I had an external hard drive with a few thousand old pictures taken with a variety of digital cameras over the years. It got corrupted buy I managed to retrieve all the files. However the the recovery software retrieved every file including almost every folder that ever existed. So if a file was moved more than once the copy was invariably recovered also. The naming convention didn't help so the folders and files have nonsense names. Looking for software to find the duplicates and tag them somehow. Thanks in advance.

Where do you guys keep your photos? If you edit in adobe lightroom, is that where you store your photos? Or do you save them to a computer desktop? Or do you use a Mac and save it to the photos album??

I don’t really know how to store my photos. Currently it is a mess and photos are just unorganized and some are on the desktop, some are just in Lightroom, some are in Lightroom folders, some are saved into my camera roll, etc.

I really need a solid system/process to do every time. I don’t pay for Lightroom as my school pays for it, but that will be over by the end of the school year so storing all my photos in Lightroom is not an option since I will lose it eventually.

I need both watermarked photos and I watermarked photos because the link I put out for the players is all watermarked photos and then I would also want unwatermarked photos so that I can use them in the future or send them to someone if they purchase an unwatermarked photo. But I know it is a waste of storage to keep all photos in my photos app, so where do you guys keep your photos?? And for context, I put the watermarked photos into a google drive for people to access it. (I edit the photos and add a watermark in Lightroom, then save it to my photos app, then upload those photos into google drive.) but I also want to have unwatermarked photos…. Where do I store them?? Where do you guys save your images to after editing? Or do you just store all your images in Lightroom or smugmug??

I was wondering what flash you would recommend for a drift event? I currently use a Godox V860II with a trigger with my Fuji camera and 55-200 lens and wanted to do some sort of action flash photography during this drift event. Since I will be shooting at a media box and tricky situations, I know that I would have to get a stronger flash. I was looking at Godox AD series but IDK which model to rent… I would like to reference Blake Pickup and his work on Instagram where he focuses on skate/bike style photography with a flash. I would also like to note that I would be around 300m away from these cars at the long end…. I also have some photos on my account of some flash photos during a skate event taken with my V860II

TY!

After nearly a decade of hiding my photography work, I’m having a show and needing to sell prints of various sizes. I’m stuck between a few options like WHCC, Adorama, Whitewall, but can’t tell who provides best quality at decent prices. Probably doing a run between 200-300 prints for sale. And a book as well, which has been hard to figure out.

Looking for testimonials from folks with success / fail stories in sourcing prints. Was it worth the cost? Who did you land with and why? Thanks so much

I recently got a request for a corporate portrait photoshoot and the subject told me that they has autism. They ask me to describe the whole process and gave me a list of what to look for or avoid. (To make it clear: one person, but for anonymity 'they').

The list includes things like avoiding eye contact, no small talk, no comments on visual appearance and not deviating from the original plan. But also not using flash (which is not a problem) and showing and deleting pictures on request during the shoot.

I have worked with difficult cases before, but this is also something new for me and I don't want to make them feel more uncomfortable than necessary.

The shooting is in 2 weeks. Does anyone have some experience and can share how it went?

Hi everyone, I am looking for some guidance as I’ve recently inherited a Leica Q (first gen) and just found out it’s a fixed lens. I have had lots of fun with my old camera I had as a teenager which was an Olympus e-520 but never got into it on a deeper level technically. I am looking forward to trying the macro mode. Maybe someone has experience with this camera or can point me to some useful guides? What are the pros/ cons of a fixed lens and how do I best use it?

Hi folks,

I didn't see this in the faq, so apologies if it's there and I just missed it, but I have a question for those who work in black & white.

Is there any difference in image quality between taking an image in the monochrome setting In-camera and just taking a colour image and making in b&w in editing, such as by slapping a standard black & white filter on it? Or does it depend on the sensor type in the camera (I'm using a Nikon D40, just for reference)? I ask that last question because I've seen phone cameras that claim to have a discret black & white sensor, but I'm not sure if that's just marketing speak.

