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Photographer Spotlights
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Take the Cliché Photograph
The advice is everywhere. Do not take the same photograph as everyone else. Find a unique angle. Push past the obvious shot. It is good advice. It is also incomplete. Here is what it leaves out.
The Secret to Depth in a Black and White Photograph
A photograph is flat. It has no actual depth. Everything that makes a black and white image feel three dimensional is an illusion. Here is how to construct that illusion deliberately rather than accidentally.
What Sebastião Salgado Teaches Us About Making Work That Matters
Sebastião Salgado spent four decades photographing people the world preferred not to look at. This week those photographs are selling for six figures at auction in New York. Here is what that means and what it teaches us.
Photographer Spotlight: Robert Stacy
Robert Stacy has spent his career pointing his camera at the things the world would rather look away from. Reproductive rights, civil rights, homelessness, economic justice. Not because it is comfortable but because he believes photography can change things. We talked to him about dignity, spontaneity, and why he always walks back the way he came.
How to Think Like an Editor Of A Novel
A novelist without an editor is a photographer without a filter. The work might be brilliant. But without someone asking the hard questions it will never be as good as it could be. Here is how to be your own editor.
How to Build a Portfolio That Actually Gets Looked At
Foto's portfolio feature is one of the best tools available to photographers right now for sharing a body of work. Most people are not using it well. Here is how to change that.
Weekly News Roundup
A big week. Sony has effectively shut down its memory card business due to the flash shortage, DNG is now an international standard, and Annie Leibovitz was photographing soccer players in Atlanta. Here is everything worth knowing.
A Novel Way To Measure Progress
Last night at Open Studios someone asked me to tell them about a photograph on the wall. What came out of my mouth told me more about my progress as a photographer than any comparison of old work to new ever has.
A Photo Story: Dancing With Bears
Every December in the Moldavian region of Romania, men wrap themselves in real bear skins and march through the streets to the sound of drums. Armin traveled from Germany to document it. He did not expect to find himself there too.
The More You Practice the Luckier You Get
The more I practice the luckier I get. It sounds like false modesty. It is actually one of the most precise descriptions of how creative skill develops that anyone has ever put into words.
The Day My Hard Drive Died and What It Taught Me
I have been working on a new backup strategy. Last week the external SSD holding my black and white photo library corrupted without warning. The recovery process is still ongoing. Here is what that experience taught me about the photographs we take for granted.
The Problem With Portfolio Reviews
The photography portfolio review industry is built on a promise it rarely keeps. Not because the reviewers are bad but because the model is wrong. Here is what actually works.