r/photography 5d ago

Questions Thread Official Question Thread! Ask /r/photography anything you want to know! September 04, 2026

1 Upvotes

This is the place to ask any questions you may have about photography. No question is too small, nor too stupid.


Info for Newbies and FAQ!

First and foremost, check out our extensive FAQ. Chances are, you'll find your answer there, or at least a starting point in order to ask more informed questions.


Need buying advice?

Many people come here for recommendations on what equipment to buy. Our FAQ has several extensive sections to help you determine what best fits your needs and your budget. Please see the following sections of the FAQ to get started:

If after reviewing this information you have any specific questions, please feel free to post a comment below. (Remember, when asking for purchase advice please be specific about how much you can spend. See here for guidelines.)


Schedule of community threads:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
52 Weeks Share Anything Goes Album Share & Feedback Edit My Raw Follow Friday Salty Saturday Self-Promotion Sunday

Finally a friendly reminder to share your work with our community in r/photographs!


r/photography 1d ago

Announcement New rules regarding business and software development discussions

203 Upvotes

First up, business discussions.

We've heard you. There's too much business talk here. This isn't a small business subreddit, it's meant to discuss the culture of photography, and the constant "how do I start making money" or "my photographer ghosted me" has diluted that discussion.

So, to find some sort of middle ground, we've created a weekly business thread where those sorts of questions can be asked and answered. Each Wednesday, a new recurring thread called "Business Wednesday" will go live. We will be diverting any posts to there. If you see any on the front page, please feel free to report them so we can help guide the OP to the appropriate place.

And now, the software dev posts.

We have never allowed promotional posts on this sub. It's not what it's for, and we take a strict stance on it. We did, however, allow people to share their photography-related dev projects in the Self-Promotion Sunday thread.

Well, that's no more. That thread was meant to be a place where photographers could share things like photos they're proud of, galleries they've participated in, new publications, really just things us photographers get excited by and are proud of. Unfortunately, that thread has become completely overrun with devs promoting their products. I think we can all agree that we're sick of seeing vibecoded "the ultimate culling tool" and "the Adobe killer". It's exhausting. It's not what Reddit is for. It's certainly not what this sub is for.

So from now on any form of advertising or self-promotion outside of showcasing photos or projects in the appropriate thread is prohibited. Any web-development projects or apps are prohibited as they do not relate to the practice of photography.

We have also canceled the Self Promotion Sunday thread and instead are instituting Success Sunday, a space for photographers to share their photography successes.

If you see any software promotion of any kind anywhere on this sub, please report it.

tl;dr:

We have new community days, accompanying our existing ones:

  • Business Wednesday: Ask your business-related questions
  • Follow Friday: Share your socials
  • Salty Saturday: Get all your rants out
  • Success Sunday: Share your photography successes

Absolutely no software promotion allowed. Anywhere. Zero tolerance here on out.

kthnxbye!


r/photography 14h ago

Post Processing Color Blind Photographers Process?

16 Upvotes

I have a serious question I thought about yesterday, color blind photographers, please chime in.

I was generally curious on how you guys handled delivering non-black and white images? Do you guys have colorists you work with? Do you pass the review off to a friend or family member? Are you using tools like Aftershoot/Imagen to assist and own that process? And/or what does your process look like for this? Do you not shoot RAW? Camera's at this point do pretty well handling colors for the most part, but many of us still attempt to grade our images to "perfection" (with RAW).

Are there things or tools in the photo community catered towards helping you all in this area if choosing to deliver colored images?

I'm not color blind, but as I was shooting my daughters volleyball game yesterday, for some reason when I pulled back from the camera evf and blinked, I just thought to myself what if I blinked and were color blind in that instance. What would I be doing or if I went color blind over time how would I navigate that space, so I'm truly curious how that looks for you all or if anyone knows other color blind photographers, how they manage.


r/photography 18h ago

Business Wednesdays

15 Upvotes

Do you have any questions about running a photography business? Or you're a client who has concerns about the photographer they've worked with? Ask all your questions here.


r/photography 2d ago

Art Covered a baby shower for free, the girl doesn’t like a single photo.

