tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54807848631808072352019-12-05T05:06:13.127-08:00Life behind the lens.Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5480784863180807235.post-29981916511847408582015-07-24T17:11:00.003-07:002015-07-24T17:12:39.237-07:00

Stock photography is in a never ending evolution while agencies and markets continue to evolve in an effort to meet the market needs. Photographers looking to make money from their images will still shoot many of the same subjects but must shoot them in a new way. Marketable stock photography is part of the photography business where less than stellar images have little chance of success in

Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5480784863180807235.post-25182843888687115342015-04-06T11:19:00.000-07:002015-05-09T09:34:26.931-07:00

 You might be in the business of marketing your photography and no doubt are always on the lookout for great images. Have you wondered what makes a marketable image? It is one that is strong on concept! So why would this image below be marketable? Because it exemplifies the concept of Drought, Lack of Water or Water Shortage, and more. I was pleasantly surprised to stumble on this and it is one

Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5480784863180807235.post-7811216620028417332015-03-23T11:11:00.004-07:002015-03-23T11:12:51.098-07:00

Every time I have visited Mexico I am amazed at all the colors that are pretty much everywhere. Saturday we walked into Los Algadones, MX for the Gringos Go Home celebration.  I should say first, that is not what it sounds like.  Yuma, AZ is the highest rated Snowbird destination during the North American winters and Los Algadones is right across the border from Winterhaven, CA, a mere 10

Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5480784863180807235.post-33219624967110393482015-03-16T13:02:00.000-07:002015-03-16T17:17:35.657-07:00

You can add drama to your nature and landscape photography by using back lighting. It is very effective lighting technique and works very well on some subjects and not so much on others. When a subject is back lit the sun is in front of you or very close. I like to reference the Lighting Clock as example. The camera is at 6 o'clock and the subject is in the middle of the clock. If the light is

Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5480784863180807235.post-6892867463728050302015-03-10T12:56:00.000-07:002015-03-10T12:59:38.441-07:00

It is amazing what Mother Nature provides for our cameras. I looked at this scene and wondered what was happening on Earth to make all these colorful layers?  The multitude of colors, i presume, means some specific mineral was 'spewing' all over for a while before another mineral came along. It's fascinating! Any geologists out there? When you think of creating great compositions, scenes like

Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5480784863180807235.post-5181261337302360352015-03-03T07:13:00.000-08:002015-03-03T07:49:21.912-08:00

It has been a few years (too many) since my last Grand Canyon rafting trip where I shot this image. It is Granite Rapid which is pretty 'hefty' as you can see here. I am standing on the bank of the river and shot this with a 200mm lens. Most of our rafts and kaykers stop and watch each boat go through one at a time, for photos and safety. There is a sweep boat 'eddied' out below the rapid to

Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5480784863180807235.post-10433129316200875982015-03-02T06:45:00.002-08:002015-03-03T07:28:39.890-08:00

Concept! Without a doubt concept is the biggest ingredient in a top selling stock photo. This image screams farming, agriculture, Heartland, and more, and has made good money.   I was actually on assignment for the former America West airlines when I was shooting this guys cornfield. He drove up and asked what I was up to. We chatted and later became friends and I was invited to photograph

Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5480784863180807235.post-44723145285064948572015-02-24T10:11:00.003-08:002015-02-24T10:11:47.887-08:00

Here is a fun and lively portrait of Chelsea photographed against a white background. I used a large Octabox and two umbrellas on the background. The key to great white backgrounds is having them about 2 stops brighter than the light on the subject and no more than that. Here is the light diagram: Want to learn more? Take my portrait course for $22 about 70% off. Use coupon code TCP and click

Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5480784863180807235.post-88702232371706526922015-02-10T07:37:00.001-08:002015-02-10T08:21:36.438-08:00

This video is one of 5 videos from my online course: Mastering Studio Portraiture and shows the starting setup for this image.   Check out all the courses at www.greatphotographycourses.net

Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5480784863180807235.post-17084057345011579732010-04-26T07:22:00.000-07:002010-04-26T07:23:12.567-07:00

I am pleased to be the featured photographer in issue 27 of PhotographyBB magazine. http://www.photographybb.com/magazine/

Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5480784863180807235.post-28374191686672780282010-04-05T08:46:00.000-07:002010-04-05T08:48:22.650-07:00

I had an assignment to shoot this photograph for an annual report and as always, I try to avoid photographing exclusively with available light. The reason is that available light in a manufacturing plant rarely compliments a scene that requires good lighting for an effective photograph. On the other hand it is difficult to use artificial light exclusively and have the scene look believable as

Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5480784863180807235.post-22422929888612281022010-03-30T09:50:00.000-07:002010-03-30T09:54:26.984-07:00

I have the pleasure of being featured today on Lensflare35 a podcast featuring professional photographers.

Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5480784863180807235.post-32859496124145279392010-03-28T05:00:00.000-07:002010-03-28T05:00:04.376-07:00

I have a client that makes valves for the industrial markets. When I visited the company plant they asked me to shoot among other things, a new valve they had just launched into the market. I could have just set it on a table and shot it or on seamless but they wanted a photo that looked like a real installation. The problem was there was no installation here to photograph and they did not want

Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5480784863180807235.post-59958832180682966542010-03-26T10:28:00.000-07:002010-03-27T08:17:41.201-07:00

Ring lights, aka ring flash, have been popular and in style for years. They offer a nice soft quality of light and when your subject is against the background you get a shadow around your subject. These were originally designed for macro and medical photography, but these days are used in fashion photography as well as general people and portrait situations. I like the ring light look but also

Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5480784863180807235.post-90804473745872397172010-03-23T08:00:00.000-07:002010-03-23T08:00:02.383-07:00

I am pleased to announce that I will be joining George Lepp, Les Voorhis, and other distinguished photographers leading a wide variety of workshops at this first annual event. The Black Hills Photo Shootout is the brainchild of the Senior Photographer, Chad Coppess, of the South Dakota Department of Toursim. Workshops incluide Photoshop, Nature Photography, Ghost Towns, Widlife Photography,

Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5480784863180807235.post-2255950652331383972010-03-18T08:00:00.001-07:002010-03-18T08:00:00.346-07:00

Industrial photography often has you looking for locations amongst ugly and filthy environments. Often clients will tell me that they want to shoot at a certain location but they have no idea what there is to photograph the subject in front of or within the surroundings. This client led us out to a site of a natural gas facility and when I saw this yellow pipe I thought this is the spot. There

Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5480784863180807235.post-18244652653169013982010-03-15T08:00:00.000-07:002010-03-16T17:17:31.121-07:00

When I am not on assignment or doing post production on client work and can break away for more than a day, I love traveling and shooting the landscape. Then using all the cool tools and plugins for really messing up an otherwise normal image. I shot this image in Anza Borego last year on my way back from California. Images that dont have a deadline seem to sit patiently on the hard drive until

Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5480784863180807235.post-91776351469672453932010-03-13T07:55:00.000-08:002010-03-13T08:29:54.043-08:00

I recently had a shoot with a young lady in the studio and wanted to achieve the soft, flat look using a large light source. I chose to use my 7' Photoflex Octodome which a great light source if you want a large soft light quality. I have also used it for shooting large groups of people because it has such a large coverage area. I placed the Octodome over camera and then just to the side a

Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5480784863180807235.post-49342155231752134552010-03-11T08:00:00.000-08:002010-03-11T08:00:04.213-08:00

Casey Templeton has designed a very cool promotional campaign based on a lunchbox stuffed with cool little gadgets all labeled with his name. His post also shows how popular it was among art directors and buyers and landed some assignments. That's what innovation brings these days. Check it out here!

Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5480784863180807235.post-2539463720140529512010-03-09T15:25:00.000-08:002010-03-11T14:32:55.737-08:00

Here is an industrial photograph of a new product release shot on location. This was toward the end of the day in 100 degree plus shooting day and everyone was worn out. The client came in here, looked around and said she did not know what to do or how to shoot in here. It was a metal fabrication facility and very dirty with stuff everywhere. Not styled for a photo shoot. As the photographer

Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5480784863180807235.post-27600158214034151362010-02-10T11:22:00.000-08:002010-03-09T15:44:50.975-08:00

After more than a year of work, we have finally launched Pro Nature Photographer, the online community dedicated to the business of outdoor and nature photography. Check it out! Take My Class: The Business of Outdoor and Nature Photography

Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5480784863180807235.post-67255137260028405362010-01-13T09:50:00.000-08:002015-03-03T07:38:55.056-08:00

I just want to let you all know that a person by the name of Jeff Visaya has decided to capitalize on my name in the photographic community by starting a blog called Charlieborlandnow.com. I have obviously nothing to do with this site. The domain, charlieborlandnow.com is registered to Jeff Visaya of Milpitas California. A search for Jeff brings up this blog Jeffvisaya.com. based in San Jose.

Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5480784863180807235.post-59539066582263730862009-08-03T04:00:00.000-07:002009-08-03T04:00:00.851-07:00

I am pleased to announce that I will be teaching a business and marketing seminar for outdoor and nature photographers in November in Bryce Canyon National Park. I will be joining Gary Crabbe, former stock business manager for Galen Rowell and Marv Johnson, CEO of online photo agent Fogstock. This seminar will cover subjects ranging from what sells and why to adventure sports, marketing and self

Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5480784863180807235.post-59694958345773008532009-08-01T04:00:00.000-07:002010-03-09T15:36:07.817-08:00

There are many, many photographers wishing to go pro and I hear from a few and fairly often as they wish to assist me. There are more assistants wishing to assist than I could ever use. I wish I could help them all. I have been teaching on the internet for the last five years and a few location workshops each year as well, but I decided to create a professional photography training program as an

Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5480784863180807235.post-78360455899527730852009-07-28T04:00:00.000-07:002010-03-09T15:27:21.935-08:00

Last week I had a great assignment at the wind turbine farms in Eastern Oregon. I sure love shooting this type of stuff with the blue collar workers out in the field. We shot a ton of imagery with this guy positioned around the wind turbines and from high angles and low angles, telephoto and wide angle. The image will be used for a trade ad. For lighting I used a Norman 400B on a stand with

Charlie Borlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921284947675610469noreply@blogger.com0