All About Photo

Norma Jeane Mortenson, as indicated on her birth certificate but baptized as Norma Jean Baker was known as Marilyn Monroe. She was born on June 1st 1926 in Los Angeles. When Norma Jean was working in the factory of her first husband James « Jim » Dougherty, she was noticed by military photographers. It is David Conover who took her first shot for a military advertisement campaign. Her carrier was launched...   Marilyn Monroe in the 50's Between 1944 and 1962 (the year of her death) she worked with many photographers who captured her incredible sex appeal but also her fragility. Some of these images are iconic, others less known to the general public. Check out in this video the work of masters of photography who worked with her on our YouTube Channel

Cally Whitham is a photographer from New Zealand. She discovered photography at a very young age following her father in the countryside. He sketched nature for his paintings while she took photographs. The influence of painting  is still very strong in her approach to photography. When we asked her if she spent a lot of time editing her images, she replied: " Yes I do. The initial photo is just a part of the process in creating an image. Post production is the place where the image and the vision I had come together. I don't photograph reality but rather create a potential or ideal reality and that potential is added in post production." Want to read more? Check out the full interview and portfolio: All about Cally Whitham

Lee Jeffries is an English photographer who takes incredible black and white portraits of homeless people. His understanding of depth and light equals the emotion we feel looking at these faces marked by the passage of time and sufferings. All about photo asked him a few questions: How long have you been a photographer? About 5 years now. Do you remember your first shot? What was it? My first street photograph was a young girl homeless girl in London. The story is all around the net now. My first real photograph was the woman praying in Rome. That's where the artistry began. What or who inspires you? Emotion. People. Empathy for the suffering of others. How could you describe your style? My own. If it looks good to me then I'm more than happy. Much more than that though...i have to feel an image. I throw it out if I dont. What kind of gear do you use? Camera, lens, digital, film? Digital. Old beat up Canon 5d mark 1   Do you spend a lot of time editin...

The results are finally here! Check out the list of the winners. INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR   cash prize sponsored by ATEDGE Advertising Category:  Fabrizio Cestari Architecture Category:  Frank Meyl Book Category:  Mark Edward Harris Editorial Category:  Brooks Kraft Fine Art Category:  Yixiu Guo Nature Category: N alda People Category: Joel Redman   Special Category: M ichael Hitoshi   DISCOVERY OF THE YEAR Advertising Category:  Koji Tajima, Japan Architecture Category:  Akira TAKAUE, Japan Book Category:  Patricia Dinu, Italy Editorial Category: M assimo Barberio, Italy Fine Art Category:  Arman Zhenikeyev, Kazakhstan Nature Category:  Patricia Dinu, Italy People Category:  Carlotta Cardana, United Kingdom Special Category:  Yun Chen , China   DEEPER PERSPECTIVE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR cash prize sponsored by American Society of Media P...

There are so many photo contests and portfolio reviews that it is really difficult for a photographer to find the competition that is right for him/her. We have created a listing of contests (but only the interesting ones!) on our website All about photo . If you are a professional or an amateur it is really easy to find the contests that are right for you. Furthmore, we have decided to launch a Facebook page called  Photo Contests so that you can receive the latest information on your wall. We hope it helps!

The official date for the birth of photography is considered to be 1839 when the invention of Daguerre and Niepce was presented to the French Academy of Science. But when was taken the first nude photography? Nothing is certain because most of the plates that were found are anonymous but Mr Lerebours, a French optician claims to have taken the first artistic nude  in 1841. What we know for sure is that it worked really well. Painters used them instead of live models for their paintings while moralists criticized their existence. But it is not until Steichen and Stieglitz that nude photography became works of art in their own right. Artistic nudes became more and more experimental in the open light. Brassaï, Rudomine and Krull used the body as the main subject for their complex images. It took time but nude photography was no longer taboo.  Nudes from Man Ray, Kertesz, Weston, Bellmer and many others, are now considered masterpieces. Here are a few:   The Prayer 193...

