Five Things I Wish I’d Known as a Beginner Photographer

There’s a lot of doom-and-gloom talk out there about the future of portrait photography. People saying AI is about to make us all obsolete, that soon clients will be able to “shoot” an entire wedding or portrait session with nothing but a few selfies and a prompt. Yeah, the tech is moving fast. But before…

If you’re new to flash photography and wondering what kind of flash to buy for portraits, this video should help. In it, I walk through all the essentials you should look for in your very first flash unit—especially if you’re just getting serious about lighting. I explain why a good speedlight (also known as a…

Photographers often ask me about getting into bodyscape, boudoir, or other forms of artistic figure photography. Not just the technical side, but the personal side. The hesitation. The discomfort. The feeling that you are curious about the work, yet unsure whether it fits within your own boundaries or values. In this video, I talk openly…

Speedlights (shoe-mount flash units) or Strobes (larger units not meant to be used “on-camera”) for portrait photography? Each has its own perks and drawbacks. Some things to consider: Note: For no specific reason, I’ll use the term, “speedlight” to refer to shoe-mount flash units. Speedlight is what Canon calls its flash units. SPEEDLIGHTS (SPEEDLITES): Weight…

Four common mistakes made by beginners to flash photography: ✅ Choosing the Wrong Flash ✅ Using Direct Flash (too often) ✅ Relying Only on TTL ✅ Misunderstanding High-Speed Sync (HSS) Watch this short video to learn how to avoid these mistakes.

Let’s quickly go over some photography terminology. This is helpful if you’re a beginner who’d like to know what the following terms mean: Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO, TTL, High-Speed Sync, Focal Length, and Field of View.