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: 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: 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.
News: Creating the Cosmos With Ink, Paint & Water
Artist Pery Burge uses water, paint and ink to create images that look like they might have been captured by the Hubble Telescope or under the super-zoom of a powerful microscope.
HowTo: Photograph an Atomic Bomb
George Yoshitake is one of the remaining living cameramen to have photographed the nuclear bomb. His documentation of the military detonation of hundreds of atom bombs from 1956 to 1962 reveals the truly chilling effect of the weapon. Below, images and explanatory captions via the New York Times. Don't miss the melting school bus. Creepy.
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: 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: Mod Your Old Polaroid Camera for Wet Plate Collodion Photography
Wet-plate collodion photography is a process that lets you develop a photo onto a piece of glass. It has some neat applications, but it's not a simple process, and most people use a special camera to do it because the silver nitrate used to process usually ends up leaking, which would ruin a regular camera.
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: 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.
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: 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: 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: Get a spinning effect in your photography
Learn how to make it look like the subjects of your photos are spinning by changing the shutter speed and making the background streak.
How To: Clean fungus off of your camera lens
Have you ever found a camera lens that you forgot you left in the basement or garage? Have you ever been shooting out in the rain and lost track of time? If any of these things have happened to your camera, you may have developed a fungus. Not to worry! It is much easier than you would think to clean a fungus off your camera. This tutorial will walk you through the process, step by step so that you clean your lens safely and perfectly every time.
How To: Test the sharpness of a lens
The resolution, or sharpness, of a lens is vital to creating and reproducing quality photographs. Watch as this video breaks down how to diagnose the sharpness of your SLR lenses.
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: 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: Protect Your Camera from Rain with This Hands-Free DIY Umbrella Holder for Your Tripod
When you're shooting in the rain (or other extreme weather conditions), there's a lot more to think about since cameras and water don't exactly mix well. An umbrella will protect your gear, but unless you have someone to hold it for you, it can be a pain to use.
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: 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!
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: 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: 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: Load 600 film into a Polaroid SX-70 camera
Loading 600 film into a Polaroid SX-70 polaroid camera.
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.
News: It's Magic! See 3D Without the Glasses
On last week's Gizmodo Shooting Challenge, submittors were challenged to create photos that could be seen in 3D, simply by refocusing the eyes to merge two appropriately placed white dots.
How To: Make a Cheap Light Wand for Dark Photo Shoots Using PVC and Glow Sticks
Taking photos in the dark or in low-light settings can be tricky. Just using your normal flash can make your subject look washed out, but not using it can result in a totally dark photo with no subject at all.
How To: Make a Mini DIY Camera Tripod Using Old Disposable Razors
Choosing the right tripod stand can be a difficult decision, but if you want to avoid the hassle and save some money, making your own easy to use tripod can be the best way to go. If this tennis ball tripod isn't right for you, then maybe this disposable razors one by Instructables user Jawasan will do. This tripod stand only works for small cameras, so make sure yours is light enough before you start.
How To: Build a PVC Shoulder Rig Stabilizer for Your DSLR Camera for Under $25
When you're capturing video with a DSLR, not having some type of stabilization system can lead to some pretty awful and shaky scenes. Camera instability is not only painful to watch, but breaks the fourth wall. Once that the invisible barrier between filmmaker and audience is apparent, it may break down that magical relationship between the two.
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...
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: 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.
How To: Set up your Canon 580EX II at the Master Mode setting
So you want to control the flashes on your camera using a remote, and you know that you need to get to Master mode on your Canon 580EX II to be able to do that. But Canon made Master mode for this particular model of camera very difficult to locate and enable. However, this video shows you every single step you need to take with your camera in order to be able to set up this particular functionality for your next shoot!
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 ...
How To: Convert a halogen lamp into a makeshift ring light
In this tutorial, we learn how to convert a halogen lamp into a makeshift ring light. Instead of pointing this light straight at the person you are photographing, you can use a ring light to make the halogen light less harsh. The prices for ring lights are very expensive, so making this yourself can save you a lot of money. First, go out and buy a round metal mesh object wherever you can find one. You will also need tin foil, a plastic cup, and wire cutters. First, set the metal bowl on top o...
How To: Do a "Punk Rock" Photo Shoot
This is a photography how-to video, where American photographer Eric Levin takes us on the set of a photo shoot with punk band Ice Nine Kills. This is a really good step-by-step "how-to" guide to the perfect photo of a music band.
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: 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: 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.
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