Hacks

As photographers, we may not always think about taking pictures of ourselves, but having a current headshot is extremely important. Think of it as your own personal little billboard that allows people to see your ability as a photographer. After all, if you don't have a good picture of yourself on your website, what would make anybody believe that you can take quality pictures of anyone else?

I started using Syrp for time-lapse and motion control almost a year ago and I find the system very good for what it is; a way for photographers to step into motion control at a relatively low price point. The first piece of Syrp kit I purchased was their Genie Mini and having the ability to pan was a way to add more interest in any time-lapse I wanted to create. After a month I went ahead and purchased the rest of their 3-axis kit including the Syrp 5.2' Magic Carpet Long Track Slider which has been great to use. The only issue is if you want a longer slider, Syrp doesn't make a way for you to connect two of their metal sliders together. With very little ingenuity, you can connect as many metal sliders together as you'd like at a relatively low cost.

Let's face it, we all use our phones a little too often. The average person checks their device over 100 times a day. For this reason, I decided to use a fairly unknown hidden function on most smartphones to help curb my habits. Not only did it help tremendously, but it also brought some unexpected benefits to me as a photographer.

Living in Houston, it’s usually very hot and humid here. One of the downfalls is coming from inside a building or the car with AC on cold and then proceeding to go outside to shoot when it's hot outside. Whether it's moving from a cold to warm environment or vice versa, the drastic change in the temperature could cause your camera lenses to fog up. What can you do?

Instagram Stories have become more and more attractive with the latest features such as the tag- and location-based stories. People seem to enjoy these features, and they can drive more potential followers to your account. However, quality content, even in Stories, remains king; and posting a video or a photo that stands out can really make a difference in bringing more followers to your page. As photographers or videographers, we truly have a massive advantage in producing great content that people want to see. So in this article, I’ll show you how to post your amazing work to your Story even if said content is older than 24 hours.

We all know how highly respected the Pelican brand is when it comes to protecting your photography equipment. The case's waterproof qualities and seemingly indestructible nature make them the go to choice for many professionals. If you thought they were just for keeping your gear safe then think again, they actually have many more practical benefits than just the obvious.

Looking to add some color to your shadows? There are a few different methods to achieve this, but what if you could do it all in-camera? Well, you can. Jay P. Morgan from The Slanted Lens covers four different ways to add some color into your shadows with gels.

For photographers just beginning to invest in studio equipment, a beauty dish probably isn’t too high on their wish list of light modifiers. They can be expensive, and are not as versatile as softboxes. In this video, Joe Edelman breaks down the beauty dish and shows how to create the beauty dish look on the cheap.

New cars have cameras everywhere – in addition to the almost-ubiquitous backup cameras that will be required standard equipment on all new cars next year, newer cars have front-facing cameras that enable a host of safey-related features. But what if you could use that camera for photography? Turns out that you can, with a little bit of ingenuity and some hacking from Volvo engineers.

Adobe and Panasonic are quickly gaining a reputation as the Simon and Garfunkel of the video industry. They need each other, but they just don’t get on. The latest release of Premiere Pro 2017.1.2 was announced with much fanfare of file handling for the problematic Panasonic GH5 10-bit 4:2:2 video files. Good news right? Think again.

Back in the good old days of film photography, contact sheets or proof sheets were one of the best ways to view results from black and white or color negative film shoots. Printed on photographic paper, these sheets were exposed in a darkroom by laying a roll of negative film typically cut up and placed in transparent sleeves. They are a great way to see an entire roll of film in one glance. Web galleries and slide shows have all but replaced them in this digital age, but for those few who are still shooting the odd roll of film and don't have access to a darkroom, here's a film and digital solution for making contact sheets at home using a light table and a digital camera.

It’s always important to stop and smell the photos – but what happens when your stop is at night, in complete darkness without any lights to help you out? You improvise. There are a few things you can do to help you compensate for lack of proper lighting equipment.

