Category Tutorials

New Camera For Christmas

A Digital SLR For Christmas!!   You tear open the wrapping paper, and you see the magic words “Nikon”, or “Canon”, or “Sony” You got a real camera for Christmas! Your very first DSLR! (Digital Single Lens Reflex) This is a big step up from a “Point-and-Shoot” or an iPhone camera. Whether the camera is for taking… Read More

The Secret of Texas Brisket

I was born and raised in Cattle Country Texas. Ever since I can remember, I loved eating real Texas Pit Barbeque. There was a BBQ joint in Amarillo called “Underwoods”. It was good stuff. I saw the real “pit” they kept the meats in…. brick lined hole in the ground, and a part of it… Read More

MagMod Toys

MagMod Photography Gear

MagMod MagSphereIf you’ll excuse me, I must geek out every now and then and talk about photography gear. I got some new toys in the mail today, and I’m excited about using them. It is a new system of flash modifier that attaches to the flash unit.  It’s called “MagMod”.  It’s one of the newest and coolest new product in the past five years. This picture is the MagSphere.  It looks like a little silicone hat.  It diffuses and softens the light so that you don’t have those little harsh specular highlights on the cheeks or nose. It is omnidirectional, so it sort of throws light in every direction. Read More

Tutorial Edgy Portraits By Richard Spears

This is from four years ago. I was a member of a photography group, and they wanted me to share my technique for producing the “Edgy Portraits” like the Firefighter pictures in the blog. There’s an inside joke here that I should explain. There was a member in the Digital Photography School forum who used to make fun of my wedding photography business because my pricing was considerably lower than his pricing. His pricing for a wedding started at about $5K. He didn’t think much of my work or my business, and he would refer to me as the “Walmart Photographer” because of my low prices. I didn’t let him get under my skin and proudly owned the “Walmart Photographer” title.

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