VSCO has launched a new initiative to facilitate brand connections on its platform. This move by VSCO aims to create a streamlined ecosystem where brands can discover talented photographers and artists and forge meaningful partnerships.

To access the VSCO Hub, photographers must subscribe to the $59.99 Pro plan, which boasts an impressive user base of over 160,000 subscribers. For businesses, the platform offers a range of filtering options such as location, category, price, and availability. These filters enable firms to refine their search criteria and identify photographers whose style and expertise align with their specific needs and objectives.

One of the standout features of the VSCO platform is its marquee functionality, which allows creative directors to upload reference images and conduct visual searches for photographers whose portfolios exhibit similar aesthetics or creative elements.

VSCO also has plans to experiment with artificial intelligence in the future.

Image Credit: VSCO

A Spalding photographer is offering an eye-catching new service – by taking pictures of an individual’s iris to create a stunning and unique piece of artwork.

Andriana Green, of Moonlight Photography, is offering the new photography trend, which involves capturing a close-up image of the centre of a person’s eye.

She says everyone’s eye is different – reflecting our personality, emotions and identity – and the resulting pictures can be turned into beautiful pieces of art featuring up to four different eyes.

“I know there are photographers in London offering iris photography, but not really anywhere else around here,” says Andriana. “I’m originally from Bulgaria and found out about it a few months ago when we went back to visit some family.

“There was a big international business fair taking place in the city, so we went along to see what was happening and that’s when I saw it.

“Although I mostly concentrate on family and children’s photography, I already had most of the equipment, apart from a few new lenses which I’ve bought, so I thought I’d give it a go.”

In order to take the close-up pictures of the iris, Andriana says it is necessary to shine a continuous light into the eyes, meaning her subjects will be required to sit completely still for a few minutes. For this reason, she says this type of photography might not be suitable for younger children or anyone who suffers from light sensitivity.

“I’ve been trialling a few different ideas and launched my packages this week and there’s been quite a lot of interest already,” Adriana added. “The finished pictures make a really unique piece of art to hang on the walk – and a great talking point.

“I used to think people had green, brown or blue eyes – but with these pictures you can really see all the different lines and areas of the eye, every one really is unique.

“The sessions make a great gift and could be good for families or a few generations of a family.”

Andriana has always been interested in photography, and two years ago decided to turn her hobby into a job and hasn’t looked back. She specialises in newborn photography, baby sittings, special occasions, themed photo shoots and outdoor photography.

The iris photography packages start from £60 for one eye, with each additional eye photographed costing an extra £15.

To find out more, or to make a booking, contact her 07480 199227.

“I don’t know about perfection, but if they have anything in common, it’s a result of a long, continuing love of art history,” photographer Richard Bram tells the Phoblographer when asked about how he knows he’s got the perfect shot. “If you want to know what makes a good picture, you have to look at a million pictures – then you’ll know. If you’re searching for a tag to hang these particular photos on, that’s more difficult.” He’s been exhibiting his work for over 30 years, and in a few days you’ll be able to see much of his incredible work for yourself.

All images by Richard Bram. Used with permission. Follow him on Instagram @photobram52 and check out his website. You can see the “Oaxacan Sketchbooks” for yourself from May 11th to June 13th, 2024 are the Galería La Mano Mágica in Oaxaca.

The Story of Richard Bram

He never thought about being a photographer growing up, but he loved taking pictures. “In 1984, when I was 32 years old, my ordinary business career came to an ignominious end,” Richard tells us. “A personal crisis became a major turning point. With the encouragement of friends, I decided to do something completely crazy – to become a professional photographer!” What else is this besides the story of having an incredible support network of encouraging people? Well, it’s the story of a new career! Richard, however, says that he worked hard and had a little bit of luck.

He became a public relations photographer. “The job is to make everything look nice: business presentations, receptions, press conferences, ribbon cuttings, company group shots and things like that,” he explains. “Within a couple of years I had a regular clientele as a commercial public relations and event photographer.” To some of us, it sounds like a dream. To others, it might sound really soul-sucking. In fact, he eventually lost the spontaneity he had when he started.

“I began to notice the uncomfortable moments that occurred during the events I was being paid to photograph. I would take these photos as well, though not show them to the client. I wanted them to hire me again, after all.”

Richard Bram

That’s how he became intrigued by the candid moment. These days, Richard captures moments with the Leica M10 and a 35mm f2 lens. He also uses the original Leica Q. “These are the right tools for me and the way I like to work, quiet and unobtrusive,” Richard explains. “I have never felt comfortable using a big honking SLR/DSLR working on the street…But depending on my mood, or if I simply feel like shooting black and white, I might go out with a Rolleiflex TLR, Olympus XA, or an old Soviet Horizont panoramic.” These tools help Richard keep things fun and vary it up enough.

