A place for you to learn, get inspired, and keep up to date with all things SmugMug and photography
Bella Kotak’s fascination for capturing moments began while she was young. Influenced by her father who brought a camera with him everywhere, she inherited the habit and became known for it among her friends. This obsession for capturing moments eventually led to creating her own—and she found herself shaping worlds, stories, and characters around the moments to help evoke the moods she wanted her images to convey.
SmugMug had a chance to peek behind the veil of Bella’s fantasy worlds and learn a bit about the magic she creates in front of the lens. Discover more of what captures her imagination in our latest SmugMug Film below, and read on for a few of her tips about creating a little magic of your own.
Whenever you’re starting out with something, give everything about it a shot. That was my own approach with photography. I was vaguely interested in it, so I tried photographing families, portraits, pets, weddings, and a bunch of other things. Unless you try it, you won’t know if you like it or not. The more I tried, the more I could rule out what didn’t bring me joy or the sense of fulfillment I was chasing. Eventually, my interest narrowed to storytelling and escapism. But I got there by first trying many things and narrowing them down to my core interests—and then seeing what I could do in that world.
If you want to get started with photographing portraits but don’t want to start with photographing your family or friends, start with yourself. I started taking self-portraits to build up my confidence to begin shooting with friends. And I used Flickr to share those images, which helped me connect with like-minded people and get feedback to improve my work and continue building my confidence. Then I started to shoot with my friends and the people I would meet through Flickr. Just start building your portfolio from there and see where it goes.
I recommend to anybody who’s starting out with this type of photography to place a lot of their effort into creating their portfolio. By that I mean whatever you can do on your own, do it. For example, I didn’t have access to stylists or designers when I first started out, so I would visit thrift shops for clothes and I would reach out to designers online on the off chance they might lend something to me. Initially, I placed my effort into capturing images I knew I could execute beautifully; once I had a decent portfolio, I used that to reach out to designers and other creatives within the industry. This approach gives them a chance to see what you’re capable of.
I’d also recommend participating in online social groups. I created a Facebook group called Fairytales and Fantasies Photography (with Bella Kotak). It’s a bunch of us who are interested in this type of photography and share images, but it also includes people who design things. It gives us a way to collaborate and help each other. Don’t be afraid to reach out to creators you find inspiring on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. That way you start to create a relationship that can then, in the future, lead to working together.
If you like making things at all, don’t be afraid to craft things on your own, either. I make props whenever intuition strikes. For one of the shoots we did for the SmugMug Film, I had loads of newspapers and the brown packing paper that you get from Amazon, and I thought, “Let me see what happens if I make something from this.” I started rolling the papers up and using masking tape to hold them together, and suddenly a butterfly emerged. I decided to use that butterfly as a headpiece, and it became the starting place for the whole look of that shoot. That image didn’t exist until I created something from scratch.
Fashion is just as important as every other story element in your image. It sets the scene for the character we are playing with for that shoot. For example, one of my favorite shoots is a girl wearing a simple linen dress, because that evokes a sense of freedom and child-like innocence, and then we set her up in an elaborate scene. There’s a really nice juxtaposition of the stories and elements. Then there are other shoots I’ve done where the background is plain and I use fashion as a way to create a dominant character. Perhaps she’d wear something akin to armor and have an elaborate headpiece, and then we’ll style her wig so it’s fierce. Suddenly, a very soft-looking model can turn into quite a dominant character. And all that can be achieved through fashion choices.
When creating fairytales, you can have these fantastic visions in your head of what the final image should be. Sometimes you can get a bit overwhelmed by what you want to create and then feel underwhelmed by what you end up actually creating. It can feel like you didn’t do the vision justice, or you didn’t have the right skill set or the right tools. That’s something I know I struggle with.
I get around it by giving myself a break. It’s okay if I don’t realize the full vision; it’s important to have a rough idea. And I treat that as a starting point. If I’m chasing the initial vision while I’m shooting, and I’m not getting the right feeling when I look at the back of the camera, I switch it up. I know when I feel a particular way on a shoot that whatever comes from it is going to be a good thing, so I always end up chasing that feeling instead of the original vision. It’s okay if it doesn’t match, because ultimately that feeling leads me to a better idea.
Many of my favorite shots have happened on days where the initial vision had to be scrapped because conditions didn’t allow for it. For example, our goal was a dark, moody shot and the weather was bright and sunny that day. However, all that meant is I had to look elsewhere and figure something out. Then something beautiful resulted that wasn’t planned, but it’s more special because of that. Because what I’m always looking for is mood—an emotion. Something that speaks to me as I work on it. If I love a particular shot I captured, then I know it’s probably going to move somebody else viewing it. Sometimes images say more about us as a photographer than they do about the subject itself. Trust in yourself, and you can surprise yourself. I look to be moved by my own images, and that’s why they’re all so special to me. Because I cannot control what other people think of them, but I can control what I think of them.
