Behind The Scenes

As I am writing this I am trying to fall asleep. I am supposed to be up in 4 hours to head off on a little snowboard adventure with some friends. Instead of sleeping though I am sitting around watching snowboard videos, smart move right? Anyway a buddy told me to check out this movie called The Art Of Flight on Netflix, and I can tell you this much, it doesn't disappoint. The cinematography is gorgeous, but they took it a step further, and really worked with the sound to make it a totally immersing experience. Check out this BTS on how they used Dolby 7.1 to enhance the sound of the film...

Every morning I wake up and walk out to my living room. I sit down on the couch and bask in the sunlight coming through my sliding glass doors. I love how the light cutting through the vertical blinds creates a pattern of lines going across my living room. I have often thought how cool it would be to shoot a photo with the light like that, but at sunset when the light is real golden. The only problem? I can't shoot a sunset like that because my door opens on the eastern side of the house...

I love it when teams can keep churning out interesting tutorials or behind the scenes videos regularly and still keep the quality high, and one team that continues to do just that is PHLEARN. We've featured them a few times in the past, and today they released this new video on shooting beauty, but with sparklers.

For the past few years DigitalRev has done the "Cheap Camera Challenge" with a professional photographer and a crappy little toy camera. This year's challenge consisted of Strobist's David Hobby, a 2MP Buzz Lightyear toy camera and 3 of the best named speedlights of all time, the Family Jewels FUQ 690. Kai of DigitalRev gives Hobby 5 photo tasks in 5 different locations and Hobby handles it pretty dang well considering the slight limitations. Enjoy!

The Slanted Lens is back with another amazing lighting tutorial. This time they venture onto a 1700's Naval ship, the U.S.S. Constitution in Boston, MA. The portraits include an early Naval captain and his shipmates loading cannons. This tutorial specifically goes through how to light creatively during the nighttime hours where lighting might be more difficult for some.

I have never personally met Mike, however I can't seem to get away from him. He definitely has some amazing shots that stand out from the rest of the crowd. I know Mike through a Facebook group called CREATIVOS, which is a group for photographers looking to share tips, tricks, and images and grow within the industry. I keep seeing his work pop up and can't take my eyes away from it.

Den Lennie from F-Stop Academy shot this behind the scenes video that documents James Tonkin as he creates visuals for his short film "A Night at Nine Elms" with the EF-Mount version of the BlackMagic Cinema Camera. James talks about his experiences with the BMCC and discusses using Canon EF lenses. See the final short film in the full post.

If you've watched the TV series "Grimm," you may be curious how the mythological creatures from Grimm's fairy tales make it onto screen. Bent Image Lab, the production company behind the cg creations of the show, explains their process of transforming characters into creatures and adding a fantastical element to each episode.

When I was a kid (and still now) I loved Terminator 2. The special effects at the time were the best we had seen yet. The way the T-1000 morphed in and out of liquid metal blew my mind. Now days it would probably be done 100% with CGI, but when this movie was made CGI was still in it's infancy and they had to use a lot of puppetry. T2 had a lot of CGI firsts though, including being the first movie to have realistic human movements on a CGI character, the first use of a PC to create major movie 3D effects, and many other firsts. Check out this BTS video on how they made some of the molds...

Australian Fashion and Commercial Photographer Peter Coulson with Arterium Creations put together this video from one of his fashion shoots in Melbourne. Not your typical studio setup, Peter is out with his crew shooting in the open streets, complete with the public watching and potentially ruining some of his shots. See as he works with his model and they have a great time creating some stunning street-fashion images.

Marvel's 'The Avengers' is the top grossing movie of 2012 and the third of all time, ensuring that the superhero genre of movies are here to stay. Industrial Light & Magic have finally released the behind the scenes and walkthrough for the post production on one of the most amazing scenes in the movie, a long take of all the heroes fighting off the Alien horde that is uninterrupted and seamless with New York City as its backdrop.

Several years ago Richard Schneider of PictureCorrect.com decided his new years resolution would be to begin training to be able to fly a wingsuit. This dream along with his passion for photography eventually led him to Dubai, where he captured the footage you'll see in this video. Learn more about Richard and the work it took to get to this point in the full post.

After all these years, Victoria's secret has just been revealed. She can't sing, not a lick. A recent VS Christmas commercial features their Angels getting ready for the holiday and singing carols while placing presents under the tree and waiting for Santa to show. The girls mess up lyrics, sing horrible notes, drop props ... and look fantastic the entire time. MERRY CHRISTMAS from me. Enjoy!