Hi, so I bought a KNF backpack that is 33L (34 x 22 x 54 cm) about 2 months ago, but I just realized that I didn't consider whether it would fit in the cabin storage. As fellow photographers, I just want to know how you all bring your gear on the airplane. Is my backpack oversized, or is it fine? Thanks.

Hey all, I was hoping some folk with expertise in interiors photography could shine a light on some issues I’m having and maybe point out some best practices.

I’ve done interiors for years now but I always just opted for natural light, though I’m trying now to incorporate flash for a more luxury feel.

I was doing a shoot for a hotel the other day and they wanted their lamps to remain on, which is fine, but I’ve had some problems balancing the tungsten with the daylight and it’s sent my canon EOS R5 in to a tizzy when using Auto White Balance.

What process is best for this? I’ve read up on CTO gels and picked some up. Is it best to shoot in tungsten with a half CTO on? Or will that make the daylight colouring seem off?

My current workflow has been using bracketed ambient light images and blending those then using some flash to fill in darker areas (shot straight towards the furniture, not popped on a ceiling) but any tips would be welcomed.

Thanks!

I don’t get it. I was very good at fine art photography and also was the only person in my Afghanistan JSOC unit allowed to take a camera anywhere because our commander decided I was good enough at photos that I could carry one in my pack on mission. I never violated any rules, never photographed any bodies. I did capture my team sometimes (not in active combat) but it was usually posed for a few seconds at most. I got the real shit that I liked to see from reporters in Vietnam and WW2… even though my main focus was with the combat team and doing my job there, I always put the mission first. I always handed every memory card over to our CIA liaison for clearance… then I’d work with what I had. They liked my stuff so much they’d tell me “keep it, but blue this out.” So I would. I thought my photography was good but I see all these people being able to SELL their photos for so much money and they’re just terrible! I don’t get it. What am I doing wrong, am I just being a brat? Because it’s been years. You can DM me for details if you want. By the way way, yes I had that “watermark phase” so I know that doesn’t help.

Hi everyone,

I'm reaching out to the r/photography community for help regarding the theft of my photography equipment in Paphos, Cyprus, on November 14, 2024. Here are the details:

Stolen Items and Serial Numbers:

1. SONY A7III (ILCE-7M3K) - Serial Number: 3798885
2. SONY Lens FE 24-105mm F4 (SEL24105G) - Serial Number: 1805519
3. SONY G Master 100-400mm (SEL100400GM) - Serial Number: 1840295
4. Sigma 24mm F1.4 DG HSM Art for SONY E-mount (015) - Serial Number: 53056380
5. Canon EF50 f1.8 STM lens attached to Sigma E mount converter - Serial Number of lens 88250854
6. 3x SD Cards - one is in the camera, rest is stored with small gray SDcard velcro pouch
7. Sirui C7 Tripod
8. CPL Filter, 2x1000 ND filter, Variable ND Filter in black pouch
9. Lowepro AW450 Tactic Backpack with all above content

Incident Details:

I was staying at Villa Papaya Residence (47/B Poseidonos Street, Paphos) with my family and friends from November 10–15. On November 14, we returned from a trip to Aphrodite’s Rock, where I had been taking photos. At 6:30 PM, I left my backpack with the gear in the trunk of our rental car (a white Skoda Fabia) and headed to dinner at Atrion Garden Restaurant.

When we returned at 9:00 PM, I didn’t notice anything unusual. The next morning, as we were preparing to check out, I discovered the backpack was missing. I searched the villa thoroughly and even drove back to Aphrodite’s Rock to check if it was left there, but no luck.

The backpack Lowepro AW450 Tactic likely contained visible signs of wear, including a bright-colored first aid kit attached to its outer part. Some unique details might help identify the items:

• My camera’s settings include my email ("jakubchwastek@gmail.com") and filenames beginning with "SKY" (e.g., _SKY6767.arw).
• The SEL24105G lens had damaged paint and threading on the front.
• The SEL100400GM lens had chipped paint on the body and hood.

Possible Circumstances:

The car we rented did not have an alarm system and was locked manually with a key. It was parked near the villa, directly by the main road. Given the circumstances, I suspect someone might have been watching us during our stay, as I rarely left my gear unattended.

