
One Light Studio Portraits for Natural Light Photographers | Westcott FJ200
Does the idea of using flash intimidate you? In this video Alissa Cincotta shows you two easy ways to elevate your studio portraits with just one light: the Westcott FJ200.

The Five Most Useful Blending Modes in Photoshop
In the realm of digital photo editing, there are many powerful tools and techniques that can be utilized to create awesome works of art. As these editors have developed over time, their mechanisms and interactions have evolved to offer more complex options to the artist.

Show It To Sell It: How to Shoot to Sell Large Wall Prints
When a client books me for a senior portrait session, I automatically assume they are going to purchase wall prints, among other printed products that I offer. How do I know that? Because I make the end result of their session part of every conversation from the first inquiry.

A Checklist of Must-Haves on Your Website
As a photographer, you know that it’s important to have a website. It helps you reach a wider audience, gets more people interested in the services you offer, and is a great place to show off your portfolio.
March 2021
The Senior Edition

Must-Have Gear for Senior Photography
If you have seen me speak on business topics, you have heard me say, “Try it. Test it. Use it or leave it behind.” The same thing holds true with gear. My first SLR was a Canon AE1 Program that my wife and I purchased over 40 years ago.

Five Tips To Take Your Studio Lighting To The Next Level
As photographers, it’s easy to get sucked into the mindset that it takes tons of fancy equipment to create stunning studio images. The truth is, killer images can be created on the smallest of budgets. It’s all about how you use your gear and understanding how to refine the light you create.

Senior Photography in a Covid World
Covid-19 changed the world and there is no going back. The definition of “normal” is so far gone, I doubt it will ever return. So, what does that mean for us as photographers? Should we pack up shop? Quit? Work for free? Come on now.

March 2021 Inspirations: Best Senior Images
Inspiration can come when you least expect it. As photographers, we are visual artists. We express ourselves through our camera

Raw Workflow for Videographers
As far back as I can remember in my video production career, I had been jealous of the dynamic range and pure flexibility that photographers had working with RAW digital image files. They could seemingly point and shoot without regard to in-camera exposure and simply fix it in post as long as focus was correct.

How to Use Natural Light for Modern Senior Portraits
Senior portraits are what really kicked off my photography career and made me fall in love with photography. I’ve been in business for four years now and have been using only natural light with all my senior portrait shoots since the beginning!

Customize Your Senior Portrait Sessions and Make More Money
If there is one thing I have learned from photographing Senior Portrait Sessions it’s that high school classes are now just a tiny portion of their lives. Participating in diverse activities from art classes to ballet, to sports, to speech competitions, to theatrical productions, these 16- to 18-year-olds pack their schedules to the maximum.

Posing Tips & Tricks for Seniors
In today’s high-tech, visual age, teens have their finger on the pulse of what’s cool and what’s not. They consume hours of visual content each day, even more so now that they attend school from their bedrooms and get shamed for spending time with friends due to the pandemic.
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Creating Dramatic Athlete Portraits
It’s rare that someone figures out what they are going to do for a living in middle school, but I did. Ever since I used to design Nike shoes in history class instead of paying attention to my teacher, I loved two things: art and sports.

3 Steps to Sharpen Images from Lightroom to Photoshop
Even when you nailed the shot, you still needoptimal sharpness and editing has to kick in. In this article, I am going to walk you through a Lightroom to Photoshop workflow to keep things organized while applying the best tools for the job.

5 Key Elements of Portrait Post-Production Workflow
I’m often asked how I achieve my signature style of editing, but also how I achieve it consistently, especially since I edit every image by hand. The fundamental ingredient to my Portrait Post-Production is a consistent workflow.

Shooting for a Signature Shot
Creating great images is so much more than just pointing your camera at a pretty scene and placing your subject in front of it. Any experienced photographer knows this in their bones. The danger for new photographers is to underestimate the details that go into creating a truly Signature Shot for your clients.
What is behind the shutter?
Behind the Shutter is a free online photography training and educational resource created to help both professional and amateur photographers run successful photography businesses – covering lighting, posing, social media, marketing, post-production, pricing, sales and more.
Sal Cincotta created Behind the Shutter to give back to the world of photography. As an up and coming photographer, Sal was struggling to find answers to basic questions. Most of the magazines out there were filled with fluff. Sal needed and wanted to create something that would challenge photographers, something that would educate them.
Sal, an active wedding and portrait photographer in the St Louis metro area, wanted to bring a sense of real world understanding to the magazine and photography education.
Our mission is to create and elevate the photography community by providing relevant and timely education. At Behind the Shutter, we believe that an educated photography community will raise the bar for all photographers around the world.
Shutter Magazine
Photography training and education for the modern photographer
In today’s competitive landscape, quality online photography training and education is priceless to your growth. Unfortunately, most publications contain a ton of fluff. No real meat to their content. Not at Shutter Magazine. We are committed to the photography community and improving professional photography by providing current, insightful, and in-depth educational content.
Training topics include photography lighting techniques, photography off-camera flash tips, photography posing guides, photography business concepts and marketing strategies, Facebook for photographers, boudoir and glamour photography training, high-school senior photography concepts, IPS (In-Person Sales) strategies, family photography, lightroom tutorials, photoshop how-tos, and much, much more.