The Best Photography Blog Posts of 2012
It’s become a tradition on our blog to round up the year’s best photography blog posts from across the industry. That may seem daunting only because there’s no shortage of content on the web. But if you can shift through all the noise, you’ll find that there are a handful of notable voices that regularly update us, and at times, uplift us.
So in tribute of everything that was documented, expressed, and reviewed in 2012, here’s the run down of our favorite blog posts from 2012. They’re educational, inspirational, and just plain useful.
Special thanks to the photo blogging community for sharing your tips, recommendations, inspiration, and of course – great photography.
Photography Business Advice & Guidance
Excuses, Excuses (series) – Carolyn E. Wright, Photo Attorney
This Photograph Is Not Free – John Mueller, PetaPixel
Stolen Logo? What Would You Do? – Ilise Benun, Marketing Mentor
10 Things I Wish I Knew 10 Years Ago About Being a Professional Wedding Photographer – Stephanie Zettl, Tiffinbox
Amy V. Cooper (Buyer Interview) – Jasmine DeFoore, I Love Texas Photo
17 Things Photographers Should Not Do – Rosh Sillars, Photographer
10 Ways To Improve as a Photographer – Jim Goldstein, Photographer
4 Ways to Say “No” With Tact – Ilise Benun, Marketing Mentor
Broken Promises and Stock Photography – Paul Melcher, Black Star Rising
Biz Down or Stagnant? 10 Things To Do Now! – Blake Discher, groozi.com
Small Business Smarts For Photographers – Jared Bauman, Tiffinbox
Cooperation Replaces a Lone Wolf Approach to Photography – James Estrin, Lens Blog
Why Wedding Photographers’ Prices are “Wack” – Nikki Wagner, PetaPixel
Marketing Your Photography
10 Tips to Help Photographers Break Into Advertising – Jennifer Kilberg, FluidVision, via Agency Access’ The Lab
7 Myths About Portfolio Reviews Debunked – Lauren Margolis, The PhotoShelter Blog
8 Must-Haves for Your Next Professional Contract – Heather Elder, via Agency Access’ The Lab
Expert Advice: Writing a Photographer Bio – Maria Luci, Wonderful Machine
Basic Social Media Marketing Plan: Photography – Rosh Sillars, Photographer
What Not To Do With Your Direct Mail – Heather Elder, via Agency Access’ The Lab
Will an Art Buyer Really Read Your Blog? – Louisa Curtis, Chatterbox Enterprises, via Agency Access’ The Lab
Don’t Be Boiled Alive: 4 Keys to Staying Relevant – Blake Discher, groozi.com
Are Photography Contests Worthwhile or Worthless? – Lauren Margolis, The PhotoShelter Blog
Photo Technique & Workflow Tips
Guest Blog Featuring Brian Smith on Secrets of Great Portrait Photography – Scott Kelby, Photoshop Insider
Want to Know How Astronauts Photograph in Space? – Lauren Margolis, The PhotoShelter Blog
Which Light Modifier Do I Choose? – Travis Lawton, The Phoblographer
On Photographing People (series) – Sara Lando, via Strobist
Putting the Post in Post-Processing – Jim Goldstein, Photographer
How To Directly Tether Your Camera To An iPad By Lee Morris – Lee Morris, Fstoppers
VSCO Film 02 Review – John Keatley, Photographer
Editing Your Portfolio – Zack Arias, Photographer
Friday Night Lights – David Hobby, Strobist
What Lens for Portraits? – Brian Smith, Photographer
Six Standout Night Photography Tips to Help You Master the Craft – Lauren Margolis, The PhotoShelter Blog
Gear Reviews & Recommendations
Battle of the Street Photography Focal Lengths: 24mm 35mm 50mm or 85mm – Chris Gampat, The Phoblographer
The 40+ Items Every Photography Assistant Needs Now – Lauren Margolis, The PhotoShelter Blog
How to Increase the Performance of Your Canon Kit Lens – Nicolaj Ma, PetaPixel
Nikon D600 Review – Zoltan Arva-Toth, Photography Blog
Canon PowerShot SX50 HS Review – Mark Goldstein, Photography Blog
Overpriced Items That I Can’t Live Without – Syv Ritch, foto-biz.com
Nikon D4 Project – Motion & Stills – Corey Rich, Photographer
Inspiration
Rant: I Love Photography – Allen Murabayashi, The PhotoShelter Blog
Failure as Friend – Dan Milnor, Photographer
Interview with Nick Ut, the Photojournalist Who Shot the Iconic “Napalm Girl” Photo – Michael Zhang, Peta Pixel
Mike Kane Zine Interview – Jasmine DeFoore, Photo Consultant
What I Learned From Grandma – Lindsay Adler, Photographer
How To Find The Courage To Be Creative – Scott Bourne, Photofocus
How To Improve Your Photography Literally Overnight – Really – Scott Bourne, Photofocus
Famous Photogs Pose With Their Most Iconic Images – Jakob Schiller, Wired
