Kylie Jenner is basking in the sun in a set of new outdoorsy captures.
The Kardashians reality show star took to Instagram to showcase a few dreamy pics, where she donned a simple semi-sheer white and blue patterned babydoll dress with shirred detailing, dainty bows, and cap sleeves.
In the six-photo gallery upload, the 25-year-old can be seen relishing in nature and taking it all in as she threw her head back, face toward the sun, trees and lush greenery surrounding her.
Jenner combed her hands through her hair in one of the images, closing her eyes for most of the shots. The first four looked to be taken during the daytime while the sun was shining bright, while in the last two snaps, the sun had set as she frolicked into the night toward a home-like structure and several lit-up plants.
‘what a day,’ she captioned the post.
See the dreamy captures right here!
In the comments, fans and followers couldn’t get enough of the peaceful-looking pictures.
“Kylie in her soft girl era ,” one wrote, as another followed up with, “A good thing, a girl who laughs and dreams.”
“Fairy girl energy ,” another note read.
Someone else complimented, “The fits we want to see>>>,” as an additional user questioned if the mom-of-two—who shares daughter Stormi and son Aire with rapper Travis Scott—had “changed her style.”
>>> Sign up for Parade’s Trending News newsletter and we’ll keep you in the know on the viral pop culture moments and celebrity news everyone is talking about <<<
Several others, instead, wondered who had snapped the pics, with endless Instagrammers flowing in to mention Timothée Chalamet, the rumored new beau of the Kylie Cosmetics owner.
Per Parade‘s previous report, the two were first romantically linked in January, with confirmation of the dating allegations publicly released last month, though the budding fling was said to be far from “serious.”
“They are keeping things casual at this point,” a source revealed to ET at the time. “It’s not serious, but Kylie is enjoying hanging out with Timothée and seeing where it goes.”
Jun. 13—SUMMIT — Space fans of all ages received a lesson in Astronomy and Astrophotography Tuesday afternoon at the Boyd County Midland Branch Public Library.
The lesson, headed by Ashland city commissioner Josh Blanton, included an interactive talk about galaxies, black holes, planetary orbits, telescopes and how to photograph sky and space phenomenon.
The visit was part of a wide variety of summer programs offered for teens and “tweens” sponsored by the library.
During the exhibit, titled “Explore the Universe with Josh,” Blanton said in the midst of the pandemic, he had the extra time to nurture his childhood infatuation with telescopes — leading to his new hobby of astrophotography.
Blanton said recent technology developments is revolutionizing astronomy, making far away things clearer and easier to observe for the average person with just their cell phones.
With the use of apps, one can map the sky above them to notify which planets are in transit and viewable sometimes with the naked eye.
Discussing light movement, gravitational pull and planetary tilts and rotations, Blanton displayed a variety of self-shot photos — or data —that depicted comets, the Andromeda Galaxy and Aurora borealis (northern lights).
Blanton said the Andromeda Galaxy is our solar system’s neighbor, set to eventually merge with the Milky Way Galaxy in about 4.5 million years.
Taking advantage of the darkest areas in the region, Blanton is able to utilize his camera’s long exposure to pull in as much light as possible in order to gain clear data of each phenomena — including a close-up shot of the Andromeda Galaxy from over 2.5 million lightyears away.
Blanton told the group telescopes behave as a time machine, as it takes so long for light to travel the insane distances to reach what the camera lens can pick up.
For those in the crowd eager for a career in space, Blanton mentioned a couple notables that got their start in Ashland.
Susie Martinez, now an engineer for Blue Origin, started her educational journey at Ashland Community and Technical College before going on to further her education, eventually earning an internship with NASA.
Les Johnson, also a native of Ashland, is a physicist for NASA’s space propulsion program, dedicating his time and career to developing a way for humans to travel lightyears away.
Johnson is also a notable sci-fi author, recently vising Ashland for a talk at Highlands Museum and Discovery Center and book signings downtown.
At the end of the discussion, Blanton guided both children and adults outside in an attempt to view the moon with the instruction to check out the Ashland Area Astronomy and Astrophotography Facebook page.
For a full calendar of happenings at the Boyd County Public Library this month, visit www.thebookplace.org.
Your personal brand is the image you intentionally convey to people to build credibility. It helps your ideal clientele understand who you are, the values you stand for, and what makes you different. If you are wondering how to put it together, especially as a creative, here’s how you can brand yourself as a photographer.
