Behind the Scenes

There are a few behind the scenes videos out there that show photographers working with ice climbers, but often the climbs are right next to the road, making it convenient to bring tons of gear, power, and spend all day getting coverage. So what does it take to create those images when you're miles deep into the woods, and can only take what you can carry on your back?

Take a few minutes to experience this spectacular piece of 90s gold featuring Jean Claude Van Damme, or should I say JCVD. Before this ultimate film bad-ass was featured doing epic splits on trucks for Volvo, he was showing us what cameras were capable of in the 90s film industry. 

Late last year I wrote an article entitled “Why I Sold My RED and Downgraded to a C100.” The article, as you can imagine, was met with a bit of hostility. In short, Filmmakers and Red-users couldn’t seem to understand how I could give up the cinematic image capabilities of my RED Scarlet and settle for an entry level Canon Cinema camera.

Matt Kloskowski, Director of education for Kelbyone, provides a taste of what attendees can look forward to at the 2014 Photoshop World Conference and Expo in this exclusive tutorial. This year's Photoshop World Conference and Expo will be held in Atlanta, Georgia between April 8-10th.

Simeon Quarrie, owner of wedding production company Vivida, is back with another amazing and unique editorial-style pre-wedding photoshoot for one of his couples. In this behind the scenes video he shows just how much planning and work goes into a great quality photoshoot production.

The night sky is an astounding phenomenon that fascinates almost every individual. Stars have been around for thousands of years and yet, humankind is still mesmerized by their beauty. Despite the distance, we have such a strong connection and love for these great unknown entities. Capturing the magnificence of the night sky is highly rewarding and can be an exciting process as well.  

A recent tutorial online shows us how we're able to take our video production with the use of a video slider. Often, camera sliders can cost hundreds of dollars, and can even break $1000 for a professional quality one. This latest tutorial shows you how you can make one in just an hour of time, and a mere $30 spent at your local Ikea. 

Let's imagine you've lost the drive that houses all of your RAW files for Lightroom. Let's also assume ninjas broke into your off site location and stole your backup. Let's even go so far as to say that hackers erased all of your images backed up in the cloud. If you've made previews there may still be one way to recover your work. 

Few months back we featured the incredible and unique rock climbing photos of Seattle-based photographer Kiliii Fish. This week Kiliii finished his newest photo series he worked on for a long time - this time survival was the theme. The results? Nothing short of epic. In this interview he explains the whole process and reveals how he shot and edited it all. 

Day in and day out I see images that raise the question; what is the photographer truly trying to convey in the photograph? In fashion photography, editorial story-telling is commonplace, but you must have a strong foundation for that to manifest properly in your image. Forget the lighting, focus or pose, first you need to question the frame.

I’ve just watched one of the best fashion shorts I’ve seen in months. It combines gorgeous color, cinematography, camera movement and Hitchcock-styled, film noir sensibility beautifully. Interestingly, after speaking to one of the directors, regardless of budget or what we’re shooting, there are real gems to be gleaned from their experiences. Read on for the full scoop.  

I've spent the last 2 weeks in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, shooting stills and video in freezing winter conditions. Snow, ice, blisteringly cold wind and more. In this video I share what I found to be best for packing my kit, protecting it in the field, and keeping my eyes from freezing to my viewfinder. 

And of course she pulls it off! There are so many articles online right now that are in a fuss over how manipulative Photoshop editing can be. Check out Fstopper's post on how Women React to Being Photoshopped As Cover Models if you don't believe me.

Photographer Michael "Nick" Nichols is a National Geographic veteran and one of the best wildlife photographers working today. In this episode of National Geographic Live!, his imagery and stories about Africa's elephants and lions will both break and warm your heart.

In his first ever published book Behind The Scenes, photographer Patrick Van Dam creates thoughtful juxtapositions out of snapshots taken behind the scenes on playmate photo-shoots. According to Van Dam's website there are "over 150 photos of unexpected, undirected and natural responses; humor, disillusionment, absurdism and vulnerability in an erotic setting." 

