Love it or hate it, Adobe Lightroom has become one of the most popular post-processing and image management tools on the market. With its simple and intuitive interface, it is easy to learn and our team at Photography Life has provided many in-depth articles on using specific Lightroom features over the years. However, one of the biggest frustrations with Lightroom can be its poor performance, which can be especially disappointing when using the software on an older computer. In this…
Read This Article
What Camera Manufacturers Need to Learn from Fuji
Fujifilm has just announced yet another set of “Kaizen” firmware updates that will soon be available for the Fuji X-T2 and Fuji X-Pro2 cameras. This is a major firmware upgrade release consisting of a total of 33 (!) updates and new features, which is very exciting. It is nice to be able to go back to a camera and discover new things you can do with it – almost creates a feeling of owning something entirely new. After seeing the…
Read This Article
Read This Article
How to Update Firmware on Nikon DSLR
One of the areas within the camera that rarely ever gets touched, is the camera software, also known as “firmware”. Most modern electronic gadgets provide the ability to update their firmware by downloading fixes and updates through manufacturers’ websites and applying those updates on the devices. The firmware updates not only provide important fixes for identified bugs, but also provide brand new features that were absent when the device was shipped from the manufacturer. This ability to be able to…
Read This Article
Read This Article
How to Upgrade Lightroom
With each new release, Lightroom requires specific changes to the database, also known as a “catalog”, that must be carried out in an upgrade process before the newer version of the software can be used. While the process of upgrading the actual software is pretty straightforward, there are some important steps one needs to take to make sure that the Lightroom catalogs are upgraded successfully. If you are scared about upgrading and have not done it in the past, this…
Read This Article
Read This Article
Fuji GFX 50S vs Hasselblad X1D-50c
Without a doubt, the release of medium format cameras by both Fujifilm and Hasselblad have shaken up the photography industry and have sparked interest from many enthusiast and professional photographers, who are interested in moving up to medium format. While Hasselblad delivered the smallest and the lightest medium format camera ever made in the shape of the X1D-50c, Fuji definitely surprised many of us with the low (for medium format) price of the GFX 50S. With both cameras featuring similar…
Read This Article
Read This Article
How to Enable Nikon’s One-Click Zoom Feature
One of the key features that many high-end Nikon DSLRs hide in their menu system, is the ability to instantly zoom into an image at 100% zoom, or 1:1 magnification. This “one-click zoom feature” can be very useful when reviewing images on the rear LCD, as it saves you from having to press the zoom and the navigation buttons so many times in order to see whether the subject you are capturing is sharp or not – you simply press…
Read This Article
Read This Article
Fuji X-T2 Review
This is an in-depth review of the Fuji X-T2, a second generation mirrorless camera in its class that was announced in July of 2016 as a replacement of the X-T1. It has been a few years since the Fujifilm X-T1 shook the photography world when it was announced, thanks to its amazing ergonomics, superb autofocus system, great image quality and a strong line of lenses, making the X-T1 one of the most desirable mirrorless cameras on the market. It took…
Read This Review
Read This Review
PL Redesign – A Cleaner Look
We are happy to announce a rather significant update to the Photography Life design, which is focused on delivering a much cleaner user experience optimized for both both desktop and mobile use. We got rid of the large headers and the enormous slider on the front page and re-tweaked every part of the website to look very polished and distraction-free. A lot of the older content has been updated with more up-to-date information and we will be continuing our efforts…
Read This News
Read This News
How to Use a Polarizing Filter
A polarizing filter is one of the most essential tools in a landscape photographer’s bag. It is typically the first filter landscape photographers buy to instantly improve their pictures by adding vividness and contrast to them. In this article, we will go through detailed information on polarizing filters, what they do, why they are important and why you should consider using them for your landscape photography.
Read This Article
Read This Article
Announcing 2017 PL Workshops!
We are once again excited to announce our upcoming workshops later this year and this time we have a few surprises! In addition to the regularly conducted Colorado Fall Colors Workshops, we are adding two more workshops – Jordan Photography Workshop and Death Valley National Park Workshop! Please read below for the full schedule of these workshops and if you would like to participate, please sign up sooner than later, since they fill up pretty quickly.