I originally started my career in architecture, so I was comfortable using computer-graphics software. When I first started shooting artistically, because I was so used to Photoshop, I was really relaxed with lighting, hair, and makeup, thinking, “Oh, I’ll fix it in post.” Then I learned more about what I could and couldn’t do in Photoshop, and I began to demand more control from myself when it came to planning and working through issues during the shoot.
For example, if there are any distractions in the background, I’ll clean them up during the pre-shoot because that’s one less thing to do in Photoshop. And if the hair doesn’t look quite right, I’ll make sure it’s corrected on set instead of taking it into Photoshop. Knowing my limitations in post-production has helped me tighten my creative eye when I’m shooting.
I look to be moved by my own images, and that’s why they’re all so special to me. Because I cannot control what other people think of them, but I can control what I think of them.
This relates to trying to do less in post. In order to evoke the right mood, I have to communicate with the model. I try to be really direct — I think it’s just part of my personality. And if I’m looking for something in particular, I will say it as clearly as possible: “Can you look that way? Can you gaze this way? What about if you close your eyes and tilt your head back?” Whenever I’m on a shoot, I’m consciously looking at what the body’s doing, what the head is doing, the facial expressions, are the hands right. I’m looking at all the pieces and how they flow together. The model cannot see what I see, so my voice and my words are the only guide. We are working together to capture something.
When it comes to editing on the go, I struggle. Usually when I’m traveling, I’m very present at that moment in time. And I find that when I’m editing, I need to be at a desk, sitting properly, with my things around me: a cup of tea, a candle, some music. The stage needs to be set for the magic to happen. It’s important.
Post-processing takes me around an hour—hour and a half—per image. Lately I’ve been placing pressure on myself to have it take less time. One of the things that really has helped me is creating actions of my color-toning processes. A lot of the time I spend looking at the computer wondering which color direction the image should go because there’s 500 options, and color is just as important as everything else in that image. If you come into it with cool blues and greens, it’ll give you a totally different atmosphere than if you color-graded with warm yellows and soft oranges. By using my actions I can cut down the time I spend editing by 70%.
That also helps when I’m traveling. I have a main hard drive I work from, a second hard drive as my backup, and then all my final images go onto SmugMug so there’s a safe place online all the finished images live. That also helps whenever I’m on the go doing interviews, or if I need to send a client an image, because I don’t need to grab my hard drive for images. I just go to my SmugMug account, locate my image, and send a link to it.
Move around, shoot from the side, shoot with things in front of you. Get some props and make little challenges for yourself. Shoot through things like a jar, a prism, or a bush. I find that when I’m working with a client, they will often have a strict idea of what they’re looking for. But usually the best images are created when they give me 15 minutes to play and I change it up: change the poses, change the location, change the angle I’m shooting at. I had a shoot recently where I set up people on these steps and it was great, but it wasn’t until I moved behind a bush and shot through a gap in the bush that we got the shot. That was really fun. Be playful when you’re shooting because you never know what you’re going to capture. Sometimes the camera sees very differently to the human eye.
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Find Bella online:
Portfolio
Flickr
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
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Like many creatives who found themselves behind a camera, Jay Ford grew up around a family who loved photography. Where his dad began by filming home videos, Jay continued by filming anything his friends and family would allow: parties, football games, sorority videos, and more. He used his camera as a way to express his voice and, through it, amplify the voices of others. We had a chance to speak with Jay and get a bit more insight into his work. Watch our latest SmugMug Film with him below, and read on to learn more about him in his own words.
I feel I’m a visual creator more than a photographer or videographer. I use my camera to create something that resonates with me first and then, hopefully, other people like it from that. I look for life and the emotion that creates that life—whether it’s the trees moving or the culture I’m in—and I try to capture the raw emotion that comes out of it.
What wakes me up every day is challenging myself to do something different than normal. Every night I look through other people’s photos and videos, then use that to curate what I want and challenge myself to do something new.
A little bit of everything. I try to see how they achieved what they did, looking at the cameras they used, the scenes they got, the why behind their choices, the type of story they’re trying to tell. And I watch things repeatedly to get those answers.
For example, the show Euphoria is good, but the cinematography was amazing. Whoever the cinematographer was is the most creative genius I’ve ever experienced. The use of colors, imagery, and everything was crazy to see. And that’s something I want to implement in my work to be more creative.
At first people asked me, “Why do you have a camera?” After I started posting the photos, they started asking me, “Oh, where’s your camera?”
