Humor

Fashion Week in New York is coming to an end today, and is largely considered the Grammys for the fashion forward and fashion photographers of the industry. It’s not too uncommon for fashion to get its share of criticism from the public, looking largely like a marketing con for “What’s New For Fall”. So what happens when Jimmy Kimmel decides to play some pranks on those at fashion week in New York?

Certainly you've seen them on Facebook and other social media avenues before. I’m talking about those oversimplified “I'm an artist, I don’t work for free” posters that photographers always have the desire to post and share. The people over at Shoppe Designs have decided that perhaps those are too polite, and built some with a little more sass and attitude.

As photographers and videographers, we always hate when people look at our work on a crappy-uncalibrated-small screen with bad colors. With their most recent commercial, LG proved how having a great calibrated screen can make a huge difference. With their new 84" ultra high definition TV they made people believe they were actually looking out a window. What happens next is absolutely hilarious.

From time to time, we’re graced with a new product that completely changes our workflow and makes our lives as photographers a hundred times easier than it was before. However, this luxury isn’t always the case, and we’re sometimes graced with some of the most ridiculous products imaginable.

If you have been to any sort of performance in the last few years, I think you'll recognize some of the people in this commercial. Crowds who take pictures with their smart phones, holding them up to reveal a sea of illuminated rectangles, often distracting an artist or blocking the views of others. This commercial takes this issue to an unreal level, but it's actually not that far off.

It wasn't that many years ago when our very own Lee Morris took me on one of his wedding gigs and totally opened my eyes to what wedding photography could be. I had this idea in my head that weddings were boring, cheesy and a photographic cinch to shoot. But when Lee introduced me to the idea of setting up killer seamless white photo booths at receptions, I realized they could be

Update: The featured video has been changed per request of the photographer that was featured in it. In summary the video showed the back of a photographer standing up in the middle of the aisle next to the front two rows shooting with a 70-200mm lens aiming at the bridal party. I saw this video (video replaced with dancing dog) posted up in a Facebook group I belong to by the amazing team of videographers over at Motivity Films.

The always entertaining Kai from DigitalRev TV takes to the streets, armed with 3 different models of Canon 50mm lenses: The 1.8, 1.4, and 1.2L. Using phrases like "sphincter twitching" and "buying meth", he colorfully illustrates his points about choosing the right lens based on your budget and compares the look and feel of each model.

In the past year, we've seen some pretty amazing advancements in camera/drone technology. Quadcopters like the DJI Phantom are incredibly affordable and seem very easy for anyone to master. When shooting a commercial earlier this year, I had a similar mentality. "Why don't I buy a cheap quadcopter and strap a GoPro to it. How hard can it be?"

As it turns out, even small drones can be used with disastrous results.

UPDATE: Original video was removed, but we found it again! In order to make our subjects look their best we need to be shooting them from the correct angles. Peter Hurley is the master at this and in his DVD he gives so many fantastic tips on how to accomplish taking photos of people looking their best. This YouTube video that popped up today on Reddit is probably the best example I have yet to see of how the simple change of an angle will give your subject an entirely different look. This is might just be the best 14 seconds of your day!

Photographer Lukas Renlund shares with us the second installation in his "Steal My Photograph" series. I was very impressed with this idea when I posted his Copenhagen Exhibit last August but Lukas has added a humorous new twist to his Barcelona installation by hiding a GoPro camera behind his photos to capture the reactions of the unsuspecting, would-be-thieves. I got a chance to catch up with Lukas and asked him a few of the questions that have been on everyone's mind.

DigitalRev's Pro Tog challenges are back, this time with a DIY theme. In this video see Pro Photographer Mark Chung create a continuos ring light using some basic hardware store materials, then use them in a fashion shoot.

This is highly unusual, and super unlucky for both the golfer and the camera guy. Today in the first round of the British Open, Pro Thomas Bjorn chipped a ball out of the "rough" on the first hole and struck a very expensive camera. An estimated $80,000 camera to be exact. There isn't much else to say other than watch this, then check out how crazy the damage looks. Yikes.

A Facebook page out of Korea, We Do Photoshop is somewhat of a...well I don't how to describe this exactly. After looking at the page, words have become difficult to muster on how to properly explain in detail what's going on over there.

It seems that the Facebook page (with over 36,000 thumbs up) was put together around the end of June so that people can upload their photos and request free photo manipulations.

