It should be simple. Take pictures. Make money.
Off Camera Flashes Jose (QUESTION): I am dipping into the world of off camera flashes and strobes with modifiers and would like any feedback or advice that you have from your experience with them. I just bought an umbrella and triggers recently – already had the light stand and flash. I took it out today and just couldn’t […]
Getting Sharper Images Matt (QUESTION):I’m having trouble with getting sharper images. I have seen advice from the internet. Most of the things they recommend are making sure you have a fast enough shutter speed, not too shallow depth of field, and trying to avoid camera shake. I get about 1 in 5 that are sharp and […]
To read about this journey from the beginning, start here. [Note: I have not yet photographed the cover of Rolling Stone! But by the time this blog series is finished, I will have photographed the cover] Year three was the year I finally moved to Manhattan. I moved from my apartment with three roommates in Brooklyn to […]
Organizing Your Photos Brandon (QUESTION): I really want to know how you are organizing your photos. I just got a Mac Pro tower w / 4.5TB, and up until now my photos have been across a few external drives. I’ve played with iPhoto (hate it because it duplicates everything), Picasa (which lays out every media file […]
Read the first post from this series here My second year in New York I was still living in deep in Bushwick, one of the last subway stops in Brooklyn. I would pack a backpack almost every day, take the train into the city, and end up staying out there all day until I came […]
I had told my friends for a few years that I wanted to move to New York. At the time, I was working as a photographer in Santa Barbara and was doing well photographing weddings, shooting head shots, family photos, and students around town. I started visiting New York a couple times a year and […]
Installing Presets in Lightroom 5 Mayra (QUESTION): [A photographer] gave me his presets but I don’t know how to install presets. Phillip Van Nostrand (ANSWER): I can tell you how to install presets: 1) Click on Lightroom>Preferences>Presets 2) In the middle of the screen it should say “Show Lightroom Presets Folder.” Click on that. Phillip Van Nostrand […]
Terra (QUESTION): Can we discuss a price list and what I should charge for services like family sessions, family parties, individual portraits, and a friend’s underground band wants me to do a shoot for them as well? Phillip Van Nostrand (ANSWER): For all of those things, you have two options: one is easier to do and the […]
Lauren (QUESTION): What are some of the biggest photography mistakes you see photographers making, both business-wise and skill-wise? Phillip Van Nostrand (ANSWER): I think a big waste of time that I see people doing is playing around with edits a lot, trying vignetting, or vintage edits, playing with contrast, etc. I kinda wish someone had told me to […]
Shooting Runway Fashion SARAH (QUESTION): Do you have any tips for shooting runway events outside? Should the images be tack sharp? Should I use a flash? I am shooting Aspen fashion week. PHILLIP VAN NOSTRAND (ANSWER): Runway shows should be incredibly lit, so you don’t really have to do anything but pull the trigger. You should also […]