Photography Training Video Courses

Easy DSLR—Online Video Course
Ken Schultz takes a slow-paced, methodical approach to teaching you everything about your DSLR camera from the ground up. Great for beginners or those who need a refresher on photography basics.

Photoshop Artistry—Online Video Course
Ready to take your Photoshop skills to the next level?  This highly recommended course from my friend Sebastian Michaels will take you beyond photo editing and into the real of high art.   (If you're new to Photoshop you might want to take my Photoshop Basics course first.)

How to Photograph Kids, Naturally—Online Video Course
Family photographer Brent Mail shows you how to capture perfect outdoor portraits of kids (or anyone!).  The best part:  Lesson 24, where he shows you how he prices his products and how he makes the sale to clients—it's a complete photography business model, ready to plug into your business. Highly recommended for all portrait/people photographers.

Portrait Photography for Profit—Online Video Course
Brent Mail shows you exactly, in complete detail how he runs a profitable, 6-figure family portrait studio, working only part time. For more details see my interview with Brent.

Downloadable e-Books from Photography Masters

eBooks are one of my favorite ways to learn photography, because they are affordable and instantly downloadable to any computer or tablet.

The Photography Tutorial eBook by Richard Schneider

This is the mothership of all photography ebooks. In this 250-page PDF tome, Richard Schneider of PictureCorrect covers a little bit about nearly everything in photography, from gear, to composition, to advanced techniques. His special emphasis is on cityscapes and landscapes, but this book really covers it all. The best fully portable photography guide I've seen, ideal for carrying on your iPad when you travel.

The Art of Boudoir Photography with Speedlites by Michael Zelbel

Michael Zelbel is the master of shooting boudoir photography with speedlights. You'll learn all his tricks for using radio triggers and lighting modifiers to get the glamour look on a budget.

Best Places to Research Camera Gear Before Buying

FredMiranda.com
Currently claiming over 18,000 reviews of 372 gear items. The combination of incredibly thorough reviews plus user forum feedback is unbeatable for gear research.

KenRockwell.com
Ken is a one-man dynamo of photo-gear geekiness. His site contains over a decade's worth of his hands-on research into nearly every piece of photo gear produced by the major manufacturers, and he calls it as he sees it, with no BS and no favoritism to any brands. It's honest, personal opinion from a photo-super-hobbyist.

Camera Labs
A massive compilation of reviews, tips, and gear advice from thousands of users. Don't miss their Forum where you can ask questions and discuss photography with other hobbyists and professionals.

DPReview (Digital Photography Review)
Great reviews, tons of articles, and forums where users discuss everything from cameras to lighting to mobile devices and other technology. You could spend a lifetime in here and not see it all.

Amazon.com
Not only the best place to buy, but the best place to find hudreds of reviews from real users. I make nearly all my purchasing decisions based on Amaon user reviews.

How to Price and License Your Photos

ASMP Guide to Pricing and Licensing Your Photos
I get asked all the time "How much should I charge for my photos?" There's no easy answer of course, but this online tutorial from the American Society of Media Photographers is a great place to start learning about pricing and licensing your photos.

Guide to Photo Copyrights and Privacy Laws

This handy infographic summarizes the basics of copyrights and privacy laws as they apply to photographers.

My Personal Camera Gear

I wouldn't dream of stepping into the Canon vs. Nikon battle or trying to suggest "the best" gear from the hundreds of excellent cameras, lenses, and accessories out there. So I'll just tell you what I personally use today, and why.

I'm a Canon shooter, not because I consider it superior to Nikon (or Pentax or Sony, etc.), but because I started with Canon early and stuck with it. I consider Nikon's flash system to be better than Canon's. When it comes to camera bodies and lenses, I consider both brands to be equal, and both of them are so good that any brand arguments are silly.

CAMERA BAGS AND BACKPACKS

Tamrac 5788 Evolution 8 Photo/Laptop Sling Backpack (Brown)—I prefer this pack to the larger Evolution 9, which I find too heavy when fully loaded and which can't always fit airline carry-on bins. Also, the Evolution 8 comes in brown, which doesn't scream "steal me" quite as much as a black gear bag.

