How To: Choose a narrative theme for a photo series
This instructional photography video provides some helpful tips on how to build narrative ideas surrounding body of photography work that you'll want to create. You can use these techniques when building a book, a web site or a series of consistent images for your story. You will not only make your photography work more interesting, but working with narrative will train you to become a better story teller.
How To: Turn a Sink Strainer into a Soft Focus Camera Lens Filter
Soft focus photography can produce some beautiful images when used properly. It's used a lot in beauty and glamour shots, but can be applied to other types of photos as well. Some digital cameras have pre-programmed settings for soft focus shots, but if you're using a DSLR, you'll need a special lens or filter to do it.
How To: Take the fairy portrait
Learn how to create up the set and lighting to capture "the fairy potrait."
How To: Choose the right camera lens
When choosing a camera lens, use a telephoto lens for a zoom or a wide-angle lens for a broader view, which allows photographers to fit more of a subject into a photo. Choose the right lens for a specific photo with the tips in this free instructional video on photography tips from a professional photographer. Lens are very expensive, so make sure you are educated before you buy a new camera lens.
How To: Turn a Styrofoam Bowl into a DIY Beauty Dish for Your Camera's Flash
A beauty dish is a device that redistributes the flash on your camera to make the lighting more flattering in portraits. It's called a "beauty dish" because it's used most commonly in fashion and beauty photography.
How To: Make 2D Pics Look Like 3D Objects Using This Optical Illusion Camera Trick
How do you make a plastic bottle sit on top of a Rubik's Cube without a Rubik's Cube? It may seem like a brain teaser, but it's more like something you would see in an Escher drawing. An optical illusion. A three-dimensional world trapped in a two-dimensional image, which is exactly what's going on in this Rubik's Cube illusion.
How To: Make a Super Cheap Soft Box for Pro-Looking 'Soft' Light in Your Photos
Remember the young Parker who taught us how to make fun things like the ghost trap from Ghostbusters and the cheap severed leg effect? Well, he's definitely grown since then, and in his latest video he takes a more practical approach to DIY with a cheap and easy soft box for you home photography studio.
How To: Turn an Old Kit Lens into a DSLR Macro Lens in Five Minutes
There are tons of ways to make a macro lens for your smartphone, but if you need one for a DSLR, it's not quite as simple as using a magnifying glass or a drop of water. If you have an old kit lens, though, you can turn it into a macro lens in no time—all you have to do is remove the front element. For this hack, Juha Loukola over on PetaPixel used a Canon 38-76mm lens, but says that the process should be pretty much the same for other lenses.
How To: Convert a polaroid super shooter into a pinhole camera
Watch this two part video series to learn how to convert a polaroid super shooter or colorpack camera into a pinhole camera. This video demonstrates how to strip the camera down and make a tripod mount. This is for the 3.25x4.25 pack film cameras: Polaroid 667, 672, 664, 690 and Fuji film FP-100, FP-3000 instant films. The 80 series/square shooters will not work. To determine if your camera will work, measure lengthwise across the back. 17 cm will work, 15 cm will not.
How To: Get to know your DSLR camera
This video gives viewers an overview on how to use the manual settings of your DSLR camera. Aside from the Auto setting, your DSLR camera has the P-mode which is the program mode, S-mode which is the shutter priority mode, A-mode which is the aperture priority mode and finally the M-mode which is the complete manual mode. P-mode or program mode is more like the Auto-mode in your camera. You can't control your shutter speed and f-stops (aperture) however; you can manipulate the other settings ...
How To: Make a 50mm Lens into a Tilt Lens Using a Shower Head
There are so many ways to modify your camera using common household items, like clothes hangers, an umbrella, or even a jar of peanut butter. Here's a new, unexpected addition to the list—a shower head. Maciej Pietuszynski came up with this brilliant camera mod, which uses a shower head to turn an old 50mm lens into a DIY tilt lens. This trick works by using the part from the shower head that allows you to adjust the angle. You'll have to take apart the lens and cut the shower head in half. T...
News: Conjuring the Apocalypse on Tabletop: Lori Nix Talks Dioramas
Lori Nix is a photographer whose stunning work depicts curious scenes of danger and disaster: abandoned spaces, architecture in a state of extreme deterioration, natural calamities, and more. But the mysterious places she captures with her 8x10 large format camera aren't actual found locations—they're meticulously fabricated miniature dioramas.
How To: Build a Cheap and Easy Optical Zoom Lens for Your Smartphone
Love taking photos with your smartphone, but don't have a zoom? This tutorial by Unitips will show you how to DIY one with a few simple parts. All you'll need is 1/4" bolts, washers, and wingnuts (two each), some sheet metal, and a pair of binoculars.
