There lots of ways to shoot a great portrait, but there are even more ways to shoot a terrible one. Let's talk about some of the best/easiest techniques to light portrait photography.
Jordan Drake of The Camera Store TV is back to talk about one of the craziest years for cameras.
Tyler's Notes
Best Camera
Sony A9
Sony A7RIII
Nikon D850
Fuji X-T20
Sony a6500
Leica M10
Phones
iPhone X
Samsung Note 8
Google Pixel 2
Gimbles
Zhiyun Crane 2
Moza Air
Beholder
CAME-TV Prophet2
Entry Level ILC
Canon SL2
Olympus EM10 III
Mid Range ILC
Fuji XT-20
Sony a6500
Video
Canon C200
Panasonic EVA1
Panasonic GH5
Sony A7RIII
Sony A9
Lights
Aputure
CAME-TV Boltzen
Quazar science
Digital Sputnik
Audio
SoundDevices MixPre3 and MixPre6
Rode Video Mic Pro +
Aspen Mics Lav
Aputure Lav
Software
Affinity for iPad
pixelmator
CaptureOne
Lightroom Updates
Misc
DJI Spark
Small HD Focus Monitor
54 - Phone Cameras of 2017: iPhone 8, Galaxy S8 and Pixel 2
Oct 25, 2017
Every year the big tech companies fight over the crown of best mobile camera. Tyler has been testing a few of them and gives his impressions. Cameron has some thoughts on how the format you shoot with can share your creative output.
53 - Medium Format and Hasselblad X1D Review
Aug 16, 2017
After spending some time shooting with the mirrorless medium format Hasselblad X1D, Tyler wants to talk all about medium format cameras. We also touch on Lightroom processing techniques and VSCO.
Things have been changing at Hasselblad lately. New ownership, new leadership, and bold new product directions with the X1D. Everyone I know in the photography community was blown away when they announced they're extremely compact and elegance mirrorless design. It hadn't even occurred to me that a medium format camera could ever be in this small.
After using it for a few shoot in Vancouver and PalmSprings, The image quality definitely lived up to my expectations. Tons of dynamic range, very low noise, fantastic colour depth, and incredible sharpness. None of that is a surprise coming from Hasselblad, their reputation for quality is well earned. I also love the 3:4 image ratio of the large sensor, I would always prefer it over 4:6.
I was surprised to see quite a bit of vignetting in the 45mm f/3.5 when it’s wide open. It cleans up fine in post, but it was quite a bit for a normal lens.
The physical controls were very well designed. The control dial that pops out is beautiful and practical, and release mechanism on the batteries feels very sturdy and satisfying. One improvement I would love to see is a physical control for the exposure compensation, and there are some software bugs in the touch screen interface, but I’ve heard they may have recently been fixed in a firmware update.
I don’t want to go too much further in depth without spending more time with the Hasselblad X1D, but I loved shooting with it in the time I had. From one perspective it can seem very expensive, but from another, it’s a very reasonable price such an incredible sensor and beautiful design. I hope it’s a sign of more great things to come from Hasselblad.
The idea of a 'full frame' image format is the industry standard we all use, but let's take a second to talk about what 35mm really means for photographers.
51 - Followupisode
May 21, 2017
More about the Sony A9, Tyler gets an ultra wide and Cameron talks a bit about his love Soundgarden just before news had broke about Chris Cornell's passing.
50 - Sony, Stats and Youth
May 03, 2017
A new Sony is coming, Tyler needs a new mic, Cameron likes instant film, and finding inspiration in unexpected places.
49 - Some like it wide
Mar 30, 2017
A wide angle lens is a beautiful thing and while Tyler has been traveling he's been wanting to go wider. Cameron has some thoughts on converging lines, and they both regret not getting wider tilt-shift lenses.
There's a certain amount of photo library maintenance that comes around once a year. For Cameron that means creating spreadsheets to organize his binders of negatives, so that he can find them by film and camera type. For Tyler that means creating new Lightroom catalogs and buying new hard drives.
We've all heard a dozen different rules of composition, rules of exposure, and rules of rules. Let's try to figure out when they are worth following and when they are better off ignored.
46 - The Canon 5D mark IV
Sep 30, 2016
The episode Tyler has been wanting to make for years, the deep dive review of the Canon 5D mark IV. For the first hour we go over the history of how the 5D has gone from groundbreaking to a safe bet, and it's video features with Jordan of The Camera Store TV. Then in the second hour we talk about all the nitty gritty details of this workhorse stills camera.
