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!

6 Great Tips For New Budding Photographers!

As a person working professionally with cameras, I’m asked often by beginners how to get into photography. It may seem intimidating at first when you don’t have any experience under your belt and you compare yourself to your idols on Instagram, but not to worry—the main thing you need is time and practice! Here are 6 top tips for any new budding photographer looking to get to the next level in their photography!

You don’t need to spend a lot!

A secondhand DSLR, even one that’s 5-10 years old, is a perfect camera to start with. Photo: Dominique Garcia

Being a photographer, you will need a camera, but you don’t need to buy the latest and the greatest. A cheap DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) or mirrorless camera is a small and easy to handle camera and works best for amateur photographers. These large sensor cameras, from the cheapest to the most expensive, mostly take pictures of very similar quality, and by paying much more you are paying for more features geared for expert/professional use, not necessarily image quality. In other words: start with a good APS-C sensor camera and shoot away! Start here and work your way up as you learn more about photography.

Composition hack: Use the rule of thirds.

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This is one of the first things you’ll learn in photography class. This is basically where you divide your shot up with two vertical lines and two horizontal lines, creating a grid of nine evenly sized boxes. You can use this “grid” to help take your shot by dividing everything between those boxes. It’s an easy shortcut to creating compelling compositions, and you can play with the rules (and break them!) as your confidence increases and you develop your eye.

Speaking of which, you may want to have your eyes tested when entering the world of photography. While your camera is the object creating the shot, it helps if you can see well to begin with to capture the shot you were after.

Always keep your camera on you.

Gotta have that camera even on the beach! Photo: Angelo Mendoza

We’ve all had those moments where we wish that we had our camera to take a picture of something weird and wonderful that you’ve stumbled upon. Keeping your camera on you all of the time solves that problem. You’ll find yourself taking pictures of random things, and that’s great! Over time, as you shoot and review your images over and over, you’ll begin to notice what catches your eye, how the light in real life becomes represented on camera, how you could have shot a subject better, and more.

Don’t worry about finding the perfect shot.

Some shots turn out amazing right away, while others need quite a bit of processing to come out.

The truth is, finding that pinnacle moment is unlikely, especially when you’re just starting. And the best photographers in the world have thousands of images they’ve shot and not ever shown to anyone else in order to get the tiny handful of perfect shots. So don’t be afraid to take pictures of objects that seem a little boring to begin with! Take a fresh look at your everyday surroundings. You may find a particular shot with incredible light balance, or you may notice something pretty like a flower or a dragonfly, which will turn into an incredible picture. Don’t judge until you’ve started working on the photos, and even a photo that seems mundane on its can take on a whole new meaning when shot as part of a series that tells a bigger story.

Experiment

You can even experiment with layouts that go beyond straight photography.

On that note, remember not to overthink or prematurely judge your images! You’ve bought a camera, so experiment with it! Try different settings and learn what each of them does so that in the future, when you do find that perfect shot, you’ll know exactly what to do. And don’t limit yourself to one way of shooting or even one way of editing images. Your priority now is to get good and find out what you love shooting and different ways to express yourself. With so many people shooting now, it’s even more important to let loose and be creative to develop your own photographic voice. In the age of digital photography, you lose nothing by shooting more and trying out everything that looks interesting!

Take photos often

Finally, take photos at every chance you get! Remember: Practice makes perfect, and even for experts, quantity is your way to build quality. But not only does it improve your skills with a camera, but it also documents your life, leaving you with many memories to return to. For me, to tell the truth, great photos are almost always the result of memorable experiences and dedicated effort, so in that way, a great photo for is both an artwork and a beautiful memento of a particular moment.

Check out how travel photography Angelo Mendoza and I approach photo trips in our cinematic photo travel vlogs!

Hope this list helps you get further on your journey through photography! And feel free to share your thoughts and other tips in the comments!

