Jeff Carpenter
fstoppers.com
Nashville, TN, United States
Contact Jeff
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Past articles by Jeff:
How to Create Stunning Images Without Breaking the Bank
It's no secret, photography can be an extremely expensive business. With new versions of basically every camera, lens, and everything in-between coming out on what seems like a weekly basis, it's easy to get sucked into spending pattern and drop some major coin on new gear. If you're anything like me, then you hate spending all your hard earned money on new toys that may not even be necessary.… → Read More
How to Create Stunning Images Without Breaking the Bank
It's no secret, photography can be an extremely expensive business. With new versions of basically every camera, lens, and everything in-between coming out on what seems like a weekly basis, it's easy to get sucked into spending pattern and drop some major coin on new gear. If you're anything like me, then you hate spending all your hard earned money on new toys that may not even be necessary.… → Read More
What's Better for Tethering: Capture One Pro or Adobe Lightroom?
I've been a Lightroom user since the beginning of my career and honestly, I love it. It fits seamlessly into my workflow, and I couldn't imagine using any other raw processor. That is of course until I downloaded a trial of Capture One 11. I've heard people talk about Capture One, but I never thought much of it. After all, what's wrong with Lightroom? → Read More
Using Flash Duration to Freeze Motion
Flash duration is one of those terms you hear in the world of flash photography but may not know exactly what it is, or why it matters. It’s really quite simple, and pretty much exactly what it sounds like. The measurement of time from when the flash begins to fire until it’s completely off is what’s known as flash duration. Like a light bulb filament slowly burning off when it’s turned off, a… → Read More
Why Are You a Photographer?
Perhaps a better question to ask is: “Why am I a photographer?” In recent months, I feel like I've completely lost touch with why I became a photographer. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love what I do, but sometimes I forget why. When I was first starting out as a photographer and all of my shoots were “just for fun,” it was easy to see why I enjoyed it. After all, there were no consequences… → Read More
You Need to Take More Self-Portraits
As photographers, we may not always think about taking pictures of ourselves, but having a current headshot is extremely important. Think of it as your own personal little billboard that allows people to see your ability as a photographer. After all, if you don't have a good picture of yourself on your website, what would make anybody believe that you can take quality pictures of anyone else? → Read More
Easily Balance Flash With Natural Light
There are plenty of reasons you may want to blend natural light with flash. I know I rarely shoot with more than one strobe on location so the ambient light often acts as a fill light or rim light. Regardless of your reason to do so, knowing how to easily achieve this is extremely important. Check out this video where I explain my process for balancing strobes with natural light on location. → Read More
Do You Shoot Wide Open? You Might Not Want to, and Here's Why
Bokeh, it’s something that we all love, whether we like to admit it or not. It seems like every other client I work with asks me to "make the background blurry" or tells me "I want everything behind me to be out of focus." The obvious solution would be to shoot wide open, but the truth is, having your aperture wide open can actually have a negative impact on the quality of your image. → Read More
How Does Your iPhone Compare to a Hollywood Workhorse? Better Than You Might Think
In reality, this shouldn't even be a comparison. We all know what the outcome is going to be, yet we still love to see the results. That or we secretly hope that the phone in our pocket can really keep up with a Hollywood workhorse that is used to film some of the most popular movies and television shows that are being released. → Read More
How to Photograph Background Plates, and Why it's Important
Having options is always a good thing, especially when it can save you from a costly mistake. In this quick tutorial, Jay P. Morgan from The Slanted Lens shows us the importance of shooting background plates to give yourself options in post production and help speed up your workflow. → Read More
Do You Share Images With Clients on Set?
There’s nothing worse than wrapping up a shoot that you’re really proud of only to have your client tell you that they’re not happy with the final images. If this happens, you really only have two options: either take the time to re-shoot or provide a refund. Either way, there’s about a zero percent chance that you will get a referral from them. By simply sharing your images with your clients on… → Read More
Flash Photography for Beginners: Intro to Off-Camera Flash
Last week, I posted an article about how to create amazing portraits with on-camera flash. My hope was to help anyone who was on the fence about shooting with flash feel more comfortable and confident in their ability to shoot with flash. Granted, shooting with on-camera flash has its caveats, so in this article, I am going to go over some of the benefits of shooting with off-camera flash. → Read More
Flash Photography for Beginners: How to Take Amazing Portraits With On-Camera Flash
Shooting with flash can seem daunting at times, but it also opens up a whole new world of possibilities to take some truly epic photos that just wouldn't be possible with natural light. As a minor control freak, I was drawn to shooting with flash pretty early on in my career because I wanted to have control of the elements that made up my image. I didn't like the idea having to rely on what the… → Read More
How to easily use gels to create virtually any color background
Implementing gels into your photography is a really simple and effective way to make sure your images really stand out from the rest of the crowd. There are a ton of different ways to use gels to create some absolutely stunning imagery, but in this post, I am just going to show you a few … → Read More
How to Easily Use Gels to Create Virtually Any Color Background
Implementing gels into your photography is a really simple and effective way to make sure your images really stand out from the rest of the crowd. There are a ton of different ways to use gels to create some absolutely stunning imagery, but in this post I am just going to show you a few ways that you can use them to add color to your background to produce really dynamic portraits. → Read More
The Headshot Setup That Will Save You Time and Impress Your Clients
I call it the 3-in-1 Headshot Method. As a professional photographer it is imperative that you are able to adapt to your surrounds and the needs of your clients. I run into a situation quite a bit where my client doesn't know exactly what they want out of their headshot session so it’s my job to give them multiple options. In many cases my clients are very busy and they may only have a few… → Read More
Strobes vs. Natural Light Portraits in a Studio Setting
Sometimes when I'm shooting in a studio setting I find myself using strobes even when the shot doesn't lend itself to being lit with artificial light. After all, I'm inside and it just seems natural to use flash. That is of course until I stumbled across this behind the scenes video of Calgary based photographer Nathan Elson explaining some of his techniques for using both natural light and… → Read More
Balancing Business With Passion: Where to Draw the Line
I think it’s safe to say that we are all photographers because we love photography. I know I do, and I am so thankful that I am able to wake up every day and make money doing something that I love. However, like any other job, you’re going to run into an occasional gig that might not be right up your alley. That is a daily struggle for me and that is why I make a point to separate my business… → Read More
Four Things Every Photographer Hates to Buy, but Absolutely Needs
We all know that being a photographer can get expensive, from camera bodies to lenses, there is a never ending list of gadgets and goodies that we can spend our hard earned money on. The last thing anybody wants to do is spend their money on the “must haves” of photography when we could just as easily drop some cash on the things we want. Below is a short list of gear that every photographer… → Read More
How to Easily Turn Headlights on in Photoshop
Have you ever captured a really amazing picture of a car or motorcycle only to realize that you forgot to turn the headlights on while you were on location? Don't you worry about a thing because Photoshop makes it a breeze to flip on those high beams in just a few easy steps. → Read More