I thought I’d make a nice little tidy list of my favourite inspirational photographers and resources and hopefully pay a little forward. I feel like I owe these people an awful lot, for the content they put out there and for the inspiration they have helped to nurture within me.
Let’s start at the beginning………………
I wanted to learn how to light my images with flash. It’s my personal taste. Natural light images for the most part look very flat and one dimensional to me. For the MOST part………let me emphasise that. There are some absolute masters of natural light photography out there. Incredible photographers. I shoot with natural light too………but……….I prefer to light with flash. I live in the UK where the weather is generally poor and very unpredictable. Lighting with flash gives me the ability to make and more importantly, control my lighting exactly as I want it to be, and with consistent results.
First port of call.
https://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html
The Strobist Blog.
Lighting 101 by David Hobby is an outstanding free resource to learn lighting from the very basics. If you want to learn how to use off camera flash then I highly recommend making this your starting point.
Second on the list.
OneLight by the incredible photographer and educator Zack Arias.
This video tutorial is THE stand alone industry leading guide (in my humble opinion) to learning how to light and to understand flash. PERIOD.
Here’s the trailer…………..
The video is available to purchase from Zack’s store………https://dedpxl.com/product/onelight/
It costs $99, and I can tell you that if you are starting out with lighting and want to learn, then that $99 will be worth every single cent.
Zack Arias.
Next up………..
Glyn Dewis.
Again an absolutely legendary educator, photographer, author and all around nice guy. I’ve been a customer of his for many years. I’ve purchased his fantastic books and I use his custom colour LUTs from his Creativity Pack to colour grade many of my images.
Glyn also runs a YouTube channel which has been one of the single most useful places of learning for me. It’s crammed full of exceptional, clear and concise tutorial videos on Photoshop and photography.
Check it out here……………..https://www.youtube.com/user/GlynDewis
Glyn’s 3945 project is a beautiful homage to some of the last remaining World War II veterans………..https://www.3945portraits.com
Brilliant stuff!
Bit of Photoshop goodness next, and if you don’t already know of it, then the Piximperfect channel on YouTube is an amazing resource for all things Photoshop and Lightroom.
https://www.youtube.com/c/PiXimperfect/
You’re going to find just about anything here relating to image retouching, colour grading and creating composites. Unmesh is a fantastic educator and a great personality. Immerse yourself in his channel and learn some new skills. I always think it’s a good idea on days when you’re not photographing to get stuck into some new editing tutorials. Every day’s a school day around here!
The next entry here is for two very inspiring photographers that I’m sure you will have all heard of.
Joel Grimes and Joe McNally. I gravitate towards these guys as great educators as well as great photographers (I’m seeing a little pattern here).
Now, as far as Joel Grimes goes, I could literally hang on every word that comes out of his mouth. His experience and knowledge are GOLD.
Check out The Framed Show here………….https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEuEKZTlrms&list=PLkjeBWqB_B737GRFbOSGFgyZj9cWhGPjR
……….and this great ‘one light’ video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AP8Mb93XyIo
Every single time I watch those videos I learn something new.
Joe McNally is again an amazing personality and educator. One of the nice guys of the photography industry. He actually took a photograph of me in a demonstration at The Photography Show in the UK last year! If you ever have the chance to catch one of his demos I’d highly recommend it. https://portfolio.joemcnally.com/index
So last but not least, and this is a fantastic resource. Again featuring Glyn Dewis and co-host Dave Clayton, it’s the He Shoots He Draws Podcast.
What I LOVE about this podcast (aside from the great camaraderie) is it’s consistency and it’s attention to photography and design business matters, in addition to the photography chat. It’s unique in it’s outlook in this respect, and I find myself pouring over old episodes whilst I’m out walking and extracting absolute gems of information from them. I’m also having a few giggles as there is some very funny content in there too.
Great podcast, and well worth the free subscription! It’s a no brainer.
Well that’s it for today’s lengthy instalment! Please do let me know if you find value in these resources as I myself have done.
As always, thanks for reading and stay safe.
Andy
I’m a fine art portrait photographer based in Tamworth, Staffordshire. Specialising in creative and styled portraiture, fitness photography, headshots, family portraits and personal branding for you, for actors, for athletes and for business professionals alike.
www.andrewkatsaitisphotography.com
Buy me a coffee at my ko-fi page.
