Tutorials

How to Prepare to Ride a Motorcycle in the Himalayas | Comprehensive Guide

How to Prepare to Ride a Motorcycle in the Himalayas | Comprehensive Guide

The Himalayas are home to the world’s greatest mountains and, unsurprisingly, also some of the world’s most stunning and highest roads. In particular, the northwestern Ladakh region of India is a famous destination that’s home to the world’s highest motorable roads. For that reason, it’s a top-of-mind international motorcycle riding destination, and from my own experience, it absolutely lives up to the hype. But how do you prepare for such an adventure?

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Tips For Becoming A Successful Photographer

Photography has never been more popular—with greater than ever access to great cameras in both smartphones and mirrorless cameras, among others, so many people have picked up the hobby. But when it comes to turning pro as a photographer, it takes much more than just being able to click the shutter at the right moment. So here are a few tips to help you become a successful photographer:

#1 You Need To Have A Passion For Photography

This may seem like an obvious one, but it is essential. You need to have a genuine passion for photography if you want to be successful. It takes more than just taking pretty pictures. You must be passionate about learning new techniques, experimenting with different styles, and constantly improving your craft. The best photographers I know cannot help but shoot—it is their obsession, whether at work or in their free time.

#2 You Need To Be Willing To Invest In Your Craft

Investment can mean a lot of things when it comes to photography. It can mean investing in better equipment, taking courses to improve your skills, or even just investing your time into learning more about photography. Whatever form investment takes, you need to be willing to do it if you want to stand out amongst a sea of skilled hobbyists all with access to the same tools and information. Invest in the best you can reasonably afford to begin with, and then gradually build from there are you discover what you’re passionate about AND what people hire you for.

#3 You Need To Be Willing To Network

Networking is a huge part of any career, and photography is no different. Get out there and meet other photographers, attend workshops and conferences, and just generally get your name out there. The more people you know in the industry, the better your chances of finding success. But don’t be a phony social butterfly, always looking at how people can serve you. The best way to network is to be genuinely interested and to be generous with your time, knowledge, and effort. Show people you are reliable, hardworking, interesting, and always open to improvement, without expecting anything in return, and they will eventually open doors for you.

#4 You Need To Be Mobile

As a photographer, you need to be willing to travel. Events, photo shoots, and even just vacations will often require you to be away from home. The truth is the best photos often require some effort to reach and you need to be willing to make the journey.

A reliable, practical car is a huge help to carry all your gear and get around. But this is a huge investment that you need to be smart about—if you need to buy a car, check out websites edmunds that can help you pick the right car for you and get the best deal for it.

#5 You Need To Be Creative

Many of us focus on being technically sound, spending hours upon hours watching tutorials on both shooting and post-processing. But there is no shortage of skilled photographers out there, so you need to find a way to stand: Be creative with your shots, editing, and overall photography approach. Consistently practice your eye, try to see what the way you see and photograph things distinct, and lean on that. Pour the passion into it, as we said in #1, and often, creativity will follow.

#6 You Need To Be Professional

This matters just as much as being able to snap great pictures consistently (shameless plug hehe). You need to be professional if you want to be a successful photographer. That means being punctual, polite, and respectful to your clients. It also means having a strong portfolio that you can show off to potential clients. You should be a pleasure to work with while also being able to hold your own amidst client demands and feedback.

Furthermore, teach yourself or ask help when it comes to administrative, accounting, and general business matters. You need to keep the lights on to keep the passion alive.


These are just a few tips to help you become a successful photographer. But remember, becoming a successful photographer takes time, dedication, and hard work. So don't get discouraged if you don't see results right away. Just keep working at it, and eventually, you'll get there.



From Clueless to Content Creator: A Guide For Beginners!

Excited to share that I’ve launched my first-ever online course on Skillshare! Check out the video above for a preview of what you’ll learn in this beginner-friendly course on the fundamentals of creating quality content that attracts and builds an audience.

Sign up for Skillshare Premium FREE for 14 days and check out my course here! https://skl.sh/3uqNOvj

FROM CLUELESS TO CONTENT CREATOR goes over:

THE QUALITIES OF GREAT VIDEOS

- The single crucial element every successful video needs to have

- Identifying the value you want to bring--and why that is crucial

- Why having a point of view is far more important than production value

- What skills to work on and dive deeper into

- Gear and tools - what you ACTUALLY need to invest in

- Case studies in each lesson to illustrate the principles being discussed

PRE-PRODUCTION

- Effective planning and pre-production and the impact it can have on your content

- Practical video script structure for maximum engagement

PRODUCTION AND POST-PRODUCTION

- Tips for shooting high-quality video

- Tips for being great on camera

- Top tips for a better edit

- How to share your video and eventually build an audience

- Success as a creator and why building a huge audience isn’t necessary

Video creators at any level can benefit from this course, whether you’re just starting out or have experience but need refocus on what really matters.

Hope to see you there! Drop me a message or comment anywhere if you need help accessing it or want to give or get helpful feedback!

INSTANTLY IMPROVE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY By Fixing These 10 BEGINNER MISTAKES

Back with another in-depth tutorial this week for beginners! Here's my take on the 10 Beginner Mistakes video, with instant fixes and concepts that will help you get from total newbie to pretty decent.

Feel free to share any additional tips or ask more questions in the comments!

