The digital age continues to change both the photography industry and the retail industry that goes along with it. Today we learned that Blacks Photography will be closing their doors on all 59 stores in Canada on August 8, 2015.

You've decided to invest in a family photo shoot with a professional photographer. Congratulations! I know it may seem as if it is a big step and a lot of money, but even if you are a great photographer in your own right, you won't regret stepping back to let someone else take the reins this time.

I'm going to confess something: in the past seven years, I've probably taken over 30,000 photographs. (It's really more like 40,000, but I'm getting better at culling my pictures.) Almost none of those photos are printed.

Our memories live in a digital box.

3 Rules For Your Best Looking Family Photos Ever

Do you have a new camera and you're not sure where to start? Has your camera been collecting dust on a shelf (like mine), and you want to shake the rust off your skills? Have you been shooting like crazy and now you're ready to take your photography to the next level?

Sure, you could always turn to Google and search for YouTube videos on topic (which may be fantastic...or not), or you could look no further than these established resources for online learning:

It's not quite the Twelve Days of Christmas, but we've started to decorate for the holidays. Every year I try to remember to take a shot of our Christmas tree, but I always seem to forget. This year, I'm going to capture our tree AND help you take a better picture of yours.

  Create Custom Bokeh Shapes With Your Camera

The school holiday concert; love it or hate it, we all experience it and every year there's a room full of parents, grandparents, and friends who are trying to capture the cuteness in a photo.

Speaking Of Holiday Concerts: Aren't We All Guilty Of This?

Are you all set to begin your holiday shopping, but stuck on what to get the photographer in your life? Don't panic!  This gift guide is for you!

I’ve compiled suggestions for all levels of photographers to help solve your shopping challenges. Hint: Feel free to leave this post (or last year’s guide) strategically open on your computer if you’re the photographer and you think your family needs a nudge.

After a few months’ hiatus, the #YMCPhotoADay challenge is back!

Remember that can take your pictures with ANY camera. (I always end up using my phone.) This exercise is about starting to notice the world around you in different ways, and stretching your creative muscles. You also don’t have to participate every day — just join us when you can. (There is no way to “fail” this challenge!) We really want to see the pictures you take, please use the hashtag #YMCPhotoADay when uploading your photos to a social media platform.

A recent article by BuzzSumo, and shared by OKDork, discusses why certain posts get shared more than others. Not surprisingly, posts with at least one photograph get more shares than those without any images.

So, we need images. Not all images are created equal, but you knew that, right? That’s why you’re reading this article. What you really need are great images that convey your story, or illustrate just how delicious your recipe is.

In the categories of "Only on the Internet" and "Things I Can't Unsee," redditor DruishPrincess69 has posted a series of maternity-like photographs on imgur.com of . . . himself. Dressed in his underwear with an extended belly, he posted the photos under the heading, "My wife didn't want to take maternity pictures, so I hired a photographer and took her place..." Here's a taste:

I love Instagram. I love discovering random individuals from around the globe to see how their side of the world looks. I follow other parents, comforted by the fact that many of us have messy houses and look forward to wine o’clock. I use the explore feature and follow hashtags to find other photographers who share an affinity for the same things that I do. I love that we can follow professional photographers and see their art, their tips, and their pull-backs on a shoot. 

You flip the pages of those old photo albums, the ones with the peel-back film that holds the pictures in place. The photos are square, faded, low-contrast, and under-saturated, much like the crazy Instagram filters that we overuse today. Her hair is longer or bigger or a different colour than it is now and her fashion choices are decades away from what she wears today. Maybe the pictures pre-date your arrival in this world. Maybe you are on the beach, making sandcastles together. Maybe she’s standing next to you while you are blowing out your candles.

Saskatchewan photographer Colleen Niska is getting a lot of attention for the photographs she posted on her Facebook page. The backdrop to these photos? A tornado that touched down last week.

Have you ever wondered what a wave looks like from the inside when it breaks on the shore? Well, surfer (and now photographer) Clark Little shares the images he takes of Waimea Bay's shorebreak to give the world a taste of the experience. Check out this video from The Inertia to see how a need for a picture in his home eventually turned into a new career:

Our #YMCPhotoADay challenge is on hiatus for July, while we support our friends over at Blissdom Canada in their challenge. 

They've come up with terrific themes for each day in July:

So, grab whatever camera you have and play along on your social media platform of choice. Just remember to use the #BlissPhotoADay hashtag!

When April Hartley and Michael Wolber planned their wedding, I'm certain that they didn't intend for the processional music to be interrupted by the arrival of a fire truck, sirens blaring. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened.

A wildfire was pushing closer to their wedding location, and firefighters arrived to tell everyone to evacuate (as a precaution), just as the bride started walking down the aisle. Firefighters allowed them to complete a much-abbreviated ceremony in 15 minutes, and then the entire wedding (reception, too!) was moved.

It's no secret that Melanoma skin cancer is on the rise in Canada. Imagine that you pop out of the shower one day and notice that a mole looks a little different than it did before—maybe it's a little discoloured or misshapen.

You have all of these photos on your iPhone. You know you do. Let's say you just want to transfer them to your computer, but you don't want to lug your computer and a cable around. You need to get them off of your phone quickly to free up some space on the go, and you don't want to pay for more iCloud storage. You just want to be able to transfer one image to a computer (or hand it to a friend) without backing it up to the cloud or emailing it first. Maybe your device doesn't have enough storage space to add more movies for that long plane ride. What do you do?

Let's face it, if you've spent a lot of money accumulating camera gear, you want to make sure that you're carrying and storing it in a safe place. Camera bags are a personal thing. Some photographers like a shoulder bag, others like a backpack. Some only want to carry exactly what they need in that moment, others bring every piece of gear that they own to every shoot. Fortunately, there are solutions for every need and want.

Welome to the third month of the #YMCPhotoADay challenge! Thanks to those who participted in April and May, and hello to anyone who is just joining.