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)

• Samyang 24mm f/1.4 (Canon EF) https://c.lazada.com.ph/t/c.bfSR

• Samyang 14mm f/2.8 (Canon EF) https://c.lazada.com.ph/t/c.bXmc

• Sigma 14mm f/1.8 (Canon EF) https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1321306-REG/sigma_14mm_f_1_8_dg_hsm.html

• Laowa 15mm f/2.0 https://www.venuslens.net/product/laowa-15mm-f2/

• Sony 24mm f/1.4 G Master (Sony FE) https://cameras.ph/product/sony-fe-24mm-f-1-4-gm-lens/

• Samyang 16mm f/2.0 (Canon EF-S) https://c.lazada.com.ph/t/c.b07T

• Fuji XF 16mm f/1.4 (Fuji X) https://c.lazada.com.ph/t/c.b07h

• Sigma 16mm f/1.4 (Sony E) https://c.lazada.com.ph/t/c.0Atg

CAMERA (2019, selection only)

• Entry-level DSLR: Canon EOS 200D Kit with 18-55mm lens https://c.lazada.com.ph/t/c.b077

• Entry-level Mirrorless: Fuji X-T100 kit https://c.lazada.com.ph/t/c.b07i

• Mid-level Mirrorless: Fuji X-T30 (body only) https://c.lazada.com.ph/t/c.0AtT

• Advanced Mirrorless: Fuji X-T3 (body only) https://www.henryscameraphoto.com/FUJIFILM-X-T3-BODY-BLACK

• Full-frame Mirrorless: Sony A7SII https://www.henryscameraphoto.com/Sony-Alpha-A7SII-BODY

TRIPODS

• Benro FGP18A Go Plus Tripod https://c.lazada.com.ph/t/c.bfSk

• Zomei M8 Go Travel Tripod https://c.lazada.com.ph/t/c.b07R

APPS AND WEBSITES

• Light Pollution Map https://www.lightpollutionmap.info

• Dark Site Finder https://darksitefinder.com/map

• Dark Sky app https://darksky.net/app

• PhotoPIlls app https://www.photopills.com/

• Sky Guide (iOS) https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sky-guide/id576588894

• Star Walk 2 Free (Android) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vitotechnology.StarWalk2Free&hl=en

• Moon Calendar https://www.moongiant.com/

• Accuweather https://www.accuweather.com

• Milky Way Exposure Calculator https://www.lonelyspeck.com/milky-way-exposure-calculator

• Adobe Lightroom Classic https://www.adobe.com/lightroom

• Lonely Speck SharpStar 2 Precision Focusing Tool https://www.lonelyspeck.com/sharpstar/

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

How to Elevate Your Photography (Without Buying Any Gear) →

If you want to learn how to become a better photographer without spending a fortune on gear, check out my guest post over at Submittable.com! It’s got highly actionable tips to help empower you to up your photography game and inspire you to use your creativity and skills to level up significantly. Thanks for reading!

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 About Metal Prints! What, Why, and How to Prepare Your Images

Metal prints are one of my favorite ways to display my photos! While traditional paper prints will always be my go-to for maximum consistency and archival quality, metal prints provide me with a modern and striking way to display my work at large sizes. My best and largest metal prints are currently on exhibit at WeCube Inc. and I invite everyone to come check them out, and attend my artist night on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017 at 7:30 pm.

In this video tutorial, I explain:

• What metal prints are and how they are made
• Reasons to consider printing on metal versus doing traditional framed paper prints
• and how I prepare my images to get the best results for my metal prints.

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My two newest 20x30 inch metal prints

For those who want to try metal prints but may be scared of the relatively higher cost, great news:  Photobook Worldwide has given me a discount code for 60% off on metal prints valid until March 31, 2017! Just create your metal prints at www.photobookworldwide.com, find your local website (I use www.photobookphilippines.com) and input AARONPALABYAB under voucher code.

And don't forget to share your metal prints with me via e-mail or one of my social media channels!

Milky Way Post-Processing Demo: "Under Guiding Lights" in Adobe Lightroom CC

Back with another tutorial/demo video! In this video I take you through the relatively simple process I used to edit this photo entitled "Under Guiding Lights."

For more tutorials, click here!