Read This News
Read This News
JPEGmini Server Review
After I had a chance to test and review the JPEGmini Pro software, I realized how powerful this software is not just for exporting images and being part of a Lightroom workflow, but also for many other uses, including optimizing images that are already sitting on our large storage devices. Another use I immediately thought of, was the web server where Photography Life traffic originates from. Given how much traffic PL serves worldwide on a day-to-day basis and the fact…
Read This Review
Read This Review
How to Properly Use and Care for Memory Cards
As photographers, we heavily rely on memory cards, because they store images captured by our cameras and we use them to transfer images to our computers / main storage. In some cases, photographers even rely on memory cards to be their secondary or tertiary backups when shooting in the field. The role of memory cards in a photography workflow should not be underestimated – a failed card may not only lead to many problems and frustrations, but can also create…
Read This Article
Read This Article
Sigma Does It Again – 4 New Lenses Announced!
Ever since Sigma decided to revamp its line of lenses with its “Art”, “Contemporary” and “Sport” editions, we have seen a number of innovative lenses from the company, some of which claimed the “world’s first” title. Sigma has been working hard on producing fast, high-performance and durable lenses for Nikon, Canon and Sigma mounts at very attractive price points, allowing the company to quickly grow and establish itself as a reputable lens manufacturer. Today, the company revealed yet another amazing…
Read This News
Read This News
Tips on Properly Holding a Camera
When taking pictures, one of the biggest frustrations one can experience is camera shake, which often happens as a result of the way the camera is held at lower shutter speeds. Properly hand-holding a camera can drastically reduce human-induced camera shake and result in many more sharp images and keepers. In this article, we will discuss a few different ways to hold a camera, which will hopefully reduce and potentially even eliminate unwanted blurry images when you are shooting in…
Read This Article
Read This Article
Nikon 105mm f/1.4E Review
Ever since it was introduced back in 1993, the DC Nikkor 105mm f/2 DC has been a classic – it was one of the most favored lenses for film portrait photographers and when digital came about, many photographers continued using the stellar lens to create stunning portraits. It took Nikon 23 years to bring out an update in the form of the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 105mm f/1.4E ED – a drastically different lens in every way. Although Nikon decided to…
Read This Review
Read This Review
Sony FE 100mm f/2.8 STF GM and 85mm f/1.8 Announcements
This week is an exciting week for Sony mirrorless fans, because two more lenses have joined the native FE mount in the form of FE 100mm f/2.8 STF GM and 85mm f/1.8. While Sony has already brought out the stellar 85mm f/1.4 GM lens last year, it is an expensive pro-grade lens, so there was a gap to fill for an enthusiast-grade lens and that’s what the 85mm f/1.8 is all about. At $599, it is a third of the…
Read This News
Read This News
Tamron’s SP 70-200mm f/2.8 VC G2 and 10-24mm Lenses to Challenge Nikon
It is always exciting to see great lens announcements, because lenses play such a huge role in making images and making them appear special. This week we have seen two such announcements from Tamron. Without a doubt, the most exciting announcement is the Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 designed for full-frame cameras from both Nikon and Canon. I am personally intrigued by the Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8, since that lens is going to retail for a mere…
Read This News
Read This News
Mirrorless Camera Comparison
A number of our readers have been asking our team about our recommendations on different mirrorless cameras. With so many different options on the market today, choosing a mirrorless system can get very confusing. In this particular article, I would like to start off by comparing mirrorless camera systems that are available today from different manufacturers. This below charts will be updated periodically with new / updated information. Please note that the below comparisons are only for mirrorless interchangeable lens…
Read This Article
Read This Article
Evaluating Mirrorless Camera Systems
We have so many different camera systems available today, that it is getting tougher and tougher to choose between them, especially for those who are just starting out. With mirrorless systems on the rise and advancing at a much faster pace than DSLRs in terms of technology, one might wonder which mirrorless systems are worth a serious consideration. In this article, I want to go over the different mirrorless systems and give my subjective take on each system, stating which…
Read This Article
Read This Article
Fujifilm GFX 50S Considerations
Without a doubt, the announcement of the medium format Fujifilm GFX 50S and its revealed price of $6,500 has sent a shockwave across many different photography communities across the world, sparking many discussions and debates about the future of the camera industry. We now have a medium format mirrorless camera that is lighter and more compact than a typical full-frame DSLR, with a price point of a top-of-the-line DSLR like the Nikon D5. Significantly cheaper than any other digital medium…
Read This Article
Read This Article