Intro by Skip Cohen

Yes, Adorama is a partner with SCU and yes, it's part of my "job" to help promote their events, sales and educational programs they bring to the market. However, this one is simply about fun and if I was still living in the NY/NJ area this would be on my calendar.

We all live such intense lives. Between the focus we put on our business and the importance of finding balance with our families and friends, it's tough to find those special moments when both converge without chaos! LOL

Well, circle the date, June 5, for Adorama's sixth annual street fair. The video below tells the whole story.  It's a chance to scoop up some sweet deals, spend some fun time with your family and meet some of the companies who help us focus every day of the week...not just with a camera but on business.

It's another example of what makes Adorama, "more than a camera store!"

AdoramaTV has one of the largest and most diverse "how-to" archives in photography. Over the last couple of years they've built up a stash of over 1600 videos, from beginner to advanced themes and all presented by some of the most talented educators in photography today.

In this timeless episode from two years ago, Joe McNally shares some terrific content about soft directional lighting. Right down to diagramming what he's doing and explaining why; Joe never does anything half way. His workshops are phenomenal and if he's speaking at any upcoming convention on your schedule, make it a point to be in the front row!

There are 52 videos with Joe in the archives.  Each one covers a different and important aspect of building your skill set. Check out more of Joe's work with a visit to his website.

And, if you're looking for help in virtually every area of technique in photography, visit Adorama's archives. Over and over again they live up to their tagline - "more than a camera store!"

by Skip Cohen

Understanding great lighting and portraiture is one of the most important skill sets every professional photographer needs to have. Yet, it's so often misunderstood and new artists especially are left struggling, trying to capture a certain look to their images.

This short video from AdoramaTV's archives ran just a few months ago, but as usual, Gavin Hoey packs a lot of great information into just a few minutes. Whether you're an established photographer with a solid skill set or relatively new, he's sharing some terrific concepts in this video.

Adorama's tag line is "more than a camera store" and Gavin has over 100 video tutorials available with just a click of your mouse. Plus, check out all of Adorama's archives, now over 1600 strong!

Once a week I take a few minutes and wander through the archives of Adorama TV on YouTube. There are over 1600 videos, each one covering a different aspect of photography. They have ALL been produced to help you raise the bar on the quality of your images.

One of my favorite features is with Tamara Lackey. She's one of the industry's strongest interviewers and has shared some incredible insight with her guests on her show, reDefine. However, every now and then she does an episode as not only a working photographer but an educator. In this episode from last Fall, she's working on location with Profoto's B2 Off-Camera Flash System.

Too many of you shoot on location and have declared yourself "natural light specialists", because you're uncomfortable working with studio lighting. Tamara takes a good part of the mystery out of on location lighting in this relatively short video. She's taking you through her thought process as she does an actual shoot for Nikon and at the time, the D7200 with an 18-140 mm f3.5 lens.

There are 69 episodes featuring Tamara and reDefine. Loaded with great content, they're the perfect example that make Adorama more than a camera store!

Once again, Adorama continues to add educational content to help you raise the bar on the quality of your images. This non-stop focus on education so supports the point of their tagline - "More than a camera store."

​I didn't have to go very far to find a new favorite from their archives on YouTube. This is one of their newest videos, as their educational collection just crossed 1600 programs this week. 
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It's a lot of fun when educational icons team up to challenge each other. In this brand new video, Gavin Hoey, challenges Mark Wallace to come up with two completely different looks using only one light and NO modifiers.

It's a short video making a great point about understanding lighting and growing your skill set. As always, Mark gets right to the point and accepts the challenge. And, catch the light he's using - a Profoto B2 .

​There are 138 videos in Mark's educational series for Adorama. Each one is loaded with great content and they range from short tips to full webinars! Check out  Gavin Hoey's too. He's coming up on 100! 

It's one thing to be able to capture and create great images, but it's another thing to be able to teach, especially via video. Both Mark and Gavin do an outstanding job every time they step into the educational arena.

Adorama's tag line of "more than a camera store" couldn't be more appropriate every time Daniel Norton records another episode of OnSet. I love this video I found in the AdoramaTV archives. 

The biggest challenge for every professional photographer today is making your work look different from your competitor. Plus, because everyone has the potential to own great gear today, you've got to step up your game and make sure your work is ALWAYS better than any client's "Uncle Harry".

While some of you might feel time-lapse is a gimmick, it's a technique not to be ignored. For example, think about the reception at a wedding. The bride and groom have spent months planning out the menu, the table arrangements and even the center-pieces. Yet, they only see the finished results. 