The Canon 5D is a mature camera series that does not need to be reinvented with every update, and the 5D Mark IV keeps pace with the industry. Great dynamic range, improved focus, faster frames per second, and many little updates mean this camera has it where it counts. Sony is still nipping at their heels though, so with cameras like the A99II this may be the last generation of 5D that can be seen as an obvious choice for working professionals. Based on its headline features a lot of people won’t see this as an exciting camera, but to me it is an huge update to my most reliable tool.
45 - The Nikon D750 and shooting 1.4
Sep 14, 2016
Cameron talks about his new Nikon D750 and Tyler finds new ways of shooting at shallow depths of field
First Cameron updates us with his adventures in infrared photography and has some tips to get those cotton candy colors instead of a muddy mess. Then we talk about how many photos we like to shoot in different situations. Spoiler, the answer is always 2 or more.
Whether you've been a photographer for years or are just starting out, you need to arrive at every job with the equipment you need to get it done. We talk about some of the cameras and lenses that we have learned are necessary for different situations.
41 - NAB is in the eye of the beholder
May 01, 2016
Just because there were no big cameras announced doesn't mean there wasn't a ton of interesting details on the show floor. Jordan Drake of TCSTV is back to talk video.
40 - The a7RII, Tyler's new big little camera
Mar 18, 2016
We don't replace our primary cameras very often, but to meet increasing videos demands Tyler went with a new Sony, the a7RII. The long and short is that it's image quality is best in class with super sharp, high resolution images with lots of dynamic range in the shadows. The down side is lots of interface design problems, consumer level build quality and very slow image review.
Samples from the Sony a7R II
39 - Fixing light
Feb 05, 2016
Even natural light takes a lot of work, so we discuss the various ways to make any lighting situation work for you. How your city changes the light, using a reflector, modifying and on camera flash, and more!
To start 2016 we are talking about ways to keep moving forward when you are out of ideas, and just don't feel like it. Also some follow up on the Film Toaster and Chris Dowsett sticks around for a few extra minutes to talk Star Wars.
In this podcast, we’ll discuss our new heroes, and how quickly we got to like them (pretty quickly). We’ll discuss our new villains, and particularly Kylo Ren and all of his fun-to-watch internal conflict, as well as how he compares to Darth Vader. We spend some time talking about potential character development, potential character backgrounds, and possible secrets- as well as which fan theories don’t matter (Rob even asserts we don’t care if Rey is related to another important Jedi). We break down the mirrored storyline form A New Hope, and its hits and occasional misses (Yeah, okay, it’s MUCH bigger than the Death Star, we’ll allow it.), as well as the characters in their new roles as echoes of the original trilogy.
37 - Gear of the Year 2015
Dec 19, 2015
Looking back at 2015 with our expert guest Jordan Drake of The Camera Store TV we had a funny mix of incredibly innovative and painfully dull camera technology. Most of our workhorse cameras were left unchanged, while whole new genres are being opened by others. Either way, it's great time to be a photographer!
Point and shoot
Sony RX100 IV
Sony RX1R II
Canon G7x and G9
iPhone 6s
Interchangeable lens
Sony a7r II
Canon 7D II
Canon 5D III
Where is the Rebel at?
Nikon D750 and D810
Pentax 645Z
Olympus OMD
Cinema
Sony a7s II
Panasonic GH4
Canon C300 II
Sony FS5 and FS7
BM URSA Mini
FILM
FIlmToaster
Filmomat
SOFTWARE
Capture One
Lumenzia
Mastin Labs
Apple Photos
LENSES
Tamron 45mm
Sigma 24-35mm f/2
Sigma 20mm f/1.4
36 - Camera kits for event, portrait and landscape photographers
Dec 03, 2015
Photography gear isn't cheap, so a lot of careful thought goes into building a camera kit. We give our recommendations for the best cameras and lenses for a new photographer to start with, based on what you want to shoots.
Same RAW file edited with Lumenzia curves, one for highlights and one for shadows
Final LR edit with specific color modifications and additional tone curve adjustments. -15 clarity and 0 added sharpening.
35 - Wishlist
Nov 19, 2015
This week we talk about light stands vs c-stands, Tyler's gear wishlist, Cameron's impressions of the Film Toaster, and if there is any reason to consider switching from Lightroom to Capture One.
Tyler & Cameron search for the perfect camera straps and review and compare our new ones. They talk about hands on impressions from PhotoPlus Expo in New York, film scanners, travel and as always some musical recommendations.
33 - Next level post production and the trouble with clients
Oct 11, 2015
Tyler is back from his huge trip and has a few stories, Cameron gripes about client woes, we talk about outsourcing post processing, and put out a call for a new type of film scanner.