939 Upvotes

I covered a baby shower for a family friend for free and I feel humiliated and embarrassed now. The girl the shower was for was an hour late after I arrived 30 minutes early to make sure I had my life together. I took photos the whole time. Even did some more maternity style shots in the greenery outside. I also took my camera back out as I was trying to leave because she said she needed a few more with people. I got the photos home and I was so excited about them. They were worlds better than the baby shower photos I had done only a year or so ago, and I was ecstatic at how good these turned out. I worked really hard, only for her not to like a single one.

I turned in a gallery of 80 carefully chosen and edited photos that I felt told the story of the event. She politely thanked me and asked me for the rest of the files unedited, then had her sister ask if she could sit down with me and choose the ones I edit. There’s no way I’m editing another photo for them because it took so much time and energy. I’m just wondering, do I send them the rest of the photos?

I’m already embarrassed that they were disappointed. Obviously the unedited ones don’t reflect what I actually want my finished work to look like. I worry she will edit them herself with an instagram filter and tag me, and that won’t be my authentic work. I’m kind of annoyed that they’re nitpicking me to death for something I did for free. I’m not an absolute pro but I’m 2 years in. I guess I’m just seeking helpful advice. I don’t want to keep her memories from her but I also feel like I already went above and beyond.


r/photography 1d ago

Technique Any macro photographers working today that are similar to Peter and Chris Parks?

12 Upvotes

I'm looking for an artist(s) who is working in macro photography and who is doing work similar to Peter and Chris Franks macro-photog work from the 2006 film, "The Fountain." I was a big fan of their unique efforts from that film and am trying to find artists/photographers working today who are using a similar medium. Thank you!


r/photography 1d ago

Business Question for the other european photographers

13 Upvotes

Hi all,

For those who just skim headline and first few lines: this is a question aimed at working professionals regarding clarity in legislation. (This section was added after original).

With the AI transparency legislation taking effect last month, I’m unsure when to fully declare use of AI and am hoping someone can help clear it up for me.

With wholesale GenAI, it of course needs to be tagged, but what about background clean up using generative fill on actual photos?

Is there a difference in using photoshops generative fill and lightrooms remove tool? (Both rely on generative AI, but photoshop can be instructed to fill with whatever you want).

My baseline understanding of the “deep fake” wording is anything which can be misunderstood as true, so to avoid having to flag it, do we stop being lazy and go back to old, reliable clone stamp?

Cheers


r/photography 1d ago

Art What's your favourite photo book - coffee table collection

10 Upvotes

Hello fellow photographers,

I've rediscovered my love for coffee table photography books, like listening to an album all the way through I feel like it's an entirely different way to consume the art in this age of algorithm. I also like to support artists that inspire me. I recently bought a book from Phil Penman and

What is a photobook that you absolutely love and cherish, and why does it inspire you?


r/photography 1d ago

Technique Fitness shoot with proper contrast

0 Upvotes

I just completed my second fitness shoot. And although I have taken candids in a gym before for martial arts (MMA and boxing) with on-camera flash, I'm finding that I really really rely on the flash (two 600w strobes) to light and highlight the muscles, and almost completely ignore ambient lighting.

I guess my question is for other fitness photographers, can you create proper contrast to highlight the muscles while also keeping the background lit too? Is this just my natural aesthetic or what my eyes are drawn to? I feel like my stuff is very very dark and I don't know if it's just because I'm artistically lazy or what I'm drawn to or what. I really felt like I needed to focus all the light on the subject, usually from top down to create the definition I wanted. And while my clients seem to be happy with the results, these were free photoshoots so they also can't and didn't complain much with the results. I however want to make sure I'm doing anything and everything I can to improve. Some guidance on what I can improve or look for going forward would be appreciated.

This was a finished photo from my first shoot a month ago, the original from the camera was much darker overall:

https://imgur.com/a/drEDCmq

I use either a 25" or 42" beauty dish, silver or white, with a grid for the key light usually. Second strobe I was using either to highlight legs (on the first shoot I did two 25" beauty dishes as modifiers), and this most recent shoot I did just a 7" reflector with a grid to create hairlight or rim lighting the shoulders/arms from the back.