Self-Evaluation
Without creativity, your equipment is worth nothing. What matters is your subject and how you choose to capture it. Identifying your strengths in photography is a journey of self-discovery and introspection that takes a lot of practice. Some pointers could be looking back on what inspired you to join photography and how your inspiration could have changed over time. You should also identify the end goal for your photography and the photographers you admire. You should be very honest and specific about what you enjoy shooting and in which particular setting you enjoy your work the most.
Identify Your Photography Style
There are several ways to do this art, from capturing wildlife, fashion, and food, to wedding photography. Identify the genre that suits you best based on your strengths and passion. Each category has its unique aesthetic styles that appeal to photographers differently. Once you’ve settled on your style, perfect every aspect that makes it great. Hence, this means working on angles, colors, light, lenses, and editing that will ultimately make your work outstanding.
Study Your Competition
Unless you’re on Mars, you’re not in this business alone, so study what other photographers are doing. This should include direct and indirect competition. Direct competition means anyone in your niche, while indirect competition could mean everyone else in the industry. If you want to get to know your colleagues better, you can look them up on Leadar and double up with social media. You can then study what they are doing on their pages; if they have a website, even better.
With social media, you can access their portfolios and study their photography style to see what stands out. You can also look at other aspects of their brand, including the photographer’s personality, social media presence, and how they engage their audience to learn what you can do differently.
Get a Professional Logo
A captivating logo is crucial for any business, including photography. It gives a good first impression and protects your work from copyright infringement when used as a watermark. A good logo is simple but draws the eye. It uses design elements, including color, font, and shape, to represent your brand uniquely. However, don’t beat yourself over it; you can hire a professional designer to design your logo. You can find low-cost and free logo-designing websites online if you’re working on a budget.
Build a Good Website
A website is crucial for your brand as it makes you look more professional and trustworthy. It also provides a place to showcase your portfolio and any information your clients need. Thanks to innovative tech, there are several platforms you can use to create your website without needing a developer. WordPress and Wix are among the top DIY website builders that require little to no coding experience.
Nevertheless, ensure the website is personalized with your colors and style. To build website traffic, you should have a section with educational content, including blog posts, videos, and guides. This also makes you a thought leader in your craft and could help grow your following.
Know Your Customer
If you are clear on your skill and the value you bring to your clients, the next step is identifying who would benefit from these services. You can start by learning from your competition and the clients they serve. This gives you an idea of the market needs so you can adjust your branding strategies accordingly. It would also help to analyze the demographics of the people interacting with your social media posts to see who likes your work, including their age, location, and gender.
Make Social Media Your Asset
Social media has proven to be a key tool for building a modern brand. It acts as an active portfolio of your work and can generate massive traffic to your website. You can use Instagram and Facebook to connect with your prospects and give more exposure to your work. Instagram is a favorite for photographers because pics do the talking, so a great photo can easily go viral. Going viral for all the right reasons can accelerate your brand growth.
Create Content That Captivates
Your brand’s online success will depend on the emotions you evoke from your target audience. Your content should be engaging such that the audience gets an opportunity to interact with you. Remember that your niche is also part of your brand. You can give valuable tips about photography using your experience to help aspiring photographers. For example, if you’re a wedding photographer, give tips on how to make the wedding day successful. You must balance keeping your content engaging, interesting, and educational while maintaining a natural flow.
Collaborate with Photographers in Your Niche
You can reach out to fellow noticeable photographers to strengthen your brand. Having a fresh perspective on your work is key to growing your brand. You can join online communities to share your work and exchange critiques. You can also collaborate by sharing equipment and working on joint projects with photographers you look up to. Offering guidance to inexperienced photographers in your niche also helps to grow your brand. You can feature guest photographers on your website and social media platforms and have them do the same to grow your target market.
Be Consistent
Brand consistency involves exposing your target market to your core values and message repeatedly over a long time. These efforts solidify your brand’s recognition and create customer trust. This strategy involves consistency in the quality of your work, social media marketing, and visual design.
To Sum Up
Building your photography brand is a journey that requires self-evaluation, building your website and social media following, and collaborating with fellow photographers in your niche. You need to create content that resonates with your brand and audience. Above all, you must be consistent to build your clients’ trust.
