Recent BTS Articles

[BTS] Sasha Leahovcenco Shoots Dave Moskalets

Sasha Leahovcenco was featured on this site a few weeks ago for a Help Portrait project in northern Russia. This however is a little less crazy, but pretty informative. Watch Sasha as he shoots country musician Dave Moskalets on Folsom Lake.

Gulf Photo Plus In Dubai Should Not Be Missed

Last year Patrick and I were invited out to Dubai to attend Gulf Photo Plus, a photography workshop unlike anything else on the planet. At the time the only thing I knew about GPP was that they did a shootout with 3 big name photographers. I never expected that attending this event would become one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

Sam Hon Makes UFC Fighters Fight Themselves

Sam Hon takes fighting to an entirely new level with his campaign for Optical Panecea. Sam's creative vision in this campaign was to make each fighter fight themselves while drawing creativity from each fighters raw character to make each image unique.

Creative Lighting Techniques You Can Recreate at Home

The best place to practice photography, if it's possible, is in your own home. However, with few of us having acres of space to roam around in our own property, you need to get good at utilizing the space you do have. In this video, learn creative lighting techniques with speedlights even in smaller spaces.

Charming Outtakes Show Off the Candid Life of a Commercial Videographer

It’s the moments between our accomplishments that define us. Particularly in an age of social media, with its carefully curated posts, profiles, and portfolios, it can be hard to appreciate the part of your persona that nobody was ever meant to see. That is until you realize that little bit of you just might be the most real. This certainly seems like the case for Iowa-based Videographer and Producer Tyce Hoskins, whose GoPro outtake reel, “GoPro & I,” is generating buzz for being, well, sort of unprofessional.

Behind the Scenes of an Avant-Garde Hair Shoot

Recently I have been wanting to do an avant-garde hair shoot. I just needed to find the right stylist to work with. A few weeks ago I met Devan Aledia Ford who is a fantastic hair stylist. When I told her about my desire to do a stylized hair shoot, she took the idea and ran with it. She conceptualized a spring-themed, fairytale-inspired shoot. She even styled the wardrobe and did the makeup (never underestimate the power of a great stylist).

Behind the Scenes: Michael Bublé's New Music Video, 'It's a Beautiful Day'

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.

BTS: Kitchen Heat for an Art Museum

A while back, while on a shoot for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art here in Northwest Arkansas, I was asked to get a shot of the museum’s executive chef and the Director of Culinary for their members magazine. Time was short, the kitchen was starting to prep for dinner service, and every second I was there I was inconveniencing someone. I had to get in and out quickly and create a dynamic image in the process. Here’s how it happened.

Even Portrait Lighting With Just One Light

We're being treated to another short-form behind the scenes tutorial from Nathan Elson. This time, Elson is taking us into the studio to show us his techniques for using a single light to create soft even light across a subject.

How to Shoot a Short Film

Have you ever wanted to shoot a short film? I've had ideas, which in my opinion, were great ideas, but it's not often that I grab a pencil and paper to start developing a storyboard, until this video.

How One Director Turned a Film Into an Insane Choose Your Own Adventure

You know, I always thought that Chatroulette was a place you went to speak to random strangers in foreign lands and sometimes see the unwanted privates of strangers in distant lands. Well, one director from Realm Pictures has used the platform in a revolutionary way to create one of the craziest choose your own adventure zombie and space adventure films, in which the viewers give our hero orders that will hopefully save his life and those of his shipmates. Read below to see parts one and two as well as the full behind the scenes content!

How to Create a Photo Studio Without Paying Rent

Studio spaces are sought after by many photographers. While some love shooting in client's homes or in hotel spaces, many do want the tranquility of a defined boudoir space of their own. Building a boudoir studio does not have to be overwhelming or come with expensive price tags. While a brick and mortar location in a downtown area works for some, for others, creating a spot in your home can be the best option for your company.

How a Photographer Shot This Levitating Model on Location

The levitating portrait is something of a classic and for good reason: it's effective at catching the eye and holding the viewer. In this video, watch a full breakdown, including behind-the-scenes footage, of how the shot was achieved, from start to finish.