The Story of Oaxaca

Richard first started coming to Oaxaca in the late 90s and then started coming back regularly since then. He calls it a special place and speaks of his fond reverence of it. He says that there’s a ton of stuff to photograph, but that he always is on the search for the same things no matter what.

In the black and whites, a graffito scratched into a wall of a dancing girl caught my eye on my first trip here. There’s a child with a shy gesture just before a performance. A boy went by on the top of a pick-up truck with palm leaves fanning out behind him like a rooster’s tail.  (Quick! Don’t think! Take a picture! One frame.) A little girl is sucking on a drink as the quotidian street life of Oaxaca is all around. A little boy is apparently about to murder his father on the Zocaló! But in most of the photos, there is also a sense of beauty. I believe that it is still a beautiful world despite all the horrors going on as I type. 

Richard Bram

In 2010, Richard switched over to color for his personal work and took the same approach. He finds color more difficult to do well, though. In fact, he can tell the stories of the few frames that simply worked for him when shooting color.

Shooting public relations taught Richard how to be aware of things. Because of the fact that corporate sponsors wanted to see their logos at the events, he was always cogniscent of backgrounds. He’s also always alert to gestures that could make someone look totally different. “My earlier street photography style often emphasized the first, carefully juxtaposing foreground and background for visual or humorous effect,” he states. “The pictures I’ve been making in the last few years are more concerned with gesture, whether it is explicit or implied, which can give a photo interest and gravity. As you look at these few examples, you can see the slight change in my style: the black and whites are earlier; the color later.” Indeed, Richard’s best photographs overall emphasize the importance of a moment. However, they’re often far less chaotic than what you find in the work of many other street photographers from London, New York, or other big cities. They’re best defined as the small micro-moments that we sometimes miss.

In fact, he even admits that and states that he prefers to be gentle — and he doesn’t want to present people in an artificially harsh way. It’s one of the reasons why he doesn’t often use Flash either. The times that he used flash, he was often angry, and was projecting that into the images. Of course, he also captures the sometimes darker side of life.

Many times, he’s often trying to balance composition and moment in the editing process. He admits that it’s a difficult process. “When you look at Winogrand’s photographic compositions, at first they seem random, but there is a balance and formality in the chaos,’ says Richard. “Look at Joel Sternfeld’s slow-motion street photography. There’s still strong composition even though it may not seem like it because it is spontaneous, from real life.”

Thoughts on AI Imagery

Richard is a pretty traditional photographer — he used film and printed his own works. More than that, he also does barely any editing in post-production. And with that said, he doesn’t care much about AI imagery.

“I’m a good darkroom printer and treat my digital files the same traditional way: a bit of exposure and contrast adjustment, a bit of burning and dodging if necessary, but nothing radical. I won’t change the color of something in a photograph or remove something from or add an element to an image. Mild cropping is about as radical as I get. I’ve never thought about using an AI tool to create my final images and frankly don’t know how.”

Richard Bram

Citing his Italian colleagues, he calls it Syntography – which is synthetic photography. Like many other photographers, he thinks this is a new medium and thinks we shouldn’t overreact about it. In fact, he states that photography has always had composites.

AI photos are things that he relates more to our dreams than anything else. “Syntography is an art form and the best of it, like all art, will have content too,” Richard states. …The worst of it is mostly, in essence, bad Photoshop – six-fingered hands, too many arms or not enough feet, and so on. And in commercial work, none of it bothers me – advertising has always been artificial.”

AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT BY RICHARD BRAM

The Phoblographer works with human photographers to verify that they’ve actually created their work through shoots. These are done by providing us assets such as BTS captures, screenshots of post-production, extra photos from the shoot, etc. We do this to help our readers realize that this is authentically human work. Here’s what this photographer provided for us.

Game Developer Matt Newell has returned to social media after a half-year hiatus, presenting an impressive new demo for Lushfoil Photography Sim and revealing that a demo version of his upcoming game will be available during Steam Next Fest.

For those uninitiated, Lushfoil Photography Sim is an upcoming photographer simulator created by Matt and published by Annapurna Interactive. Powered by Unreal Engine 5, the game allows players to explore photorealistic digital recreations of various real-life landmarks as a traveling photographer, capturing stunning landscapes with a fully-featured in-game camera. Each environment is packed with objectives and hidden secrets to reward observant players with a keen eye for angles and perspectives.

In his recent Twitter posts, Matt offered a glimpse of some of the breathtaking scenes awaiting players in the game, teeming with lush vegetation and boasting impressive lighting achieved with UE5. Moreover, in response to a comment, the developer stated that a demo version of Lushfoil Photography Sim, featuring abridged versions of in-game levels, will be accessible during the upcoming Steam Next Fest, scheduled to run from June 10 to June 17, 2024.

The Chicago Cubs have been one of MLB’s best teams to start the season, going 21-15 over the first six weeks of the season.

Chicago has also been one of the league’s best teams at home, going 12-5 in their 17 games at Wrigley Field this season.