Gear Acquisition Syndrome isn't just about camera bodies and lenses; it definitely extends to lighting as well. But sometimes, it's great to see someone go back to the bare basics of manipulating light. That's exactly what Daveed Benito does in this great video in which he uses only flashlights, and watching his process is a valuable lesson in lighting.

Working with a second shooter has a ton of advantages: you can cover more moments, you get different angles and perspective on the same moments, and they even allow you to try new things during the day that you normally couldn't afford to do. One of the more frustrating things about working with a second shooter though, is when you get back home to later find out that your cameras were not synced to the correct time. What you're left with is images from the reception all intermixed with images from getting ready.

Modern DSLR and mirrorless cameras are capable of shooting razor sharp footage in spectacular 4k 60fps and up. But how do you give your footage a cinematic feel without purchasing pricey anamorphic lenses and professional cinema cameras? Fstoppers is here to help with five great hacks to achieving a cinematic feel to your video without spending a small fortune.

Half the fun of photography is the experimentation. Sometimes, with a little ingenuity, you stumble upon a great image or a new technique that can blossom into an entire series or simply provide a bit of fun on a rainy day. Here are 10 such tricks you can easily try out.

Google’s Pixel has been hailed as one of the best on the market, some even calling it the best. I’m not saying the iPhone’s camera is lackluster, but is there something missing?

The YouTube channel Rideable Entertainment may just have created the most impressive DIY camera slider I have ever seen. It's made partially of wood but not in a cheap way. It has more of a Steam Punk look to it with some effort put into the finishing. The most impressive part is that they even managed to make it motorized, something that a lot of affordable sliders in the early days couldn't even do.

DIY projects are in abundance on YouTube and I just can't get enough of them. Back in January I posted about YouTuber Matt Perks from DIYPerks and his amazing project building a 1,000 watt water-cooled LED lamp. Well he has a new DIY project that has me super excited to try and build my own. Perks' new video goes into great detail and lists all the parts needed to build a motorized desk partition that can be added to any existing desk. He calls his a "monitor lift" but the possibilities I've already imaged that I could use it for are even more useful. If you're like me and have a ton of things in and around your desk but very limited and cluttered desk space, then this could be a super easy build that might resolve some of your clutter in a really cool way.

Shooting suspended objects in your images can be done a few different ways, from the use of Photoshop to the simple and effective use of wire or fishing line. My first instinct would be to grab clear fishing line. Not having done any work with fishing line in suspending objects, I would not even have thought about getting brown or even a greenish tint line to use in the set, as Jay P. Morgan from The Slanted Lens packs in his fishing line kit box for various projects and scenes. In this video, he shares all his tips on this approach, including how he decides to use a certain color based on the background.

If you're on a tight budget or don't have much room, this video will show you how to take advantage of literally every square inch you have.

If you're into that film noir look à la "Double Indemnity" (and who isn't?), this is the tutorial for you. Using only an off-camera flash, a food box, and some tape, you can create this moody and cool lighting effect.

As many of you I'm sure, I have boxes full of various grip gear: magic arms, C-clamps, A-clamps, ball heads, Studs, and more. I love grip gear. I absolutely love the versatility and functionality each piece has both in its dedicated uses or how you can always come up with new and imaginative ways to solve any problem. There are a ton of items out there made specifically for photography and cinematography but some of my favorite lesser-known grip supports are Ram Mounts. Cheesycam.com seems to feel the same way in one of their newest videos.

Last month, I wrote an article called Hacking Instagram to Grow a Huge Following and Build Better Engagement with "Instagram Pods" that was received far better than I ever thought possible. I received hundreds of direct messages within the app of people asking about Instagram pods as well as wanting to join one. I apologize to those I have not yet gotten back with but rest assured, the hack seems to work and has sparked new life into my social media experience on the platform. Not only has it doubled my engagement, likes, and blown comments through the roof in comparison to a few months ago but its become a new found way to connect with new creatives from around the world.

