We caught up with portrait and fashion photographer Rachell Smith ahead of her live interview on Karl Taylor Education to find out more about her career, how it all started and what advice she has for aspiring photographers. Rachell’s interest in photography developed from an early age, and was actively encouraged by her parents. “When I was a kid my …

From interviews with award-winning photographers to exciting photoshoots with flying liquids, our live photography shows are one of the most popular features on Karl Taylor Education. After launching the site just a few years ago, it soon became apparent just how valuable our live photography talk shows in particular were for members. These interviews offer a unique opportunity to learn …

Photography is a popular choice of profession for many, but despite the perception of it being a ‘glamourous’ career, in actual fact it requires a lot of hard work, time and effort. If you ask any professional photographer for advice on how to get started, they will tell you how essential it is that you understand the basics. I’m not …

E-commerce is a booming industry, and with it, e-commerce photography. Done correctly, e-commerce photography can be a quick and easy way to make money, but there’s a few tricks to getting it right. In two recent ‘How To’ videos that I did with broncolor’s Urs Recher, we showed you an effective setup for shooting e-commerce fashion as well as pack …

Levitating burgers, suspended salads and exploding tea — the craze of flying food images is taking over the food photography market. But how are these exciting images created? Photographing floating images, whether it be food or any other product, can be difficult. There are a number of challenges you’ll need to overcome, including getting the composition and positioning of your …

If you’ve ever tried to convert an image to black and white, chances are you’ve ended up with a flat, dull photo with none of the original contrast. This can be incredibly frustrating, especially for photographers who are new to Photoshop. To help you create stunning black and white images, I explain the key things to understand when shooting for …

After spending hours planning and styling your shot, getting the lighting just right and adding the final touches in post production, the next step is to upload your images to your online portfolio or social media. Part of this process is resizing your images for web. Here I answer the most common questions when it comes to resizing images and …

Arguably some of the most valuable tools in Photoshop, burning and dodging refers to darkening or lightening areas of an image. This technique can be used to enhance your imagery by creating three dimensionality and guide the viewer’s eye. This technique, which derives from the days of film and dark room printing, is useful for any genre of photography. As …

Whether you’re a professional product photographer or still practicing your portrait photography, there are a few photography accessories that are useful to have around the studio. These are my top 10 studio photography accessories that I keep around the studio (plus a bonus one at the end), and many of them are more basic than you might expect! I have …

Choosing the right backdrop is an important part of the photographic process. Photographic backdrops and backgrounds are a key part of any image — they can make or break your photo. Choosing the right backdrop is crucial, but knowing which one is the best can be tricky. To help you make the most of your image, I’ve outlined some key …

Here I’ve summarised some of the key points covered in our natural light food photography classes, explaining the planning, preparation, equipment, lighting and techniques used for each. For many photographers just starting out, working from home is common practice. You don’t need a lot of equipment or much space to take great photos. What you will need is just a …

Whether you’re a new photographer just starting out or have a few years of experience to your name, chances are you’ll have found yourself asking similar questions. Each month I do a live Q&A on social media and I’ve found that many photographers are asking the same questions time and time again. I answer the 10 most commonly asked photography …

Lenses are an essential piece of photographic equipment, but with so many options available it can be difficult to know what it all means and how to choose the right one. Here I explain different types of lenses, how to choose the best one for you and why it’s worth considering buying second hand. Put simply, lenses are pieces of …

As someone who’s done it for over 20 years, trust me when I say running a successful photography business requires more than just talent. It requires hard work, dedication and business savvy. Knowing how much to charge for photography is just one of the hurdles you’ll have to overcome if you want to make it, but it can be challenging …

Note: Watch the step-by-step process of how I shot this image in our Product section. I often get asked how I come up with ideas for shoots, but as a commercial photographer I’m often tasked with working to a brief, rather than creating my own concepts. For this Clinique shot, although it wasn’t for a particular project, I went about …

If you’ve never tried splash photography before or if you’re looking for a few useful tips or new ideas, then this is the place to be. I explain the equipment, lighting, important photographic concepts and also share a few creative ideas for you to try. Splash photography is a technique that can add a certain degree of professionalism to your …

This July marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landings — a historic moment that had a huge impact on technology, particularly photography, as we know it today. To celebrate this historic occasion we’ll be welcoming a technical expert from Hasselblad for an exclusive live talk show, where you’ll be able to see one of the moon cameras and …

The moon is a beautiful and fascinating subject to photograph, but determining the right exposure and the best composition can be a challenge. To help you get even better photos, I’ve outlined four simple tips in this blog post. I explain what to consider when it comes to when and where to photograph the moon, what equipment you’ll need, how …

When it comes to portrait photography, you often see results that are really quite similar. Softboxes are a go-to modifier and aim is either Butterfly, Loop or Rembrandt lighting. But with a little creativity (and the right knowledge), the possibilities are endless. In previous articles I’ve shown you how to create great portraits using just one, two and three lights …

From soft, angelic lighting to darker, more contoured lighting, there’s no end to how creative you can be using three lights for portrait photography. If you’re looking for some creative three light portrait ideas, I’ve put together three different setups you can add to your arsenal. These setups use only basic modifiers and show effective techniques that can help add …

In a previous article I discussed three easy portrait lighting setups using just one light, but for those of you who have more equipment, I thought I’d go one step further and show you some more great setups, this time using two lights. When it comes to portrait photography, whether you’re using one light or four, you can get some …

I’ve often heard photographers use the excuse that they don’t have many lights, but when it comes to portrait photography, you can get amazing results using just one studio light. Looking to create a beautiful soft light portrait image? Or perhaps you want something more dramatic and moody? Even if you’ve only got one light, with a little creativity you …

Award winning professional photographer Ben Thomas recently joined me in the studio, where we discussed everything from promoting your work to printing and exhibiting images. Ben also shared his go-to equipment and touched on the post production processes he uses to achieve some of his signature images. Many of our members were particularly interested in what equipment Ben uses and …