Hot Photography Posts
How To: Make a Super Cheap Pinhole Lens Filter for Your DSLR Camera
There are tons of ways to make your own pinhole camera out of everything from a juice box to a pine nut. If you have a DSLR, you can make a DIY pinhole lens for it for just a few bucks. David O'Sullivan over on DIY Photography made this one using a cheap body cap and an aluminum can. Here's how to make your own. David put up a template you can follow to make things easier, so start off by downloading it, then use a ruler to draw a line directly through the center of the body cap. Cut out the ...
How To: Take a Crazy Self-Portrait of You Holding Yourself
David Talley, a 19-year-old fine art photographer, has been widely praised for his surreal self-portraits. Many of them take hours to set up and shoot, and even more time to post-process through Photoshop or any other photo editing program.
How To: Create a Light Painting Vortex Using a DIY Reusable Steel Wool Cage
There's no shortage of uses for steel wool, but the majority of them tend to be on the pyromaniacal side, like DIY fireworks. This trick by Mike Mikkelson is no different—it uses a homemade reusable "wool cage" to create a spinning vortex of light, like in the photo below. You can do this with just a piece of steel wool on a cable, but Michael wanted something he could easily reuse no matter how many shots he took, so he built a small cage to house the steel wool out of chicken wire, a small ...
How To: Create DOF Changeable Photos That You Can Refocus—Without Buying a Lytro Camera
Last year, Lytro released their first light field camera to help photographers have more control over focusing. This innovative and revolutionary camera allows users to change the depth of focus of a photograph after the picture is taken.
How To: Build a Cheap Ring Light for Your Smartphone with Velcro and an LED Camping Tent Light
When it comes to the quality of a photo, lighting can make or break it. Too much light, and your subject looks washed out. Too little, and you can't even tell what your subject is.
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: Turn a Plastic Bottle into a Zippered Waterproof Lens Case
When you have a lot of equipment, dragging it everywhere with you can be a pain, especially when the weather's bad. Sure, you can put it in a camera bag, but a lot of them don't protect your stuff from water, and waterproof cases can get expensive.
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 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: Build a Horizon-Stabilized Camera That Mounts on Your Bike or Motorcycle
There are plenty of ways to mount your camera on your bike, but there's not much you can do about uneven surfaces on the road that cause your videos to end up looking shaky. If you're on a motorcycle, it's even worse because turns force you to lean, which makes your video tilt.
News: Steel wool fire photography - Night shots
Video: . Steel wool fire Photography
How To: Turn Time-Lapsed Clouds into a Brushstroke Painting with This Photo Stacking Technique
You can create a lot of impressive effects by stacking or layering photos, whether you do it in a darkroom or with Photoshop. The Harris shutter effect makes your photos super colorful, and double exposing or stacking negatives makes for some crazy looking portraits.
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: 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: Make the Simplest Flash Bounce Ever for Your Camera
Sick of washed out photos? How about red eye? Or maybe you can't get the right shot because your flash is causing too much shadow in the background. That's what a flash bounce is for—it reflects the light off of the ceiling or another surface so that your photos look more balanced.
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: 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 a DIY Camera Bag Insert to Protect Your Gear
When you have expensive camera equipment, the last thing you want to do is just throw it all in a bag without any kind of protection. If you don't want to buy a separate bag, you can always use an insert, but they can get pretty pricey, too.
How To: This DIY Camera-Mounted Flash Bounce Wall Does Wonders for Your Photos (And Your Wallet)
Everyone has taken a photo that didn't turn out quite right because of bad lighting or a flash that produced too much or too little light. A flash can make your subject look washed out, or even downright creepy with bright white skin and red eyes. But with a bounce wall, you can redirect the light to make it less harsh and reduce the shadows. It also means less demonic-looking cats. Bounce walls can be expensive, but David Hobby of Strobist made this DIY version that uses a wire hanger, some ...
How To: Give Your Photos a Surreal Effect by Stacking Negatives
Want to add cool effects to your photos without using expensive equipment? Photographer Laina Briedis created these gorgeous shots by stacking 35mm negatives of starry or cloudy skies on top of photos of people to give them a surreal, dreamlike effect. There are a few ways to go about it. Laina explained to PetaPixel that you can do this with or without a darkroom. If you have access to one, you can expose two negatives at the same time by stacking them, or expose them separately onto the sam...
How To: Upcycle Your Old Jeans into a DIY Camera Stabilizer
Need a camera stabilizer, but don't have the cash? With an old pair of jeans, a bag of lentils, and an hour or two of your time, you can make one for cheap. Maybe even free, if you have a bag of those legumes already.
How To: This Easy Photo Trick Makes Fireworks Look Like Brilliant Sky Creatures
Anyone who does a lot of photography knows that the right exposure can make all the difference in the world. Taking a picture of something in motion requires a long exposure, so if you've ever wondered why your fireworks photos never quite turn out right, your shutter speed could be the key. Photographer David Johnson decided to put a twist on the classic long-exposure fireworks photo. Normally, when people take photos of fireworks displays, they just set a long exposure for somewhere over 3 ...
