Hey guys, my name is Lauren and I’m the newest addition to the Fstoppers team. Having lived in Charleston for a while, I have many friends who are huge surfers. This campaign video is super creative and it has really sparked my imagination. Even if you’re not the least bit interested in surfing, the use of these portable neon lights can be used for all sorts of photo projects. This glow-in-the-dark surf session was part of the cider company Strongbow’s “Welcome to Summer” campaign. Click the full post to watch a second video explaining how they used Electroluminescent wire (EL Wire) to light up their suits and boards. Maybe this will spark some imagination for those of you who still need to create a video for our Behind the Scenes Contest.
Realm Pictures has been working on “The Underwater Realm” (one of the most ambitious indie film attempts I’ve ever seen) for months now and have been coming out with great BTSVs along the way. The team recently realized that they need to film parts of their movie in an underwater studio and to do this they need to raise more funds. The team has turned to Kickstarter.com to help out but they aren’t just asking for money. If you pledge $50 you will receive a special edition copy of their movie “Zomblies” and 10 in-depth video tutorials on indie film making tips like the one below.
In the video below Dave shows us how to make a safe and explosion on an indie budget. If you feel like helping these guys out head over to Kickstarter and pledge today.
The final day to submit your behind the scenes video for our contest is December 31st. With 30 days left, the videos are starting to pour in and they are getting better and better. I’ve never had any interested in infrared photography until I saw Mark Fore’s contest entry. In the video below Mark shows us how he converted his digital rebel into an infrared camera for $6. He then takes pictures lighting his subjects with the Xbox Kinect. To learn how to turn your camera into an IR system, check out this website.
The videos keep coming in for our 2011 Fstoppers Behind The Scenes Contest as we enter the final month of submissions. Most photographers use either strobe, fluorescent, or incandescent light to mold and sculpt their subjects. German photographer Julius Ise went a completely different route and used UV blacklights along with some gelled lights for separation to produce extremely vivid images. The shoot has an overall tribal theme and I really think the blacklight look brings something to the overall vibe. I’d say this is one of my top 5 submissions so far but Julius will have to impress our judges. What do you guys think? Leave Julius your thoughts below in the comments. Also check out Julius Ise’s full portfolio because it’s pretty awesome as well.
When Lee and I started this website almost two years ago, our vision was to not only share knowledge of what some of the best photographers around the world were doing but to also create a community that could inspire other creative professionals. Our Facebook Group is full of photoshoots from our readers that were inspired by some of the top talent featured on Fstoppers, and it’s always fun to see photoshoots that were inspired directly from something we first did here. The latest such video comes from the Netherlands where photographer Wouter de Winter recreates my very own Indoor Wakeboard Studio Shoot using kiteboarders. Wouter isn’t the first to draw inspiration from the original video but he is the first to also create a BTS video about it, and I think you will enjoy it. The next step for other photographers should be to take this idea and create something even bigger! If you have ideas or thoughts about what direction the next “indoor wakeboard shoot” should go, leave them in the comments below. I’d love to hear where others would take this concept…it might even make for a great BTS Contest Video!
Yesterday we got an interesting email from our friend Pye Jirsa over at SLRLounge.com. Pye recently helped film a video campaign for a friend’s Kickstarter product launch called One and he decided to film a quick behind the scenes video on how he lit and filmed the different scenes. Pye is a big DIY guy and many of the lights he used on this production can be found for super cheap. We don’t usually post a lot of Kickstarter proposals but the lighting tips from this one were simply too good to pass up. Watch the BTS video below and then click the full post to view the final video.
Now despite the way this apparatus looks, it’s actually something that has been discussed by major photo industry companies. Event photographers continually struggle with needing to have their lighting equipment in just the right spot while simultaneously needing to be somewhere else to get the shot. Even if they do get everything in place, seconds later they will need to somewhere else. In the current economic slump, not everyone can afford an assistant, so what can you do? Build yourself a strobist backpack, that’s what.