Wander the world with wide-eyed wonder from the ease of your armchair, as Our Planet II, an inspiring new Netflix four-episode docuseries (premieres June 14), unveils answers to mysteries about why and how billions of animals relentlessly migrate — phenomenal travel adventures that have criss-crossed our globe for millennia. Silverback Films and its Emmy Award-winning team behind Planet Earth and Our Planet dazzle once again with gorgeous swoop-and-soar, dive-and-discover, cutting-edge cinematography, which showcases intimate storylines that are pulse-racing, perilous, enlightening, tender and joyful. “Only now are we beginning to understand that all life on Earth depends on the freedomto move,” declares narrator Sir David Attenborough, British author, biologist, broadcaster and natural historian, whose famously gold-standard soothing voice resonates. “Experience the extraordinary journeys that shape our world,” he invites. “For many animals, the instinct to move is overwhelming, despite the dangers. But for every trip that ends in tragedy, countless millions reach their destination.” This is an opportunity to peek at far-flung getaways and creatures that you might otherwise never see. Orchestrating this ambitious project, the program’s crew touched down in 21 countries on seven continents, tallying up 934 filming days, 292 travel days and 85 quarantine days. More than 200 people were involved in creating the show, including 50 camera operators. Special kudos to music composers Jasha Klebe and Thomas Farnon, who have scored stellar high notes for this production; the official soundtrack (released June 14) is available to stream/download on Amazon and other major digital music services. Series Producer Huw Cordey and Executive Producer Keith Scholey share their personal behind-the-scenes insights below.
Four thematic narratives — World on the Move, Following the Sun, The Next Generation and Freedom to Roam — weave this extravaganza together. Each episode covers three months of Earth’s orbit, celebrating key animal movements. At every hour of every day, astonishing masses of animals — gigantic and minuscule; in the air, on the ground, throughout the seas — are guided by instinct, sun position and a compass-like mental-mapping agility that is intrinsic to their essence, replicating the same often arduous routes that their ancestors followed eons ago, seeking havens to eat, drink, breed, give birth and secure safety. Each episode culminates with a cliffhanger.
Massive migrations stretch across the African savanna.
Elegant drone shots record landscapes’ grandeur, as well as ride the skies alongside flocks of birds, so proximate that you can stare at their eyes and almost sense the air currents uplifting their wings. Newly advanced low-light camera technology now makes possible documentation of night activities and the infiltration of darkest rainforest hideaways. Underwater camera submergence spotlights splashy revelations.
Gray whales are formidable long-distance travelers.
For travel lovers, destinations abound. Among the favorites: lions and buffalo in Botswana; humpback whales in the Bering Sea; Laysan albatross and tiger sharks in the Northern Hawaiian Islands; lions, zebras and wildebeests in Tanzania’s Serengeti; rarely seen Tawaki penguins in Fiordland, New Zealand; elusive pumas in Patagonia; nesting turtles on Mexico’s Escobilla Beach; elephant seals in the Falkland Islands; Gentoo penguins in Antarctica; gray whales off the coasts of California and Mexico; orcas (killer whales) hunting in California’s Monterey Bay and, in the Himalayas, Demoiselle cranes that forge the most strenuous migration of any bird species, navigating at heights of almost five miles above sea level over the stupendous Asian mountain range and continuing across the desolate Gobi Desert in Mongolia before wintering in Khichan, India, where villagers kindly welcome them.
The migration of Demoiselle cranes is a stunning feat.
Huw Cordey, Series Producer: “The integrity of every habitat is dependent on the animals moving in and out of it, particularly those in the more Northern and Southern parts of our planet. But, even in jungles along the Equator, you have animals moving very large distances. Movement is absolutely fundamental to every single habitat on Earth.”
Keith Scholey, Executive Producer: “It’s also about the life cycles of animals, and how crazy they sometimes are. The journey of the sockeye salmon is familiar, but I think a lot of people don’t realize that they are actually programmed to breed and die. They spend their life as an ocean fish until that one journey up the river.”
Cameras were so close to this bear eating sockeye salmon that “crunching” sounds can be heard.
Scholey: “The scientists in the field, the ones who live in these remote places, are the people who know those stories. We are totally dependent upon their knowledge and their skills. Once we actually get on location, our experienced producers, directors and cinematographers can jump in and choose which of those stories to follow.”
Cordey: “That’s why I don’t believe in storyboards for wildlife films. It’s not that we don’t think very carefully about the sequences that we’re going to film, but if you go into a shoot with a storyboard, you will miss important things. Animals don’t read scripts. They do unexpected things and you have to be prepared. I try to get my teams to tear up the shot list at the airport. But we can’t make films without the scientists, or at least the scientific information that they provide.”
