by Reed Hoffmann | Aug 31, 2015 | Beginner, Camera Gear, Education, Exposure, Flash, Intermediate, Light, People
A long time ago I learned the hard way that the more I tried to do fancy lighting for portraits, the less likely I’d get a good picture. So my rule became “simple is good.” And that’s just what I did last week. I’ve got a friend who coaches his kids’ sports, and...
by Reed Hoffmann | Jun 13, 2015 | Action, Advanced, Camera Gear, Education, Exposure, Flash, Intermediate, Light, Technology
One of the unique “gifts” of photography is its ability to stop time. We can freeze a moment and study it, which we can’t do with our eyes alone. Athletes in the air, a baseball coming off a bat, dogs in mid-bark are all photos we love to look at for that reason. And...
by Reed Hoffmann | May 14, 2015 | Advanced, Beginner, Camera Gear, Exposure, Intermediate, Light
The first time I saw light painting demonstrated, I had the same reaction as when I first saw a print come up in developer in the darkroom – it was magical. That was back in 2000, at an early digital workshop. Dave Black, who may well be known as the Godfather of...
by Reed Hoffmann | Mar 8, 2015 | Advanced, Beginner, Composition, Exposure, Intermediate, Light, Travel, Wildlife
One of the toughest things I do every year is go back and pick my ten favorite photos from the previous year. It’s always interesting to see how my opinion of what I’ve shot has changed over time. Some photos, when shooting them I thought, “Wow, amazing.” But...
by Reed Hoffmann | Feb 23, 2015 | Beginner, Camera Gear, Exposure, Flash, Intermediate, Light, People, Travel, Workshops
As I watched – and ground my teeth – I realized it was simply a matter of ignorance. They just didn’t know any better. Here we were at an incredible photo op, and people were using direct flash! Don’t get me wrong. I’m a big fan of flash. Used properly, it lets...
by Reed Hoffmann | Jan 11, 2015 | Beginner, Camera Gear, Editing, Exposure, Flash, Focus, Holidays, Intermediate, People
A friend recently sent me some photos he was unhappy with, and asked my opinion. Looking at them, I saw he’d done a lot of things right, and had the right idea. But shallow depth of field, and being very critical of image quality were creating his issues. Let’s look...
