, ,

The Essential Skills and Attitude for a Successful Photography Business with Pye Jirsa

, ,

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.

links mentioned in the video:

Couple embracing on the crest of a sand dune at sunset, the woman's red dress blowing in the wind
Black and white photo of a couple embracing in an arched colonnade as blurred people pass by
Couple embracing at a city crossroads as a blurred bus streaks past between tall buildings
Tiny couple in red and black standing on a vast reflective salt flat with distant mountains
Groom in a gold sherwani and red turban holding a sword in dramatic angled light
, , , , , ,

Discovering the HOW, WHAT and WHY for creating STUNNING HDR Images | Greg Benz

, , , , , ,

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.

links mentioned in the video:

Row of tall canal houses reflected in still water under a pink sunset sky
Concrete bridge over a weir with a city skyline under a pink and purple sky at dusk
Ornate building lit at night above a glistening wet cobbled square
Black and white landscape of layered rock ridges leading towards rounded hills under a dramatic sky
Long exposure of waves washing over rocks towards a fiery sunset
, , , ,

Make PORTRAITS POP 💥 Dodging and Burning in LIGHTROOM

, , , ,

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.

, , ,

The ONE Slider You Need for PERFECT Colour & Contrast in LIGHTROOM

, , ,

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.

, , , , , ,

Mobile versus Mirrorless: Decisions to be made in 2025

, , , , , ,

This is the recording of a live broadcast where I chat with my friend, photographer Brian Matiash of the Adobe Lightroom team, about using mobile devices for photography. The question was whether I should carry on doing so in 2025, and from there we get into lenses and filters for mobile, what I'll be using my Sony mirrorless for, what I make of the OM-1 Mark II and a whole lot more. It's a relaxed conversation about the decisions to be made between phone and camera, and the reasons behind each choice.

links mentioned in the video:

  • Brian Matiash Website: ( LINK )

  • Brian Matiash YouTube Channel ( LINK )

  • Glyn’s Lyme Sunset Picture + Edits in the Lightroom Community: ( LINK )

NOTE
If you’d like any of your images to be considered for one of my ‘LIVE RetouchingBradcasts’ simply create a Collection (Lightroom Classic) or an Album (Lightroom Desktop) and Share it with me at gadewis@mac.com making sure that you set permissions to Edit and not just View.

, , ,

Create Atmospheric SPECIAL EFFECTS in LIGHTROOM ( Fog + Lighting )

, , ,

Special effects don't have to be complicated, and in this video I show a few simple techniques for adding atmosphere to a photo. First I create natural-looking fog in Lightroom, then add realistic lights with reflection and fall-off for a more polished look. Finally I move over to Photoshop to include some birds in the scene without needing to cut them out. Each one is quick to do, and together they add a lot of atmosphere to the final image.

download my b+w preset and raw file
, , , ,

The POWER of PHOTOGRAPHY and Personal Projects | Ron Timehin

, , , ,

This is the recording of a live broadcast where I chat with London-based photographer and director Ron Timehin. We get into not only how he does what he does, but also the power of personal projects and what it's like working with big brands and well-known public figures. It's a conversation about the power of photography itself, and there's a lot in here for anyone thinking about starting a personal project of their own.

links mentioned in the video:

Stack of black and white photo books, the top one open
Two people walking along a foggy street towards a Gothic clock tower and grand buildings
City skyline of glass towers bathed in golden sunset light
Black and white profile portrait of a young man with an afro looking upwards
Family group of adults and children in colourful clothes standing in a street lined with white townhouses
Portrait of a man in a striped shirt and a seated girl in blue in a room with a patterned rug
, , , ,

My First Photography and Print of 2025 : Stormy Sea on New Years Day 2025

, , , ,

There’s no better way to kick off the New Year than doing something you love, and for me, that means grabbing my camera, which in this case was my iPhone, and heading out to take some photographs; and this January 1st did not disappoint with a stormy high tide.. How could I resist?