Jaroslav Wieczorkiewicz best known for his amazing milk dress series is back with another amazing lighting tutorial. In this video he explains how to create some pretty nifty looking light streaks to create a fiery effect in your photographs. Using both a modeling lamp and normal flash from some Paul C. Buff Einsteins he shows how you can drag your shutter to create the effect.

Go behind the scenes with photographer Jens Haugen. Jens produces some amazing work. Probably because he shoots with a hasselblad,(jokes). A lot of work goes into fashion photography like this. From Mua's, Art Directors, Stylist, ect.. every person has an important role in developing the finished product. Not having a entourage should not discourage you tho, it just means you have to work harder and pay attention to detail with a fine tooth comb. For instance the color schemes in these photos are very well constructed and tie her outfits in with the BG. The balance of light and the way they use the light to shape her face is really beautiful too.

Check out a BTS editorial shoot with Brandon Hill. When i first started watching this video I was not expecting a solid finished product, but i quickly ate my own words after seeing the final photos. From looking at the images on the camera to the final product it is evident that Brandon, or a retoucher, did an excellent job in post. It is interesting how adding a different BG color can make the image come alive. It's also apparent that Brandon knows his light ratios very well. These portraits only being done with 2 softboxes is quite impressive. That rim light has just enough kick to separate it, but still have plenty of detail in it, a very delicate ratio.

Gavin Hoey with AdoramaTV put together this simple yet informative video that includes beginner tips on techniques for bracketing your aperture, finding different materials for textures, and finally bringing it all together in Photoshop. Gavin shows how he works in Photoshop to transform images to make them fit your composites in a more pleasing way, and also uses blending modes and layers masks to make the textured vignettes fit his images.

To shrink the hobbits in "Lord of the Rings" was not a simple feat for Peter Jackson, it took a lot of set crafting and perspective tricks. Instead of going through those extra hoops for the recently released "The Hobbit," Peter and his team took a different composite approach to the process of resizing the actors. Our friends at Popular Mechanics detailed how the results were achieved.

Alright, just when I thought he couldn't do anything more amazing, he proves me wrong, way wrong. If you have seen any sort of sports portraits, they usually do something different then your normal portrait. Adding cool lighting effects, lots of post work ect, not Wyn. His story for this shoot is a must read and great advice for anyone wanting to blow away their competition in their town. The way Wyn went about getting this all organized, shot, and edited is a pure masterpiece.

Earlier today we posted this video of an Eagle lifting a baby in the park, and it started a massive debate whether its real or not. Now we have the answer: its FAKE. Check out this BTS video showing how 4 animation students from Montreal created this viral video. Did you get it right?

I started a new project recently creating portraits on 11x14 film. I have had an 11x14 back for my Deardorff for several years, but I have never shot much in that format. I decided to try a couple sheets in hopes of kick starting a new project.

Youtube put together a tribute video where the biggest viral sensations of 2012 were invited to star in a mash-up of culturally defining moments from the year, directed by Peter Furia. Can you spot all the references? We've also got the BTS, so check that out once you've had a good laugh.

I have been following Luke Schneider's work for quite some time and it just keeps getting better and better. He has a nack for fashion photography and it clearly shows. I decided to find out a bit about him and what his goals are for the future and current project. He is still in college so he has quite a bit of time ahead of him to achieve his goals. From the looks of it, he is well on his way there.

In a recent 60 Minutes special, CBS Reporter Lara Logan spent time with Dereck and Beverly Joubert in Southern Africa. The Jouberts have been shooting images and video of the wildlife there, for over 30 years. They have produced countless amazing images and have even created documentary films from the content they captured. Embedded video inside.

I love 24 and 48 hour film contests where teams are given a short amount of time and often a budget limit to shoot, edit and deliver short films that go head to head with eachother at the judges table. "The Girl Is Mime" was created for London's 48 Hour Film Project in 2010 (which it won) and is directed by Tim Bunn, starring Martin Freeman. Also, here is a BTS video, ENJOY!

The guys over PHLEARN have a lot of cool content, and this is their most recent. The original idea for this photo shoot was inspired by childhood, drawing on references from stories such as “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak and the classic comic strip “Calvin and Hobbes." The result is a playful look at the imagination of a child.