Review of the Sony a7R II, cameras with soul versus technical brilliance and Instagram aspect ratios.
31 - Shooting from below
Sep 18, 2015
After a month of working on the road and vacationing Tyler and Cameron finally get to catch up and talk the talk, starting with a review of the Pentax 645z followed by a lot of talk regarding camera ergonomics and vintage rangefinders.
30 - Commercial videos, scanning film, and Minecraft
Aug 11, 2015
With no set topic we go all over the place, starting with the Tyler's recent big commercial video project.
Tyler's lignting rentals
Cameron's 4x5 film scan
29 - Shooting live music
Jul 29, 2015
As big music fans, Cameron and Tyler both started shooting live music events early on and have a lot to say about it. The best gear to bring, ways to shoot, and pit etiquette. Then we also dig in to some great Canadian band recommendations.
Girl Talk
Radiohead
Metric
The Roots
Animal Collective
Sasquatch Festival
All Points West Festival
Chromeo
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Pulp
Coachella Festival
Bon Ivar
Coachella
Sasquatch
Gogol Bordello
Andrew Bird
Cat Power
28 - The Unexpected Virtue of Obsessing About Gear
Jul 22, 2015
Pouring over blogs, forums or camera podcasts is fun for any photography nerd, but is productive? We also talk audio gear and headphones.
27 - Dream camera
Jul 16, 2015
The Sigma 50mm in Cameron's studio
Samples from the Lomo LCA
With no set topic, we went all over the place this week. Setting photography rates, shooting band photos, the classic Lomo LCA, Tyler's new Canon G7x and his dream point & shoot camera. Also Beastie Boys.
Do you hold your photography up to other peoples standards or your own? Does looking at other photographers inspire you to match their quality or discourage you because you feel you can't?
Selecting images is almost as important as photographic technique. Make poor choices can spoil your portfolio, so we talked about some of the methods we use to narrow a shoot down to it's best photos.
Cameron continues experimenting with his 4x5 scans (see above) and Tyler tests out the Canon C100 mkII and the updates to Creative Cloud.
24 - Review of the Canon 50mm f/1.8 STM
Jun 10, 2015
The Canon 50mm f/1.8 II (aka the nifty fifty, aka fantastic plastic) is a massively popular little lens, and since 1990 has been a go to for countless new photographers. Now 25 years later it has finally been updated and we put it to the test, comparing it to the other Canon 50mm, as well as the new gold standard Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art lens.
Comparing the Canon 50mm f/1.8 STM, Canon 50mm 1.8 II, Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM, Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art
To test the lens we were shoot style photos, be sure to check out aniab.net to see more
23 - Point and shoot reviews: the Fuji Klasse and Contax T2
Jun 04, 2015
We have put in some serious research to find the best modern point and shoot film cameras, and both made different choices. We do deep analysis of the Fuji and Contax, with a nod to the Olympus XA.
Tyler spent the weekend with the Sony A7s and it kicked off a conversation about the megapixel race, relying too much on blur and choosing lenses. Thank you to The Camera Store and Sony Canada for use of an excellent camera!
21 - The business of stock photography, with Sean Locke
May 19, 2015
Stock photography master Sean Locke joins us to talk about the finer points of making a living by licensing photos. We go reminisce about being exclusive at iStockphoto, talk about our current accounts at Stocksy United, and share some tips about managing portfolios across multiple agencies.
20 - Street photography
May 12, 2015
Sometimes you carefully craft a photo and sometimes you wonder the streets to find it. We talk about obstacles and techniques to finding great street photography, our favourite lenses for the job, and lessons we've learned.
19 - How high ISOs changed everything
Apr 27, 2015
Camera manufacturers have been battling for the crown of high ISO champion for years. Now that cameras can virtually see in the dark,we take a look back at how we got from relatively slow rolls of film to the incredible low light capabilities of cameras like the Sony A7s.
18 - NAB Show 2015
Apr 19, 2015
Tyler, Jordan and Chris report live from Las Vegas about all the great gear at NAB Show 2015, America's biggest video production conference. We got our hands on new cameras, lights and software, and have a lot to say about it.
This week we have the Product Manager of Licensing at 500px (and good friend) Nuno Silva to talk about how Instagram feeds can become a career in photography, even for an inexperienced photographer. Then we have an interview with a new photographer that has experienced some of this success, Chris Amat, who is also part of Great North Collective.
