Now that summer’s rolling in, we’ve been working on sprucing up our YouTube channel here at SLR Lounge. (What does summer have to do with YouTube? Well, nothing. It’s just about 90 degrees in here while I’m writing this). Anyhow, we’ve been working on fresh new content for you, as well as some clips from our new workshops: Photography 101 and Lighting 101.

Now that the Game of Thrones season is over and you’ve binged watched through season 3 of Orange is the New Black, it’s time to catch up on SLR Lounge videos. Here are a few new and noteworthy ones to get you started.

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1. If photography had curse words, the words “DIRECT FLASH,” would send mothers running to cover their child’s ears and shooting you dirty looks as they did so. Direct flash is frowned upon in photography because it has a tendency to make your subject look like a deer caught in the headlights. The hard light makes all the lovely lines and blemishes stand out in your subject’s face and, therefore, we work on trying to not use it unless we have to. Well, sometimes there is no avoiding direct flash, and in those times, you should follow these four tips to help you.

4 TIPS WHEN YOU MUST USE DIRECT FLASH | LIGHTING 101

2. As the video features get better and better on cameras these days, (well, except for me, a Fuji shooter), and more and more people realize the power of video for their businesses, we see the rise in people wanting to learn more about cinematography. The series From Stills to Motion is focused on teaching you some of the basics of transitioning from stills photography to filmmaking. Here’s one of the recent videos from this series:

4 CAMERA MOVEMENTS YOU CAN DO WITH A SLIDER

3. How to nail down exposure is one of the fundamentals of a photographer. Shutter Speed, Aperture, ISO, White Balance – you must understand how to all these work together before you can break all the rules and be creative with your images. The following video is from our Photography 101 Workshop DVD and tells you what you need to know to give you a mastery of technical and artistic control over your image.

3 STEPS TO MASTER EXPOSURE TECHNICALLY AND CREATIVELY | PHOTOGRAPHY 101

4. A successful photographer knows the secret to capturing the personalities of their subject(s). Sometimes when your subjects have a preconceived notion that they “don’t take photos very well,” (to which I respond with a cheeky, “that’s why I’m taking the photos today”), they can get very stiff and awkward when you point the camera in their direction. This video, from our Natural Light Couples Workshop DVD, will give you a few tips on getting the some funny expressions and helping your clients’ personalities shine through.

FUNNY POSING | GET GREAT EXPRESSIONS AND LAUGHTER FROM YOUR COUPLE

5. Not surprisingly, one of our most popular videos this month is the promo video for our summer camera giveaway. Yes, we are giving away a camera of your choice – either a Canon EOS 7D Mark II, a Nikon D750 or a Sony Alpha a7II. There are about 11 days left in this giveaway, so if you haven’t entered:

CLOUD SPOT CAMERA GIVEAWAY | SONY A7II, NIKON D750 OR CANON 7D MARK II

If you haven’t subscribed yet, well go on, head over to the SLR Lounge YouTube Channel for more great content coming at you each week!