But for one fan, Wrigley Field was the Unfriendly Confines Tuesday night.

End of an era: sad to announce that the @Cubs denied me entry w my camera. I can no longer bring you my shots of the team I love fr beautiful Wrigley Field. Thanks to everyone who liked, shared and treasured these photos over the yrs. So glad u did. A thread of favs over the yrs pic.twitter.com/98UJlrzrYo

— MBDChicago (@MBDChicago) May 7, 2024

“End of an era: Sad to announce that the Cubs denied my entry with my camera. I can no longer bring you my shots of the team I love from beautiful Wrigley Field. Thanks to everyone who liked, shared and treasured these photos over the years. So glad you did,” X user @MBDChicago tweeted, before posting a thread of some select photos.

While there’s yet to be a follow-up from the user or the team, people in the replies had been hoping that it was just a case of a security guard who may have jumped the gun.

I truly believe you ran into an overzealous security guard. I’m sure it is a mistake and this will be rectified

— Crawly’s Cubs Kingdom (@crawlyscubs) May 7, 2024

You probably just ran into the wrong security person. I’m sure you know a few personally over the years that will let you through.

You can also make a 70-200mm “binocular” set and then put a 50mm on your DSLR with a Hello Kitty skin and a Polaroid neck strap.

Never give up.

— Casual Fan (@LeCasualFan) May 7, 2024

It remains to be seen if this is an error or a new policy that the Cubs have enacted, but if nothing else you would hope the team reaches out to the fan to either clarify the new rule or apologize for the misunderstanding and perhaps come to a compromise.

We love David Bergman and Adorama TV’s great videos, and this recent video is a doozy – especially so as it answers one of those big photography questions in a clear and informative way.

So, to the question itself: just how many megapixels is enough? Well, it’ll depend what you’re shooting of course, but more megapixels typically translate to more image detail.

One key consideration is the that most photos today are viewed on screens with much less megapixels than your camera has – and yes, that includes your smartphone. 

For example, Bergman notes that Instagram uses around 1920 pixels on the longest side. So, even a basic 2 MP camera (around 1600×1200 pixels/1080p) would comfortably meet this minimum requirement. The cover of AP mag for example, is about 3000px on the long edge, which can be met by a 3-4 MP camera.

When it comes to printing, a 4×6 print needs only 2 MP, and a larger 11×14 print would need roughly 13.8 megapixels at 300 PPI (pixels per inch).

So why do we need cameras with 40, 50 or even more megapixels then? Well, the benefit comes with cropping, as every time you crop into your image you lose valuable pixels. But for most photographers shooting most ‘everyday’ subjects, a camera in the 20 to 24-megapixel range offers more than enough pixels for most purposes. 

You can see more of the great AdoramaTV videos on YouTube. 

Cover image: Getty

Google has officially unveiled the Pixel 8a, showcasing the latest advancements in its A-series lineup. Priced at $499, the Pixel 8a is engineered to provide the high-end AI functionalities and camera capabilities previously seen in the more premium Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro models.

The Pixel 8a features a fresh, user-friendly design with rounded edges, a matte back, and an aluminum frame, making it the most robust A-Series phone to date. It introduces the new Actua display which is 40% brighter than its predecessor, the Pixel 7a, and offers a smoother user experience with a 120Hz refresh rate. The device is available in new A-series colors, Aloe and Bay, alongside classic shades like Obsidian and Porcelain, and for the first time, a 256GB storage option.

The Pixel 8a sets a new standard for mobile photography in its price range, featuring a dual rear camera setup with a 64-megapixel main lens and a 13-megapixel ultrawide lens, complemented by a 13-megapixel front-facing camera. Powered by the Google Tensor G3 chip, the device boasts an array of AI-driven features such as Best Take, Magic Editor, and Audio Magic Eraser, enhancing photo and video quality and user experience.

The Pixel 8a integrates Google’s cutting-edge AI to streamline daily tasks. Gemini, the new AI assistant, aids in a variety of functions from composing emails to planning vacations, directly accessible through the device’s power button. Additional features like Circle to Search and Pixel Call Assist further enrich the user experience, making the Pixel 8a a powerhouse of productivity.

The Pixel 8a also focuses on family accessibility and security. An enhanced setup process allows parents and guardians to manage digital guidelines easily. The device is built with the Google Tensor G3 chip and includes the Titan M2 security chip and a built-in VPN, ensuring robust protection against security threats. Remarkably, the Pixel 8a is supported with seven years of software updates, ensuring longevity and security.

While the $499 price tag is great on its own, there is a killer deal to be had. You see, the Pixel 8a is available for pre-order through Amazon here, where you get a bonus $100 gift card! You should act fast, however, as this deal ends on 5/19.

Please note: Some of the above links may be affiliate links, meaning we, or our writers, may receive payment if you purchase one of these items (or other items) after clicking on them.