I’m on my way to Los Angeles California for a quick holiday and I just bought my ticket for the L.A. Zoo. I have to admit that I haven’t been to many zoos. I’m always conflicted when I go there. Seeing animals in small enclosures like slaves breaks my heart but at the same time, I can’t deny the education those zoos give us, especially children. They create an awareness of how precious, diversified and beautiful life is. That we need to take care of it or else…

It’s also a great opportunity to photograph animals that we would probably never see otherwise.  Zoo photography can be a Continue Reading »

It’s raining right now… actually it’s pouring.  Which made me think that it would be a great tutorial idea to give you my tricks for shooting in the rain.

It’s not because it’s raining that you can’t go out and shoot.  Some great photography was done in the rain. Not a lot of people do it  because they think it’s “bad” weather. Water creates wonderful photography opportunities just like getting up at 4am to shoot the sunrise. It,s a unique experience that every passionate of photography must try. You won’t see rainy days the same way ever again.

But before you go out with your precious camera Continue Reading »

Summer’s here and travel plans are being made all over the world (myself included). Chances are, if you’re reading Yanik’s Photo School, you’ll have fun packing your photo gear for your trip.

This post isn’t about what to bring but more on how to bring it. It coincides with a recent mishap my good friend and fellow photographer Martin Perreault had with one of his lenses while traveling to Jamaica for a shoot. Take a look at my interview with Martin to see what not Continue Reading »

In this photography tutorial, I’ll give you a few tricks to find your lens’ sweet spot. First off, what does the “sweet spot” mean? Simply put, the sweet spot is the aperture at which your lens is at its sharpest.

You’ve probably noticed that some of your images weren’t as sharp all the time and you may have shrugged it off as camera shake. Maybe it was, but it could’ve also been softness caused by your aperture setting on your Continue Reading »

I was shooting long exposures the other day in my studio and I accidentally went into the infamous BULB mode while selecting my shutter speed on my D300. As I was getting out of BULB mode, I got a flash (no pun intended)! This would make for a great tutorial!

So… In this tutorial, I’ll look at what BULB mode is, the equipment needed to get great long exposure shots and some ideas for when to use it. So let’s get right to it, shall we?

What is BULB mode?

BULB mode (or BULB setting) is a shutter speed setting that gives you complete manual control of the duration of your shutter speed. Most often it’s used for shutter speeds of more than Continue Reading »

I don’t know about you but not long after playing with my brand new Nikon Coolpix 4500 many years ago, I was already dreaming of owning a DSLR. Then the day came…. my very own Nikon D70! Boy, was I a happy camper! Off course, I took it with the kit lens which was a Nikkor 18-70mm. I didn’t know much about lenses back then. But I had read that this lens was a good (but not great) average lens.  And I was happy with it most of the time. But….

Owning a DSLR means you’ll eventually be getting more lenses so that you can explore and develop your creativity. But which lenses to get? There are so many out there. And Continue Reading »

Today, I’ll be going off the beaten path with you.  I won’t talk about lighting, Photoshop or Lightroom. Today’s lesson could actually be a challenge.  You see, we’re going to talk about observation. Obser…what? Yup! Observation. There’s more to taking good photographs than lighting, composition or post processing techniques. Really? Yah, really. One very important journey to improving your photography skills is to observe what other photographers are creating. See what those images do to you; how they make Continue Reading »

Welcome to Part 3 of this Introduction to Macro Photography. If you missed Part 1, we looked at what is macro photography as well as the basic lenses and extension tubes available for macro shooting. We also went through various options for keeping your camera steady while shooting macro photos. In Part 2 , we looked at 6 indoor and 4 outdoor lighting setups.

Now, in Part 3 I’ll look at the popular macro shooting themes and I’ll go over some basic macro composition for Continue Reading »

Welcome to Part 2 of this Introduction to Macro Photography. In Part 1, we looked at what is macro photography as well as the basic lenses and extension tubes available for macro shooting. We also went through various options for keeping your camera steady while shooting macro photos. If you missed part 1, I encourage you to check it out before you continue reading.

In Part 2, I’ll be going through: Continue Reading »

I wanted to start the year off with this tutorial because I truly enjoy macro photography. When I purchased my first digital camera, one of my main criteria was it’s macro capabilities. Then, when I purchased my Nikon D70 kit, the next lens I bought was my Sigma 105mm macro. There’s an intimacy with this style of photography that I find calming… zen-like. Getting up close to your subject and viewing all its details makes me appreciate the small wonders all around. Seeing light up close makes me understand it better. I also find that my other senses are amplified when shooting macro. I’m so focused on the present moment that I can feel the slightest Continue Reading »