Scholey: “When that perfect combination of scientists and filmmakers come together, it’s really powerful. Sometimes the scientists even look at our footage and say, ‘Wow, I never knew that. That’s really helpful.’”
Cordey: “Obviously this is an entertainment series, and we do need to get the big iconic animals in there. But while the audience might come to it for polar bears and lions, I always think the things they remember are the smaller stories. Locusts, for example. Christmas Island crablets. When it comes to migrating animals, some of the best stories are birds, because of the distances they travel. We tried to use a balanced approach, and keep in mind that some shoots won’t work out the way we hoped they would. Although I have to say that for a project that was three years in the making, covering many different species across every single continent, there was very little that didn’t work out – which is, in my experience, quite unusual. I think we got a little lucky with some of the stories, but our research was also very good.”
Pumas, also known as mountain lions, in Patagonia.
Cordey: “Nighttime and drone technology have vastly improved in the last five years. Macro technology, too – there are some very, very innovative macro lenses out there. Our bee shoot is a good example of a very special grip. It was designed by the cameraman that shot the bee story, and the whole shoot was probably a year in the planning. We were working with some very experienced beekeepers in Germany, as well as a photographer who has done an amazing book on bees and a scientist who had been studying bees for years. That was a classic example of where we’re dipping into years of experience to try to film the very best sequence we possibly can.”
Cordey: “In the case of the Laysan albatross, we had the rare opportunity to spend almost the entire shoot following the trials and tribulations of a single chick. There it was — this big, chunky chick — and we could just stick with it for six weeks. The shoot itself was very interesting: It took six days to sail there from Hawaii, and I believe we are the first natural history series to film the maiden flight of a Laysan albatross. They’re the longest-lived birds of all, and they take this enormous journey around the planet for years before they breed for the first time. The original idea was to do an underwater shoot with the tiger sharks waiting in the shallows at Laysan, but the first day the tiger sharks were around, the crew got into these inflatable boats — and two sharks attacked them. It was like something out of Jaws. The crew was panicked, and basically made an emergency landing on the sand.”
Filming the Pronghorn migration necessitated multiple shoots through some of the least accessible … [+] lands in the Lower 48 states.
Cordey: “The changing world is very noticeable at the poles, the ends of the world. We were on a boat in the Arctic for a month, and our sightings of polar bears were virtually nil. We got [an] amazing sequence in the last 48 hours — the crew came across that mother and her two cubs and they were immediately on it. The audience is almost seeing it unfold in real time. The polar bear mother climbs on the island, followed by one cub, and the second cub just couldn’t do it. There were hardened Arctic watchers on that boat who were in tears, because they thought it was just so sad…. In the narration, I think David [Attenborough] handles it very well, because he tells you what’s going on. But as is always the way with David, he doesn’t push it. He just says, ‘Look, this is how it is.’ Where we witness unsettling scenes, we think sometimes you have to show the audience for them to really understand. It’s a delicate balance though, across the whole show. I think we have a duty of care.”
Cordey: “Animals move for a better life. As climate change makes things more difficult, the need to move is even greater. Of course, there’s a huge analogy there with humans, and it’s pretty understandable. If you grow up in a place where you can barely grow food to feed your family, you’re going to want to move.”
Scholey: “The underlying environmental story of Our Planet II is that to have a healthy planet, you can’t have borders. You have to let life roam. We as humans like to divide the world. We like to have territory and we like to protect our borders and stop movement. We have to use our intelligence to look at the natural world and compensate for this tendency of ours, if we want to actually allow the natural world to function. Because so many ecosystems on which we ultimately rely for our agricultural health need to have this movement of nature.”
Balancing Tourism and Conservation
A family of wild elephants in China took a staggering journey. Here, they are sleeping.
Netflix
Scholey: “Through my career, I’ve seen this really interesting scenario happen with the natural world. The big picture is that habitats are being destroyed, and there is less wildlife in the world than when I started. So that’s the downside. The upside is that there have been more people studying the natural world, and in some places, there has been intense conservation. That has led to two things: more knowledge, but actually more habituation.”
Cordey: “Places that become more protected get tourism, and through tourism, animals become more used to humans. They don’t see us as a threat. But it is the most extraordinary thing to get that close to a large, dangerous predator on foot, like a puma. That’s the most surprising thing. The crew did come across a male puma that was on a kill. It wasn’t one of the habituated animals, and he looked extraordinarily angry. They had to back off really, really quickly. So it’s not the species, it’s individuals.”