When I went to college, I had only raw abilities. But I always had a camera with me and would take it to parties. I used to record people at the parties as well as other stuff in college, such as basketball games and football games. When I started posting those images online, I began gaining momentum. At first people asked me, “Why do you have a camera?” After I started posting the photos, they started asking me, “Oh, where’s your camera?”
Once I started getting that momentum, I kept going with it. It not only made me happy, it made other people happy, too. And that’s what I love about photography: you get to make people happy and make them feel more beautiful than they thought they were.
The Black Lives Matter movement has probably been the most meaningful thing I’ve gone through so far. Because I didn’t go out there to make money. I didn’t go to the protest to chase clout. I went there because I felt it was my true calling to document history in the making. With everything going on in the world, I felt if that movement didn’t happen, much change wouldn’t have come. For me to document that whole process was part of the history: to take pictures of the emotion — the reactions of people dealing with these injustices.
I feel it’s my duty to show it in a positive light because the news and certain media only show the negative. People are dealing with this emotionally. They’re upset, and I wanted to show that in a beautiful way. That meant a lot to me. And I want to do more.
At first I definitely got lost in them. I couldn’t focus. There was so much going on: people around me, damage that was happening, the police shooting rubber bullets and tear gas, and my friends getting hurt. It was tough. But as we kept going, we were able to show the emotions of the crowd and how it kept swaying. That’s when I started to lock in and adjust to what was going on.
Obviously, you want to be with the crowd, but you’re here to show what’s going on. Once I refocused myself, I was able to capture that. A lot of people love the images I got because it showed a different side of what the media was showing. I knew people had to see what I was capturing because I didn’t see it on the news — what I was seeing then, in the moment.
…as long as you have a camera and you’re ready, you can have a shot.
A little bit of street smarts. I wanted to be on the front line, but I didn’t want to be stupid. When there’s violence going on, you learn to take a step back. You can’t dive into it as much as you want because you don’t know what will happen. But I took precautions for the tear gas: wore heavier clothes, put a bandana around my nose, wore glasses. I also had a good lens that allowed me to get close enough without going too deep. I was worried about a rubber bullet hitting my lens and cracking it, so when the rubber bullets were happening, I was running. That was my precaution there.
Yeah. A lot of people saw I was taking pictures and they got my Instagram. When I shared a video of the protest later, it went viral. Once it got shared, a lot of people reached out to say, “Hey, that was me. Can you send me that video?” So they were able to find me and then the images I’d taken from that day. That was powerful.
I usually do. But at the protest, I didn’t. A lot of the time then, I shot auto because you never know what situation you’re going to be in. There was so much running going on, it was also tough to try to nail the perfect shot. That was a big thing I learned: you don’t always have to have the perfect shot to get the best shot. The photo could be a little blurry. It could be a little overexposed or underexposed. But as long as you have a camera and you’re ready, you can have a shot.
In order to grow, you’re going to need help. Whether you’re a landscape photographer, a commercial photographer, a family photographer, or anything else, you’re going to need help getting your photos out to the world. You’re going to need to help doing big production shoots. You’re going to need help running the business. As much as you want to do everything yourself, it doesn’t make sense. I was being selfish in the beginning by not wanting help. But now I’m growing as a person, and as a business owner, and help is what’s needed—help is what’s welcomed.
I always like to shoot at the same time of day outdoors: blue hour and golden hour. When it comes to framing, there’s really no plan. It kind of comes to me naturally depending on what the background is and where the sun is. Do you want it backlit? Do you want to get a close-up shot? Do you want to get details and emotion? I don’t like people posing or looking at the camera much, so I like movement. I like the actual smiles and not posed smiles. It comes to me as I go.
I have seven hard drives because I shoot so much. I have a passion-project hard drive, a business hard drive, and a personal hard drive. Then I have three backups for each one of those. So when I do a shoot, I immediately back it up to my big hard drives.
When I first started out, I didn’t have a process. I used to shoot, put everything on my computer, and edit from there. Then, the first wedding I ever did, I ended up losing all the photos for it because I put everything on the computer and it wasn’t ready for all that. The computer crashed, and I lost all the files. I lost everything. Once I saw the bride’s reaction, I told myself, this can never happen again. That led to me being a bit overkill about my hard drives and storage.
Just go out there and do it. Don’t listen to anybody who has no clue what your dream is. If you really want to pursue something, find those individuals who have done it before and reach out to them to figure out how they did it. Because if they did it, you can do it.
Go with your heart. Don’t go off trends. Don’t go off what other people like. Go off what you like. The best part about going off what you like is that it tells a story. Your story.