There are several lists and articles covering what you should carry in your bag for a photoshoot, but they mostly cover items for yourself, models, and a few small accessories for your camera. One thing I haven't noticed in many of them is items or even a kit covering your equipment and the screws you made need. Jay P. Morgan with The Slanted Lens shares his two camera equipment emergency kit cases that he stored in his truck for shoots.

eBay and the like are veritable treasure troves of interesting old lenses. One of the common issues with these lenses, however, is the presence of fungus. This helpful video makes it easy to clean the inside of the lens and get it working like new!

Matt over at DIY Perks, a Youtube channel dedicated to electronic based DIY projects, made a tutorial on how to build a 1000w equivalent liquid cooled LED light. The best part is it's daylight balanced at 5600k so perfect for simulating a sunny day or Window light when the sun just won't cooperate.

If you're like me, a computer that isn't snappy and intuitive is extremely annoying to you. For those of us that spend hours each day using them for work, changing a few small settings and knowing the right shortcuts can really add up, both in time saved and user experience. Phlearn is here with a great video to get your Mac running correctly.

The time of year in which many of us pause, reflect, and consider the changes we wish to make for the year ahead has arrived. Resolution inquiries may excite you or fill you with dread as friends or family members begin asking you what you have planned for 2017. Myself, I am not a fan of resolutions set at New Year and forgotten a few weeks later. Some of us have likely abandoned several already. Research continues to show us that one thing is very clear, to be successful, you must have clear goals, but you must also become very intentional in your process toward that target. So here is a list of things you can change in your live today, that will benefit you greatly if you make them a part of your routine.

Hands up, who is doing a year-long photo project in 2017? I see. That's quite a few of you. Commendable. It's a big thing, to commit yourself to do something creative for a whole year. Heck, it's a big thing to commit yourself to doing most anything for a whole year. Imagine committing to eating chia seeds every day for a year, or biking to work, or giving up smoking, or giving up biking or chia seeds. I shudder to think. But you don't have to. It's fine not to. No, that doesn't mean you should slack off and do nothing. Here's the case for smaller, shorter, more concentrated projects. They're just as fulfilling, I promise.

Caleb Pike released a string of interesting and fresh camera hacks over the past year. This time, he's tackling wireless monitoring; a problem that we all know can be expensive and time consuming. Does this leave you open to criticism before you've even finished the shot? Is it the equivalent to handing over raw images? Let's talk about how to do it, and why you should do it.

It's winter in the Northern hemisphere. Though it's only been winter for about week – at least if you go by the Old Farmer's Almanac, which I'm certain we all still read religiously – it's been cold for a while. For film photographers, summer is a happy season with enough light, with gorgeous colors, and little worry about malfunctioning equipment. If you're not hanging out in the wettest of jungles or the hottest of deserts, anyway. The cold is less kind to our equipment and our medium. Cameras are susceptible to malfunction, film becomes brittle.

If you find yourself shooting B-roll or detail shots and want to spice it up, but don't have all your gear, here are eight tricks using everyday items you can find on location.

“Memories are important, because with a terminal illness, you’re not going to live a full life,” explains James Dunn. Suffering from epidermolysis bullosa, a rare skin condition that causes blisters and extremely fragile skin, he can’t use a camera without assistance. However, that may now have changed.

One may be the loneliest number, but it may also be all you need. Gear is necessary for photography. Gear is a huge part of the fun of photography for many photographers. And having a variety of lenses at our disposal allows us to get shots in all kinds of circumstances. But when you're not out shooting for money, and instead are trying out a slowed-down approach to photography for a personal project, one prime lens may do nicely.

Apple just released some quick tips from professional photographers for shooting in Portrait Mode on the iPhone 7 Plus. For those that thought you'd find some tricks in the Tips app on your iPhone, you thought wrong. But Apple is finally sharing a few tips online. Although fairly easy to use, these tips can help an unfamiliar user to better understand the dual-camera system and how to get the best out of Portrait Mode.

The biggest downside to using a gimbal is losing basic controls of the camera. Sure, you can use a monitor, but you can't actually control the camera. Could your phone fix this problem?