Why This Matters:

The equipment not only has monetary value but also immense sentimental value. It represents years of effort and has captured countless family moments.

How You Can Help:

1. If you’re in Cyprus, especially Paphos, and hear about someone selling used gear matching the descriptions above, please let me know or local police which the case was reported on the day of 15 of November, the day our return flight.
2. Any advice on tracking stolen photography equipment or connecting with local communities would be greatly appreciated.
3. Sharing this post with others, especially photographers or local groups, could help spread the word.

If you have any information, please contact me here or via email at jakubchwastek@gmail.com. I’m also offering a reward for the return of the backpack and its contents.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and for any help you can provide!

Best regards,
Jakub

I live in a part of the US where the scenery is kind of just an unending sea of subdivisions (suburbs of Washington, D.C.). It rarely snows, and getting somewhere more scenic kind of involves a several hour drive. I love doing landscape, flowers, other naturalistic photography, but when I'm not on vacation I'm just having a real hard time coming with subject. Everything for the next the next several months is going to be harsh light, grays, browns, and soggy.

What do I need to do to see things differently?

So we've seen some new mirror reflex lenses being released recently - TTartisan and Kase. There's also a multitude of old and really old mirror reflex lenses.

I've always read/heard of bad image quality, low contrast, washed out colours. Still I'd like to try. I think modern coatings, FEM calculated optical designs and manufacturing advancements should provide a step up in IQ.

Should I get a new lens or is it's irrelevant and I just get an old lens?

I'd appreciate input. I shoot M4/3.

How do I digitalise my developed film rolls? I have seen many people click using film and then upload it to social media but these photos don’t look like they are scanned.

Hi everyone! This past year I have started my own photography business. I started out doing family portraits, senior photos, pet photos, etc. recently I have had people reach about weddings so I have started to plan on starting wedding photography come January. I was wondering if there was any other wedding photographers here and if you have any tips and tricks for a beginner wedding photographer!

Does anyone else remove the exit signs when editing pictures or is it just me? I hate seeing the bright red exit sign behind a really beautiful picture especially if it’s a wedding. I feel like it’s so distracting. Does anyone else do this or is there anything else that you recommend that gets removed?

https://apnews.com/article/2024-tokyo-japan-grand-prix-figure-skating-extraordinary-photo

I'm still new at photography, so I ask those who know more than I do (probably almost all of you). I see many people putting their photography equipment in these dry-storage refrigerator-looking cases to protect the equipment. I'm assuming it is to keep moisture down?

I own 2 cameras and 7 lenses (5 digital and 3 film). I live in a humid area (Florida close to water), but the room I store them in is well climate-controlled. Is this something I should look into?

I do shoot regularly with the digital in less-than-ideal weather circumstances and often carry it on my body while riding my motorcycle.

How do you prevent over exposure or excessive clipping when you shoot under direct sunlight? Do you put on a neutral density filter or do I have to wait for cloud cover or for sunset? I heard that only cinematography used neutral density filters. What do Photographers use to minimise clipping or overexposure then?

I believe not everyone is living with photography for sure and what I am wondering is in the photography intensive group like this subreddit, how many of you get a proper training on exposure, lighting, composition, etc. If you get or not how much confidence do you have on yourself? Do you also regret buying more and more gear without spending proper time, money on education?

Have something you’ve worked on and want to share with the community? Here’s the place to do so!

Add a comment here to promote your stuff. Feel free to drop links to your recent YouTube videos, podcasts, photobooks, or whatever else it is you’ve created.

Full schedule of our weekly community threads:

Hi! I'm relatively new in my photography business and was wondering what those more experienced than me use to send clients contracts? I'm wanting a general contract and a media/model release contract. I know of honeybook and etc. but I don't really have the funds to put into that kind of thing at the moment. Thanks!

This posting contains stuff which you might find strange or unsettling. I joined as volunteer worker here in Germany for something similar to Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep. Since almost a year now, I take photos of stillborns. Having no car I can reach maternity hospitals within the city only, using my bike, so I take don’t take too many rides. So far, I did twelve sessions.

