Hacks

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. For his latest two-minute tip, he teaches us a quick and easy method for dealing with grey, overcast skies.

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. In this behind the scenes look, I will go into how I created a high-end product shot using light trails, all while on a budget. Remember, this can be recreated with any camera, including an iPhone, that allows for long exposures.

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! Jordan Liberty gives us his tricks to avoid them.

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. If you follow them closely, you can step up your game.

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. Last month, my company, McFarland & Pecci, was tasked with creating two new music videos for the Grammy-nominated metal act, Killswitch Engage. My partner, Ian McFarland, and I drop everything when these guys call.

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. Once legendary color films like Kodachrome and Kodacolor became widely available, black and white became far less popular for commercial use. Now, in the digital era, almost every digital camera records information in color. Why then, would I bother viewing my images in monochrome during my shoots, even if I know I’ll deliver them in color?

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. Here is an easy way to add some good audio to your Osmo while still maintaining its portability.

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. This is because the air inside the GoPro is relatively warm and gets warmer when using the camera; thus, as soon as you combine this with a colder outside environment, such as water, the camera is cooled and water droplets begin to condense on the inside of the housing. While GoPro makes anti-fog inserts, they aren't exactly cheap at $15 per pack. In this video, Ho Stevie! shows you how to use a simple roll of paper towel to make anti fog inserts for your GoPro.

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. Morgan of the Slanted Lens offers up 3 simple DIY solutions for mounting backdrops that will save you time, money, and headaches.

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? Not necessarily. Your routine doesn't have to be monotonous but according to the seemingly always energetic artist, photographer, and entrepreneur Chase Jarvis, a solid morning routine can jump start your day.

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'd be ridiculously surprised if this doesn't spawn a whole slew of creative projects within our community, as enthusiastic shooters start cutting out their own cardboard silhouette to use during magic hour.

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! This changes everything.

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. It looks to be pretty great, but it doesn’t really justify the jump from something you own outright, to a monthly payment. Lucky for you there is now a free way to add the dehaze tool to Lightroom 6.

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. I later found out that the glasses were made from diffraction paper.

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. In this short article you will learn exactly how to create these links easily.

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. Combining those few fans, fabric, and just a little bit of precise lighting with just a touch of videography editing magic, he suddenly has one of the world wonders in his garage. Check it out!

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. This issue pertains to people using Apple computers with Photoshop CS6 or CC and a Wacom Intous tablet. The fix is for the following issues:

If you were a kid of the 1980s like me and loved Nintendo, you absolutely remember the Power Glove. In fact, I think that was one of the only scenes I remember from the movie "The Wizard" starring Fred Savage of "The Wonder Years" was the debut of this badass piece of 80s tech. Fast forward to 2015. The animator of the Adult Swim show "Robot Chicken" has modified his Power Glove to control his stop-motion workflow. Woah, dude.

Well, now we've seen everything. In this wild video, graphic designer Michelle Vandy shows off her — ahem — unique technique for working without the use of hands. Vandy developed this unusual workflow in order to combat her RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury), and with it she is able to take movement of her arms and hands virtually out of the picture. She further credits this method with subtly influencing her design work.

When people walk through my living room studio, they are puzzled that I do not own or rent a permanent studio space. What many do not know is that when I’m contracted for a commercial assignment, about 80% of the time I must travel to a location or shot at the client’s home base. And, in many cases that requires transporting several 9 foot seamless backdrops and a whole lot of equipment. I don’t have a giant bus to haul all of my studio gear, so it’s been a trying experience to find the right tools to efficiently pack and tote my mobile studio.

The holidays are just around the corner and if you’re anything like me, you’re most likely short on cash and haven’t started gift shopping for friends and family yet. Fear not, for the lovely people over at The Cooperative of Photography have put together a how-to video of six different DIY photography gifts that you can make with just a few low-cost items and some images.