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Find Jay online:
Portfolio
Flickr
Twitter
Instagram
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Subscribe to the SmugMug Films channel to see future installments as soon as they are released.
Andy Best grew up with art in his blood; his grandmother was a successful oil painter, and he followed in her creative footsteps, sketching and drawing. His love for sharing emotion through visual mediums expanded into filmmaking and eventually photography, both of which led him to his outdoor adventure lifestyle. We caught up with Andy and his family on the road to learn more about what inspires him and how he decides where his next adventure lies.
I grew up playing outdoors all the time, and I kept finding moments that would stop me in my tracks. I always found that a pretty compelling reason to stop and take a photo. But then there’s the challenge of using your tools the best you can to share a 2D image of what you’re seeing that can evoke the same emotion that made you stop. If you’re able to keep your radar up and witness those moments, really feel them, then capture them in stills or in motion, you’re kind of a wizard in a way — a magician.
The greatest picture I didn’t take is always the one when I first get to a location. Instead of jumping right in to getting my gear ready, I tell myself I’ll ease into it the next day. For the initial day or evening, the “image” is only for my own eyes. I take a moment to enjoy the setting for myself without worrying about capturing it for anybody else. You know the film, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, when Sean Penn is sitting up on the cliff edge getting a photo of a snow leopard? Ben Stiller asks him why he didn’t take the shot he was waiting for, and Penn basically says, “This one’s for me.” Those are probably the images that mean the most to me.
I have a friend I reached out to once for advice and he said, “I don’t really know if I can give you any advice but this: Just remember to put your camera down from time to time, and enjoy where you are.” I’ve taken that with me everywhere.
My career in adventure-lifestyle photography was a complete accident. I love filmmaking, and I love telling a visual story through images. I’ve also always felt very protective of landscapes. It wasn’t until a commercial-video client saw my side work that they approached me and asked me to do some fly-fishing photography work. I tried explaining that that wasn’t what I did, and I didn’t even own a good still camera. But he challenged me. Told me to try it. Next thing you know, I was shooting all these brochures. Then, more people started calling me a photographer because I was building a stills portfolio simply to start conversations with brands like Patagonia. I really wanted to wow them, start a conversation with photos, and then mention, “Hey, I do video work as my specialty. I’d love to do any video work you might have.” But next thing you know, everyone wanted my photo work.
We live on the road in our camper van nearly 100% of the time, and I really like the discovery aspect of going to a new place: it’s fresh, and you see things in a new way. When you’re constantly moving, you’re constantly challenging your senses to see something new, fresh, and different. I’m about to head somewhere more tropical, which is totally different from what I normally do. Getting out into the grasslands, like Nebraska, is so different to me because I grew up in the mountains. When I get to these places that are so different to me, all my senses are firing, and I’m super excited. If you grew up somewhere, you might get complacent. So I think the process of roaming around invigorates creativity and creates a sense of wonder that helps me feel and capture a frame.
When we get a location or a direction in mind, I’m usually using a lot of different apps to plan for everything I can. One of the apps, Windy, has a lot of layers and filters you can put on a map so you can watch what the weather is doing — because that’s huge when you’re living on the road full time. It allows me to plan a route based on smoke, fog, temperatures, or anything else to ensure the trip works not just for the shoot but for us as a whole family. We’re mapping out where water is, groceries, gas, propane, things like that. Also, depending on what I’m shooting — such as stars — I’m also looking for what features are in the landscape. So geography is also important. And other apps help me track moon phases, the Milky Way’s visibility, sunset/sunrise times, and things like that. All that gives us a clear map of when we’re supposed to be at a location and how quickly we need to travel.
Each shoot offers me a different challenge, and that’s why I select them: to help open myself up as a storyteller, a craftsman, and a creator. But there are a lot of times you set out with a specific goal. You feel like you learned so much from previous shoots that you’re going to go into a project and do it the best you’ve ever done it. But then circumstances change — like weather or talent — and the expectations you set for yourself can go awry. You get back from the shoot and you wish you coulda, woulda, shoulda. But you can’t let that stop you. You plan one movie, and you end up shooting a whole other one. Then, when you get to the editing process, you create a whole different one still. When you make a movie or build a shot, you really end up creating three, and you’ve got to roll with it, especially in the outdoor space.
For this particular lifestyle, I have really stout backup drives, a very capable but size-efficient laptop, multiple battery sources with solar, multiple tripods, a wide range of variable lenses, a whole bag of prime lenses for video and for when I want faster glass for a certain shot, a gimbal, and a few different drones. I also have a time-lapse system that I take with me everywhere just in case. As well as a really good audio setup so I can go full production mode and kind of do it all. There’s a lot of time if I’m doing personal projects — so as long as I have a tight kit — I can replicate a lot of cinema. But a good camera pack allows me to stay organized. If you’re not organized, you’re never ready for the shot.
