Julie Powell is a photographer, writer and educator, offers unique photographic opportunities and inspirational ideas to help YOU become the photographer you wish to be.
All in Camera Gear
Congrats! Getting a new camera is exciting, but there are a few things you should consider setting up first on your new Sony, before you go out to take on the world.
Sale! Sale! Sale! Heart races, the wallet opens, credit card comes out…does this sound like you? Before you get in over your head this year a little pre-sale strategy might be in order. While there are some bargains to be had, don’t get caught up in a shopping frenzy you may regret down the line.
When it comes to portraits, what’s the best focal length to use? That’s a great question, so I set out to test this for myself. So I decided to have a little bit of a length comparison. In part one, I tried a mid-range close up shot. In this article, I am going to stand further away and get a full-body portrait.
When it comes to portraits, what’s the best focal length to use? That’s a great question, some swear by a 50mm, some by an 85mm. So I decided to have a little bit of a length comparison.
Photography is full of technical terms and buzz words, but one that really is a great one to consider is Back Button Focus (or BBF). So what is it and why should you consider using it. By default, many cameras straight out of the box have the auto-focus with the shutter button. You half-press the shutter button and the camera will focus. This has its own pitfalls.
I was recently asked to review the soon to be released Tamron A047 for my Sony A7Riii, being a fan of the Tamron range I jumped at the chance. The A047 is the smallest, most compact and lightweight telephoto zoom lens, currently on the market.
Let's look at how focal lengths affect your subjects and the background of your images. What is lens compression? This is the when you use a telephoto lens and things in the background of the image will appear larger and closer to the foreground.
When I first switched over to my Sony system, I had a basic kit lens which I bought with it. It was great, but had a variable f/3.5-5.6 aperture. I wanted something that would do f/2.8 without breaking the bank.
The Rode smartLav+ is an omnidirectional lapel mic designed specifically for smartphones. It might not be the very latest and greatest, but it certainly offers great quality for the price.
Mobile phones are so great these days — the use and functionality of them are far superior to in the past. Recording video with your smartphone is accessible to everyone, but these five handy hints may help make your videos even better.
When we first get into photography, the temptation to want everything straight off the bat is very real. You may end up buying stuff you don’t really need and waste your money. Or you may compromise and buy stuff that just doesn’t last.
Occasionally things go awry with your camera. Not faulty, just unexpected or strange.
It’s possible that you fiddled around with one too many settings. Or you changed things and can’t seem to reset them. But what if you are trying to do something and just can’t figure it out?
How do you use a gray card in portraits to correctly adjust for white balance in Lightroom Classic? It’s super easy. If you have some actual gray cards or color checker system, use those and get your model to hold up near her face and take a shot.
Just what is exposure bracketing? It’s a feature in many DSLR and mirrorless cameras that allows you to take a group of different exposures for the same image.
Well, there are some buzz words for you — focus stacking, macro rail … but what does it all mean?
I recently wrote a post on using extension tubes and mentioned how macro ring lights can be very helpful. So in this follow-up, I take a closer look at macro ring lights and the benefits of them.
I recently took it upon myself to not only use only my Samsung S9 mobile phone, but to also shoot and edit in Adobe Lightroom for mobile.
What are extension tubes you ask? They sit between your lens and your camera body, reducing the minimum focus distance of your lens and magnify your images. Long story short, they help create macro images without a macro lens.
There are times when the available light does NOT work in your favor. Perhaps you want a longer exposure of a waterfall to obtain that soft silky water effect, but there is too much light. Even when your exposures are set to their limits, that is when filters can come to the rescue.
Once you get over the first hurdle in actually calibrating your monitor for the first time (like me when I was a complete newbie), you have to remember how often you need to re-calibrate.