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.
News: Corneal Imaging Photo Process Reveals the Hidden, Reflected 'World in an Eye'
You can take some absolutely gorgeous photos using the natural reflection that appears in people's and animals' eyes. With the right angle and lighting, you can even see a detailed picture of what the subject was looking at when the photo was taken. Photo by Martin Cathrae
News: The Iridescent Beauty of Bursting Bubbles Captured with High-Speed Photography
Swiss photographer Fabian Oefner wanted to capture the moment right before a bubble bursts, a feat that required surprisingly little equipment, but a lot of time and patience. The result was well worth it though. Here's a quick before and after: The trick to the color, he says, is lighting the bubbles from all angles. He placed illuminated panels all around and used a high-speed flash. The bubbles were blown through a sugar funnel. The trickiest part, not surprisingly, is capturing the exact ...
How To: Record Videos by Digital SLRs
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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: An Extensive Guide to Creating Bokeh Photography
Bokeh (which translates to "blur" in Japanese) is a photography technique referring to the blurred areas of a photograph. Basic bokeh photographs often have one point of focus, while the background falls away into a dreamy, blurred haze.
How To: Make a Camera Tripod Replacement with Camera Phone Mount
Materials 1 2-liter bottle or large water bottle
How To: Use Your Shutter, ISO and Aperture
Learn the Basics of Shooting in "Manual" Mode on your DSLR In this first installment of Photography Basics, we will be exploring and explaining the basics of shooting with a DSLR in various shooting modes. This first webisode is intended to familiarize the user with the basic understanding and functions of ISO, Aperture and Shutter in order to produce more professional looking images.
How To: Blur Fireworks with Your DSLR for Some Wicked July 4th Photos
Try "unfocusing" your photographs for some dreamy, evocative and somewhat abstract takes on life. Check out the two tutorials (here and here) from Michelle Geoga of Lights! Camera! Photoshop! for tips on unleashing the blur-power of your camera. You can see plenty of example images there to help you out.
How To: Develop Black & White Film with Caffenol
If MacGyver ever needed to develop some black and white film, this is how he would do it. Check out this awesome recipe for film developer, which uses instant coffee, Vitamin C, and washing soda to set up your own darkroom developing lab.
News: Disposable "CameraMail" Reveals the Inner Workings of the Post Office
What would happen if a working disposable camera were to travel from Massachusetts to Hawaii via first-class mail, with explicit instructions for its handlers to take photographs?
How To: Introducing Lights! Camera! Photoshop! – Your Complete Guide to DSLR Photography
So you just bought Photoshop, a DSLR camera and your first flash. Now what? If you have some experience with photography, but you're not completely fluent with the software and equipment, WonderHowTo's newly featured World Lights! Camera! Photoshop! is essential.
News: From Puppy to Adult in 40 Seconds (+ 3 Methods for Creating Time-Lapse)
What's cuter than a puppy? Not much, especially when you omit all the peeing, barking and furniture chewing, as Remedie Studio did with this sweet time-lapse homage to their beloved pup. Below, watch Dunder the German Shepherd grow from 8 weeks old to 1 year in 40 seconds. Inspired? Make your own time-lapse video and post it to the WonderHowTo company blog. We'll show off the best ones. Here are three different methods to get you started:
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.
GIVEAWAY: "Fifty Nests and the Birds that Built Them" (NOW CLOSED)
If you missed our profile on photographer Sharon Beals' new book, Nests: Fifty Nests and the Birds that Built Them, now's the time to check it out. You have until 11:59 pm tonight to enter for a chance to win a signed copy of Beals' book, a beautiful series of photographs demonstrating the astounding self-sustainability of the avian race. To enter, you must:
News: Birds as the Ultimate DIY Architects
The widely used expression "free as a bird" intimates an enviable existence: delicate, yet mighty wings transporting to destinations no human could so breezily venture. But despite their fanciful, superhero ability, in truth, the avian race leads one of the most difficult existences in the animal kingdom. Yes, birds have existed for eons—they likely evolved from small dinosaurs of the Jurassic period—but for these creatures, life can be ruthless.
How To: Take macro photographs with the reverse lens technique
If you want to take beautiful macro photos, without having to pay for an expensive macro lens, try the reverse lens technique and use the lens you already have. This is a creative way to get great photos without spending all of your money on equipment.
Photo of the Day: Meanwhile, in Afghanistan...
From Boston.com's The Big Picture, what a real-life version of the Green Hornet's gas gun might look like. Taken in Afghanistan in February of this year, an Afghan army recruit is pictured shrouded in a cloud of shocking green smoke as he participates in a graduation parade after an oath ceremony at Ghazi military training center—an American effort to strengthen Afghan forces so they can fight against Taliban strongholds.