You have to have a checklist. I always keep the same routines no matter what I’m doing, whether it’s a billion-dollar commercial film project or my own. It’s important to continually use those best practices or else you’ll find yourself in rookie positions like, “Oh, I forgot to charge the battery,” or the SD card’s full up.
I like to talk about motivated design: principles of visual communication by way of controlling the eye. It’s really big when you’re sketching or painting, and a frame is the same way. It takes 30 frames to create one second of video — or a single frame — so you better get it right. I’ve always been taught to look for elements — be it a value or features in the shot — that lead the eye because you want to control the eye to stay on the image. It’s important to think about those things, because that’s the way you can manipulate the viewer to get lost in an image and feel intrigued by it. In motivated design, you’re designing with motivation, rather than just snapping a photo because it looks pretty. If it looks pretty, then you start getting into those principles and looking for those obstacles and values in light, dark, and color theory so you can craft a nice image.
We’re all in the height range of about four and a half feet to six and a half feet. That’s where we all walk around. The easiest way to get creative is to get yourself away from that perspective. Get a ladder. Lie on the ground. Get high. Get low. Get away from that standard perspective and instantly, no matter what you’re doing, you’re going to capture something that’s a little bit different.
Photography is a lot of sacrifice and a lot of hard work. If you’re not willing to do either of those, and you’re looking for instant gratification, I don’t feel like this industry is cut out for that. There’s a lot of romance in a nomadic filmmaker/photographer lifestyle in general. Now more than ever, young people are getting inspired by a movement that took place via social media, and it looks a certain way. But it’s a highlight reel. I’ve seen a lot of people fail because they leave high school or college, buy a van, and emulate what’s being done. They find they might not have all the tools to be doing it and get into really bad situations. You have to open one door at a time, and you never know where the next door will open, but you can never open the end door at the beginning.
Remember where you came from and why you got into this in the first place, whether it’s video or photo. I’ve seen people imprison themselves because they’ve done something that worked online, and then they’re in fear of doing anything else because it doesn’t get the likes. People then are afraid to share what they truly love to share, and what got them to success in the first place. Make sure you’re always comfortable and happy with what you’re shooting. Don’t shoot for any other reason.
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Find Andy online:
Portfolio
Flickr
Instagram
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Subscribe to the SmugMug Films channel to see future installments as soon as they’re released.
Photography has been a way of life for Karen Hutton since she was young. When a previous generation of her family emigrated from Norway, they photographed everything they could of the journey. That legacy of photos passed to Karen’s mother, and the shutterbug gene continued on to Karen, who grew up with camera in hand. It’s not only been a part of her life, it’s become part of her philosophy: a philosophy of light.
Learn more about Karen’s philosophy in our latest SmugMug Film, and read on for her best photography tips.
Many photographers have a niche or genre they love and hone into their art. Although I’m known for landscape and travel photography, I explore nature, writing, and more. Photography is about more than a particular genre. In my mind, it’s a philosophy of life and light and awe and wonder. Photography is a means of expression and of conveying beauty and wonder in the world. You can stand behind the camera and create a signature image no matter what you’re shooting. The important thing is to express yourself and what matters to you.
The biggest challenge in photography is the same challenge any of us face in the performing arts, which is to be in the zone — to bring your true self every time. We have a billion distractions every day, and the hardest thing is to stay present every time you apply yourself to your art. People say, “It’s hard to stay fresh. It’s hard to stay inspired.” But the present moment is where inspiration lies.
The challenge is to decide who you are in your art because this will define who you are in your business. It will help you find your audience. It’s not the same as it used to be. You can’t just run around and sell prints. You have to dig quite a bit deeper and have a few tough moments with yourself to figure out who you’re going to be within your photography and what you really have to offer. Then stay true to what that is.
I have this way of finding places I want to photograph that people tend to blow off when they first hear it because it sounds so general, but it isn’t. It’s smart, and it’s specific: I know what I want to see, what I need to see, and what I love to see. When those things come together, magic happens.
When I consider going somewhere specifically for photography, whether it’s a new or an old place, I think about what I want to see. I’ve lived near Lake Tahoe for thirty years. I’ve shot it so much, I know that I want and need and love to see when it’s dramatic — when the colors are a certain way; when the air has a certain electric spark in it. I’m going to look for those conditions before I take the trouble to trek out there and set up my tripod.
If I think about somewhere new I want to go, I know I love to experience history. And I love to experience nature because it’s the brushstroke of creation. So I look first for those things. Then I look for the light and air to be a certain way. I look for the things I want, need, and love to see and that sets me on fire.