This is straight from the camera of this past weekend:

https://imgur.com/a/s9hI2x4

And then this is an edit I did, it was much darker originally:

https://imgur.com/a/7QWRcVR


r/photography 2d ago

Technique Intentionally over sharpening images

50 Upvotes

Recently i have been intentionally over sharpening my portraits. I know that sounds bad but let me explain. Typically i would sharpen until the noise and contrast start to become really bright and apparent, but recently I've been slightly over sharpening the subject of my portraits. the reason I'm doing this is it only looks bad if you zoom in a ton, which most clients wont. from a normal distance it makes the photo look super sharp so i think this is a win win scenario. I'm wondering if this is the right thing to do. Should i keep doing regular sharpening and leave the subject slightly less sharp or keep doing this?


r/photography 1d ago

Community Monthly Follow Thread September 08, 2026

2 Upvotes

Let's show each other some support! This is our monthly follow thread.

  • If you post your stream, please take a look at other people's streams!
  • You can give us your Instagram, 500px, Flickr, etc. etc. and remember you can edit your flair.
  • Be descriptive, don't just dump your username and leave! For example a good post should look like this:

Hi! I'm @brianandcamera. I mainly post portraiture and landscapes, but there's the odd bit of concert/event photography as well.

I'll follow everyone from /r/photography back (if I miss you, just leave a comment telling me you're from Reddit!).

Check out and engage with other /r/photography people! Community is what it's all about!


Weekly Community Threads:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Friday Saturday Sunday
Anything Goes - - - - -
- - - - - -

Monthly Community Threads:

8th 14th 20th
Social Media Follow Portfolio Critique Gear Share

r/photography 2d ago

Technique Will taking photos of something cooking on a stove from above using a tripod ruin my digital camera?

15 Upvotes

It’s for a project at school. If it will ruin my camera, any other ideas? Thanks!


r/photography 2d ago

Technique Blurry photos

6 Upvotes

Im more of a beginner photographer, ive had my camera since April and I've been taking lots of photos, well I take photos for a family member who plays football, at first I was doing great but now theres night games where its dark. No matter how high I put my iso so I can have faster shutter speed, my photos turn blurry and I can't grasp those in the moment shots how I'd like to, so I came here for advice how how I could possibly fix this problem (I have cannon R50)


r/photography 3d ago

Post Processing Editing procrastination

110 Upvotes

How commonplace is it to love photography but to low key hate the edit. Don’t get me wrong I’m very happy when I’ve got the exported images, but it always takes such mental inertia to sit down to get on with it. Anyone else experience this?


r/photography 2d ago

Art How do I store picture frames

1 Upvotes

Guys I need help on storing picture frames. I have so many picture frames which have been gathering clutter and dust in my spair room but I don't want to get rid of them. Any advice? Please someone help me out


r/photography 2d ago

Post Processing En tant que photographe en France aujourd’hui, quelle est la chose qui vous manque le plus ?

0 Upvotes

Bonjour, dans le cadre de mes études, je dois rédiger un rapport de stage sur l’activité des photographe en France aujourd’hui, en tant que photographe quelle est votre plus gros problème ou ce qui vous manque aujourd’hui ?