Technology has given you the ability to not only capture the set up of the room, but present the event as part of a hybrid slide show. The wedding album is at the core of your finished products for your clients, but understanding all the peripheral technologies gives you a chance to enhance your client's experience and make yourself habit-forming! Your goal is to always exceed every client's expectations.

Daniel shares a lot of solid tips on how to create your own time lapse series. It's an important skill to add to your ever-growing techniques. Time lapse photography offers you a whole series of techniques to bring into not only wedding and event coverage, but imagine it during a "day-in-the-life" shoot with a family, child or pet.

P.S. This week is Adorama's twice a year warehouse sale. If you need gear, now is the time to check out some outstanding pricing while product is still available!

Bryan Peterson has a regular feature, "You Keep Shooting" on Adorama TV. In fact, Adorama's video archives are home to 133 videos featuring Bryan's tips on raising the bar on your photographic technique. While many of them are beginner to intermediate themes, I've seen so many images in galleries by professionals who I wish had watched a few of these videos.

I chose three very short videos with a common theme, cleaning up your backgrounds with portraits. Where I see the problem most often is in wedding galleries. I've seen hundreds, if not thousands of images, that with just a little attention, would have been so much stronger. 

These videos are so worth watching as a reminder to take more control over your images. Bryan demonstrates how to clean up the background by actually replacing it; then by fine-tuning the depth of field and finally simply by moving and changing his shooting angle.

​What I love is the way he demonstrate/creates the mistake each time and then reminds you how to clean it up! And, always in 2-3 minutes of video.

I know somewhere out there a few of you might be insulted feeling this is just too basic, but before you roll your eyes, check out the images in your galleries. Every image you share needs to be outstanding and demonstrate why you're better than any client's "Uncle Harry".

There are 1500+ videos in Adorama's archives.  Each one a testimony to why they're "more than a camera store"! When was the last time you just took a scroll through AdoramaTV?

I love these short bursts of educational content thanks to AdoramaTV and Daniel Norton. Daniel's video is the first one I wanted to share. The second video is from Alexis Cuarezma and is the piece Daniel mentions in the beginning as his inspiration.

Understanding lighting is so critical to everything you do as a photographer. So often you have minimal time working with a client. You have to know your lighting, your gear and exactly the look you want without hesitation. Daniel always does a terrific job helping you further define your skill set.

There are over 1500 videos in AdoramaTV's archives. They feature some of the finest educators in our industry all focused on helping you become a stronger artist.  Check out the archives and have some fun getting the support you need to create stronger images.  

​Also check out Daniel's lighting in his studio. More information on Profoto is just a click away. 

Intro by Skip Cohen

I know most of you consider yourselves working professionals and these two short videos by Tamara Lackey are under the "Beginner" umbrella, but there are two reasons I wanted to share them with you. First, a lot of you have become so rushed in the process of capturing images, you've forgotten some of the basics - so, a two minute refresher will help you raise the bar on the quality of your images.

Second, pay attention to the way Tamara teaches. Nobody does this stuff better and now think about your own blog content. I keep suggesting you look for ways to help your readers become better photographers themselves.

If you're in the portrait/social category then most of your target audience are moms. Be helpful and run a feature post now and then with tips on how they can get better shots of their own family. Position yourself as the photographic expert in the community and then share another tip each week.

Most of you are already worried about new content. Here's a way to be helpful and also demonstrate why you're the community's best choice when they need a professional photographer!

There's so much great content in AdoramaTV's YouTube archives. Tamara Lackey's reDefine Show is just the tip of the iceberg. You'll find over 1500 videos to help you raise the bar on your skill set and get ideas on how to be more creative thanks to Adorama's focus on education.  Then, check out the store as well, so you've got the right gear in your bag on every shoot...and notice what lighting she's using! She's got Profoto's game-changing B2 off-camera flash system on location.

What a kick to finally meet Daniel Norton from Adorama at last week's WPPI convention. He was shooting live in the booth on the trade show floor each day.

His featured video series, OnSet, is loaded with great content.  Each episode is designed to help you raise the bar on your skill set. In this new video, just released last week, he's sharing some great examples to help you with your portraits both in the studio and outside.

With Spring finally in the air, even though there's still plenty of snow on the ground, you're going to be shooting more and more outside. Daniel and the Adorama team has packed a lot of great content into this six minute video. The OnSet series is a prime example of Adorama living up to its promise to be "more than a camera store".

Check out AdoramaTV with over 1500 helpful videos, regardless of your skill level. Then, check out their website, with one of the largest inventories of photographic gear in the industry and help is only a phone call away. Here's the link to the Profoto gear that Daniel started out with in the studio.