When you hear "Sony Alpha" and "battery life" in the same sentence, it tends to be followed with a groan or sigh, because if one article has covered it, a dozen have covered it and made a big deal about how quickly the small batteries in the Alpha cameras run out. For me, 90 percent of my time with my Sony a7S II is spent doing video work, frequently during fast-paced events or sequences or racing the clock with lighting conditions. There's nothing more frustrating than being mid-shot and seeing that dreaded "Battery Exhausted" display pop up on your screen after draining your last battery after a long day of production. So, what options do you have to help extend the life of your battery?

A major concern I hear from boudoir photographers is the lack of a formal studio space for shooting. While I do have a downtown studio in a historic area of Palatka, Florida, if I am traveling there is not always that option of finding a shared area. Understanding how to create your own studio space in hotels, vacation homes, or Airbnbs can bring your boudoir business front and center to potential clients.

Travel is both an important and frustrating part of being a photographer. Many photographers judge their success by how many miles they've flown or days spent on the road. Others dream about getting the chance to fly around the world taking photos. No matter how much you travel, for a lot of us, being in airports and flying in general is a necessary evil. Thankfully, creative people keep coming up with great tools to try to make our time spent in airports less painful.

So you find yourself on set without any lights, and no reflectors. Normally you would need to get creative and make something up. However Scott Tallenger is trying to fix this niche problem by building a reflector right into a messenger bag.

For many photographers who are primarily outdoor shooters and don’t have their own studio, finding an indoor space to shoot on a budget can be difficult. With the winter months fast approaching, shooting outdoors is going to become an even greater challenge. Here are six places you can find indoor space to hone your studio photography skills, for free or cheap, while you wait out the winter.

Having a recognizable style helps you get hired for the right job. So how do you develop your style? The truth is that it’s not that difficult, but it does require consistency and patience. In this post, we’ll be looking at some practical ways to develop your style.

There is one versatile and affordable modifier called 5-in-1 collapsible reflector kit that practically every photographer owns. As the name implies, it can be put to use five ways, but have you ever tried all the possible usage variations of this babe? Usually, it is a double-sided material with four different finishes: gold, silver, black, and white, which is zipped around a white scrim frame. We are going to analyze the characteristics of each side and see how and when to use them to our advantage, and trust me it is going to be more than five usage tips.

For the last 10 days, I have been on easy street. Floating on a cloud. My photography life expertly hacked. Thanks to a Facebook video, my single biggest frustration with my Nikon D750s has been alleviated.

I bet everyone has done a baby shoot in their life even if it is not their genre. I bet majority has faced magenta skin tone on the final pictures of the newborns. Whereas it might be suitable for extra realistic or photojournalistic photos, most often it doesn’t look that adorable on final images, where we visualize those sweeties in a better light and color tones.

If you’re not shooting raw images, selecting the right picture profile could be the difference between a decent image and an incredible one. I was surprised to find out that some photographers didn’t know that they can download extra picture profiles and install them. Why waste the opportunity?

This low-tech alternative to digital photography can produce stunning art. Last year, I've recovered five out of ten “cameras." Some are found by others and stolen, others are simply blown off by a passing storm. Yet others are removed by bomb squads... I'm sharing these pictures with you, which are scanned negatives of black and white photographic paper. The brightest parts are the sun's streaks, burnt and etched in the paper - along with bubbles, rips and sand that texturize the images in bizarre ways.

As photographers, we have a never-ending, ever-perpetuating growth of photos piling up on our hard drives. Inevitably, whether that work is professional or personal, our photos end up taking space on cloud storage accounts that we keep upgrading whenever we reach the limit. But what if you could cut the size of these files in half without losing any visible quality? You could save a lot of headache, not to mention, money.

Portrait photography is very diverse. While some enjoy the comfort of studio portraits and the flexibility it brings, others prefer the variety of backdrops the outdoors provides. While it is totally realistic to create all kinds of weather moods in the studio, it often involves a bigger budget, whereas one can achieve similar results for free by relying on the weather forecast and proper equipment choices.