Photography Hacks

Some of the best photography advice comes from photographers who couldn't afford the right tool and figured out how to get the same result anyway. This section is for the improvised solutions, the unconventional techniques, and the 'wait, that actually works?' discoveries that make photography more creative and more accessible. No gatekeeping — just useful ideas.

Use Retro Lenses on Modern Cameras for Filmic Magic

In an age of ultra sharpness and perfect optical balance, our technically brilliant images can often lack charm. So in this tutorial, I'll show you how to use retro lenses on your modern digital camera for photographs that have a lot of character and harken back to the days of film. 

5 Stay at Home Mobile Phone Photography Ideas You Can Try Today

Here in the United States, the coronavirus is still (ostensibly) keeping people at home, and that means lost gigs and fewer chances to shoot outside. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get creative at home. If you want to challenge yourself using only your phone (or if that’s all you have), here are a few tips to create some interesting images with minimal tools. 

Five Unhelpful Yet Common Pieces of Advice From Other Photographers

Navigating the plethora of advice from other photographers in videos, articles, and comment sections can be a tricky journey. Some tips are indeed helpful and while others, even though well-intentioned, are repeated ad nauseam without being challenged enough.

4 Things I Do at the End of Every Photoshoot

At the end of a hard days shooting, it is easy to make mistakes, which is why I have this four part check list that I follow obsessively to make sure that I have everything I need before calling a wrap on the day.

10 Great Hacks to Make Your Life Easier When Shooting Video

Filmmaker and educator Caleb Pike has shot his fair share of video, and he’s put together a list of excellent hacks that he’s accumulated over the years that he is certain will make your life easier. Check out this short video, and harvest a few nuggets of wisdom. 

How to Use Your Fujifilm Camera as a Webcam

With Cam Link USB dongles proving both expensive and sometimes a little tricky to track down, you might be pleased to learn that more free workarounds are emerging. This video shows you how to set up your Fujfilm camera to work on your Mac computer as a webcam for use in applications such as Zoom and Facebook Live. 

How to Use Your Sony Camera as a Webcam

With so many of us broadcasting from our homes, you might be keen to know how to use your Sony alpha series camera as a webcam. Check out this quick and easy guide for how to make your Facebook Live streams and maybe Zoom conferences look a little more professional. 

How to Shoot High Key Portraits With a Single Speedlight

Did you think that having just one flash unit is not enough to create bright high-key portraits? 

Straight from Manila-based wedding and portrait photographer Jiggie Alejandrino, this live demonstration and tutorial on shooting a model against a plain background to produce high-key portraits might be perfect for your practice shoots while stuck at home. 

Self-Isolation Series, Part One: Product Photography

Many countries around the world are now experiencing social distancing and practicing self-isolation, me (in the U.K) included. So I’m pledging to run a series of photography tutorials for those of us affected by these measures.  

Clever Indoor Photography Tips for Beginners

For those of you with a neglected DSLR camera gathering dust on the shelf this is the perfect time to learn some new techniques, like a few basics of still-life photography. Whether you have a dusty DSLR or just a smartphone, this video has some great tips to help beat the self-isolation blues. 

4 Tips to Make Any Subject Look Good

You can’t polish a turd, but you can do your darndest to make sure all your ducks are in a row, photographically speaking. To prove that you can make anything look good, I'm shooting an old potato. Surprisingly, it doesn’t take a lot to make your images sing, so here’s my top four tips to make any subject look good. 

Six Steps to Sharper Selfies

So, you want to photograph yourself but don’t have anyone to stand in to get your focus set? No problem, all you need is a tripod and a coin for sharp selfies, every time. 

Here’s Why You Don’t Need a Macro Lens

Macro photography has such a draw for beginner photographers because it opens up a world we can’t see with the naked eye. Most camera stores will tell you that you need a macro lens to do this kind of work, but don’t believe the hype. There are plenty of ways to do macro with the kit you already have. 

How to Shoot Fake Car Driving on a Tiny Budget

Setting up a rig to film a car being driven can be a huge job, but cheating it in studio can be equally complex. Filmmaker Mark Bone is an expert when it comes to making professional-looking footage on a shoestring budget, and in this great video, he runs through his process for making in-car footage that looks better than much of what you might see on Netflix. 