Lowepro Nova 180 AW Camera Bag—My favorite "grab-and-go" small bag. Read about it on my blog

Calumet CV998 Shoulder Bag— Sadly, no longer available, but if you want a similar one at a bargain basement price, check out this Amazon Basics camera bag. (Caveat: I have not tried the Amazon bag, it just looks like a heck of a deal. If you try it, let me know how you like it.)

Black Rapid Sling Strap—There are a lot of varieties of sling straps out there, but this is the one I have. If you haven't tried one yet, you should give it a shot. It's a whole different relationship to your camera compared to a neck strap. I use this strap for narly all my event photography now.

CAMERA BODIES

Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 5D Mark III
Possibly the best DSLR ever made. Even though I upgraded to the Mark III for its improved ISO sensitivity and better focus system, I kept the Mark II and now I use it as my main video camera. You can often find good kit deals bundled with the 24-105 lens.

Canon 7D
The crop-sensor alternative to the full-frame 5D. Smaller sensor means a lower price, plus you get extended zoom distance for your lenses, and a built-in flash (that can also act as a wireless master flash) and HD video. It's a hell of a lot of camera for the money.

FujiFilm X100T
This compact camea is a new experiment in lightweight travel when I want to leave the heavy DSLR at home. Amazing DSLR image quality in a small body. The autofocus is a bit quirky at times, but otherwise I love this little thing. Read my full review

Olympus OMD-EM5—The link is to the newer Mark II version. You can read my review of the Mark I version here.

Canon G7X - I bought this for vlogging and portable video capture with stabilization. Read the full review here.

For dangrous or dirty conditions, I still sometimes use my older Canon 40D, which is an excellent, solid camera if you don't need video or master flash functions, and an ancient 350D Rebel, which is so lightweight with a 50mm 1.8 lens that you hardly know you are carrying a camera at all.

CANON LENSES

I prefer IS (image stabilized) lenses. They are not cheap, but they give you 2-3 extra stops of shooting stability in low light (especially if you have shaky hands like me). Well worth it, in my opinion.

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens—My favorite "walk around" lens for the full-frame cameras like the 5D. This is a dazzling lens. Also at Adorama and B&H.

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens—My favorite walk-around lens for the crop-sensor cameras like the 7D, 50D etc. Tack-sharp. I've taken so many shots with my 17-55 that I've worn out two focus motors already. Also at Adorama and B&H.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L IS USM Lens—I prefer this flawless telephoto to the equally excellent f/2.8 version because it costs half as much and more importantly weighs half as much. Also at Adorama and B&H.

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 Lens—Sure, the autofocus sucks in low light, but this little lens is razor sharp, almost weightless, and it only costs about $100. Awesome portrait lens and great for DSLR video if you have steady hands.

CANON FLASHES

Canon Speedlite 430EX II —If you only need one flash, buy this one. Affordable yet fully functional. Also can be used as a remote slave.

Canon Speedlite 580EX II—The mothership. Powerful, sturdy, and can be used as a master to control remote slaves such as the 430EX.

Canon Speedlite 270EX II—This small (but very limited) flash is handy for quick fill flash on pro DSLR's that don't have built-in flash, or for use on small G-series cameras. Otherwise buy a 430EX.

NIKON FLASHES

Even though I shoot Canon primarily, I have used Nikon gear in the past and I consider Nikon's flash system superior. If you use Nikon, I recommend these:

Nikon SB-700 Speedlight—Great starter or slave flash.

Nikon SB-910 Speedlight—the Nikon Mothership. Can command remote slaves.

ON-CAMERA FLASH DIFFUSERS

Lumiquest 80/20 Pro Max System— My favorite diffuser for an on-camera Speedlite. Read about it on my blog. Update: Sadly no longer available but here's a similar product. You can also get the similar Lumiquest Ultrasoft.

Lumiquest Soft Screen Diffuser for Pop-Up Flash—Pefect for taming that harsh built-in flash and it fits in a pocket.