In landscape, the moments I look for I usually find in morning or evening light — which is kind of obvious. I don’t mind when the sun is high, but I like the sun high in winter way more than in summer. Here in the mountains, bright sunlight in the summertime washes everything out. Whereas in wintertime, even the highest sun is still beautiful.
When I go out, I look for the moments that make my stomach flutter, make me gasp, make me cry. I’ll have some physical reaction if I’m being present; I’m not sitting somewhere thinking, “Rule of thirds says this is a fine photo.” I don’t do that. I go by my gut. When I feel something is when I take the picture.
That’s what I always challenge myself with: telling the story of my experience, of the beauty, of how I feel. It’s my take on each of these scenes, but I do it through wide, mid, and close-up photos. I try to do all focal ranges everywhere I go, if I have time, so that I walk away with an entire book of moments.
You need to have the technical know-how, but you also need to have the inspirational artistic vision. FUJIFILM gear bridges that gap for me better than any other gear on the market, and it has everything to do with the way I like to interact with my gear. I also have a cinematic way of seeing, and their colors come closest to what I see and feel than any other camera.
The other reason I love their cameras is because I’m muscle-memory oriented. Muscle memory for settings works way better for me than menu diving because I’m always trying to be in the moment. With FUJIFILM, there are six or eight external buttons I can customize. Once I see and feel the moment I want to capture, I can just do it without thinking, which is so important for my approach to photography.
This philosophy guides all my other gear choices, too. I need them to work without pulling me out of the moment. Really Right Stuff is the last tripod I’ll ever have to buy because of how smoothly everything works, no matter how cold it is. Super secure. Super solid. Never fails.
My LucrOit filters are super true. They don’t tint anything. Their holders make it super easy to snap filters on and switch them out. I hate fussing with gear because it’s a distraction. These filters help me bring my vision to a photo without disturbing the moment.
SmugMug helps me share that vision with the world — without ever getting in the way. I’ve always felt like it was my “ace in the hole” when it comes to showing my images online. When I send someone there — or show them my work on the app — I’m relaxed knowing my photos look amazing with no worry about the user experience (it’s always great). It helps me present my art and do business seamlessly.
And that’s the key for any gear: it should support your vision and help bring it to life. It should never interfere with your moments.
Get the image right in camera first, as much as possible. Then use post-processing to take it in the direction you originally envisioned. I prefer to use Photoshop over Lightroom to refine my vision, which usually shocks people. But I don’t shoot for volume. Shoot with meaning. Know what you want. Don’t shoot a million photos simply because you have room on your memory card. When you have a vision behind what you’re doing, you don’t come home with so much extraneous stuff that you need an enormous database to manage it.
I also prefer to work in layers. The simplest photos will always have at least three or four layers. The more complex ones might have thirty. This is why I use Photoshop, along with some plug-ins like Aurora, Luminar, Google Nix, Alien Skin, and Exposure.
To make an image better match my vision, the first thing I do is balance and clean up a photo. This usually involves tweaking highlights and shadows and cloning out any dirt that may have been on the sensor. The goal is to get the image to a good baseline. Then I may decide to add some adjustment layers and work on the light; I let the life of the image start to come through and get more creative from there.
If you want to get started in photography, learn from others — even imitate them to learn how something feels or works. Then, forget all that and go back to what you want, love, and need to see, because that’s where life and art intersect. If it doesn’t make you gasp, don’t take the picture.
Beauty awakens the soul to speak. If there were ever a time that we need the soul to wake up and speak, it’s now. We need beauty now more than ever.
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Find Karen online:
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SmugMug Films is excited to present Where the Fire Is, featuring Mike Mezeul II. Keep reading to get to know Mike and his tips for photographing the power of nature.
Photographer Mike Mezeul II doesn’t like to take it easy. In fact, he pursues some of the most challenging and dangerous situations to photograph, resulting in images that astound and awe with the power of nature. During a rare, calm moment, Mike shared with us, in his own words, his top tips on what it takes to capture nature at its wildest.
I look for a scene that is more than just “pretty” — finding a frame that tells a story, conveys an emotion, and brings someone into that moment as if they were the one looking through the viewfinder. I’m stubborn, so if I don’t come across that scene right away, I’ll wait and wait and wait for it to happen, even if that means coming back a dozen times.
The biggest challenge in my work honestly comes down to being patient. I have a laundry list of images that I’ve wanted to capture for years but they haven’t come to fruition just yet. It does test my patience, but I know it’ll eventually happen. And that will make me appreciate it that much more when it does. You also have to be persistent. It takes time, hard work, and many failures, but it’s absolutely possible.
