Technology Explained, Practice
Daniela Bowker
Resolution and pixels and image quality! Oh my! ...

When you hear the term 'high-res' thrown about with such abandon when it comes to images for web use, have you ever stopped to think just how big or how high quality and image meant for the web needs to be?

Resolution and pixels and image quality! Oh my! Saving images for the web
Feature Articles, Photography Theory
Haje Jan Kamps
Low-contrast photographs don't have to be boring

There's an assumption that high-contrast images are more dynamic, more compelling, more inviting. Have a go at some low-contrast photography. You might surprise yourself with the results.

Low-contrast photographs don't have to be boring
Feature Articles, Theory
Daniela Bowker
Seeking balance in your photos

Balance doesn't mean symmetry; it means an internal consistency and tension within your photos. And it's a vital element of composition. 

Seeking balance in your photos
Feature Articles, Photography Theory
Haje Jan Kamps
Training your photographic luck

Great photos might be down to a little bit of luck, but most of that 'luck' you make yourself. Don't believe us? Read on...

Training your photographic luck
Feature Articles, Practice
Daniela Bowker
The ups and downs and ins and outs of ...

Photographing buildings doesn't have to mean wide-angle lenses and fretting about correcting for the keystone effect. Any lens, and angle. Don't believe us? Let us show you!

The ups and downs and ins and outs of photographing buildings

Shooting Yourself

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Selfies is now on sale in the US!

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When Shooting Yourself went on sale in the UK last summer, Haje was ridiculously excited about his book devoted to self-portrait photography. Unfortunately, he was forced to put his excitement on ice for the US edition, which had a little longer to wait for its release. Thankfully, that wait is over and we can pop the champagne corks because Selfies is now on sale in the US! Photo 12-03-2014 09 54 16

Don't worry, the entire book doesn't comprise selfies of Haje. He does put in an appearance, and so do I, but there are gorgeous images from photographers Carly Wong, from Elly Lucas, and Callan Kapush, amongst many, many others. Some of them are dab hands with props, some are location shooting gurus, and a few even take off their clothes! It's full of tips and tricks, and ideas and explanations. And it's fabulous.

You want to lay your hands on a copy? Awesome! You can pick one up direct from the US publishers, HOW, from an Internet behemoth bookseller, as a swanky e-book, or from your favourite bricks-and-mortar bookshop.

Oxford Dictionaries' Word of the Year? Selfie

'Selfie?' I've been taking them for yeeeaaars, dahling! The word isn't exactly new, we've been using it since 2002. And the concept definitely isn't new, seeing as the first one was taken in 1839 by one Robert Cornelius. But a staggering 17,000% increase in its use over the past year has meant that 'selfie' has taken the crown as Oxford Dictionaries' 'Word of the Year' for 2013.

Could I possibly have written about selfies without including one? Well yes... but no.

It had stiff competition from the likes of 'twerk' and 'binge-watch', but fought them off with unselfconscious vigour and now joins the likes of 'credit crunch' (2008) and 'omnishambles' (2012) in the pantheon of neologisms. Its next task is to gain respectability from an entry into the Oxford English Dictionary. A place in the Oxford Dictionaries Online, awarded in August this year, isn't quite sufficient.

For some, selfie is an indictment of the self-obsessed instant-gratification generation. Those of us in the know, however, aren't at all concerned by the self-portraiture arrivistes with their smartphones and duckfaces. And you can always keep one step ahead of the game with a little help from Haje's book!

Ooh! Ilex has some copies of Haje's Shooting Yourself to give away in honour of this momentous day! All the details are here!

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On not taking photos and black eyes: Team Photocritic in conversation

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If you missed Team Photocritic live in conversation yesterday afternoon from Ilex HQ in Lewes, you're in luck. There's a recording of our musings on our newest books, collaborating with other photographers, and setting up Photocritic. I think that there's only one major use of profanity and somehow we work cake into the dialogue. Not bad for an afternoon's work in front of a camera.

There's also 50% off the digital versions of our books in Ilex's webstore for a few more days, but you'll need a special code to claim it. And that's revealed during the interview. Mwahahaha!

Big thanks to Adam at Ilex for setting up the session and acting as technical director, being the Voice of God, and editing the recording. If you couldn't guess, we really enjoyed ourselves.

And the name I so embarrassingly forgot: Adrian Sommeling. Profuse apologies.

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Team Photocritic, live and in conversation

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Surreal + SYS On Wednesday 15 May at 16:00 BST, Team Photocritic (otherwise known as Haje and Daniela) will be coming to you live and direct across the Intergoogles from the HQ of the Ilex Press, which publishes some of our books. Video cameras, live transmission, and two excitable writer-photographers. What can possibly go wrong?

We're going to be in conversation, discussing our newest books and our current projects. If there's time and we don't get too carried away, we'll squeeze in a Q&A session. Do line up any questions that you might want to put to us.

Ilex is hosting the event on its Ilex Live site. Tune in for 16:00 if you're in the UK, and if you're not in the UK, here's a nifty timezone converter.

As an added bonus, Ilex will be offering a super-special discount on the e-versions of some of our books. If you head over to the webstore, you'll see what's on offer. The details covering how to claim your discount will be revealed during the broadcast!

See you tomorrow!