Here are some tips and tricks for improving pictures of clouds and sky, using only a compact camera.

Silhouettes can be beautiful. They accent a person’s facial features in profile, they can make someone look mysterious, they can accent shapes and make objects & people look iconic. Shooting a silhouette can be quite easy with a few simple steps.

The key to improving our photography is an ongoing understanding of light: how it behaves, how it looks best on different faces, how it bounces around creating different effects. Here are a few ideas about learning how to “see the light.”

I’ve started writing text materials for the Cinematography and Motion Picture Production classes I’m teaching at APU in the fall. The students will use this info like text books, and I thought I’d share these articles on I Speak Film.
I’ve read a zillion books on cinematography, but there isn’t a stand-out book that [...]

A great product shot can range from the simple to the complicated, but the key to it all is to make the product look its very best so people will buy it. Here are some easy things to think about when approaching a product shot…

Magic hour is that magical time of day after the sun has dipped below the horizon, and before the sky has gotten dark. For photographers and cinematographers, it is a wonderful time of day for shooting portraits, architecture, landscapes, water, and products. Calling it an hour is really a misnomer for most [...]

Shiny metal is one of the most challenging surfaces to shoot. Think of all the products in your kitchen made of shiny metal! Rounded surfaces are even more difficult because they act like a wide-angle lens, seeing everything in your studio. Here are some guidelines and diagrams for shooting objects made of shiny metal.

I’ve been wanting to do a dramatic silhouette shot for a couple of months, and tonight gave me the perfect opportunity.
The sun was setting and I exposed for the sky, not for Chloe. This gave her a slightly silhouetted look. I took the shot a step further by playing with the Levels [...]