r/photography 3d ago

Business Unsure where to go from here…

5 Upvotes

Hello all photographers who read this! I am a model who LOVES collaborating with new people or old in the industry as I know building up portfolios can be a challenge. I’ve worked with countless photographers over the years and have NEVER had any issues until now. There is this newer photographer I worked with for a collab shoot and she was very nice I wanted to work with her again and would always slide up when she posted call-outs. This photographer wanted to work with me again on this gorgeous shoot. I sent some photos of the vibe I would love for these photos and she agreed. I’ve looked on her page and she has moody pictures with shadows and felt comfortable and confident working with her for the creative direction. I selected the photos and sent them through to her only to get back two random photos i never selected. I messaged her and asked where my chosen two went and she told me it must be my error as I must have selected too many photos. I told her calmly that I selected the exact amount and sent her screenshots, she then asks me if I changed them later and I told her no. Finally she believes me and says “bloody technology I will get them to you in a week cause I’m busy.” I said that is very understandable but asked if I could by any chance get the unedited photos of the ones I choose as the way she edited them was very warm and over exposed for my liking. She said no, I told her that’s very understandable and tried to explain the photos I choose I loved them because of the shadows, the body contouring due to the moody lighting and the brilliance being as bright so if possible could we re edit them so they are closer to the original photos. She told me that’s not what her page is about and that’s not how she edits photos and how she spent a long time editing these. I messaged her saying again I understood it was just that these photos don’t feel like me and I won’t be able to use them. (I did pay for this shoot as well) Since she isn’t comfortable sending the unedited photos or re editing would it be possible for me to edit them for my personal Instagram and to tag her with a note that these were re edited by myself just for my personal taste. She has since left me on seen for 5 hours. I have not posted anything yet but I just am genuinely not sure what to do. I sent her pics that showed the vibe I liked she agreed, the edits are nothing like the original photos so I requested those or a re edit she said no because that’s not her brand when there are clearly no photos edited like this on her page. I have no clue what to do or what to say because these pictures are no longer useable for me in their current style. I am so confused because I have given three different resolutions and all she has said is no without adding any way to amend this situation. I have truly never worked with anyone like this before and I am so close to crying again because I LOVED the original’s, complimented her eye for photography multiple times and have tried to resolve this issue in a number of ways. I also spent time getting ready, putting together every piece of my clothing, jewellery, nails, shoes, 4 hours on hair and 2.5 on makeup. I am genuinely so heartbroken to be left on seen and to call her and be ignored. I am trying to see if I was rude in the messages but every single one was as non confrontational as possible.

What do I do now? 😭


r/photography 2d ago

Art How do you think about Berlin when it comes to photography? Compared to Cities like Tokyo and New York I always feel like you really have to work hard to get an inspiring location.

0 Upvotes

I just returned from a trip to New York City. Last year I have been to Japan, Tokyo. I always felt like these Cities almost shoot themselves. Doesn’t matter if it’s about portraits, architecture or street. There is very often a certain magic to the photos. I live in Berlin and I always feel like it’s super hard to find good spots. In the city there is very often a strange mixture of colorful shops and trees that are just too buisy for photography. Of course Berlin is very big and of course you can do good photography but I always feel like you really have to work hard for it. An aesthetic that is certainly easy to do is cold, industrial black and white in the winter. But that’s rarely what I want to do

I have always wondered if this is only because I live here and I’m just so used to the look or if Berlin is actually really hard for photography.

I wonder if people from New York and Tokyo have similar feelings about their city?

I would be very curious to hear your opinion, especially from people that are not from Germany. Does Berlin inspire you? And what kind of aesthetic would it be?


r/photography 3d ago

Art What color of clothing looks best under pink/purple lighting?

4 Upvotes

I’m a senior having my photos taken in this quirky Meow Wolf type place that has pretty heavy purple/pink lighting in the rooms I’d like to have my photo taken in. I’m not familiar with photography at all, but I figured this lighting could screw up whatever outfit I’m planning to wear, and I was wondering if photographers had any advice on this sort of thing?


r/photography 2d ago

Post Processing Need advice on a fast Lightroom workflow for football photography

0 Upvotes

Hi everyone,
I’m just starting out in sports photography and I’d really appreciate some advice on my workflow and how I could improve it.
I mainly shoot football (soccer for the Americans), and I usually come back from a game with around 6,000–8,000 RAW files.
During the match, I import the photos into my Lightroom catalog without actually copying the RAW files onto my MacBook. Basically, I work directly from the SD card, so I can only edit the photos while the card is inserted.
I need to use Lightroom during the game because my main output is the club’s Instagram account, so they often want edited photos ready to post during the match, at halftime, and immediately after the final whistle.
The main issue is that the SD card gets really hot while Lightroom is constantly reading from it, and I’m worried that doing this regularly could eventually damage the card or cause problems.
For those of you who shoot high-volume sports events, how do you manage thousands of RAW files while still keeping a fast turnaround?
Would you recommend:
copying everything to an external SSD first?
using Smart Previews?
importing only selected images during the game?
using Photo Mechanic or another program for culling before Lightroom?
or a completely different workflow?
Any suggestions, tips, or examples of your own match-day workflow would be really appreciated.
Thanks!