My wife Anne, who’s as much of a storm lover as I am, joined me to not only keep me company, but she also helped capture some behind-the-scenes footage, which added to the fun of the morning.

Two selfies of a smiling couple in hats and coats on a stormy beach with waves behind

We headed down to The Cobb ( Lyme Regis) and straight away it was a WOW moment!

The waves were crashing hard against The Cobb sending water shooting high into the air like fireworks. The sound was thunderous, the kind of deep, powerful roar that makes you feel alive just being near it.

Three photos of waves crashing over a stone harbour wall on a grey stormy day

I knew where I wanted to head to … the only issue was getting there; the lower part of The Cobb to the side of the Aquarium. The problem here was that water was crashing and pouring over The Cobb wall into the Harbour like a giant Ice Bucket Challenge ( remember that??? ) , however I’ve learned my lesson and now travel with full wet weather kit in a bag in the boot of my car.

Still, even though I was weather-proofed it meant timing the run to perfection to avoid the weight of the water crashing down on me … which I’m rather proud to say I managed to avoid.

Weather like this always fills me with excitement BUT that said you do still need to have your wits about you. No photogbraph is worth putting yourself and others at risk. I never want to be THAT guy!

Aerial view of a curved harbour wall and moored boats with a red arrow pointing to the end of the wall

Once at the side of the aquarium I was able to photograph the small beach area behind it and still be safe, protected by a wall and railing. I managed to get the composition I wanted, grab some shots but then the wind seemed to pick up a bit more. So, I decided enough was enough and timed a run back to Anne ( who was near the RNLI Station ) without getting hit by any waves breaching The Cobb Walls.

Actually on this, I’d heard some time ago that waves come in 7s and it did see to be the case. Running there and back I initially counted 7 clear waves breaches and then ran and managed to avoid getting soaked so, clearly there’s some truth in it; if not and it was pure fluke, I’m getting an extra Lottery ticket this week 😃

Black and white photo of a rough sea and harbour wall under a dramatic cloudy sky

As for my iPhone, I used the native 0.5 ( 14mm ) lens and the native Apple Camera App set to Apple ProRaw. The image was edited using Lightroom Mobile on my iPad Pro.

So now I’m up and running; first photograph and print of 2025 is ‘in the bag’ 😃

After walking around a bit more, grabbing some extra shots and some video footage, it was time for breakfast at our favourite spot … Town Mill Bakery.

So here we are in 2025. I’m now really looking foward to the coming months as I plan to be visiting some other coastal locations across Dorset, Devon, Cornwall and Wales ( West and North ) … and my thoughts are that I’ll be doing this with my iPhone to push it that bit more and see what I can get with such minimal kit.

I’ll keep you posted.

Happy New Year!

,

The INCREDIBLE ADVENTURES of a Travel Photographer | Kristof Göttling

,

This is the recording of a live broadcast where I chat with travel photographer Kristof Göttling about his experiences and the lessons he's learned while travelling the world with his camera. We also hear about a chance meeting that resulted in his work being published by National Geographic, which is quite a story in itself. If you love travel photography, or you've ever wondered how a single encounter can open a door like that, there's plenty here to enjoy.

links mentioned:

Tall waterfall plunging into a deep green moss-covered gorge
Castle on a hilltop rising above dark blue mist and forest
Close-up of a brightly patterned red and blue lizard on a branch
Silhouette of a castle with turrets against a huge setting sun and an orange sky
Layers of hazy mountain ridges in warm brown and orange tones
, ,

Improved SKY MASKS in LIGHTROOM Mobile using INVERT not INTERSECT

, ,

Making accurate sky masks in Lightroom Classic and Lightroom Desktop is so much easier with the Intersect command, but when I made this video it wasn't available in Lightroom Mobile, and neither was Invert from the Sky selection, so what can we do? In this video I show the workaround I use on mobile, using Invert rather than Intersect, alongside how Intersect works in the desktop versions, so you can get cleaner sky masks whichever version of Lightroom you're editing in.

receive my twice-monhtly newsletter

© Glyn Dewis 2026