Jill, Terry, Jacob, and Lydia started getting ready for their very special trip to Paris well in advance: they booked their flight and hotel, checked the weather, and started preparing for a family portrait session around the Eiffel tower. Inspired by our Pinterest boards, Jill did her best to match the outfits of all family members. In Paris, our photographer Elena Usacheva met this lovely family and captured the essence of their time in the city: good mood and lots of smiles!

After their memorable winter wedding, Whitney and Brian came to Paris in the fall to once again celebrate their love for each other. They met with our photographer Nadia Gric on the Bir Hakeim bridge for a relaxed stroll in the area. Golden foliage of the trees on the banks of the Seine river, festive lights of a merry-go-round and the magnificent Eiffel tower made perfect backgrounds for this cozy autumn portrait session!

In the age of digital photography, when memory cards provide more and more storage capacity, it is easy to get overwhelmed by the quantity of photographs we take. The skill of sorting, organising and storing digital photo files becomes just as important than any other photographic skill. As a professional photographer, I came up with my own routine of dealing with large quantities of photographs on a regular basis. In this article, I will guide you through the 7 steps of my photo selection process and hopefully you will find some helpful ideas to apply to your daily life as a photographer.

Once you have tested the accuracy of your camera's autofocus system as described in our previous article and determined that one or some of your lenses do not produce perfectly sharp images, you have two solutions: have your camera serviced by a professional or, if your camera has an autofocus micro-adjustment feature, do it yourself. In this article, we will guide you through 7 easy steps for DSLR camera's autofocus calibration process using Live View mode on the example of Canon 5D Mark II camera.

Automatic focusing is a great help in ever-changing environments you find yourself in as a travel photographer. It wouldn't be a mistake to say that we use automatic focusing 99% of the time. For best results, we need the autofocus to be both fast and reliable. While the former depends on the quality of the lens, the latter may get inaccurate with time. If you noticed that the focus on many of your images is slightly off, you may run a quick autofocus test for your camera before rushing to the camera repair shop. In this article, we will explain how to check the accuracy of your camera's autofocus at home, while our next article will provide some tips on camera autofocus calibration.

It's been two years since we last wrote about one of the most bodacious photographic events in Paris, Photoquai. In 2015, the fifth biennial of the images of the world is back on the embankment of the Seine river, under the direction of the very same Frank Kalero, who did such a great job in 2013, when the event attracted more than half a million visitors. This time Photoquai 2015 unites photographic series of 40 contemporary photographers from various corners of the world under the theme "We Are Family".

On an early September morning filled with sunlight, Migle and Gytis, a young couple from Norway, came to the Bir Hakeim bridge to meet our photographer Catherine O'Hara for a stroll in the area around the iconic Eiffel tower. The weather that day couldn't be a better match for this radiant couple!

Little baby girl Faye traveled all the way from England to Paris with her parents Kayleigh and Adam. She was seriously impressed by the Eiffel tower and the views from the Bir Hakeim bridge! For her first Parisian portrait session, Faye wore a fluffy tutu and sent her prettiest smiles right into the camera, while our photographer Nadia Gric danced around with the camera capturing the best ones. We are already looking forward to seeing Faye, Kayleigh and Adam back in Paris next September!

Another year has passed, and the World Press Photo Foundation presents the new winners of the World Press Photo Awards 2015. Approximately 100 exhibits showcasing the best images taken by photojournalists in 2014 are presented simultaneously in a variety of cities around the world: from Paris to Mexico City, from Montreal to Kyoto, from London to Wellington. Presented as "the most popular traveling photo event in the world", WPPA exhibit is definitely not to be missed!

Sunsets in Paris can be very different: some are flamboyantly bright, while others are soft-hued and delicate, setting the sky on fire only for just a few minutes before night fall. Such was a warm afternoon in late July, when Melissa and David met photographer Elena Usacheva for a romantic stroll around the Eiffel tower, starting at the ornate Bir Hakeim bridge and ending on the Champ de Mars with the Eiffel tower magically twinkling in the background...

August is a very special time in Paris: the summer is in full swing but the city is unusually quiet, green and enjoyable. What can be better than a walk around almost empty courtyards of the Louvre, a morning stroll along the Seine river, or a cup of coffee in a nearby café with your loved one? Soon to be married, Pyae Mon and Phyo Min did exactly that in the company of our photographer Catherine O'Hara. That morning, the City of Light belonged to this lovely couple!

How do you spice up your travel photography, stimulate your creativity and practice various photo techniques at the same time? Start your day with a photographic self assignment! Focusing on one single idea or task at a time will be your guide, will make you more disciplined and will get you to think outside the box. And beside this, you will end up with a great series of photos that you can share with your friends and family, or maybe even enter a photo contest! Here are 5 ideas of self assignments for better travel photos.