Hacks

I'm no painter. In fact, if we ever play Pictionary together, do your best to get on the other team. So, when I wanted to make my own custom backdrops, I knew I was way out of my depth. Like many photographers, I've drooled over Sarah Oliphant's hand painted backdrops for years. When I saw Jeremy Cowart draw his own backdrop on an iPad Pro, I thought I may have something within reach. While I continued trying to decide exactly what Oliphant backdrop I want to start with, I thought maybe I could experiment with some digital painting of my own.

Photography gear can get quite expensive and put a huge dent in our wallets. While there are many things we wouldn’t want to cheap out on, there are several DIY hacks that can solve some of our wants and still fit within our budget. Some of those hacks are great for adding effects and different looks to shots. Here are eight DIY photo filters.

Do you ever shoot with seamless paper as the backdrop? If so, how do you use it? Don’t use it just as a plain background when you can get creative with it. If you're not sure what else you can do with seamless paper, here are 10 creative uses to give you some ideas.

Wrapping up the shooting for your latest vlog is always a satisfying feeling but, of course, the work has only just begun. Cutting, editing, adding sound, text; the list of finishing touches for your vlog goes on. One way to speed up that workflow is to accomplish as much of the work as possible in camera, reducing your workload once you've uploaded your content to your computer. Daniel DeArco has put together a vlog showing off some really easy and effective transitions that will take your vlog from static to dynamic with minimal extra effort.

A pinhole camera is essentially a box with a piece of photo-sensitive paper on the inside and a tiny hole on the other side of the box. It's used by pointing the hole at a light source or reflected light, exposing the paper through the pinhole and then covering again. Simple. So, whats stopping us from doing it with our digital cameras? Nothing, that's what, so get up off your bum and start creating something different, like Blue Mantle Films just did.

One way to spice up your photography is to add gels to your lights so you can produce colorful and edgy looking imagery. Adding wild colors to your photos can offer a lot of creativity but gels can also be used in a much more subtle fashion to slightly alter the color of your background and sky. In today's video I want to share two simple techniques I use to help make my backgrounds on location look more interesting.

Baby it’s cold outside, just look at that ice beard! Only in Northern Michigan would you find someone actually surfing in this kind of cold. But, that’s what a Marquette local, Daniel Schetter or “Surfer Dan,” does. On Christmas day, Photographer Devon Hains ventured out into the cold to photograph Schetter out on Lake Superior. If you’re thinking at all about venturing out in the cold after the next fluffy snowfall to take some shots (and you should), you need to take the appropriate actions to protect your gear. In this article, I’ll share a tip on how not to completely ruin your gear after shooting in the cold.

Whenever you ask one of your creative peers which software they use to edit, you’re probably expecting an answer along the lines of "Photoshop" or "Lightroom." Microsoft Excel is unlikely to be high up on your list – but software engineer Kevin Chen has actually managed to create an HDR photo using exactly that.

If you've ever wondered where photographers are getting this gorgeous colored powder for portraits, stock imagery, and dance photos, it turns out it's very easy and affordable to make at home. This powder can be used in endlessly creative ways to add an eye-catching unique and fine art element to your studio or outdoor photography. Clients and followers love seeing these fun images, and it's an absolute blast to photograph.

I'm no cinematographer. I mean I dabble, like a lot of still shooters do, but I wouldn't put myself under the category of video expert by any means. That being said, I do know what I like and what I think looks good. What I've always really liked is the depth and feel of large format in still photography and, now finally, in video. You don't need to spend a $100,000-plus to do it either. See for yourself how Zev Hoover from Massachusetts accomplished it.

Light is a key factor in photography. It helps shape and create your photo. As the sun changes throughout the day, depending on where you are you may see some thin beams of light fall across the environment. Creating these thin light beams and adding them to your portraits can add some interesting looks. Controlling the light into small beams is one way to create drama and mood in your work. How would you create a thin beam of light on set?

What do you do when worst-case scenario hits? When even after doing your best to prepare for it, it cripples you, and you feel like you're stuck in a depressive "Groundhog's Day" of going through the motions?

Photographers and cinematographers sometimes find themselves in the middle of a shoot wishing they had some piece of equipment to get that shot just right. Whether a gimbal has broken or the light just isn't cooperating, sometimes you just need a creative solution to make the image you visualize in your head. Vlogger and Photographer Hayden Pedersen has put together a video with some clever hacks to help you create the shot you want — video or still — when you might not have exactly the right piece of equipment to accomplish it. And, best of all, you can see them all in less than two minutes.

Like many other photographers and filmmakers today, we need batteries for many of our gear and accessories. Many devices today come with their own rechargeable battery but there are still many gadgets and accessories we use that still can take the standard AA or AAA batteries. Keeping many on hand can be a pain in itself, so I tend to keep a set of traditional non-rechargeable batteries as a backup with many rechargeable ones as the main source for these items that need them. What happens with the rechargeable ones will not recharge anymore?

From the outside looking in, the creative industry can be daunting. We think we need thousands of dollars of equipment to take images on par with our peers – but that’s not strictly true. Here’s a breakdown of how I photographed one of British pop’s biggest acts using cheap lights from eBay.