Today’s Post by Joe Farace It’s appropriate that as I write this post, it is snowing outside… One of the most formative events in my life was when my second grade teacher, sadly I don’t remember the nun’s name, took our class from St Katherine of Sienna’s elementary school to a library. It was the Clifton Branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library and is still on the corner of 20th and Wolfe Streets in Baltimore. The library was built in 1916 with...
Today’s Post by Joe Farace Let’s get this out of the way first: Equipment doesn’t make portraits, people do. To shoot a portrait, it’s obvious that you’ll need a camera and some kind of light source, even if it’s just two LED light bulbs, as was the case in today’s featured image. But you don’t need a $47,995 Hasselblad H6D-400c to make portraits. Any, and I mean any, camera that takes interchangeable...
Today’s Post by Joe Farace “A photographic portrait is a picture of someone who knows [that] he is being photographed.”—Richard Avedon The above quote shows the late Richard Avedon was not just was a genius behind the camera but also perceptive about his photographs and what they represented. The truth is that a portrait seldom represents reality. Instead it’s a snapshot of a point in time and though retouching and posing presents an idealized...
Today’s Post by Joe Farace Go west, young man.”— Horace Greeley I’m not sure that I was all that young in 1981 when I took Horace Greeley’s advice and moved to Colorado. When I first came here, I was impressed not just by the Rocky Mountains but also by several of the towns and cities that surround Denver. The first one was the charming town of Castle Rock that was founded in 1874 and is located in Douglas County, not that far from my current Daisy...
Today’s Post by Joe Farace There are lots of things you’ll have to consider when working in your home studio beginning with tailoring its possibilities to the available space. In turn, that space will help determine the kind of lenses and the focal lengths you’ll be able to use but what about your subject? You’ll need to work with them in the space set aside and place them in poses to get the best possible photographs but even more importantly is...
“No one has ever become poor by giving.” ― Anne Frank Today’s Post by Joe Farace Today is National Philanthropy Day to honor those who give back to their communities. And while I would never, ever consider myself to be a philanthropist, for the past several years, during the Christmas holidays I’ve offered portfolio and website reviews for this blog’s readers with a charitable twist. From today until December 15’th...
With photography a new language has been
created. Now for the first time it is possible to express reality by reality.—Ernst HaasAt a time when everybody who writes a blog is an expert, I’ve have been writing about photography, cameras and studio lighting since 1981 and digital photography since 1989. I’m passionate about photography and if you would like to get some additional photo tips from all that experience, please follow me on Twitter, Pinterest with an occasional post on Instagram In these places, you’ll also get a peek at my personal life, work and other stuff I’m interested in. If you like automobiles, you might want to visit my car photography website and read a related blog at JoeFaraceShootsCars.com.
Learn MoreI strongly believe that photographers should use whatever kind of camera—DSLR or mirrorless that they like and can afford. Personally I’m a thrifty shopper and many of the cameras that I use everyday were purchased as either used or as “refurbs.”
Over the years photographers have asked me about the kind of gear I use and this page is my answer for them and anyone else that’s interested. I tend keep most of my gear in specific bags so that I can grab one, two or three bags and go.
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