Category Archives: Learning to See

Dealing with Creative Block

By Paul Kerins | Published: May 12, 2012

Understanding Creative Blocks and How to Overcome Them. You have heard of writer’s block, when a writer struggles with getting his or her ideas down on paper. Every type of creative person goes though different cycles of creativity including times of great frustration where their creative juices do not flow at all or just barely [...]

Anticipating The Decisive Moment

By Paul Kerins | Published: April 3, 2012

The Decisive Moment Henri Cartier-Bresson will always be remembered for his iconic black and white street photographs, but he will also be remembered for a famous phrase that is known by almost every serious photographer, ” The Decisive Moment ” . The term comes from his 1952 book Images à la sauvette, the English edition was titled, [...]

How to Photograph People using Direct Sunlight

By Paul Kerins | Published: March 2, 2012

How to use direct sunlight to make your portrait photographs beautiful. Ambient light, studio light, available light and the most important light of all, star light. That gigantic mass of hydrogen and helium we call the sun that produces 386 billion billion ( not a typo ) mega-Watts of energy, that is created by so [...]

Ambient High-key Beauty Lighting

By Paul Kerins | Published: March 2, 2012

How to do ambient high-key beauty lighting using only one light source. The most beautiful light is often the simplest, coming only from a single light source. In this beauty photograph of Emma that light source was a large bay window that was behind her, and the light was simple indirect ambient sunlight being channelled [...]

Beauty Photography – Make-up & Hair, plus Point of View and What to Look For.

By Paul Kerins | Published: January 15, 2012

Beauty Photography – Part Four of Four Beauty Make-up and Hair Beauty photography is used to sell many things, make-up and hair products are the most common and usually the first thing that comes to mind, but beauty is used to sell much more than just cosmetics. Beauty is also used to sell brands, ideas, [...]

Beauty Photography – Ten Tips for Better Beauty Photography

By Paul Kerins | Published: January 10, 2012

Beauty Photography – Part Three of Four There are loads of tips and tricks of the trade for shooting beauty photography. Below are ten solid tips to help build a strong foundation for your beauty shoot. 1. Pay attention to the models face when you are moving the lights or when you are moving the model [...]

Beauty Photography – Understanding Photogenic Beauty

By Paul Kerins | Published: December 22, 2011

Beauty Photography – Part Two of Four  A Eye for Photogenic Beauty I am not sure if having a eye for beauty can be learned, but I do think that by photographing enough people you can learn what traits are needed for someone to be considered photogenic. Some of the most physically beautiful women I’ve [...]

Beauty Photography – The Power of Beauty

By Paul Kerins | Published: December 15, 2011

Beauty Photography – Part One of Four  Introduction One of my subscribers asked if I could write about beauty photography, so this is my attempt to explain something I love, but something that really has no formula to speak of. I guess what I am trying to say is beauty photography is much more than [...]

Get it Right the First Time.

By Paul Kerins | Published: September 8, 2011

When and when not to use Photoshop. Have you ever heard this phrase? Why don’t you fix that later in Photoshop? I have heard that more times than I care to remember. From clients, to make-up artists, hair stylists, stylists, models, and even assistants. I have even known other photographers who think like this. Photographers [...]

Using your eyes as the lens and your mind as the camera.

By Paul Kerins | Published: August 23, 2011

How to be spatially aware as a photographer by paying attention to your environment. Becoming a photographer is more about learning to use your eyes, than using a camera. So with that said, you do not always have to have a camera with you to be a photographer. It is possible to make a photograph [...]