-photograph / art example by Zack Zook. Entitled “K“ (Submitted photo)
Contemporary St. Thomas art galleries sevenminusseven and 81C are honored to announce an art exhibition collaboration taking place at sevenminusseven on Saturday, June 17. “ichi go ichi e 2” will feature photography by River Huston, Zachary Schulterbrandt, Joseph Hewes, Nura Qureshi, Kody Zenger, Clay Linden Jones and Zack Zook.
The collaboration is a unique celebration of art curation and friendship between sevenminusseven’s Clay Lindol Jones and 81C’s Zack Zook, both of whom previously ran sevenminusseven together as co-directors pre- hurricanes Irma and Maria.
In 2020, Zook cited Jones as a mentor and an inspiring factor in his opening of 81C on Strand Gade in historic Charlotte Amalie. 81C curator Joseph Hewes, another former sevenminusseven director, is also featured.
The show is a statement that Virgin Islands galleries showing work that is authentic, invigorating and curated with professionalism have more to gain by sharing resources and networking than acting as competitors. Work will be on display from 7 p.m. to midnight, Saturday, June 17. sevenminusseven is located behind Boynes Gas in the Lindbergh Bay area on St. Thomas. The gallery occupies an industrial warehouse, which is sevenminusseven’s second location since opening on St. Thomas in 2008.
Show description: “I was introduced to the idea of ‘ichi go ichi e’ when i was watching a documentary, and i thought that’s the perfect concept of how i feel about photography and i thought it would be a good thing to share through an exhibit inviting my favorite photographers to participate. Photography is a conversation between the viewer and the artist. This exhibition is that conversation.” – Clay Lindol Jones, sevenminusseven
Ichi-go ichi-e (Japanese: 一期一会 ), meaning “one time, one meeting”) is a Japanese four-character idiom (yojijukugo) that describes a cultural concept of treasuring the unrepeatable nature of a moment. The term has been translated as “for this time only” and “once in a lifetime.”
SUMMIT Space fans of all ages received a lesson in Astronomy and Astrophotography Tuesday afternoon at the Boyd County Midland Branch Public Library.
The lesson, headed by Ashland city commissioner Josh Blanton, included an interactive talk about galaxies, black holes, planetary orbits, telescopes and how to photograph sky and space phenomenon.
The visit was part of a wide variety of summer programs offered for teens and “tweens” sponsored by the library.
During the exhibit, titled “Explore the Universe with Josh,” Blanton said in the midst of the pandemic, he had the extra time to nurture his childhood infatuation with telescopes — leading to his new hobby of astrophotography.
Blanton said recent technology developments is revolutionizing astronomy, making far away things clearer and easier to observe for the average person with just their cell phones.
With the use of apps, one can map the sky above them to notify which planets are in transit and viewable sometimes with the naked eye.
Discussing light movement, gravitational pull and planetary tilts and rotations, Blanton displayed a variety of self-shot photos — or data —that depicted comets, the Andromeda Galaxy and Aurora borealis (northern lights).
Blanton said the Andromeda Galaxy is our solar system’s neighbor, set to eventually merge with the Milky Way Galaxy in about 4.5 million years.
Taking advantage of the darkest areas in the region, Blanton is able to utilize his camera’s long exposure to pull in as much light as possible in order to gain clear data of each phenomena — including a close-up shot of the Andromeda Galaxy from over 2.5 million lightyears away.
Blanton told the group telescopes behave as a time machine, as it takes so long for light to travel the insane distances to reach what the camera lens can pick up.
For those in the crowd eager for a career in space, Blanton mentioned a couple notables that got their start in Ashland.
Susie Martinez, now an engineer for Blue Origin, started her educational journey at Ashland Community and Technical College before going on to further her education, eventually earning an internship with NASA.
Les Johnson, also a native of Ashland, is a physicist for NASA’s space propulsion program, dedicating his time and career to developing a way for humans to travel lightyears away.
Johnson is also a notable sci-fi author, recently vising Ashland for a talk at Highlands Museum and Discovery Center and book signings downtown.
At the end of the discussion, Blanton guided both children and adults outside in an attempt to view the moon with the instruction to check out the Ashland Area Astronomy and Astrophotography Facebook page.
For a full calendar of happenings at the Boyd County Public Library this month, visit www.thebookplace.org.
Pop Photography highlights the career advantages of a professional headshot and what part it plays in personal branding.