The dreaded Myspace Angle, a condition that has plagued countless of self portraits for years. The extended armed and high angled photos still clutter up our Facebook newsfeeds long after Myspace whittled down to music bands and glitter graphics. Is it safe to assume that even Superheroes take the time out of their busy 'saving humanity' schedules to take a selfie? Apparently they do.

Stuck in the car on a boring road trip with the parents this 4th of July? Well here is a list of 10 creative apps to help pass the time. From drawing with words to finding what color the back of your dad's head really is. Check out the mostly iPhone friendly list, sorry Droid fans!

Do you ever feel like you're not hanging around enough celebrities? Maybe you wish you were court-side at a Laker's game sharing an emotional moment with Kobe, or maybe you'd rather be wrapped around Kim Kardashian like couch upholstery? If any of these things are true, you might be Peeje T - a pretty creative guy with a pretty good sense of humor and a knack for photoshopping himself into pictures with the likes of Jay Z, Beyonce, Rihanna, Alisha Keys and Kobe Bryant, among others.

The hilariously creative people over at Grovo (gogorovo on YouTube) posted this video yesterday showing what life may look like in the future of GWC photography/videography if Google Glass ever becomes the next big innovation it claims to be. While it's obvious that this is just some tongue in cheek humor, I'd imagine that as with any popular product with a built-in camera someone will try to find their niche (ever see someone taking photos with an iPad?) and soon youtube will be flooded with videos of wedding photographers running around the ceremony staring at people.

Cell phones have given people the ability to take photos on the go. It's given everyone a camera in their pocket. There are great implications for this such as the instant ability to record and share news worthy events. Sometimes, they open up for expanding creativity as well. Sometimes, it's used for things like this.

Today, for the first time I watched this fantastic one-take music video for Brooklyn based band, Eytan and the Embassy. On the Vimeo page for 'Everything Changes' they tout the video as "18 Costume Changes -- 1 Music Video -- 0 Edits!" It has been online for 10 months, is a Vimeo Staff pick, but only has 20,000 views. Well I think it deserves more! Check out this video and click through for a BTS video as well. Enjoy!

Here is a funny glimpse into the comic shenanigans that happened during a photo shoot for Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People with Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele.

In this video directed and produced by Casey Rodgers, the two improv comedians are on set riffing off the cuff with their hilarious

Instead of hiring a photographer to shoot original images, Samsung has recently been caught in the act of "artfully" (read: shamelessly) replacing an iPhone with a Galaxy S4 in an advertising campaign. It's not that they can't do this kind of thing as it's not illegal, but more the fact that they did it at all, and that it was over an original image featuring their main competitor. Really Samsung?

About a month ago we featured a video from the guys over at Neko Neko Films. In this video, they cover a mix of tips that while some may be no-brainers, you might find some very helpful if you having a tough time figuring out where to begin. We interview people all the time and I can't emphasize enough just how important the little things are to create an engaging, yet informative video.

The hot topic of the week around here has been the new Creative Cloud model from Adobe. We recently posted this video discussion about what some of us thought of it along with this article on why it may not be a good idea. There were great points made on both ends. However, like all popular things, humor follows shortly on the Internet.

Photoshop is a powerful tool. In the hands of a skillful editor, they can do a great deal of good, like remove scarring acne from an otherwise beautiful teenager. They can also do bad, such as transforming an anatomically correct model into something that isn't humanly possible. But sometimes, skillful editing can create a great deal of lolz.

I'm sure most of us have had an awkward photobomb and were not to happy about it, but how would you react if the hilarious Ken Jeong decided to ambush your set with the lovely Kate Upton? Well during GQ's slim corduroy pants fashion shoot he did just that.

Released on May 21, 1980, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back has become over the years one of the most epic space films ever. The Star Wars series has resulted in a cultural phenomenon and made a tremendous effect on the film industry. Photos have surfaced showing the behind the scenes action including old tricks used to pull of some of the "mind-blowing" effects we watched as kids. You have got to see these.

While shooting a rare Kakapo parrot in New Zealand, Mark Carwardine got more participation from the bird than he expected. In this 2-minute video that is sure to make you smile Carwardine is apparently mistaken for an attractive mate. So what do you think, should photographers play in active role in the conservation and breeding of rare animals in the wild?

Noam Galai recently wrote an article showing us how to use reverse image searching like Google Images and TinEye to see where your images are being used online. Today I used reverse image searching to prove that my ex-girlfriend is a liar.

Phase One asked me to go on a speaking tour through China (Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing) to share about my photo career, creative inspiration, and being a Phase One shooter myself, to demo their innovative new IQ2 digital medium format camera back system. After flying in to Hong Kong from Washington DC just hours before, I had the great honor and pleasure to be a part of Digital Rev's Cheap Camera Challenge. A broken Holga + jet lag + beer + a goof like myself = What could go wrong?