DIY Photo Processing: How to Develop Film at Home for Cheap Using Coffee, Red Wine, or Tylenol
Not many people use film cameras anymore, so it can be hard to find the materials to develop your own photos at home since most local camera stores are closing. But it's actually relatively easy to make homemade developer, and you can make it with a few relatively common ingredients.
How To: 5 Incredibly Cheap and Smooth DIY Camera Mounts for Inside or Outside of Your Car
Shooting a photo or video in a car can be rather difficult without a proper mount, and if you want to secure your camera outside the car, it can be just plain expensive. Luckily, there are tons of DIY camera mounts for both inside and outside your vehicle, and most of them are pretty cheap to make. Here are some of the best.
How To: Stop Saying "Cheese"! Here's How You Smile More Naturally for Photos
I hate having my picture taken. It's awkward, and I almost always end up thinking, "Is that what I look like all the time?" Most of us think we look awful in photos, probably because we all subconsciously act and carry ourselves a little differently when we know there's a camera on us.
How To: Develop Kodachrome Film (B&W Hand Processing & Kodak's K-14 Process)
Remember KODACHROME? That color reversal film from Kodak? The film that was the inspiration for Paul Simon? The only brand of film to have a state park named after it?
How To: Take photos of floating / flying / levitating people
Do you believe you can fly? Or at least, believe that you can take pictures where it looks like you or other people are flying? Or at least jumping really high? This video will show you how to take pictures of flying, floating, levitating, or high-jumping people using a digital camera, tripod, stool, and photo editing software like Photoshop or GIMP. Either way, the effect is surprisingly easy to create and can help you make some really amazing photos.
How To: Use the Vivitar 285HV professional camera flash
Got a new Vivitar 285HV and having trouble using the flash? No problem! This video will describe how to use the flash on your new camera and gives some other great tips for new owners! The flash on this camera can be a little different to use than an automatic flash because you have to manually set the settings. Since you can see what the picture looks like if you aren't satisfied you can use the tricks in the video to play around with the flash settings until you get the perfect shot.
How To: Make a wide-mouthed screaming face in Photoshop
Munch's The Scream is one of the world's most famous paintings, and at least since it was painted people have had a fascination with images of larger-than-life mouths screaming. This video will show you how to use Photoshop to create some cool screaming face effects, like making the mouth huge and distorted or even making it cover the entire face! The effects are cool and easy, so try it!
How To: Create a crazy, cross-eyed person effect in Photoshop
When we think about Photoshop, we think about the desire to look beautiful and "perfect." Celebrities get airbrushed and Photoshoped all the time when they appear in magazines in order to make their faces appear slimmer, their thighs smaller, their lips more voluminous, etc. Photoshop is usually a tool that enhances beauty.
How To: Set up a big white infinity sweep for photo studio
This instructional photography video shows how to setup large white infinity backgrounds in the photo studio. The key components to this setup is include this six foot octobox softbox light, which requires quite a bit of power; a framed aluminum reflector; the background itself is vinyl floor painted white; and a black baffle to shield the camera from lens flare. Set up professional looking shoots and take great portraits with this tutorial.
How To: Take the Perfect Booty Selfie
Today you can be just like Kim Kardashian and take an awesome booty selfie. Taking a booty selfie is So Easy a Guy Can Do It!
How To: Control Your Samsung Smart Camera with Your Android or iOS Device
Samsung is helping photographers in getting more utility out of their cameras with their new Samsung Smart Camera App. With it, your device becomes a powerful viewfinder for your Samsung camera, allowing you to not only frame shots, but control multiple aspects of the camera, right through your phone.
Quick Tip: Use a Wired Headset as a Shutter Release Trigger for Your DSLR Camera
Whether you're trying to get an unconventional angle or just want to include yourself in the picture, there are plenty of times when a remote trigger can come in really handy. Of course, if you want to buy one, you have tons of options. But if you already have an Xbox 360 headset, all you have to do is plug it in. YouTube user Gurnarok accidentally found that by plugging his Xbox headset into his camera's remote port, the on/off toggle triggered the shutter release and flash.
How To: Load film into a Hasselblad back
This is a how-to video featuring the A12 film back for a Hasselblad 500 series camera. Watch this photography tutorial to begin using your antique Hasselblad camera and all of its confusing parts. Once you are aware of the unique film loading process for this camera, you can adopt this camera into your photography practice and begin shooting.