Last year Sigma released "Sigma Aizu," an unexpectedly captivating video showing how the company manufactures their products. It was not only a rare look into the process, but also done in such way that mirrors Sigma's recent change in their attention to detail and love of the craft. Part 2 was just released, and it matches the artistic integrity of the original.  

Setting aside the runny noses, forget the frozen fingers and the frostbitten toes, and the winter season can lend itself to some pretty magical photos. Personally, and I’m sure many of you will agree, it’s hard to find a willing subject and convince myself to drag my gear out when there is a blizzard.

Compositing is no beginner’s tactic. Before you dive in, provide time for the proper research and learn the skill set to prior to the job. Like many photographers in the game, initially I had serious trouble with lighting groups of 3 or more.

It's no secret that we creatives are often introverted, or simply don't know the first thing about self-promotion. Thus there are thousands and thousands of brilliant talents out there that very few have discovered. I have been on a mission of finding such gems and helping them expose their work to the worldwide online photography and digital imagery communities.

Fashion icon, model, plaything. No matter how you see her Barbara Millicent Roberts (a.k.a. Barbie) proves that she's still got it at the age of 55 by landing the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition (technically a promotional cover-wrap for the American International Toy Fair).

Black bear bile, rhino horns, shark fins and other endangered wildlife and their illicit trade account for more than $10 billion annually. For the past ten years, documentary photographer Patrick Brown has explored this story, shooting from the jungles of Cambodia to the markets of Guangzhou.

Working at high altitude is always a challenge, but trying to follow fast moving objects that are actually people defying death is a whole other level of intensity. In this behind the scenes video for a Verizon Fios ad, Director Rob Cohen has wingsuit flyers recorded jumping off of a cliff, but then has to get creative to shoot the not-so-real landing.

It's been 3 years since Fstoppers' Patrick Hall posted on the Midway project, where Seattle-based photographer Chris Jordan made us aware of the horrific plight of albatrosses living on the Midway Atoll in the North Pacific Ocean.

Wedding Chicks has responded (located at bottom of article).

If you are a lifestyle photographer one of your jobs is to make your images look natural- not stiff, not awkward, and definitely not staged. Your audience should see your images as moments that were going to happen regardless of whether or not you were there to capture it. The imagery that Roxy uses in their advertising is a spot-on example of this.

This brilliant video edited by Nelson Carvajal shows just how much visual effects have changed throughout movie history. The video starts with 1977's Star Wars and ends with this year's nominees for "Best Visual Effects". It wasn't until 1977 that the Academy Awards created an official category for "Best Visual Effects".

Have you ever tried to recreate an iconic image? It could take days of preparations to get anywhere close to the original. The location needs to be perfect, the makeup and wardrobe need to be spot on and the lighting needs to be accurate.

Photographers and artists alike are extremely passionate people. With strict deadlines and hectic schedules, we all have the tendency to jump the gun and act or open our mouth before taking a step back from the situation. There is one word which you will be hearing a lot throughout this article. It is a trait at the core of what we do and it’s very much a necessary virtue: patience. 

Shooting speeding boats at dusk from a chase boat with a camera on a stabilizer is the norm for Richard Steinberger, a maritime photographer based out of Denver, Colorado.

The concept of doing a Robocop photoshoot has always been on my wish list, but have not been able to find someone with the proper original costume... until now. You see, my friends and I have always obsessed over the original Robocop film since it first came out (don't mention the sequels). I am just thankful that my photography career has allowed me to recreate the daydreams I had as a kid.

Last month we posted an article about a unique LED lighting solution called “Strahlen” that was crowdfunding. On paper, the specs of these lights look great, but how well do they perform in a real production setting? I got my hands on a kit of Strahlens, and after an interview shoot with them I found out that they were the real deal. 

I recently came upon an exhibit entitled “Faces In The Crowd” by photographer Alex Prager and it really got me thinking. Not about the creativity, the concept, or the message. I wasn’t even thinking about any of the technical aspects that would have gone into creating these images.

In this video Enlight Photo highlights one of their products by showing how it can be used to get the best reactions possible from your kids. I personally haven't tested this product myself but the idea of using an audio trigger to get children involved in the process seems like a... sound idea.