Gear used for tutorial:

  • Sony A7RII

  • Sony Zeiss FE 55 f/1.8

  • Sony A6300

  • Benro Aero 2 Travel Angel tripod

  • Saramonic UwMic9

Music licensed via Epidemic Sound

Subscribe to my channel - http://www.youtube.com/AaronPalabyabChannel

Instagram: http://instagram.com/aaronpalabyab

Facebook: http://facebook.com/a.palabyab

Twitter: http://twitter.com/aaronpalabyab

How to SHOOT THE MILKY WAY - COMPLETE BEGINNER'S GUIDE

Get your first good shot of the Milky Way! This week’s video is a complete beginner's guide on how to shoot the Milky Way, covering gear, planning, shooting, and editing in Adobe Lightroom.

CONTENTS:

  • 0:22 GEAR

  • 3:09 PLANNING

  • 7:36 SHOOTING

  • 13:51 POST-PROCESSING

Shooting the Milky Way with a mobile phone: https://youtu.be/wToXZHpUwUc

LINKS TO GEAR AND APPS (Lazada links for PH viewers are affiliate links, the rest are normal links)

LENSES (2019)

CAMERA (2019, selection only)

TRIPODS

APPS AND WEBSITES

Gear used for tutorial:

  • Sony A6300

  • Sony Zeiss FE 55 f/1.8

  • MeFoto Roadtrip Tripod

  • Saramonic UwMic9

Music licensed via Epidemic Sound

Subscribe to my channel - http://www.youtube.com/AaronPalabyabChannel

Instagram: http://instagram.com/aaronpalabyab

Facebook: http://facebook.com/a.palabyab

Twitter: http://twitter.com/aaronpalabyab

Website: http://www.aaronpalabyab.com

Business Contact / Licensing:

aaron [at] aaronpalabyab.com

EXPOSURE STACKING for Mobile Phone Astrophotography

Using Starry Landscape Stacker to see if I can improve the quality of my mobile landscape astrophotography! Watch to see the result.

I HIGHLY recommend you watch this in 4K on your computer! It's hard to see the details on a mobile phone.

I shot 11 images at f/2.0, 32s, ISO 3200 in RAW using my 2016 Asus Zenfone 3 Deluxe and brought these into Lightroom then Starry Landscape Stacker and back into Lightroom.

Shooting the Milky Way with a Mobile Phone

Manual Stacking Tutorial on Lonely Speck

All Night Astrophotography Adventure in Zambales

Subscribe to my channel - http://www.youtube.com/AaronPalabyabChannel

Instagram: http://instagram.com/aaronpalabyab

Facebook: http://facebook.com/a.palabyab

Twitter: http://twitter.com/aaronpalabyab

Business Contact / Licensing: aaron [at] aaronpalabyab.com

All Night Astrophotography Adventure in Zambales!

An all-night astrophotography adventure in search of great night skies in Zambales to practice shooting with my new star tracker, the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer Mini. Photographer Angelo Mendoza and I explore more areas of San Felipe and Botolan for landscape photography, starry landscapes, and time-lapse.

Mobile astrophotography stacking tutorial

Our previous photography road trip to Zambales

Follow Angelo Mendoza on Instagram

Don't forget to subscribe to see the final time-lapse film!

Gear used:

Vlog shot on iPhone X

Edited on FCP X

Music licensed via Epidemic Sound

Subscribe to my channel - http://www.youtube.com/AaronPalabyabChannel

Instagram: http://instagram.com/aaronpalabyab

Facebook: http://facebook.com/a.palabyab

Twitter: http://twitter.com/aaronpalabyab

Business Contact / Licensing: aaron [at] aaronpalabyab.com

Shooting Beautiful Landscapes on my iPhone X

This week I’ve made two YouTube videos on my experience with the iPhone X as a photography tool!

The first video talks about how, ever since I upgraded from an iPhone 6 to an iPhone X, I’ve been leaving my Sony A7RII at home more, for reasons including improved image processing, the telephoto lens, 4K video at 24p and 60p, portrait mode, and RAW shooting and editing. If you’re into the more technical side of things and been wondering if you should upgrade from a previous generation iPhone, this is the episode for you!

The second video talks about how my most popular landscape photo on social media this year was shot on an iPhone X and what that unexpected occurrence taught me. In this video I address the issue of the gap that exists between how we regard our work and how the audience receives it by digging into the question: If an iPhone photo that took me seconds to capture and edit is more popular than photos that took so much more effort to shoot and process, does that mean that the effort I put into the latter actually doesn’t matter?

Hope you enjoy and learn something from this week’s twin episodes! The truth is that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed shooting with the iPhone X as compared to my iPhone 6 and have gotten surprisingly good results from it. Check out my current gallery of iPhone X photos below (click on each image to see larger):

A morning in Sagada. iPhone X JPG, telephoto lens.

Elevated view of Bontoc. iPhone X JPG, telephoto lens, unedited.

Flying into Siargao. iPhone X RAW DNG shot and edited Lightroom CC mobile.

iPhone X RAW DNG shot and edited Lightroom CC mobile.

Spectacular morning landing in Rome. iPhone X RAW DNG shot and edited Lightroom CC mobile.

Tappiya Falls, Batad. iPhone X live photo converted to long exposure.

Dead tree on Sabang Beach, Baler. iPhone X live photo converted to long exposure.