Have you visited the CMpro Daily Project to get your daily dose of photography inspiration?  If not, it’s definitely worth checking out!  The CMpros, both hobbyist and professional photographers, are uploading beautiful photographs to it every day and each week we choose a favorite, the DOTW (daily of the week).  This week, this black and white photograph of a boy and his great grandpa by Tarah Sweeney stole our hearts.  Congratulations Tarah!

To see more of Tarah’s photography visit her website(…)

There’s no doubt that our CMpros are busy.  They have families to care for, jobs to maintain, many have businesses to look after, and they all know how to take stunning photographs.  Have you ever wondered what a day looks like for one of the CMpros?  How do they manage their time?  When do they get it all done?  You loved Sara’s ‘A Day In The Life’ post so much that we decided to make it a regular new series(…)

Have you visited the CMpro Daily Project to get your daily dose of photography inspiration?  If not, it’s definitely worth checking out!  The CMpros, both hobbyist and professional photographers, are uploading beautiful photographs to it every day and each week we choose a favorite, the DOTW (daily of the week).  This week, this stunning and beautifully lit portrait by Lisa Benemelis (taken with her Canon 5d mark III and 135mm lens) stole our hearts.  Congratulations Lisa!

To see more of Lisa(…)

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, Spring is here (whether it feels like it or not) and there’s a sense of newness around.  Not only is it time for new flowers, new grass, and fresh new leaves on the tree, but it’s also time for a new CMpro of the Month, Celeste Jones!  Celeste is a long time member of Clickin Moms and a brilliantly talented photographer.  Her work is full of honesty and emotion and we are(…)

I’m not quite sure how it’s possible but it’s already March and that means there’s a new CMpro of the Month to introduce you too, Stacey Vukelj!  Stacey may be a New York lawyer but she also has a passion for street photography.  She’s crazy talented at her passion and we are so pleased to have her here today sharing her thoughts with us and giving us a taste of what’s to come!
march cmpro of the month | stacey vukelj
interview(…)

We love photography interviews and today we are extra excited to have Richard ‘Koci’ Hernandez here on the blog to answer a few of our questions!  Not only has he been in the industry for quite some time, he’s currently blowing everyone’s mind with his incredible iPhone street photography.  We know you’ll enjoy his insights and photography just as much as us!
an interview with richard ‘koci’ hernandez
by Megan Dill

You worked in photojournalism for 15 years before becoming an assistant professor(…)

by Megan Dill
Winter.  If you’re like me, you work a long day out of the home, departing as the sun is coming up and returning after sundown.  You would think that this would impose extreme limits on your ability to take meaningful daily photographs.  I beg to differ—winter is a wonderful time to push yourself creatively by pushing your camera to extremes by cranking up your ISO!

ISO is one third of the exposure triangle, which is also comprised of aperture(…)

Happy New Year friends!  We hope you all had a safe and happy holiday season and that 2013 kicks off with a great start!  We are kicking off the New Year with our very first CMpro of the Month for the year, the fabulous Kate T Parker!  Kate is a brilliant natural light photographer with a knack for creating beautiful and dramatic art.  We are thrilled to have an interview with Kate be the first thing on our photography blog(…)

by Sharon Johnson

Birth Photography. If you haven’t heard of it or seen a session you must have been living under a rock. National news sources as well as hundreds of local broadcasts, blogs, and articles have covered the new trend of Birth Photography and while some people love the sessions, others despise the idea. Regardless of your opinion, this is one trend that is growing quickly and doesn’t appear to be going away any time soon.

I’m one of those that(…)

by Emma Wood

Being a black and white lover and having it be my passion, you may think that the decision would be an easy one.  However, nature provides us with such an abundant color palette, such fantastic, gorgeous tones in so many variations that it’s not always as easy a decision for me as you might think.

So how do I choose?   I usually have an idea of what I’m going to do, or whether I will convert to black(…)

There are multiple ways to convert to black and white, some more complex than others.  Today, we’re going to look at using the gradient map and levels to achieve the conversion you want in Photoshop Elements.  And who better to share their method than Elements guru and CMmentor Melissa Gibson?!  Melissa is going to share her quick and easy steps to get a breathtaking black and white!
converting to black and white in photoshop elements
by Melissa Gibson
There are several factors that(…)

There’s no doubt that our CMpros are busy.  They have families to care for, jobs to maintain, many have businesses to look after, and they all know how to take stunning photographs.  Have you ever wondered what a day looks like for one of the CMpros?  How do they manage their time?  When do they get it all done?  You loved Sara’s ‘A Day In The Life‘ post so much that we decided to make it a regular new series(…)

It’s another month and time for another CMpro of the month.  For May we have our super talented CMmentor Emma Wood!  Emma is not only an amazing photographer but she is a kind and generous person.  She has a love for light and black and white photography and has been working on something new for Clickin Moms.  Keep an eye out on the CM forums for an announcement later this month!
may cmpro of the month | emma wood

Tell us briefly(…)

She’s well known around CM for creating breathtaking black and white images.  Today CMmentor, Emma Wood is showing us how she works some of her magic using the gradient map in Photoshop.  If you follow her tutorial make sure to come back and share your image with us in the comments!
creating contrast using the gradient map in photoshop
by Emma Wood
Converting images using the gradient map tool in Photoshop is the first thing that I do when I want to convert(…)

Have you ever wondered why a photographer chooses to have a particular image in color or black and white?  I think we all have and it takes time to learn when color or black and white is the best choice to enhance your photograph.  Our utterly fabulous CMmentor Stacey Haslem is here to share her thought process on color vs black and white!
thoughts on converting to black and white
by Stacey Haslem
Why do you convert an image to monochrome? Do you(…)

by Amy Beth McMaster

I get asked a lot how I do my black and whites. And honestly I have a few presets I made that I use so I rarely have to do it manually very often. I’d love to share my methods with you all. I have a huge soft spot for black and white photographs. They are so timeless. A colorless image, if done right forces the observer to really see WHAT is going on in the image.(…)

by Sarah Wilkerson

Trick #1: Shadows, Shadows, and More Shadows  
The dark, dank basement.  The windowless attic.  The deep woods.  These are the settings that scary movies depend on. There’s just something about shadows that we universally associate with mystery and spookiness. Seek out the shadows, especially those that create interesting patterns or overlap to create varying depths of darkness. This doesn’t necessarily mean shooting after sundown, but nighttime certainly presents a bevy of opportunities to find shadows dancing across the(…)