All day I have been hunkered down in my office chair pounding through emails, album designs, and editing. My camera zipped away in my bag, my equipment strewn across my office floor. While the perception of being a full time photographer is one of double rainbows the reality is there is so much more to what we do. The following infographic should be a required reading for anyone ready to give up their day job to live the "rock style life" of a photographer.

Everyone knows the Internet was invented so people could look at photos of cats.

In the latest interwebs chuckle, Sports Balls Replaced With Cats just upped that ante by swapping out sporting equipment with furry felines.

To see more photoshopped hilarity head over to the Facebook page right meow.

When it comes to compositing, the most tedious part of the Photoshop workflow to me has to be the extracting of objects from the background. With so many different ways to extract a subject: the pen tool, the lasso tool, refine edge, or Fluid Mask, it can be hard to find the technique that best suits your workflow. Commercial and editorial photographer Michael Herb has recently released an amusing quick mask tutorial that might just be the thing to get you out of your compositing rut.

I know I know, memes on Fstoppers? YES! Memes on Fstoppers. I am rarely a fan of these corny internet trends, but this 'Vadering' craze is pretty dang creative. Also note that I am not a Star Wars fan, and I still find these things to be incredibly entertaining. I have said it a million times, it isn't always how a shot is executed or how technically sound or high quality an image is, sometimes it's all about the concept. Enjoy!

Since the inception of DSLRs, RODE Microphones have never been far behind when it comes to making accessories to capture better audio for our filmmaking projects. Their iXY Mic for the iPhone came out recently and was well received, but this new product is quite a step forward. The i16 Mic from RODE captures a staggering sixteen tracks simultaneously at 24-bit/96kHz.

It's time... YouTube wants to thank you for all your great entries. YouTube finally has enough videos to begin selecting a winner after years of collecting videos at the rate of 70 hours per minute, it's finally over. "We've been thrilled with all of the diverse, creative entries we've seen so far, and we can't wait to begin the process of selecting the best video. We'll be announcing the winner in 10 years."

From sultry ballads to uplifting melodies, Michael Bublé can definitely bust out a few tunes. In his most recent music video 'It's a Beautiful Day', famed music video director, Marc Klasfeld, talks about the long steadicam shots used in the longer sequences of the video. The video was shot using an ARRI Alexa. I always find it interesting to see how they go about filming music videos especially those with larger production values.

Through the years of excitement, down turns, and overall joy of our beautiful love for photography, we share a lot of experiences as we progress in the industry. No matter how divided we are in opinions, one thing we share is our love for photography. We may bicker over camera brands and techniques but you're reading this because like me, you love this industry.

A Polish man proposed to his girlfriend by creating a fake horror movie trailer. Not just fake, but actually pretty good. The video was made by combining snippets of scenes from "The Grey," "The Bourne Ultimatum" and "Essential Killing" and dramatic music to give that finish touch. His unsuspecting girlfriend went to the movie theatre with 2 of her friends, not knowing that night will change her life. Seeing her face when she realizes what's going on is priceless.

This isn't the first time Air New Zealand has made waves across the internet. While their previous safety video featured hobbits, elves, and wizards in a Lord of the Rings inspired piece, this new video features wilderness survival talent Bear Grylls. In this behind the scenes video, you can get a closer look at the conditions and locations the crew had to work around, while having a fun time even while trying to keep warm on the mountaintop. Check the BTS, then click on for the final video!

Not only is this video hilarious, NSFW, cute, and lovable, but we also get an awesome look behind the scenes at the cameras and filmmaking techniques used to create it. Matt & Kim, you've knocked it out of the park on this one. Check out the video by clicking to the left, then check out the BTS video inside the post. Oh yeah, the song is super catchy too!

Guest Writer's and Dale and Jill Lempa of Lempa Creative are a husband and wife team of photographers from Cary, NC who specialize in wedding and engagement photography. If you're a wedding photographer, then you can understand how stressful or hectic weddings are. Sometimes it might not occur that the bride is just as, if not more stressed out than we are. Dale and Jill have taken the time to share these helpful insights in just what the bride is thinking and how you as the photographer can help!

Introducing the latest and not so greatest product from PhotoJojo, the Look Lock. The Look Lock allows you to attach your smartphone to your hotshoe mount using a large and out of place aluminium arm, proving once again, that the camera accessory market is completely out of ideas.