Seven photo activities you can do with the whole family

Mary Ellen Mark started using a Brownie Box camera at just nine years old. At thirteen, Francesca Woodman created her first self-portrait. Stanley Kubrick was the same age when his father gifted him with a Graflex. Edward Weston’s dad gave him his first camera, a Kodak Bulls-Eye No. 2, on his sixteenth birthday. Photography appeals… Continue reading Seven photo activities you can do with the whole family

Licensing Contributor Nithya Rajapandian on capturing the elements through eco-conscious photography

Nithya Rajapandian is a documentary filmmaker and photographer from Chennai, India. Nithya’s photography portfolio includes both stunning landscapes, and creative and conceptual portraiture. Her work blends themes of beauty, both in people and nature, to draw the connection between humans and the natural world around us. Q: Nithya, do you recall your first experience with… Continue reading Licensing Contributor Nithya Rajapandian on capturing the elements through eco-conscious photography

Landscape vs. portrait: What’s best for Licensing in the age of social media?

At the start of this year, the Special Covid-19 Edition of The CMO Survey revealed that social media spending increased to 23.2% of marketing budgets by June 2020, up from 13.3% in February. As brands turned to social media to connect with customers, the visual marketing landscape shifted to suit a new era—and new platforms.… Continue reading Landscape vs. portrait: What’s best for Licensing in the age of social media?

10 tips for avoiding creative burnout

According to a 2020 survey, 75% of workers have experienced burnout on the job, with 40% saying it’s a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We’re living in an uncertain time, and between schedule changes, remote work, and longer hours, stress feels inevitable, even for people who love their jobs. For photographers, burnout can take… Continue reading 10 tips for avoiding creative burnout

Nine things you should do before your next shoot

You know the work of the iconic photographer Richard Avedon, but you might not know that before his shoots, he often asked his models what food and music they preferred on set. When he first photographed Twiggy, he famously played music from the popular English rock band The Kinks. In the end, his thoughtful approach… Continue reading Nine things you should do before your next shoot

Bringing realness and authenticity to your commercial portfolio

You might not have heard the phrase “perfection fatigue,” but we’ve all experienced it. For decades, many brands have contributed to unrealistic beauty standards through the use of overly retouched photos, but fortunately, in the last few years, the tables have turned. Customers are speaking out about airbrushing and demanding more inclusive marketing—and companies are… Continue reading Bringing realness and authenticity to your commercial portfolio

What to expect when submitting your photos to commercial Licensing

2020 was the year of the “side hustle,” with people around the world turning their passions into passive income or planning to do so in the near future. For many photographers, in particular, that meant selling presets, opening an online print shop, or selling their work as creative stock photography. Stock photography, also known as… Continue reading What to expect when submitting your photos to commercial Licensing

2021 color trends in commercial photography

There’s a famous moment in the 2006 film The Devil Wears Prada where Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) lectures Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) about color trends, explaining how Andy’s seemingly average cerulean blue sweater was, in fact, influenced by years of high fashion. The scene is fictional, of course, but it does have some roots in… Continue reading 2021 color trends in commercial photography

20 photo accessories you need right now

Gear doesn’t define a photographer, but there’s no denying that the right tools can make your workflow run more smoothly. Today’s camera brands are smarter than ever, and keeping up with the “latest and greatest” gear can feel overwhelming, but the truth is that you don’t need to spend a fortune to fill your camera… Continue reading 20 photo accessories you need right now

Four commercial photography categories that are always in-demand

Commercial stock photography has been around for more than a century now, and in that time, the industry has undergone countless evolutions in terms of what photographers shoot and what buyers want. The past few years have been reshaped by trends ranging from in-demand topics like sustainability and technology to stylistic choices like minimalism and… Continue reading Four commercial photography categories that are always in-demand