In today’s digital world, connections are made online, meaning that profile images make the first impression on social media, professional networking platforms, and corporate websites. As a result, people now realize the power of a professional headshot. Since a picture is said to be worth a thousand words, a professional headshot is the key to making a lasting impression that opens up career doors.
Models, actors, musicians, and people in similar industries have long grown accustomed to the need for well-crafted headshots. However, this practice is just now catching on across other sectors. According to a LinkedIn study, profiles with photos are 21 times more likely to be viewed than those without. The study also outlined that visual imagery is 6.5 times more memorable than written content. This speaks to the importance of a professional headshot in a digital age where first impressions are made online.
Melbourne-based photography studio, Pop Photography, offers a giant leap up for its clients with professional-grade photography for children of all ages. From family photographs to corporate headshots, modelling portfolios, and more, Pop Photography helps clients stand out and get noticed. With a longstanding affiliation to Australia’s longest-running child talent agency Bubblegum Casting, Pop Photography understands the importance of establishing a strong personal brand through professional headshots.
What makes a good professional headshot?
Contrary to popular belief, a headshot is not about being overly serious; it is an opportunity to get noticed through a natural and effortless show of personality. A professional headshot is a strategic asset that should comprise a clear image from the chest up, good lighting, a little glimpse of the subject’s personality, a distraction-free background, and a direct look at the camera.
Pop Photography explains that an overly serious headshot gets little notice and is remembered even less. To make a lasting first impression, a polished and professional image is key, but what people see in the photograph sets the tone for how people will perceive the subject.
Depending on the goal of the headshot, the choice of wardrobe also influences perception. Pop Photography explains that since the goal is to build credibility and convey professionalism, it is important that people present themselves in the best light. Another common misconception when it comes to headshots is that people need to project what they believe looks professional. For instance, most people take off their glasses for a headshot. The truth is, all people need to do is show up as their usual selves.
Working with children of all ages, including babies, the team’s experienced photographers have mastered the art of guiding children to letting their personalities shine through photographs. Pop Photography is committed to helping its young clients unlock opportunities through the power of a professional headshot. The studio works closely with its clients to understand the goal and deliver headshots that reflect their unique identity.
Pop Photography goes beyond its range of photography packages to offer insight into ways a single photograph elevates personal branding and helps frame its clients’ futures. Visit Pop Photography to learn more about its services and read photography tips on the blog.
Looking at photos using Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset.
Fact checked by Jerri Ledford
Apple’s new Vision Pro headset lets you take immersive photos and video.
Canon is showing off a camera that lets you take 360-degree shots.
The new technologies could boost the popularity of virtual reality photography.
Apple
Looking at photos using Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset.
The next hot photography trend could be strapped to your head.
Apple is positioning its new Vision Pro mixed reality headset as a way to take and view pictures. And Canon recently unveiled a concept camera that can capture 180-degree stereoscopic and 360-degree monoscopic photos and video. Experts say VR photography might be coming into its own.
“VR photos will be useful because they offer a whole new level of immersion and presence in capturing moments and environments,” Marshall Mosher, the founder of VR company Vestigo, told Lifewire in an email interview. “They allow users to relive and share experiences as if they were actually there, creating a more engaging and impactful way of storytelling. Whether it’s capturing breathtaking landscapes, documenting virtual adventures, or preserving memories in virtual social interactions, VR photos have the power to transport people to different realities.”
VR Photography Changes Photos
Apple’s Vision Pro is meant for pixel peepers with an external camera for capturing photos and videos. The 3D camera on the Vision Pro takes 3D images and records 3D videos that can be viewed back on the headset.
Apple
Closeup on Apple’s Vision Pro mixed reality headset.
VR photos differ from regular photos in their ability to capture an entire spherical or 360-degree view of a scene, Mosher said. Instead of a flat image, VR photos provide an immersive and interactive experience where viewers can look around and explore the environment as if they were physically present.
“They offer a sense of depth and spatial awareness, allowing users to immerse themselves in the captured moment fully,” he added. “VR photos also go beyond traditional static images by preserving the dynamic nature of the virtual environment, including movement, sound, and interactive elements, adding a new dimension to storytelling and memory preservation.”
Vision Pro photographers will have to get used to some new ways of snapping pics. A button at the top of the headset is designed to let users capture spatial videos or photos.