The incredibly young and talented, Joey L. has released a new documentary that was shot while shooting his intimate series of photos, 'Holy Men'. Set in the breathtaking backdrop of India, the documentary filmed by Cale Glendening shows Joey while at work with his assistant Ryan, but more importantly proves that capturing an amazing portrait isn't just about the latest gear or technique, but truly the subject.

French photog, Philippe Echaroux, has really gone above and beyond with his guerrilla style street portraits. In this video he hits the streets with 4 crew members and made this short video of how he approaches strangers, gives them a quick description of what he's doing. If they want to take part, Philippe then signals his crew and they very quickly style the subject, light them and even throw up a nice background on a stick. The images turn out really nice, and I would love to see more people thinking bigger and more outside the box like, Mr. Echaroux, when it comes to street shots. Enjoy!

We featured Elena Jasic on here last month, and this month she is back with this awesome tutorial on how to add freckles in post to your photos. Elena is a young and upcoming fashion and beauty photographer from Philadelphia. The photo in this tutorial is from Chris Zupo. You can also find the brush used in this tutorial here. If you guys try this technique out, share a link to it with us in the comments on this post!

How many times have you seen an amazing timelapse project, and wondered where exactly the photographer was when they recorded their exposures? Or maybe you wondered what they had to do to get to such an amazing vantage point? Sean Goebel created his timelapse film "Epochs" and documented the location and equipment details for most scenes. Sean told me some about his background, and links to his work and shot setups are also inside.

I was recently hired by the team over at TheRealMach5.com to shoot new marketing images of the "the only officially licensed Mach 5 in the world that was built to the Speed Racer cartoon Mach 5 specifications". As you can see from the video, it was a hot hot day. I was probably suffering from heat stroke and a wicked farmer's tan by the end of the day, but I got to tear around in the Mach 5 on Florida back roads after the shoot (thankfully she's street legal if you don't drive with the spinning saw blades on it haha), so it was completely worth it.

ReutersTV put together this video of interviews with their photographers as they describe what happened to them during and after the destruction left by Hurricane Sandy, and how they worked to capture compelling images. The interviews are balanced by the powerful imagery that these shooters captured of the hardships people faced, many of them left with destroyed homes.

Have you wondered how the landscapes in advertising photographs always seem to be perfect? How on can they possibly get the perfect shot on every assignment with the weather being as unpredictable as it is? Well, while this isn't true for every photographer, most have quite a lot of photoshop trickery at their disposal which allows them to shoot components of a final shot at different times and then assemble them later in post. This post is going to give you a complete walk through of how I shot and combined two elements to create the shot you see here.

In this video from The Slanted Lens, Jay P Morgan shows us a behind the scenes look at how you can achieve that colorful, rich-looking sunset. This is a technique that is a must if you do any type of portraiture or wedding photography. Your clients will be really happy with the results, not to mention it will look great in your portfolio. This photo shoot is for writer, Robert L. Harding's novel titled, Death of the Wayang.

The Slanted Lens recently posted a new behind the scenes video, explaining the process for a project that involves shooting photos of a warrior princess out by Vasquez Rocks. This video really dives in to considerations you have to make as a photographer when shooting on a remote location like this. From location scouting, to running power for lights, and even considering bathrooms for the crew, this insightful BTS video shows us how Jay P. Morgan approached this challenge.

CBS's Jeff Glor recently interviewed Pete Mortimer, known mostly for his work on this Citibank Commercial and the 60 Minutes special on free solo climber Alex Honnold. In this interview, Pete discusses the mental attitude needed for his line of work, and emphasizes how crucial safety is while dangling off of a rock. During the interview, a rock actually breaks loose in a brief moment of danger, which illustrates just how dangerous things can become. Embedded video in the full post.

Since it's launch in 1964 the Pirelli calendar is one of the most desired items of the new year. Each year a celebrated photographer is hired to shoot the world's most beautiful bodies stripped naked in some of the world's most gorgeous locations. This year famed photographer Steve McCurry earned the honor of the shoot, Rio the exotic location, but as Refinery29.com put it "the only kind of melons you can expect are the fruit ones." Read on to learn about their big change, see some of the images and watch a detailed behind the scenes video.

Architectural photography is something I can never seem to get down. I love shooting people much more than buildings, but when it is executed correctly I love it, even though it is not my favorite thing to shoot. I could look at good architectural photography all day. What's interesting is how architectural photographers use light to sculpt, add contrast, and bring out details in their work. Check out this really in depth tutorial from Vancouver architectural photographer Roger Brooks on how he lights and retouches an architectural interior.

