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?
For the last 10 days, I have been on easy street. Floating on a cloud. My photography life expertly hacked.
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.
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?
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.
There was a time I used to live on a paradise island called Mauritius and the summer lasted almost the whole year round. The sun was not an issue back then, as the sun protection was a ritual. The times have changed and I relocated back to my motherland Armenia, which has very severe cold winters and really hot summers.
3D printers have recently become cheaper, more reliable, and more capable at the consumer level. On the same token, photographers constantly need all sorts of miscellaneous parts: adapters, clamps, rings, etc. It seems like now is the time for at-home 3D printing to take hold.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve seen Nicolas Vuignier spin his phone around him while skiing, creating a cheap bullet time effect. The same technique has been used to create a stunning music video, and I can’t stop watching it.
Gaffer tape might be the best invention ever. Ok, maybe not ever, but it's certainly up there. It's so useful that Jay P. Morgan of the The Slanted Lens came up with a list of 50 ways to use it. He also wrote a musical number dedicated to the glory that is gaffer tape — a man of many talents.
Awakening your creative mind can be a challenge, but from my previous article "Fstoppers Creative Photography Challenge (Part One)" I hope that these challenges are helping you overcome your creative rut. Sometimes it's hard to spot simple things and sometimes you just don't have that drive to take that photo.
Say what you want about the Nintendo Power Glove. Sure, it was terribly inaccurate. Sure, it had awful controls. But hey, if you were rocking one of these in 1989, you were riding the wave of the future. Now, one clever man has used a Power Glove to show off a capability that truly is futuristic: gestural drone control.
It might be tricky to be your own stylist, costumer, or scene creator on your own set, especially when you have never been into it. I have some good news! Imagination, some research, and dedication can solve this issue and bring bright results. Here are five handy materials and tips to use on your upcoming shoots to add a special touch when you need something more than a regular shot.
Magic Lantern played a phenomenal role in using DSLRs to shoot video content. However, while it's benefits are obvious for Canon photographers, how does it stack up against the cameras of today?
One of the greatest ways to show the passage of time is with a time-lapse. A time-lapse is essentially a series of still images taken of a single subject over any given period of time (minutes, to hours, to even days), and then played back quickly to form a video. The usage of stills is really important. A common misconception is that a time-lapse is just sped-up video.
I love simple, easy to implement solutions to a common problem. The problem in this case, is using any sort of ND, polarizer, or other lens filter on wide-angle lenses that don't have filter threads. Sure, there are filter holder solutions but those can be a bit pricey for a hobbyist.
The DJI OSMO is a great tool for stabilizing your footage in a cinematic way. It is sure to increase your video’s production value.
With the wedding season right around the corner, it is time to find a solution to improve last year’s workflow. Most event photographers complain about the same thing: culling. It can quickly become a very time-consuming task, and it is far from being the most interesting part of the job.
We just can't seem to get enough of New York City-based Photographer David Bergman. Whether he's touring with Bon Jovi, shooting for Sports Illustrated, creating a 20,000-megapixel image, or just popping in with a quick tip from his "Two Minute Tips With David Bergman" series, David never fails to show us something worth our while.
I've never been one for artificial light in my photography, and it's an issue that many photographers come across when leaving that oh, so beautiful natural light. The struggle of having a budget to put towards lighting equipment can be daunting but shouldn't limit you in finding the best way to create the shot.
Retouching is a great tool, one that can save pictures in some situations. However, there are a couple of things that can be really time-consuming and annoying to correct in post, two of them being flyaway strands and chapped lips. I am sure those two have happened to any of you who shoot portraits, beauty, or fashion. However, no need to fear these anymore!
Just like ever camera owner is a photographer, every person who owns an abundance of MAC products is a makeup artist. At least that is how it seems on Instagram these days. There are now more makeup artists on social media than ever, and finding the right ones to follow can be tricky. Following the best makeup artists can make a portrait photographer better.
Creating a music video for a national act is one of the most intense tasks for a modern day filmmaker. Sure, the tools are more affordable, but declining budgets and insane turnaround times can turn your production into a sprint.
Every creative has at least once in his or her career hit a wall and felt down. Breaking through a creative slump isn't always easy. But sometimes, what feels like a creative burnout is actually an accumulation of unproductive bad habits. Creative Live has a way for you to get out of it.
If you look back to the beginning of photography, color didn’t exist. In fact, it didn’t exist for a long, long time. Even as 35mm film pioneered the way that photography was used and purchased, black and white was king. Slowly, as time progressed, color film began to take a foothold in the industry.
The DJI Osmo gimbal has been getting some pretty favorable reviews. It hits the sweet spot for a portable "run and gun" style gimbal when you consider many of its features and price point. That is not to say it has no downsides, and the audio quality just so happens to be one of them.
Anyone with a MagSafe 2 Apple laptop might think it looks a bit prettier than the previous version, but how many times does that charger inadvertently get knocked out of place? There is a solution, or didn’t you know?