Learning How To Cry, To Be A Girl – And To Be A CEO – Miki Johnson, via Women 2.0
Life Without Her – Kevin German, LUCEO
Visions of Blind Photographer – Julie Turkewitz, Lens Blog
David Burnett Talks Film and Photojournalism – Tim Barribeau, Pop Photo
In My Opinion…
Op-Ed: Why I Sold Everything for the Olympus OM-D E-M5 – Andy Hendriksen, The Phoblographer
Hey Photographers! Pinterest is Not for You – Allen Murabayashi, The PhotoShelter Blog
“Morning After” Photography: The Real Story – Michelle Jonne, via The Photo Brigade
Size That Counts: Plus Size Models – Lindsay Adler, Photographer
Should Retouchers Get Equal Credit? – Jeremy Cowart, Photography
I Love My New Camera – Brad Mangin, via The Photo Brigade
Why Instagram is Terrible for Photographers, and Why You Should Use It – Allen Murabayashi, The PhotoShelter Blog
The Difference Between a Photographer and an Artist – Mike Johnston, The Online Photographer
Has The Commerce vs. Craft Conundrum Killed Your Passion? – Ron Dawson, Tiffinbox
When Interest Creates a Conflict – James Estrin, Lens Blog
Wedding Photographers Deserve Our Respect – Zack Arias, Photographer
Notable Photography Projects
Lebron, Wade, and I – Chip Litherland, Photographer
Teen Girl Shoots Beautiful and Creative Portraits of Her Pet Dogs – Michael Zhang, PetaPixel
Timo Klos’s Bus Stops To Nowhere – James Pomerantz, The New Yorker
Matthew Mahon Feature – Jay DeFoore, I Love Texas Photo
Danny DeVito in 8×10 – Maria Luci, Wonderful Machine
Traveling Aboard Air Force One – Luke Sharrett, via The Photo Brigade
The Story Behind the Internet’s Most Popular Photo – Brent Rose, Gizmodo
The iPhone Fashion Shoot By Lee Morris – Less Morris, Fstoppers
Sex Trafficking in The Philippines – John Keatley, Photographer
Memento Mori – Yun-Fei Tou, FotoVisura
Dear Photograph by Nancy – Dear Photograph
The Effects of Climate Change on the Southern Coast of Thailand – Gavin Gough, Photographer
99 Faces of Occupy Wall Street – August Bradley, Photography Served
Such a huge honor to have 3 posts I published on Tiffinbox.org appear here. Thank you for constantly pushing the envelope, Photoshelter. I love ya!
thank you photoshelter for including a few of my posts from 2012!
Great posts. Maybe we will get to be next year. 🙂
Thank you PhotoShelter for including my post and thank you for all the wonderful educational materials you produce for our community.
Outstanding! According to the photoshelter blog, the photoshelter blog produced more than 10% of the best blog posts of 2012. Congratulations guys—you won! (at least according to yourself).
We don’t really like to think of it as a contest John. But when you put it that way, we sure did.
I noticed that most of the sites I’ve reviewed so far from your best of list are using templates that have white backgrounds for their blog posts. Would you say this is preferred over black?
Thanks for all the great info Alan and crew Im always looking for excellent in the industry,
You come up with the good info more often than not. See you next year Im already at the beach. 😉
Merry Christmas
Great photos, Thanks for this great post. It helped me a lot.
The last photo on this page is very nice. I love this styl (old vs new, after more years…).
Thanks for this wonderful blog post. It contains so much interesting and helpful information about photography and for photographers!!!
Great article thanks can’t wait to read all of these!
This list had me busy for hours! Great reads all round.
Very good info. Lucky me I ran across your blog by chance (stumbleupon). I’ve book marked it for later.
What an epic resource of photography related posts! I’m going to keep busy checking all of these out 🙂
Great post with all the great blog posts. Especially love that star photo from night photo tips!
Great information! Love all of the resources provided, especially the inspiration section.
Great photos.Great article also.
You created a very good list here. I checked some of the links you provided and I have to agree with you. I’ll try to read the others later.
nice photos.
I hope that you will be able to update this list frequently and to add other blogs
danke für die tolle übersicht.
lg peter
Wow, such a well-researched and in-depth list. This is valuable list for any one interested in photography. Thanks for sharing this. Gonna bookmark this.
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