I've been a fan of all of the Lord of the Rings movies and am very much looking forward to the release of The Hobbit this December. I always knew that a lot of work went into the film industry beyond the actors and cameras, but after seeing this behind the scenes of the upcoming Hobbit movie, it makes me realize how extensive the work is after all the filming is said and done.

Ever been curious about what goes into making the pictures for fashion ads like Forever 21? Check out these behind the scenes videos from Chris Hunt. There definitely is a lot that goes into these photographs, from set builders to make up artists and stylists. For the first video the light set up seem relatively simple, with what appears to be a 3 alien bees( two large umbrellas and a grided beauty dish). For the second video it appears they are using natural light with some big reflectors.

Known best for her dazzling performances that have mixed a dubstep beat with violin playing, Lindsey Stirling has gathered quite a following with her fantastic music videos. In her latest video, "Elements", Lindsey shot footage behind the scenes that shows her picking up supplies, working with Director Devin Graham, and then talking about how she event does the editing herself as a self-proclaimed video nerd.

A few weeks ago I posted an interesting behind the scenes video of cheetahs running at full speed while being filmed with the 1200 fps Phantom camera. The camera setup is pretty crazy if you haven't watched the BTS video already. Here is the final slow motion footage of five different cheetahs running along side the dollied camera. If you skip to the 5:40 mark, you can see even more behind the scenes footage from the shoot.

Kevin Margo, a VFX/CG Supervisor at Blur Studios recently released his directoral debut with his short science fiction film titled 'Grounded'. The film, while the general audience may not fully appreciate it, will entice cinephiles with its stunning graphics and read between the lines themes. In the following video he breaks down the CGI that was used in the film. The film was shot with a Canon 5D Mark II and post processed using 3DS Max and Fume FX.

There's nothing more beautiful than ... a video of the destruction of an egg? Well, if you shoot said destruction video at 3,200 fps in a plethora of angles and situations it can be gorgeous. The guys at OverKranked have done just that. They're specialty is showing the shredding, crushing, squashing, cracking, obliterating and deathing of every day items in slooow mooo. Also, check out the BTS video to the main slow motion mini-feature above. Enjoy!

I had the pleasure to be hired to shoot an amazing car collection last year, which included 2 ultra-rare special Bugatti Veyrons. For example, the silver Bugatti, as you will watch, is a one-of-a-kind 100th anniversary Bugatti called the Sang Bleu… literally 1 of 1. We also had a decent-sized portion of a private airport at our disposal to use for the shoot. Pretty incredible experience. Read on to learn more about the shoot itself and my lighting.

Air New Zealand has been known for their original, themed and very well made safety videos. Just recently they released their newest safety video featuring a plane full of Tolkien fans called, 'An Unexpected Briefing'. Air New Zealand partnered up with the people over at Weta Workshop to create the amusing safety briefing. The video made in anticipation of 'The Hobbit' features a few actors from the movie, real Tolkien fans, J.R.R. Tolkien's great-grandsons, actual working Air New Zealand employees and even has a cameo from the man, Peter Jackson, himself.

Fashion Photographer Lindsay Adler has put together a new behind the scenes video that shows you how she is able to capture images of a model that look like silhouettes, but still have glare and depth as if they were wearing latex. This video shows us the lighting setup in her studio for capturing these unique images.

Earlier this year Stoli rolled out their most recent advertising campaign that revolved around three 'original' nights with their product. The first night, a lavish paint party (Dayglow anyone?). Second night, a club party in a power plant in West Berlin. The third, in an abandoned amusement park in East Berlin. They recently released three short, but interesting behind the scenes videos that accompany the commercials, showing how they set up the scenes and even showing a glimpse of the ARRI that they used to shoot with.

DesignWorks Media Group is made up of Mike Stog and Lee Barwick. The USA Olympic Boblsed/Skeleton team commissioned them to do a campaign which includes bobsledding fused with everyday activites, i.e. grocery shopping. Mike and Lee kept things pretty easy and minimal as far as lighting goes. They used a lot of the ambient, then supplemented for an extra kick where needed. Lighting diagram and final photo ad included after the jump. Enjoy!

Jeff Cremer recently traveled to Machu Picchu with the goal of creating the highest resolution image ever taken of one of the most incredible places on Earth. Using a Gigapan robotic head, Jeff swept a Canon 100-400mm lens back and forth over the scene, taking hundreds of photos, which resulted in one incredible image. He even had a close call with the law,