If, like me, you've found your niche within photography and now shoot a lot of similar projects, it's easy to fall into the trap of sticking with what you know. Here are some of the things I find helpful in staying inspired when shooting portraits.
If you've ever used a GoPro in the water, you know that just about as soon as you get in, the lens can start to fog up.
At some point every photographer uses a backdrop of some sort. The problem is that they are usually large, heavy, and cumbersome. Hanging them can be a bit of a pain and mounting hardware can get pricey especially if you are dealing with multiple backdrops. Jay P.
Part of the allure of being a full-time freelance photographer is the ability to work for yourself and make your own schedule. That means no more nine to five and no more of the monotonous daily routine, right?
Lightroom does some things really well, but one area I always wished I had more control over was web culling. After some investigation, here's the best method I've found for efficiently sending out photos for clients to peruse and select.
The classic straw grid for speedlights; it might be one of the most attempted DIY photography projects. It's a popular project because it works well, it is cheap, and it is incredibly easy to make, but one clever photographer has found an even simpler way to make on of these popular modifiers. Check out this easy to follow video for step by step instructions.
Nine-time Emmy award-winning TV producer and writer John Marshall found himself on Maine's Frye Island with too much time, talent and imagination. The result photo series, which he calls Sunset Selfies, is creative, whimsical and inspiring.
I came across a web app for scheduling appointments that was a complete game changer for my business! It's by far my favorite productivity tool. Every wedding photographer needs to check this out. It could be the missing link you need in your business to book more wedding photography clients. In my first week I was able to arrange seven meetings and book two clients. Wow!
Everyone loves Ikea. Don't try to fight it; you know you do! They have everything you could possibly need for your home and also those Swedish Meatballs. But have you ever thought of all the things you can buy to create DIY softboxes and beauty dishes? Check out this video for six tips to help save money (and give you a valid excuse to shop at Ikea).
So you bit the bullet and invested in Lightroom 6. Then Adobe announced their new Creative Cloud program and you decided you would stick with Lightroom 6 until there were new features added that could justify the jump to that monthly payment plan. Well now there is this fancy new tool called the dehaze tool.
I’m always looking for new and interesting ways to add visual interest to my images. I’m a big fan of the effects you can get with prisms and the like, but it’s always nice to find something a little less used. Last year I went to a Katy Perry concert and they were handing out pairs of 3D glasses, which cause rainbow light streaks to appear all around you.
Adding hyperlinks to your descriptions on 500px can be extremely helpful if you'd like to grow on other social media platforms. For example, my natural light tutorial, Facebook page and many more links are all shared in every one of my posts on 500px.
Last month, I taught a two-day workshop in the heart of Phoenix. While there, I was able to get some friends to come out and help create a behind-the-scenes video of the entire workshop. I was also able to meet with Tether Tools, whom are located in Phoenix, and they gave us access to some pretty cool tools, more specifically, my new favorite BTS tool, the Tether Tools Look Lock.
Modern lenses are small miracles. They don’t defy the laws of physics, but they sure come close. Are you getting all you can out of your lens, though?
Joey Shanks, better known by his YouTube handle Shanks FX, has released another YouTube video based around the idea that Hollywood effects can be achieved by anyone and with only household items. This time he attempts to recreate the legendary Aurora Borealis (or Northern Lights), one of the seven wonders of the world, with just some sheets of fabric and a handful of fans.
This ingenious video has gone viral as the true level of photoshopping to manufactures 'beauty' is exposed. In this clip, we see 6 hours of photoshopping sped up to fit into a 90 second clip. All of these hours of work has gone into creating just one perfected image of a model.
We all knew that this day would come and it may change the way we look at cinematography forever. It is pretty amazing to think that this entire feature length movie was created on nothing more than a humble iPhone.
If you are fan of DIY projects or are on a budget, this tutorial shows you all the steps for creating a simple yet effective globe light modifier for Paul C. Buff (RIP) strobes like AlienBees and Einsteins. Unlike many other DIY modifiers, this globe actually attaches the exact same way the retail modifiers do. Best of all, you can buy everything you need for under $25!
"I'm really starting to get tired of how blurry and pixellated my 4k image looks," said no one ever. But in the never ending quest to squeeze the most resolute, highest quality image possible out of our (relatively) inexpensive cameras, Art Sanchez was able to get 8k video from a $2,000 Nikon D800.
When taking portraits with natural light, often times, there is one key aspect that is overlooked. This facet of naturally lit photos is far more important than things like shooting at a specific time of day. Before diving into what makes a naturally lit photo a spectacular one, it is important to know and understand the difference between artificial lighting and using natural light.
After endless hours wasted, I found the solution for an issue I've had using the Intous tablet with my Macbook Pro. The brush would get stuck and I couldn't hit Photoshop shortcuts between brush strokes. I went through the hassle of reinstalling all drivers, buying a new tablet and setting all my Photoshop settings back to default before finding the following simple 30-second fix.