How To: Shoot directly from your camera to your hard drive
Sick of transferring megabytes and megabytes worth of photos into your computer, only to send them to your hard drive? Skip the middle step and learn how to shoot directly from your camera to your hard drive with help from this video by Pro Photo Life. Get your photos to your hard drive quicker and easier with the tips and tricks given here.
How To: Make Your Photos More Fun with These DIY Bokeh Effects Lens Filters for Your DSLR
In photography, bokeh refers to the blurry or out-of-focus parts of a shot. Bokeh can be good or bad—it all depends on how you use it. There are tons of ways to create a bokeh effect, whether you go the traditional route with lens filters, digital with Photoshop, or even from your iPhone. With filters, you can use the blurred spaces to produce different shapes and colors. If you have a DSLR and want to experiment with bokeh, this tutorial by Chris Perez over on Apartment Therapy will show you...
How To: Make a Canon Shutter Release Cable
This article will show you how to make a shutter release cable for a Canon camera. It took me about half an hour once all of my materials were gathered. I came in at a total of about eight dollars. It has three switches and buttons. The black button on mine triggers the auto focus. The red button triggers the shutter. Finally, the switch triggers the bulb mode, or long exposure. This can be used to take astronomical photos that show the movement of the stars in the picture. The release cable ...
How To: Shoot a Moving 360 Degree Time-Lapse Around a Tall Building
Time-lapse videos are a recent phenomenon to the mainstream audience—in movies, on television shows, and even in commercial ads. These sped-up and blurred images are a microcosm of many of our lives in which we're constantly in a hurry to get somewhere. We like everything fast: our work, our coffee, and our news.
How To: Build a 4x5 pinhole camera
Attention photography lovers! Put down the digital camera for a day and try this DIY project out, constructing a camera that dates back to as early as 4th century BC.
How To: Create Stunning Double Exposure Portraits with Your DSLR Camera (No Photoshop Required)
There are plenty of ways to take double exposure photos, even if all you have is your cell phone. If you have access to a darkroom (or Photoshop), you can do it by stacking negatives. But if you have the right kind of DSLR, you can do it right from your camera by using the multiple exposure setting.
How To: Make a glass positive/soft negative for Collodion
This shows the process of making a positive image on clear glass; traditionally, this would be called an Ambrotype. Here, it is a little bit overexposed to get a "soft negative" or a negative that can be used with modern silver paper (printing). Learn how to make a glass positive or soft negative picture with the Collodion printing technique by watching this video photography tutorial.
How To: Use AV mode & High Speed Sync (flash)
In this tutorial, we learn how to use AV mode & High Speed Sync (flash). First, go to AV mode and change the settings to 2.8. When you do this, your shutter speed will blink at 250. To fix this, hit the lightning bolt with the "h" and change it to the high speed setting. Now, your camera will be able to use the high speed shutter with the flash as well. Now, take some shots of your subject in the sun and you should be able to see a huge difference. The background should come in crystal clear ...
HowTo: Photograph a Speeding Bullet
In light of our recent post, Art Borne From the Barrel of a Gun, here's a thorough guide to building your own bullet capture system via robotics site Glacial Wanderer.
How To: Build a Weatherproof Camera Enclosure for Long Term Time-Lapses
There are plenty of ways to create time-lapse photos and videos, but most of them are taken over the course of several hours. If you want to do a longer term shoot over several weeks or months, you'll need a battery that can last that long, and you probably don't want to leave your DSLR sitting somewhere for that amount of time anyway.
How To: Take UV Pictures
This video will show you how you can take UV (ultraviolet) pictures with any basic camera. In a few easy steps, you too can be seeing the world in a whole new way.
How To: Take photographs like Gregory Crewdson
In this Ovation TV original special, acclaimed photographer Gregory Crewdson shares with us his insight into his photographic techniques. Like a film, he uses a lot of production, a lot of lighting, a lot of set design. He is an American photographer best known for elaborately staged, surreal scenes of American homes and neighborhoods. Learn how to take pictures like this master artist.
How To: Use the Harris Shutter Effect to Get Crazy, Colorful Action Photos
Want to take vibrant photographs like this one? You won't find this filter in Instagram, and that's because it's a little more difficult than just slapping a digital filter on a solo photo. The extra RGB colors are created using a special strip device called the Harris shutter, invented by Robert Harris of Kodak.
How To: Use the timer setting on your Nikon digital SLR
If you're starting to use your digital SLR for the first time, it can be quite confusing to determine what all its functions mean as well as where to find them and how to use them.
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