Unlimited Backgrounds Using Just Your TV

Finding backgrounds for indoor portraiture can be a pain after a while. You can get mileage out of proper backdrops and different lighting setups, but there's an option for punchy portraits with for all intents and purposes, unlimited variations. 

5 Productive New Year’s Resolutions for Photographers in 2020

At the start of the year 2019, I told myself to make significant changes for me to achieve more this year and it has resulted to what I can definitely call the best year for my photography. Let me share with you 5 of them that I think can bring you more progress for 2020.

 

How to Shoot Amazing Backlit Images in the Snow Using Just One Strobe

Before you drag it to the curb or bury it in the attic, you might want to consider hauling your Christmas tree outside and capturing some great shots using a single speedlight. If that’s not quite your thing, at least check out how this photographer uses snow, fading daylight, and a strobe to create a stunning series of photographs. 

Here Are Five Unusual Uses for Photography Umbrellas

A video recently posted by COOPH, “5 Photo Hacks with Your Umbrella,” provides photographers creative inspiration for a tool that is typically seen as single purpose. Chances are, you will finish it feeling inspired. 

The five hacks in the video are smoke bombing, DIY light source, control the shadow, bouncing, and overhead patterns.

Want to Save Money on Your Adobe Subscription? Try This Simple Trick

Earlier this year, Adobe ditched the option to buy Lightroom for a one-off fee, forcing customers to take out annual subscriptions with monthly payments, and annoying a few people along the way. However, this subscription model does present a few opportunities to save money. Check out this simple trick. 

On-The-Go Digital Storage Tips for Photographers

If you've been having trouble keeping your photos in an organized yet future-proof way, then check out my thoughts on the issue here.  Now that every digital device is getting more and more portable, photographers are also becoming more efficient and flexible in terms of working conditions.

Four Tips for Photographing Christmas Day

I am not an event photographer; the thought of doing so brings out in me a flush of anxiety and perspiration. However, as Christmas Day approaches, being the camera owner of the family, I am thrust into the position. Here are four tips for getting through the day.  

Playing One of the Most Famous Computer Games of the 90s on a Camera

Doom is considered to be one of the most breakthrough and important computer games of all time, and its legacy has endured well into the 21st century. Just for fun, someone decided to see if it could run on a digital camera from 1998, and it turns out, not only can it run on it, you can actually play it! 

How to Convert a Film Negative to a Digital File Without Using a Scanner

Getting film developed is expensive, and depending on where you send it, it can take more than a few days. If you find yourself with some old negative film strips and you're wondering how they would look today, check out this fun tutorial for developing them in Photoshop. 

Five Weird Filmmaking Camera Hacks You’ve Probably Never Seen Before

The internet is awash with camera hacks, and most of them end up being pretty disappointing, often involving a glass ball, some fairy lights, or a cracked mirror. By contrast, this is a collection of five ingenious methods that not only offer shortcuts to getting some cinematic footage, but will hopefully trigger some inspiration. 

10 Ways to Remove a Stuck Lens Filter

If you use screw-in lens filters, sooner or later, you may end up with a stuck lens filter that refuses to come off. Have no fear, though: here are 10 ways to remove that stuck lens filter. 

Does the Panasonic S1 Secretly Have Dual Native ISO Just Like the S1H?

Aside from 6K/24p, one of the most exciting selling points of the S1H that Panasonic launched back in May was its dual native ISO, a feature that allowed users to switch between ISO 640 and 4000 without changing the levels of noise. Strangely, it seems that this feature might also have quietly been included in the much cheaper S1. 

10 Tips to Make Your Photography Life Easier

I admit it: I like easy, especially when it comes to photography. That's why I've come to embrace these 10 tips that I have learned over the years. And most of them won't cost you a penny to incorporate. 

Three Questions That New Photographers Should Avoid Asking

Learning photography, especially for beginners, can really be kickstarted by one’s enthusiasm about the craft. In fact, since people have different ways of learning and different paces of learning as well, being able to ask the right questions most of the time gets one on the right track. So, here are a few questions that one should skip entirely.   

How to Get Into London Fashion Week

If you have aspirations of being a fashion photographer, London Fashion Week is about as big as it can get. It's one of the main fashion capitals of the world, and remains highly respected for both designers and the press. 

How to Unstick Two Filters That Are Stuck Together

Use two threaded circular filters at once and you run a terrible risk: they might get stuck together. It happened to me when I was using a neutral density filter and a circular polarizer. Here’s how I got them unstuck.