I plan my travel very spontaneously. In terms of severe weather, I take every spring off from documenting anything else but severe weather. That provides me with the best opportunities to travel across America in search of the worst, yet best, weather to photograph. When it comes to volcanoes, I have a bag of gear ready to always go in hopes of being able to get on a flight as quickly as possible if there’s an eruption I want to document. If there’s a volcano that’s more consistently erupting, like Fuego, I primarily plan around moon phases and weather conditions. But things can always change in an instant, like with the 2018 Kilauea Volcano eruption in the Lower East Rift Zone.
It was such an extremely dynamic event that provided incredible visuals among horrible devastation. It was challenging to document as each day was quite different from the previous. Roads that were there the day prior no longer existed. New fissures were opening each day, providing amazing visuals but an extremely uncomfortable environment to be in. And the hazards weren’t just from the lava but copious amounts of sulphur dioxide gasses, septic tanks exploding, emotional residents, and more.
I always carry my Nikon cameras and lenses, especially the Nikkor Z 14–24mm, a ton of lens cloths, and a tripod that can withstand being thrown into a volcano. But the best camera is the one in your hand. It doesn’t matter what camera it is, brand, or how new or old. Someone, somewhere in the world, is creating amazing content with less than what you have.
Besides having a deep and understanding knowledge for the subject you are photographing, it’s a must to be able to put yourself and keep yourself in some uncomfortable positions. Where others are running and seeking shelter, your feet are firmly planted on the ground, and your mind and camera are ready to tell a story.
I’m not one to fake skies, color, or warp a scene into one that’s more dramatic than what I saw. I think it’s a lie to the audience to do so, and nature is already amazing, so why is there a need to exaggerate it? I want my audience to see and feel what I saw, not what I wanted to feel. I also think back to those who laid the foundation for photography, like Ansel Adams. How hard he worked to create a single frame. The patience, persistence, the grueling techniques of capturing and developing his images. It would be a slap in the face to guys like him if I faked a scene in post [sic].
My dog is a diva and won’t pee on anything but grass, so when we got backcountry permits at White Sands, I tried to get her to use the bathroom before we went to bed. It was a complete fail. At around 2AM, she’s crying at the tent door, and I knew if I didn’t take her out I’d be waking up in a puddle. So we hopped out for her to go pee and, of course, she wouldn’t. I refused to go back in the tent until she did, then I noticed a flash of lightning off in the distance. I also noticed the Milky Way was out above the storm so I thought I could get lucky with another strike while waiting. I set up my camera and tripod and a big bolt landed under the storm, but I was so excited I must have moved the sand under the tripod as it happened. The frame was a complete blur. I repositioned the tripod and shot again, and again, and again. I was about to give up on both the image and my pup going to the bathroom, but then it happened: two beautiful bolts came out from the bottom of the storm with the moon setting behind the clouds, Milky Way shining above, and the stunning white sand dunes reflecting the ambient light. I remember cheering and looking over at my dog Joplin right as she was peeing. It was a win all around.
I love that I see a career I pursued because I was passionate about it, when so many people told me I shouldn’t. I had people tell me I was making a mistake, that the photography industry is too competitive, or I would never last. Now, when I look at my work, I love that I see my passion reflected in my work and that I didn’t take no for an answer. Think about what you’re truly passionate about and let your creativity fly. It may take time to get that yes, but if you take no as an answer, you’ll never get that yes.
If you don’t know who Bob Ross is, hop on YouTube and watch one of his shows. I refer to him in every workshop I teach. He was an amazing painter, and he would tell you exactly what he was going to paint, what the landscape would look like, where the light would be, and, of course, about the happy trees as well. He would then talk about some of the colors he would use. All of this before a single drop of paint hit the canvas. The point of this was he had a vision for what he wanted to create. So I always teach my workshop students to “Bob Ross it.”
Watch Mike in action in the latest SmugMug Film, Where the Fire Is. Mike takes us along on his journey to photograph Volcán de Fuego in Guatemala. See if you can spot where he’s applied his own photography tips.
Visit https://prints.mikemezphotography.com/ to purchase his prints and follow @MikeMezPhoto on Facebook, Instagram, and Flickr.
And then, tell us what you think! Did you learn something new? What do you think of the SmugMug Film? Leave a comment on our Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
An artist at heart from a young age, Lizzy Gadd found her way to photography when her father brought home a small digital camera when she was twelve years old. From there, she discovered Flickr communities and dove into a world of exploration and experimentation through her lens. The journey has led her to far-flung lands and hidden oases buried in the back country, where she seeks new stories to be told with herself as the main character. Watch more about Lizzy’s journey below in our newest SmugMug Film, and read on for some of her tips about the magic of storytelling through photography.