Privacy could also be an issue when wearing a camera that can always take pictures or video. Google’s discontinued Glass headset met with criticism because its ability to unobtrusively take pictures was seen as a potential privacy invasion. Apple’s Vision Pro’s external display flashes with an animation that lets the people around you know that the video is being recorded.
Apple
The Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset display overlaying the real world.
Canon’s prototype VR camera could be a way to keep up with Apple’s big headset announcement. Not many details were released about the camera, but it reportedly allows users to take 360-degree omnidirectional images because the lenses point in both directions. When unfolded, 180-degree 3D VR images are created.
The Canon VR camera is among the new platforms developed with the technology to create VR photos, Anthony Clemons, who studies virtual reality at Northern Illinois University, noted in an email interview with Lifewire. For instance, Blockade’s Skybox is a recent example that enables you to generate a VR 360-degree virtual space using prompts and natural language, much like Midjourney and Stable Diffusion tools.
“Once you’ve created the virtual space, you can save the photo and apply it to expand virtual environments in gaming or to create a VR space in eLearning,” he said. “The best part is that the generated prompt is tailored to the user’s need, making the space more specialized.”
Increasing VR Photography Demand
VR photography isn’t entirely new, but the increased prevalence of immersive headsets on the market has brought a spotlight back on this form of content, Douglas Sonders, co-founder of the mixed reality company eXpanded eXistence, told Lifewire in an email interview. He said his favorite way to capture 360 photography and video is the Insta360 X2 or X3. It’s a compact camera that captures high-definition footage, is weather resistant, and its software automatically stitches and optimizes the imagery for public consumption.
VR photos could be a fun way to capture and share a location or memory to be experienced on an immersive platform.
“A 2D image can be wonderful, but you are limited to viewing one small frame at a later date,” he added. “With a 360-degree photo, you can upload to your favorite headset and be right there, back in the moment once again.”
When you paddle along the stretch of the Colorado River that winds through Lake Mead National Recreation Area, you watch the water transform from a deep, dark hunter green to a light, emerald shimmer, transparent enough to expose whole trees submerged in the sand.
It is quiet, soothing.
But the real treat comes when you look up. Turkey vultures circle above the rocky Arizona peaks and bighorn sheep make their way along narrow paths carved into the mountains.
It is amazing to witness such vast, untamed wilderness, let alone to be a part of the scene.
Suburbanites often spend a great deal of time and energy fending off nature. Back home, in Chicagoland, we pave, fence, reinforce. But it is because of nature that we even exist.
There’s nothing like a kayak trip at Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada to remind you how important it is to respect and protect nature, columnist Donna Vickroy says. (Donna Vickroy/Naperville Sun)
My husband and I try to remember that. We live on the edge of a wetlands. We love having nature for a neighbor, although safety and sanity demand boundaries. We maintain a fence to keep the coyotes at bay. Their den is just steps from our back yard. They have never encroached on our property and we have never invaded theirs.
We’ve had opossum on the patio, snakes in the landscaping, turtles next to the shed, and even a few deer that have hopped the fence to graze in my garden.
But we’ve also had the privilege of watching a pair of bald eagles soar overhead one January morning. And every summer, we are inundated with dragonflies, bees and butterflies.
We consider ourselves lucky to be so close to the natural world.
Which is why we enjoy kayaking. Sitting on the water, using muscle to power ourselves along, kayaking enables us to be there without being disruptive.
We have kayaked in the Caribbean, in Hawaii and at Maple Lake in the Cook County Forest Preserves. We’re hoping to do it again soon in Alaska. We’re not athletes by any stretch and we pay for the experience in sore muscles, but we like being outdoors and we like a challenge, even at this stage of the game.
So when my extended family started planning a birthday trip to the concrete, neon jungle known as Las Vegas because an aunt who’d never been there was turning 70, we immediately began Googling things to do besides feeding vices. Don’t get me wrong, we love a good party. But we’re not good losers when it comes to the casinos so we don’t even engage.
Among the things you might see if you kayak in the Lake Mead Reservoir in Nevada are bighorn sheep making their way along narrow paths carved into the mountains. (Donna Vickroy/Naperville Sun)
A friend recommended River Dogz kayaking at Lake Mead. Our guide picked us up at one of the hotels, supplied us with equipment and led our small group up the river and back, pointing out wildlife and discussing landscape wonders and woes along the way. It was a nice break from the bright lights and crazy chaos of Vegas.
And it was an important thing to do for people who love nature and are concerned about its future.