A little over a year ago Felix Baumgartner made history with his record breaking “space jump”, the world’s highest skydive from 127,852ft above ground. The jump was incredible but what many of us couldn’t understand is why there seemed to be no POV footage from Felix's perspective. Yesterday, GoPro released an edit of what many of us have been waiting more than a year for.

Being an avid iPhone shooter myself, I'm always looking for more ways to make my images better without adding the computer to the process. In this quick video tutorial, David Molnar shows you how to use the app TouchReTouch to clone out distracting spots in your iPhone and Android phone photos. 

Kai of DigitalRev is known for his Cheap Camera Challenges where he gives successful photographers a cheap camera and asks them to create awesome images with it. Photo mogul Chase Jarvis decided recently to turn the tables and give his own challenge to Kai himself, and see how he can handle it.

There is a lot of money in food, beverage, and product photography and a huge demand for photographers that can build these images. Think of the shear number of images you see when you walk into your local grocery store or while driving down the highway. Those images are being created by photographers that specialize in creating these images.

In under five years, Andy Frame went from being a photography nobody to running one of the most successful photography operations that I'm aware of.

When I first picked up a DSLR and got a taste of artificial lighting, I loved shooting in darkness. I felt like I could control light a lot easier without having to fight the ambiance of a location or sun. Using an array of speedlights, I would light the location and subject how I wanted. Sometimes, that included putting speedlights in lamps or mounting them in the background.

In this video from The Slanted Lens, photographer Jay P Morgan takes you behind the scenes at East West Bank as he shoots a two camera interview of two executives. By mixing daylight with LED light, he shows you how to blend a single LED light source with natural window light while on location.  

Marc Donahue from Permagrin Films keeps popping up with new and interesting timelapse or GoPro projects– and his latest work features the gorgeous city of San Francisco. Using unique motion timelapses, Marc and his team put together another amazing piece of work.

Adding props is an important and sometimes difficult part of food photography. There are times when an image needs the negative space, while other times, a well-placed prop will take the photo from good to great. When selecting a prop, I have found that menu-based props are the easiest to use correctly. Let me show you how to style a shot with menu-based props.

Bobby Bruderle is an incredibly talented photographer that has turned his love for light and storytelling into film making. Bobby is a friend of mine and that I've seen grow his career in a matter of a few years. His name is one to remember.

Adventure Sports Photographer Tim Kemple was one of the only photographers in the world who was lucky enough to try out the new Phase One IQ250 that was just announced earlier today. Check out the behind the scenes video, but also read the full article for my interview with Tim, where he shares his thoughts on the system, as well as what it's like to beta test cameras. 

I would have thought the storm trooper armor would have been twerk prohibitive but I was wrong, I was very wrong. Check out the behind the scenes of the making of this video below. 

These are from ScottDW on youtube, go check him out and follow him if you dig the videos. Show some love, people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZzHeCSHGsU

Photographing weddings can be tough for a lot of people, and the area I find most of my assistants struggling is at the reception. Many times throughout a wedding you can rely on natural light, but what is going to make or break your reception images is your ability to master artificial lighting.

Food, beverage, and product photography is all about sculpting light, your composition, and understanding which modifiers to use in which situations. In this behind the scenes tutorial, PRO EDU takes you in their St. Louis studio for a step by step look at building an image.

Wistia is a video player (think Youtube and Vimeo) for businesses who want a high quality player but don't necessarily want the social features you get with the mainstream platforms. In addition to being a quirky and fun culture and offering a sweet product, the Wistia team also provides tutorials and tips on making your own great company videos.

I recently wrapped up a kickstarter project that was trying to raise $10,000 for the production of a documentary film. During its 30-day run, and weeks of planning that went into it beforehand, I got my own crash course in fundraising and marketing. I’ll share what I learned in this article. 

Few months back we featured a great video showing how Joe Fellows creates his stunning parallax videos. After posting the article, many of you had follow-up questions on his techniques and methods, so he decided to release a 'part 2' video explaining some of the cool tricks he uses to transform a 2D photo into a 2.5D video.