So I am going through some of the slow-mo HD camera options that are on the market right now for an adventure I will be taking soon, and I stumbled upon the new GoPro HD Hero2. On their site they have one of the illest trailers I have ever seen for a camera, and I had to watch it several times. This isn’t an ad for the camera and I am not saying that this is the one I will buy, but man what else compares? With that said, watch this trailer, it really is rad to see what kind of punch that tiny package can deliver! (that’s what she said)
For some people, Halloween can be a stressful time as you panic to come up with that perfect costume that will impress all your friends and help you score big with the opposite sex. Photographer Tyler Card decide to one up everyone by creating his own lifesize working Nikon D3 which can capture all of his trick or treating fun. Check out the demo below and then head to the full post to see how Tyler made it in his BTS video.
Just ran across and really interesting video that explains how to create a “wooden print”. Basically you want to use a standard laser print on standard paper. Glue the paper face down onto the wood and then wash/wipe the paper away. The toner will then stick to the wood and give a really unique look. I wasn’t quite sure what a “wooden print” was before watching this but I may actually have to give this a try.
As a photographer with a new DSLR, you might be trying your hand at video production. Most people completely overlook audio and they shouldn’t. If a video sounds cheap then in most people’s minds, it is cheap. If you don’t have enough money to afford fancy lav mics, don’t worry, you can record clean audio with a number of devices that you may already own. In the video below I will show you how we did it for the first year we filmed videos for Fstoppers with a simple (and free) iPhone app. If you don’t have a smart phone then you can buy one of these for $16.
Last year I released a video explaining how to wirelessly tether your camera to an iPad by jailbreaking the iPad. Since then Eye-Fi has released a firmware update that makes wireless tethering possible without the need for jailbreaking. Now, not only is the whole process much easier to set up, it is also much cheaper because you no longer have to pay for the more expensive Pro Eye-Fi card, you can make this work with the cheaper Connect X2 card.
If you have seen Peter Lik’s work in person then you understand that it’s impossible to put into words the look and quality of his prints. Peter’s photography (and his post production) is fantastic, but what really makes his work stand out is his printing and presentation. If his images were printed on standard photo paper at a standard size, his work would not have the same “wow” factor.
Right before a trip to Italy I went back into Peter’s studio for a little inspiration. After studying his work and speaking with a sales rep about his printing process I decided to shoot, print, and frame a shot in Italy for the absolute cheapest price without losing the “wow” factor that Peter’s work has. This is how I did it.
If you are planning a behind the scenes video for our 2011 photo contest, you probably also need to setup an interesting interview segment to explain the details of your photoshoot. Most photographers spend a lot of money on their flash equipment but often don’t have much in the way of constant lights. The guys over at SLRlounge have come up with a great BTS video on how you can create an interesting interview set on a budget. In this video, Pye Jirsa used basic work lights mixed with natural ambient light. In our contest video we either shot completely natural light or mixed in some of these inexpensive LED lights to make it a little more interesting. Taking a little bit of time to make your interview footage look good always goes a long way and is often just as fun designing as the actual photoshoot itself.
Photographer Scott Bourke gives us a complete overview of how he took a fantastic product shot of a few bottles of beer. Scott uses a single flash and 4 reflectors to create a very professional looking image that any photographer (no matter how little gear they have) is capable of creating. As I have always said, photography is all about good lighting and good lighting does not mean expensive lighting. Let’s hope that Scott is going to enter our BTSV contest. Check out the full post for the final image and a BTS diagram.
Hey guys, my name is Lauren and I’m the newest addition to the Fstoppers team. Having lived in Charleston for a while, I have many friends who are huge surfers. This campaign video is super creative and it has really sparked my imagination. Even if you’re not the least bit interested in surfing, the use of these portable neon lights can be used for all sorts of photo projects. This glow-in-the-dark surf session was part of the cider company Strongbow’s “Welcome to Summer” campaign. Click the full post to watch a second video explaining how they used Electroluminescent wire (EL Wire) to light up their suits and boards. Maybe this will spark some imagination for those of you who still need to create a video for our Behind the Scenes Contest.
The final day to submit your behind the scenes video for 
