Got up early and popped down to the local beach to photograph the sunrise, and Mother Nature did not disappoint 😍
Happy New Year 🎉
Fuji X-T5
Fuji 18mm f/1.4 @ f/11
2.5 sec, f/11 , ISO 125
NiSi 3 Stop JetMag Pro ND Filter
Benro Rhino Carbon Fibre Tripod
Images below captured on my iPhone 17 Pro Max using the Leica Camera App and the Greg WLM B&W setting…
We often see videos on YouTube claiming that one "magic trick" will change your life, but they usually fall a little bit flat. However, I recently ran an experiment in our creative community that I don't just believe will transform your photography, I know it will.
We live in an age of "digital infinity." Our phones can hold thousands of images, and it costs us absolutely nothing to press the shutter button. But this unlimited choice has a hidden downside: it can make us lazy.
To combat this, I set a challenge for our photographers that was brutally simple, and the results were completely unexpected.
The rules were designed to strip away the safety nets we've become so reliant on:
Only 10 exposures. That's it.
No fixing it in post. What you shoot is what you get.
No do-overs. If you click it, it counts, even if it's an accidental selfie.
For many, the first reaction wasn't creative bliss; it was pure frustration. We had a studio photographer, Sarah, who is used to total control over lighting and props. Suddenly, out in the real world with only 10 frames, that control vanished. She described the experience as "maddening."
Another photographer, Francois, usually shoots a hundred frames just to get one perfect food shot. Having to tell the entire story of a meal in just 10 frames was a massive mental shift.
Once the frustration settled, something powerful happened. The photographers started to see this limitation as a lens that focused their attention.
They were forced to stop, look, and truly see what was in front of them. One member, Brian, took the challenge on his usual 90-minute walk. It ended up taking him three hours to take just 10 photos. That is the pace of deliberate creation.
This challenge acted like a time machine, throwing us back to the discipline of the film era where every shot cost money. Here are the big takeaways:
Visualise first: We rediscovered the importance of walking around and using our eyes to find the angle before ever lifting the camera.
Embrace imperfection: Francois realised that his industry's obsession with "perfection" wasn't authentic. By embracing little imperfections, his photos felt more real and more appetising.
Constraint is liberating: Without the pressure of endless choices and editing, the simple act of taking a picture became joyful again.
Would they do it again? It was a resounding yes across the board. One member was so inspired he actually went back to shooting on real film.
The value wasn't really in the final 10 images; it was about rediscovering a mindful, deliberate way of working.
So, I have a question for you. In a world of unlimited options, what's one constraint you could impose on yourself to unlock a new level of creativity?
Give this challenge a go. I guarantee you'll see a difference and feel like an artist again.
If you find yourself struggling to pose the people you photograph, this video is for you. I break down five super simple posing tips that will give you great results. They're aimed at anyone who's new to portrait photography, but they're just as useful if you've been at it a while and simply want to improve. None of them are complicated, and each one is easy to put into practice the next time someone steps in front of your camera.
Now primariy I’m a Portrait Photographer however this past few weeks, for the fun of it, I’ve been experimenting with my iPhone to see how it would fare when taking pictures of my car … both still and moving.
So a few weekends back I met up with friends in South Wales and headed to Crickhowell; an area I’ve photographed in before when working on this Harley image …
For these car photographs I was using my iPhone 15 Pro Max along with …
Polar Pro iPhone Case
67mm Filter Adaptor + 67mm Circular Polarising Filter
ReeFlex Pro Camera App
The circular polariser is the car photographers secret weapon because of how effective it is in reducing / removing reflections in the car windows and on the bodywork …
I used the ReeFlex Pro Camera App purely so that I could use shutter speed and ISO to lock in the exposure that I wanted.
Here’s the ‘out of camera’ result …
Here’s the final retouched image which was done using Lightroom Desktop.
I also added a long exposure effect to the clouds using a technique in Photoshop which works really well however now I want to do the shoot again and capture it all ‘in camera’ using a long exposure app like ReeXpose or EvenLonger 😃
I also tried some panning shots and did get some results, however the ratio of keepers to rejects was very low.
I was trying to do this using the ReeFlex App and a Neutral Density Filter on the front of the iPhone so that I could lock in an exposed photographed at 1/30 second. However, the ReeFlex app at the time I did this did NOT have burst mode. This meant I was having to try to capture a single frame as I panned with the car passing at no more than 30 mph.