As you likely already know, there is an undercurrent of worry in America’s West. It is the same concern that plagues all of the world’s pristine places. Climate change is not only making our planet hotter, our storms stronger, our flooding heavier and our wildfires more out of control, it is eating away at water systems. With less mountain snow to feed the waterways, everything dependent on those systems suffers.
During the drive to the launch, I read a recent New York Times story about how dropping water levels are reducing the Colorado River’s power. The consequences extend well beyond the Grand Canyon, all the way to Lake Mead.
As we paddled, I wondered what this beautiful desert landscape would be without this amazing waterway that enables so much life to exist.
The earth is a gift to all of the flora and fauna that live on it. But to humans, it also is a responsibility, because we are the ones with the means to destroy it.
If we can construct a massive artificial playground right in the middle of the desert, we can surely do more to protect what is natural. But we have to want to.
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We have to want to stop overusing plastic, driving gasoline-powered vehicles more than necessary, eating copious amounts of red meat, spraying insecticides, over-fertilizing and buying fast fashion. And we have to want government policies that promote energy efficiency and protect our air and water. We have to be committed to paying this beautiful planet forward.
Columnist Donna Vickroy shoots a selfie of herself and her husband, Jim, as they kayak in the Lake Mead Reservoir in Nevada, about 24 miles outside of Las Vegas. (Donna Vickroy/Naperville Sun)
Like a lot of people of a certain age, my husband and I have our bucket lists of “places we want to see before we die.” Increasingly, our list is changing to “places we want to see before they die.”
We were in Switzerland last year, on a train ride through the Alps, when someone spotted a glacier. Everyone jumped up to snap a photo and talk turned to concern for threatened and disappearing glaciers. There were people from Norway and Argentina in our car. All of us expressed the same fear over the planet’s demise.
It’s not enough to simply get our middle-aged selves out there to see it before it’s gone. It’s not enough to check things off a list. We need to act. And we need to encourage others to act, as well.
Because even places like Sin City will suffer if we don’t take care of the planet that enables it to exist.
The world of photography stands on the brink of an intriguing evolution. As artificial intelligence grows more sophisticated, the potential for this technology to reshape photography is clear. However, this need not be seen as a threat to professional photographers. Instead, it should be recognised as an exciting opportunity to enhance our craft, extend our services and expand our businesses.
One of the significant ways photographers can leverage AI is by integrating it into their workflow to reduce time-consuming, repetitive tasks. AI-powered software can assist with everything from sorting and categorising images to sophisticated photo editing tasks like colour correction, skin retouching or background removal. This frees up valuable time, allowing photographers to focus more on the creative aspects of their work, nurturing client relationships or expanding their businesses.
AI can also transform the way photographers handle large volumes of work. For instance, in event photography, where hundreds or thousands of photos are captured, AI algorithms can rapidly sift through these, picking out the images that are in focus, well-composed and contain recognised faces. This ability to process vast amounts of data quickly and accurately will significantly cut down on photographers’ post-production time.
Beyond workflow optimisation, AI opens also up opportunities to create new types of images and services. For instance, AI can generate realistic virtual backgrounds or create composite images that would be costly or impossible to capture in reality. Photographers can leverage this capability to offer innovative, customised solutions to their clients, be it in advertising, fashion or portrait photography.
The ability of AI to analyse and learn from vast datasets also holds promise for market research and strategic planning. AI-powered analytics can reveal trends and patterns in styles, themes or subjects that resonate with specific audiences. This insight can guide photographers in tailoring their work to meet market demands, thus giving them a competitive edge.
Moreover, embracing AI can facilitate photographers to venture into the growing realm of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). Whether it’s creating immersive virtual tours for real estate, developing interactive AR filters for social media or producing high-resolution 360-degree images for e-commerce, photographers can offer a wide array of services that were previously inaccessible.
As AI technology advances, the line between photography and digital art is becoming increasingly blurred. Today’s photographers can use AI as a creative partner, producing artwork that combines the best of human creativity and AI’s capabilities. This creates an entirely new genre of art, where photographers are not just capturing reality but reimagining it.
The rise of AI in photography signifies not the end, but a new beginning. It represents a wealth of opportunities waiting to be explored. It’s an invitation to photographers to push the boundaries of their creativity, extend their services and grow their business.
To thrive in this evolving landscape, photographers need to adapt and embrace the change. It’s time to see AI not as a replacement, but as a partner – one that can complement our skills, enhance our creativity and, ultimately, help us tell better stories through our lenses.
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