We work free of charge. We have some expenses which we pay ourselves. This type of photography is 100% free for the parents. When a parent wants to tip me, I refuse.

You never know what to expect. Often times, the parents are still there in the hospital, but sometimes they already left and you take photos of the fetus, or even smaller child without much or without any guidance. It also happens that the child was delivered like a normal baby but then did not survive and the parents hold their baby when you take pics. They were informed before that their child had no chance but they were hopeful nonetheless. Until the cruel moment their child went to the stars.

Sometimes I get watery eyes during a session but remain functional. I bring sufficient hardware, meaning f/1.4 lenses (except for the macro which is slower) and can hold the camera steadily, knowing a couple of postures and angles which usually work. Like that macros of a hand, the feet, or an ear which usually are liked. I try to get photos where the child looks peaceful as if just asleep. Even if it is an abortion. I am not there to ask personal questions, I did not came to discuss my views about trisomy 21. I came because a stillborn photographer was requested.

In post, I usually reduce color saturation. If there is skin peeling or other issues, I sometimes reduce the visibility of that in post. Trying to reduce shock value without having the photos lying. Sometimes I remove distracting background objects because the subject should be the child. I try to use blankets to cover background stuff before releasing the shutter so that content-changing edits in post are hopefully not necessary. In one case, the mother went into shock after delivery. Later I learned she made it, but that was not clear when I arrived, seeing the worried father, holding his dead, very small child. I went into full robot mode, took the photos. Remember his distracted face and how his brain was functional at a basic level only. As always, I explained my intentions how I would take photos.

When the images are ready, I send the pics via USB sticks and also put some black-and-white prints into the package, in an envelope so the parents can decide when, or even if they want to have a look. My work after the photo shoot always takes more time than the photo session itself. During that photo shoot, I have to be all-there of course, all lights on, focussed. Can edit a photo later but cannot retake a photo.

It is not guaranteed that my photos will actually be looked at. In one or two cases I am not sure if my package got opened or ever will be. I don’t stay in touch with the families because I am not a grief counselor. Just a photographer.

In few cases, much of the family is there, like the parents, the daughter, an aunt and and a granny. In those cases, I get photos which are … beautiful. In some sense. They all look at the small family member which did not make it. That pain, but the family members smile. It also happens that later in post, when processing the photos, I see the tears on the face of the parents which I did not notice during the session. It feels strange to intrude at the darkest hours of a family which had a miscarriage. But, a photographer was requested.

It can get tense when I continue to take photos and the parents looking at their dead child begin to realize the good-bye will be soon. They want to have their final moments with their child without a stranger present. That is okay. It happened that a small sibling is present not understanding what is going on, but feeling the grief of the parents. The innocent, loving look. In other cases, the situation is more complex.

It can be also more … how do I say it. I was asked, as the parents already left, if I can take photos here in the storage room. I asked for a nicer environment and then got it, was led to an empty labor ward. Put rubber gloves on, unscrew the lid of the box where they kept it in cold water. What I saw in there, was not nice. A deformed fetus with further unsightly features. No name, no gender assigned. That was a tough one. I struggled to get any usable photo, later discussed it with a much more experienced photographer working for the organization many years already. Then selected a handful of photos, some of them digitally beautified but only so much. And then the parents speak a language I don’t understand. Used Google translate for text communication but asked a friend which is a native speaker to translate the cover letter for the photo package I sent.

In many cases however parents do want to see their stillborn, and take photos themselves. They still request a photographer and I think it is a good idea. We can’t help with the grief but have experience taking photos in this situation. Macro close-ups can be touching when you see those details, the toes, fingers, fingernails and such.

After a session, I am exhausted. Needing unhealthy food, but it is not as bad as you think, because days later when I get the the small package with the USB stick and selected prints to the postal service, my work is done. Not so much for the parents. Or the nurses in the hospital. Unending patience, friendliness, unyielding availability.