I’m quite particular about the mood in my work. My favorite photos involve moody weather, mist, sunrises, or sunsets. Weather plays such a huge role in conveying mood. As do locations. Seeking out and hiking to these beautiful, epic locations is all so I can capture the right feeling in my photos. Trying to get the timing right so the weather aligns with the location I want is always the biggest challenge in my work.
Self-portraits are a bit of a challenge, but they’re also a therapeutic process. I time-lapse my photos, so I set up the tripod, manually focus my composition, and program the timer to take a photo every few seconds. Then I walk out in front of the camera. I might stand out there for up to 100 photos, thinking I look epic or graceful, then I come back and find that maybe one photo out of a hundred looks the way I imagined it. Often it’ll take me several tries, going back and forth.
More often than not, I won’t take photos. I tend to enjoy being in the moment and connecting with nature. That’s always been my first love. I like to soak in the surroundings. Then, if I feel inspired, I’ll try to capture the mood I’m feeling. But I have to feel it first. Be in the moment. That’s most important. Once I feel that connection, that’s when I’ll try placing myself in the photo to see if I can capture the feeling through photography.
I love soft light. My favorite time to photograph is usually first thing in the morning around sunrise, especially in the fall when there’s fog. Once the sun comes up and shines through the fog, it creates a beautiful, gold, misty moodiness. I love warmth in photos, but I also love cold, dramatic tones. There’s a different kind of mist that comes from rainy days. As long as it isn’t clear, blue skies and contrasty, I’m happy.
When taking in a location, I like to find a place where there’s an object — whether it’s a tree or a rock — that stands out within a scene. I’ll instantly envision myself interacting with that object somehow, standing next to it or sitting on it, and can see the photograph in my head. Even if there’s nothing there except a beautiful backdrop, I can become the point of interest by incorporating myself within the photo. It gives a focus for the emotion I’m feeling. A frame for what I’m seeing.
I very rarely follow the rule of thirds. I’m often centered in my photographs. And even though I always bring my tripod out with me, I rarely use it. Often I’ll shoot with my camera very low to the ground so there’s a soft foreground of grass or rocks that creates a dreamy effect. The out-of-focus foreground gradually leads to the center of the photo, where I’ll be in focus with the background behind me. I always try to find a way to frame the photo so I’m not lost among the landscape but also don’t stand out in a way that fights against the nature I’m trying to capture.
When I was 12 years old, my dad bought a point-and-shoot digital camera, which I picked up and started shooting with. A year later, I joined Flickr and started getting inspired by the people posting there. Photography became my biggest passion; I was shooting landscapes and animals every day. Then I started seeing some of my new friends on Flickr do these 365 projects, where they would take a self-portrait every day for a year. So I decided I would attempt one myself in 2010. I shot self-portraits every day, and it was a year of experimenting. I grew the most that year out of any year from the constant practice and feedback.
I didn’t have a style during that year; every self-portrait was totally different. But on the last day of my project, I went out to this mountain range and lake on New Year’s Eve. It was freezing — like –10º — and I took what I thought was going to be my last self-portrait because I didn’t necessarily like them. But on that last day when I was out there in the mountains, connected to nature, standing in the lake and freezing cold, it clicked. I loved that moment so much. That’s what brought me to where I am today.
In that Flickr community, we would all share feedback on each other’s work. Even if we didn’t give specific feedback on how we could improve, the constant support helped us build each other up. I think that’s what brought us all to where we are today. Many of us started meeting up in person as well, doing little photo meetups. The community I found there, they are like my family today. That has had a huge amount to do with my growth as a photographer — knowing I have a family of photographers that’s standing behind me no matter what I do with my work.
I switched to Sony three and a half years ago. The main reason for that is they’re a lot lighter. I do a lot of backpacking for my photoshoots, often going into the back country for a few days, and I was beginning to think lighter gear would help considerably with the weight I carried. The upgrade in quality was also considerable for me — from my original Canon 60D, which I think was 18 megapixels, to the Sony a7rIII, which is 42 megapixels. Seeing that huge jump in image quality was overwhelming and awesome, because I suddenly had so much more detail to work with.
When you feel pressured and don’t know what to capture, put down the camera, step back, and enjoy the scene. Don’t worry about it. Often, that’s when inspiration will come back to you. When you’re focusing so hard to see the scene through the lens, you forget to look at it through your own eyes and enjoy it that way. I find inspiration comes to me more when I put my camera down and simply enjoy being there. That’s when the ideas start coming to me.
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Find Lizzy online:
Portfolio
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Flickr
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