The principles of visual art are the rules, tools and guidelines that artists often use to organize the elements of art in their work. Of course, not everyone follows these rules but most of them does because it is more pleasing for the human eye. Let's take a look at some of these principles and a few other tips to take better shots. - The Golden Ratio and the Rule of third    In mathematics and the arts two quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of their sum to their maximum. Many artists have proportioned their works to approximate the golden ratio—especially in the form of the golden rectangle in which the ratio of the longer side to the shorter is the golden ratio—believing this proportion to be aesthetically pleasing. We use this ratio to draw imaginary lines on a rectangle image. The lines cut the image in 3 vertical and 3 horizontal identical parts. (red lines on the image) If the subject is in the middle of th...

Clay Lipsky is a fine art photographer who lives in Los Angeles and also works with Aline Smithson as an Art Director for LENSCRATCH. All about photo asked him a few questions:   How long have you been a photographer? From a very young age I have enjoyed taking photos, but I never pursued it seriously. Within the last five years I have rediscovered the medium and enjoying exploring its many paths while also making up for lost time. What or who inspires you? I can find inspiration anywhere. Living in Los Angeles provides endless opportunities for creative exploration, from the city to the desert and along the coast. How could you describe your style? My career as an art director/designer heavily influences my photography. Much like in graphic design, I enjoy exploring different looks. Overall color and composition are very important to me and will vary greatly depending on what best suits the concept and subject matter. In general I like to find ways to tel...

Nan Goldin was born on September 12, 1953.  Self-portrait on the train, Boston - New Haven 1997 She is well known for her provocative color images of an underground world. Check out her full profile and her video where she explains how she started taking pictures. All about Nan Goldin  © by Nan Goldin, courtesy of Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco and Matthew Marks Gallery, New York

In Memoriam of that tragic day No words are strong enough to describe this tragedy. Here is an image of ground zero from the World Trade Center Archive from photographer Joel Meyerowitz. All about Joel Meyerowitz    

Trini Schultz is a fine-art photographer who lives in California with her family but she was born in Peru, South America.     When did you realize you wanted to be a photographer?   When my dad bought me my first "real" camera. A Pentax K1000. It was a Christmas gift, and I was about 16.  He got me a huge Polaroid camera before that, but it wasn't the same as having an actual 35mm camera.  I loved photography but I didn't think of it as a choice for a career, it was more of a hobby, but family and friends kept telling me I should consider being a photographer. So it wasn't till after I got married and had my second child that I picked up the camera again after many years, and took photography more seriously, and fell in love with it all over again. Where did you study photography? With whom?   I took a class at a local community college in black & white developing many years ago, but that was it.  I'm mostly self taught.  Same ...

Congratulations to Lisa Kristine who will receive the Humanitarian Award at the Lucie Awards in New York City on October 27.  All about photo supports her incredible work!  If you don't know her, don't hesitate to listen to her on TED: " Lisa Kristine: Photos that bear witness to modern slavery" Lisa Kristine's portfolio and video

Don't miss this opportunity to show your work! All you have to do is to register online and be ready to go to New Orleans Friday, December 13 & Saturday, December 14. Want more details? All about the portfolio reviews

There are so many good books out there... Unfortunately we cannot buy them all. Depending on our preferences and needs we all make different choices. It was hard to make ours but we have decided that the 10 fine art photography books that we would recommend you to buy are: 1 - Sebastiao Salgado: Genesis   If you like the work of Sebastiao Salgado there is absolutely no doubt that you will love his latest book. What does one discover in Genesis? The ancient animal species and volcanoes of the Galápagos; penguins, sea lions, cormorants, and whales of the Antarctic and South Atlantic; Brazilian alligators and jaguars; African lions, leopards, and elephants; the isolated Zo’é tribe deep in the Amazon jungle; the Stone Age Kurowai people of West Papua; nomadic Dinka cattle farmers in Sudan; Nenet nomads and their reindeer herds in the Arctic Circle; Mentawai jungle communities on islands west of Sumatra; the icebergs of the Antarctic; the volcanoes of Central A...