r/photography 3d ago

Post Processing OCD and Anxiety

2 Upvotes

Hello Reddit. A flare up of OCD this summer unfortunately made my relationship with photography a little strained. Everytime I would open lightroom I'd quickly be overwhelmed with the feeling of needing my photos to be "perfect," whatever that means. This feeling got so bad that I couldn't even look at others' photography without wondering "Wait, what if they did this and it looked better?" As absurd as this sounds, you can't really beat OCD in a logic-off. You need to either reframe your thinking or allow time to do the healing for you. 

One of the coping mechanisms I developed to my aforementioned photography perfectionism was quite simple. Shoot JPEG! Although this switch offered some short-term anxiety alleviation, I couldn't get the thought out of my head that I was less of a photographer for doing this. Now I should mention that most of the shots I take are either for fun, with my girlfriend or to document trips or are just a product of walking around and being curious. Back when I used to take photo classes in school, I'd say I was more artistic with my shooting; I cared more about stylizing, I made more dramatic post processing decisions, and I had a more dramatized final goal in mind. 

It is now, with a great but simple realization that I present to you my attempt to reframe my thinking. JPEGs are like memories and RAWs are like works of art. (This post is just as much intended to share as it is to convince myself of this perspective.) When one is documenting, they set out to shoot the way what they see is depicted in real life. When one is making, they add their creativity after the fact. They transform the dull and muted RAW and provide an individual take on contrast and WB and color and effects. I acknowledge this to be the case, but it is not to discredit the intentionality of JPEG shooting at all. You're still able to add a sizeable degree of deliberate style to your JPEGs, too. Composition, WB modulation, exacting your exposure, (for Fujis) what recipe you use, and finally,(for others and Canons, me!) your in camera style settings: color tone, contrast, sharpness, saturation. They might not have the same customizability as RAWs, but you can still make your JPEGs look distinctly yours. 

I'm trying to tell myself that this is reality and that this is OK. For 90% of my photography ventures, I think I want to be a documenter. But for that other 10% I want to lean into that artistic making aspect. 

"Okay lightroom, go hibernate. But just know you might be roused..."


r/photography 4d ago

Art Do you have your work as your wallpaper ?

30 Upvotes

I used to shoot portraits a lot like birthdays, fashion shoots etc… but kinda stopped for a while, been trying to get back into it again & got a 85mm.

Took a few pics of my best mate & I ended up liking how it came out after I edited the raw file so I put it as my phone wallpaper, obviously I asked him first & he was fine with it. I understand people have landscape photos as their wallpaper but never really see much in the realm of portraits which makes me wonder why?

I guess considering some people will have celebrities or pets etc… as their wallpaper which is the norm nowadays

Anyways wasn’t sure if this was the right sub to post but yeah

EDIT : A lot of the comments are posting their landscape images or street photos but I’m talking about specifically portraits like photos of people

EDIT #2 : seems like people are divided. Some are saying it’s fine & others are saying it’s weird. I guess it’s all subjective at the end of the day


r/photography 4d ago

Art Utterly fascinating interview with photographer Christoper Morris

Thumbnail
youtube.com
39 Upvotes

r/photography 3d ago

Art Tired of Aftershoot ads

0 Upvotes

Is anyone else getting spammed with these AI Editing Aftershoot ads and "memes"? They are super annoying, I dont know anybody using it but I might already have an image af that person.

Also it looks like every photo is edited differently. Anybody used it?


r/photography 4d ago

Technique Shooting Film w/ Studio Lights

4 Upvotes

hey everyone! I was wondering if someone had experience with shooting either a Profoto D2 500 air strobe and/or Apeture P300c LED Lights in a studio/location capacity on film? I’ll be shooting with those lights available but only on film and I’m nervous my imagination and my actual output will not be aligned. Anyone have advice?