How to Vlog Like a Professional with YouTuber Sara Dietschy

Sara Dietschy is a professional YouTuber and vlogger based out of New York City. She most famously appeared on the scene over a year ago when she knowingly mocked the one and only Casey Neistat with a hilarious video mimicking his style. Her channel has grown in size and so has her professional expertise in the field for both photographers and videographers alike. Her recent series 'How to Vlog' is a four part series in which she explains how to go through every single step from conception, to editing, all the way to uploading, and finally managing that video online. If you are interested in building a brand online, starting a YouTube page, or beginning your own vlog series this is the place to learn how.

Stop Ignoring Sound and Learn How to Create Amazing Audio for Your Video

UK-based filmmaker, and DSLRguide creator, Simon Cade, walks us through the importance of good audio in our videos. Cade also shows us the gear he uses, how he gets his samples, and how he puts it all together in post. But the biggest take away for me was seeing the amount of creativity, and exploration that actually goes into sound creation.

How to Add Some Energy to Your Product Photographs Using Creative Gels

Shooting product photography can either be a tedious task or it can be a fun and rewarding one. Likewise, looking at product photographs can either be boring or it can enlightening. Using gels to modify the light in your product photographs can be an easy way to add some energy to your images.

Ever Wondered What Challenges Astronaut Photographers Face?

In the last few years, us earth-bound humans have been blessed with stunning still images and breathtaking timelapses that were taken in outerspace. Veteran astronaut-photographer Don Pettit was at the recent SXSW event, and spoke about the challenges of capturing images in space.

[BTSV] Creating Super Heroes with an Overhead

Haristobald's photostream has some interesting shots in it but what is more interesting is how he produced them. Using an old school, overhead projector, A4 sized transparencies, a strobe and a bit of mechanical know how, Haristobald can now transform his environment and his models. See behind the scenes of his latest Superman shoot and jump into the full post to see a video on how he modified an archaic device into a useful photography tool.

Go Back in Time and Behind the Scenes of the Cult Classic, 'The NeverEnding Story'

If you were born in the 70s, 80s, or even the 90s you were likely one of the many who were captivated by the iconic 1984 classic, "The NeverEnding Story." It’s a story that will, well, never end in terms of the memories it reproduces for Gen Y’ers. Go behind the scenes during the creation of the cult classic in this short video.

[BTSV] How to Shoot a Film With an iPhone

Ryan Connolly over at Film Riot, a how-to filmmaking site, just knocked out a short film using the iPhone 4s as his only camera. The best part is, he has also provided us with a very in-depth look at how he did. Everything from app set up, lighting, equipment, the works. See both the final video and the BTSV here.

"We took the challenge of making a short with the iPhone 4s. The goal was to make the iPhone's video mode look as cinematic as possible...

What to Look for When Picking a Frame for a Video Interview

In a previous article, I shared some tips on scouting locations for a documentary video shoot where interviews would be captured. The next step is to decide on a frame that complements your talent, topic, and tone. In this video, we discuss background elements we see in potential frames, any why one “look” might work better than another.

Behind the Scenes Video: eCommerce Shoot for Skreened

Skreened is an eCommerce company that specializes in on-demand screen printing. Shirts are their biggest sellers. Since each shirt design is unique, they needed a library of images with models in blank tees so they could overlay the latest designs in post. When they approached me to shoot for them, their main request was that these portraits be fun and energetic.

This Everything-You-Need-to-Know Tutorial Shows How to Make Spirograph Light Paintings

It didn't take long for artists to realize they could literally paint with light once photography came around... but light painting was certainly popularized by Picasso. While you might find some painting specific subjects by hand, others have found endless variation in more geometric creations. Spirographs, even if you don't know them by name, are everywhere (but are mostly used as designs on wedding invitations). While people have been light painting them into their images for quite some time now, the process isn't always clear. Thankfully, Jason D. Page gives some great tips on how to set up a spirograph shot through his Light Painting Photography Vimeo channel.

Behind the Scenes With the Stunt Coordinator of the 'Atomic Blonde' Movie

Fight stunts are not something that I'm into when shooting video, but I'm always curious how the pros do them. In this video the stunt coordinator of the "Atomic Blonde" movie, Sam Hargrave, breaks down how the fight moves were choreographed. Not only that, but being a second unit director, he also gives insight of how they shot and cut the footage from these scenes.