in Sydney" **Second Place goes to pencraft for [...]
January's Photo Challenge Theme: Passages and Doorways
The month of January is named for Janus (Ianuarius), who in Roman mythology was the god of doorways. The word for door in Latin is (Ianua). January is the doorway into the New Year! So our photo challenge for January is Passages and Doorways. With Passages and Doorways as a theme, you can be as [...]
Holiday Tip #11: Better Photos in the Snow
Photographing in the snow or other white, wintry conditions can certainly be a challenge. One reason for this is that your camera evaluates the whole scene and tries to give the shot an overall "middle gray" average (I went into a little more details about this a few weeks ago in one of our weekly photo tips.
Photo Tip: Unleash Your Inner Photo Genius
Artists of every persuasion -- painter, writer, sculptor, photographer or any other creative type -- all ride the roller coaster up and down when it comes to creativity. And photographers, just like other artists, go through more- and less-productive periods. It's those less-productive times I want to talk about today. Let's call it "photographer's block." [...]
November Photo Challenge Winners
Last month's photo challenge theme was "A Season for Family." Since there was a monthly winner in September and a grand prize winner in October, both got to pick the winners this month. Read on below to see what they each had to say about the images they picked ... ** First Place goes to [...]
Photo Tip: December's Photo Challenge Theme
This month's photo challenge theme is "Traditions." December is a month rich with them, the world over. Here at home we have our familiar Christmas hubbub, and the less- commercialized traditions of Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. In many parts of Western Europe, Sinterklaas is an early December feast to celebrate Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of [...]
Correct Over-Exposed Photos in Photoshop
One of the biggest problems travel photographers (and well, all photographers for that matter) face, is lighting. When you're on an assignment and you have just two days to bring back an article with photographs of a place, you have to deal with whatever light God gives you on those two days. You can get [...]
Photo Tip: Flash tricks for professional-looking pics
The week before last, we looked at light -- specifically, at how your camera attempts to evaluate and expose your shots for middle gray. This week, I want to look at another issue of light -- that from a flash. Looking at two particular shots from this month's photo challenge, I can see that the [...]
How to Shoot the #1 Photo Gift
Framed photographs make great gifts for family, friends, and coworkers (just about anyone on your list). They don't have to take much time to create and they're a wonderful expression of your love and creativity. Today, I'll focus on the most popular one -- the kind of photo people like most to receive... Pictures of [...]
Photo Tip: 2008 Photographer Gift Guide
Often an intimate connection exists between photographer and camera. No doubt, people have their individual preferences when it comes to this sort of equipment. Regardless, here are a few things that might help when you consider the photo bug on your gift list (even if that photo bug is you). Keep in mind -- along [...]
Photo Tip: Tell your Camera Who's Boss
YOUR CAMERA AND MIDDLE GRAY Last week we talked about composition. This week, I want to turn your attention to light. Without it, you have no image. So today, let's focus on how your camera sees light. If you look at a standard gray scale one end is pure white and the other is pure [...]
A Lesson from Oprah, Britney, and Martha
WHY YOU SHOULD DIVERSIFY YOUR BUSINESS LIKE A HOLLYWOOD STAR What do Britney Spears, Oprah Winfrey, and Martha Stewart have in common? Well, for starters, they're among the wealthiest women in the world today. And that is due, in large part, to the fact they they've all diversified their businesses. ** Oprah Winfrey doesn't just [...]
Photo Tip: Paint With Your Camera
COMPOSE YOUR SHOTS WITH PURPOSE Since this is the first month of our "new year" for the photo challenge, I want to quickly recap a few fundamentals -- basics you should be thinking about every time you snap a photo. First, get in close. Literally. Get closer to your subject. Fill the frame corner to [...]