I had someone hit me up on my photography page for print sales, which was great, but that turned into him instead offering 1.5 Ethereum for 8 of my pictures to be used as NFTs. That's a hefty chunk of change, but I'm also (obviously) extremely skeptical. Feels like some kind of scam... but I wanted to come here and ask the people. Have any photographers actually had luck with a deal like this?

I'm an aspiring photographer from a small town and I want to know ways to become more known for more business. Any tips or tricks?

Okay, confession time: I’ve got some pretty top-tier camera gear. Like, Canon R6, top tier lenses, even a vintage 1950s Rolleiflex 2.8. I’ve schlepped it all over the world—beaches in Costa Rica, trips through Tuscany, and everything in between. But last year, on a month-long adventure through Europe (Rome, Tuscany, Belgium, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro—you get the idea), I decided to leave all the fancy stuff at home and shoot everything on my iPhone 14.

Why? Because sometimes, simplicity wins. There’s no setting up shots, swapping lenses, or fiddling with settings while your travel buddy (who isn’t into photography) sighs impatiently in the background. The iPhone is just so… easy. Quick to whip out, lightning-fast to capture, and honestly, the photos are pretty darn good! Apple put like billions into developing this camera and software, right?

Don’t get me wrong—I love my “real” cameras, and I’m not afraid to risk breaking them in the field. They get used. But when you’re constantly on the go, there’s something liberating about just snapping and moving.

So, does anyone else do this? You’ve got the gear, but you keep reaching for your phone? Let’s hear your stories! Do you feel guilty about it, or are you fully embracing the minimalist camera life? 😊

I am also taking down each person's name, which are tied to the photos in my organization system, but there are legal limitations for this specific scenario where i can't take people's emails and send them photos myself without a lot of legal stuff being handled first by the person that hires me, so that is out of the question.

I need a way for me to host these somewhere that people can retrieve them for their own photos, but not for anyone else's (just saying it can't be found by name, because the higher ups don't want anyone to be able to pull up anyone else's photos just by knowing their name).

Is there a decent software/service that has a setup that allows for something like this?

thanks

Hey everyone! Is anyone else here deep into the nitty-gritty of print quality—like full-on Pixel Peeping obsessed? If so, I’d love to hear your findings and recommendations for photo book services that truly stand out.

Years ago, I attended a book show for Modernist Cuisine hosted by the author, Nathan Myhrvold. This guy is not only a genius but also an epic photographer. He talked about how he chose the print method for his book and how it outshined everything else available. I don’t remember the exact details, but I was blown away by his passion and dedication to quality. His photography is next level—one shot I vividly remember was a BBQ sliced in half to reveal a cross-section of a burger cooking. Don’t even ask me how he pulled that off, but it was incredible.

Fast forward to my own photo book journey. I’ve been using Blurb for years and really like it for casual coffee table books. The price is fine, and the photo-printed hardcovers are stunning—crisp and beautiful, something I’m genuinely proud to display. But once you open the pages? Some prints feel soft or blurry, lacking that sharpness and vibrancy I’m after.

Now, I’m ready to step up my game to something archival-quality. I want a book that’s not just a flip-through but something I can pass down for generations. I’ve heard of alternatives like Artifact Uprising, ProDPI, and a handful of others—all claiming to be amazing. But what’s the crème de la crème for photo books?

If you’ve gone down the rabbit hole of print quality or have experience with premium services, I’d love to hear your recommendations! Let’s compare notes. 😊

Context here is that every once in a while I come across an amazing photo on social media that a photographer posts. Sometimes I think, "Wow, I'd love to have that as my desktop background." But that would require having actual file of some kind (.png or something that is more accessible to end-users) to have it look crisp and at an applicable resolution. What is the etiquette for inquiring about such a request to a photographer, either through asking if the photo is for sale or free for an individual user to enjoy in such a manner? I am not sure how something like this would go. I am asking the community here with the friendliest of intentions!

How do you do the thing with the instagram slides correctly?

I couldn’t find an example but you know where the photos are connecting even on the next slide over (like half on one slide half on the other)

I can guess how to do it on photoshop but i’d rather not waste my time in case my methods are incorrect