Here’s an edited result of what I managed to capture …
Later having shared this image online I spoke with a friend of mine who is a Professional Car Photographer. It was great to hear that he was impressed with the results expecially considering they were from an iPhone but he also gave me some settings that he and other pro car photographers use to capture a moving car.
My friend told me that moving car shots often see the car travelling at no more than 20 mph and that they also use a shutter speed of around 1/15 sec or 1/20 sec … but ALWAYS shoot in burst mode.
So armed with these settings I set about finding a pro camera app that would allow me to manually dial in the shutter speed but that also had Burst Mode; and the app I turned to was MOMENT.
I’ve yet to use the app in a planned car shoot however when in Germany a couple of weeks back I was waiting for a friend to pick me up and whilst waiting near a fuel station forecourt I attached the Variable Neutral Density Filter to my iPhone using the Polar Pro Case and Adaptor, and set the shutter speed using the MOMENT app.
I then simply took a burst of panning shots of passing cars as they negotiated a roundabout and drove away, which from my position would have meant them travelling around 20 mph.
Here’s some of the results …
So, yeah I’ve been very impressed with how the iPhone has dealt with this and the results I’ve managed to get.
Lots more experimenting and fun to be had!
In this live broadcast recording I chat with professional photographer Marco Ter Beek about lifelong learning and creative growth. We discussed why it's so important to keep being a student if you want to grow, how that helps you find inspiration and stay creative, and how it ultimately leads to creating work you can be proud of. It's a conversation about the mindset behind the photographs as much as the photographs themselves.
Marco’s website: https://marcoterbeekphotography.com/
Marco on Instagram: @marcoterbeekfotografie
The Photoshop Creativity Virtual Summit 2025 ( FREE / VIP PASS): https://glyndewis.krtra.com/t/iswIrbktY9a4
The Fear Bubble by Ant Middleton: ( LINK ON AMAZON )
This is the recording of a live broadcast where I chatted with Mark Baber, The Photography Insider and Events Manager at London Camera Exchange, about the latest gear, news and events from within the photography industry. Alongside the gear and news, we talked through the kind of events London Camera Exchange runs, from experience days and hands-on sessions to workshops, and looked ahead to The South West Photography Show and The Photography Show 2025.
This is the recording of a live broadcast where I chat with Pye Jirsa, photographer, director, educator and founder of SLR Lounge. Pye's widely known for his captivating wedding photography, but here we talk about his business advice and mentoring: building a solid foundation for a photography business, how to deal with clients, self-worth, dealing with negativity and a whole lot more. If you're running a photography business, or thinking about starting one, there's plenty of practical advice here on both the skills and the attitude it takes.
This is the recording of a live broadcast where I chat with photographer Greg Benz, who's very much the go-to person when it comes to HDR. We talk through the how, the what and the why of creating high dynamic range images, and just as importantly, how to display them so they're seen the way they're meant to be. If HDR is something you've heard about but never quite got your head around, this conversation covers what it is, why it's worth considering and how to go about making stunning HDR images of your own.
Greg Benz Website: www.gregbenzphotography.com
Greg Benz on Instagram: @gregbenzphotography
Web Sharp Pro Software ( Create + Display HDR Images ) : ( LINK )
Dodging and burning in Lightroom is easier than you might think, and it's one of the best ways to make a portrait pop. In this video I walk through using masks and brushes to make subtle adjustments: brightening highlights and deepening shadows for a natural look, using masks for precise control over specific areas and working with Lightroom's brush tools to fine-tune the edit. I start with why you'd dodge and burn at all and the old way of doing it, then set up the dodge brush, lighten the highlights on the face, explain depth and dimension, set up the burn brush and finish with a before and after.
Contrast adjustments have a habit of changing the colours in your photos too, and this video looks at how to balance colour and contrast in Lightroom without that happening. I touch on the luminosity blend mode and desaturating before getting to the Refine Saturation slider, which is a very useful way to adjust the tonal values of an image while keeping colour integrity. It might be something new to you or something you'd forgotten about, but it's a great way to keep colours vibrant and natural while you work on contrast.
© Glyn Dewis 2026