16 - Lightroom keywords
Apr 05, 2015
This week we share some thoughts about getting the most out of shooting Kodak’s Ektar film. We then dive into some advanced Lightroom asset strategy after doing some catalog spring cleaning, focusing on import metadata and adding general keywords so you can better manage your collections. We also discuss geo-tracking using GPS. Finally, Cameron dishes on which albums you should probably be listening to right now.
Chris Dowsett is back to talk to Tyler about NAB coming up, the crossover of photography and video production, and shooting 360 VR video. Behold, the future!
We set out with no direction in mind this photography talk and explore backup, film cameras, flickr and Alien Bees. Actually most of this episode belongs in 2005.
13 - Planning & producing, w/guest Kirk of Mastin Labs
Mar 11, 2015
Putting some work in upfront can payoff big time. Kirk Mastin, of Mastin Labs joins Cameron and I to talk about the value planning before you shoot, looking ahead at the longterm with bigger projects, shooting film and the power of constraints in photography.
Taking a look back at the history of stock photography, how it shaped the photo industry, and where it's going. To some people it destroyed their business plans and for others it open the door to a career they could only dream of. Also Tyler got his film back from California, and Cameron got a new toy!
Ania & Tyler are fresh off the plane from New York Fashion Week and want to tell you all about what it's like to shoot it. But then stay tuned to the end, because Cameron starts a great conversation about how fashion can fit in to stock photography.
10 - Keeping light meters relevent the age of digital
Feb 13, 2015
You can take fantastic photos without having a clue what you're doing, but without technical some knowledge you will be limited in so many ways. We talk to guest Jeff Way of Wilkosz & Way about how to use light meters to step up your photography game.
A photo posted by wilkoszandway (@wilkoszandway) on
9 - Do you want to be a generalist or specialist?
Feb 09, 2015
There are so many kinds of photographer to be. We can shoot portraits, weddings, lifestyle, stock, food, video or all of the above, so this week we talk about what is gained and lost in specialization.
Choosing the right gear for the road can be a lot of trial and error. Bring too much, and you want to leave your bag in the hotel. Too little and you might miss a great shot. Or is it even possible to bring to little? In this podcast we talk about how a photographer can be prepared and anything they might encounter in their travels.
7 - Lightroom presets: We compare VSCO, Mastin Labs and Replichrome
Jan 21, 2015
Digital photography has an era before presets, and after. They've been around for a while but recently some high quality filters have become standard for many photographers. In this episode we compare the best of those preset packs VSCO, Mastin Labs and Replichrome (RadLab), and talk to Chris Dowsett about new ways of thinking about color.
In the end we recommend that if you will only have one set of Lightroom presets, they should be Mastin Labs. They add character and punch to photos, but are subtle and nuanced. The Kodak Portra Pack targets skin tones and is perfect for portraits. The Fuji Pro Pack enhances greens and blues which is great for landscapes, and can also help a person stand out a little more from their background. It is my personal all around favorite. For black and white I only ever use the Illford B&W Pack, which has a great blend or contrast and detail retention. All three stay true to the film emulation they were based on.
VSCO is also very useful and it can be very helpful to have the 01 and 06 packs for when you are looking for more variety. Their Kodak Portra and Fuji Pro often push the colors a little more aggressively, but are a bit more flexible with different levels of exposure.
Although we spent some time experimenting with Replichome by Radlab, we didn't find a need for it.
Tyler's Samples
These sample images are not at all scientific, and have minor exposure and white balance adjustments to account for how the different filters are meant to be used. They have all the grain removed, and as you can see are some of the more subtle presets each company offers.
As I mention in the episode my go to presets are currently Mastin Labs and I should mention that my links to his preset are affiliate links, so purchasing via that link helps support the podcast.
Choosing where to showcase your photography is a big decision, so Cameron Whitman and Tyler Stalman will guide you through some of the different options. In case you wondered, this podcast is hosted on Squarespace.
Shooting RAW images generates a ton of bytes, and sooner or later every photographer needs to deal with the long term storage of their photos. We talk about some workflow, best practices, and what hardware to buy to store your files.
Every year brings bigger changes to photography lately, we take a look at the most interesting gear in 2014 and make some predictions of where the industry is heading.
3 - Prime vs zoom lenses: How your lens effects your photos
Dec 26, 2014
Using a fixed or zoom has a huge impact on how you shoot, and how your photos turn out. Tyler and Cameron discuss the zoom/prime issue to make sure you leave the house properly equipped.
2 - Is there really a film renaissance going on?
Dec 23, 2014
Is it just me, or are a lot of people shooting on film lately? Tyler Stalman and Cameron Whitman shoot stock, style, and portrait photos and are big fans of film cameras. We discuss why we love it and if it will last.