Hot Photography Posts
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 Sekonic light meters to balance flash and ambience
In this episode of Digital Photography 1-on-1, host Mark Wallace goes in depth on the subject of light metering and flash balancing. Making use of a Sekonic light meter, Mark shows how to read the light levels in a room, and explains how to interpret those readings in order to adjust flash levels, ISO levels, and alternative light source manipulation. Mark also goes over the important roles that aperture settings and film speeds play when attempting to successfully balance flash and ambient l...
How To: Use gobos in photography
Here is a Harper Point Photography video on gobos for fashion photography. Nathan gives a simple but effective photo tip for creating dynamic light with a cardboard 'go-bo.' The gobo is a lighting element that texturizes lighting by blocking in strategically. Apply these directly to a light to shine texture or to light with words as a projector would.
How To: Repair a Lomography Diana camera shutter
If your film camera shutter has stopped working, chances are that the shutter spring has become detached. This photography tutorial shows you how to disassemble the Lomography Diana Plus shutter assembly and re-attach the spring. You will need a small screwdriver to make this camera repair.
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: Set up a photo studio for product lighting
Use inexpensive materials to create your own photographic studio equipment for product photography. The DIY set up is simple and useful.
How To: Take Photos at Night
Lighting is one of the most important features of good photography. American photographer Eric Levin has become somewhat of a favorite of mine, especially because his photography tips and tricks are a very helpful tool for all aspiring photographers.
How To: Add Rainbow Effects to Your Photos Using a Cheap Prism
Want to add cool, colorful effects to your photos without paying for filters or using Photoshop? A cheap glass prism (and some practice) is all you need to bend the light to capture images like the ones below taken by wedding photographer Sam Hurd. Sam uses a six inch triangular prism to catch the light and reflect images in front of his lens. The shape allows you to "twist the prism into creating a curve and bend-like distortion of your surroundings," which can create rainbow effects and mir...
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: Manually Control Aperture with Macro Extension Rings
Macro extension rings are an affordable solution to buying expensive macro lenses, but there is no way to control the aperture when using macro extension tubes without contacts. However, by utilizing a piece of paper, you can easily control the aperture.
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: 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 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: 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: 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.
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: 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.
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.
News: Making Ordinary Objects Extraordinary
Kevin Van Aelst creates witty visual "one-liners" by recontextualizing everyday, ordinary objects. With a few simple tweaks, the viewer recognizes a roll of tape as the ocean or reads gummi worms as chromosomes or understands mitosis through the use of sweet, sugary donuts.
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.
News: Everything Is Beautiful Under the Microscope
Below, a selection of images from the Nikon International Small World Photomicrography Competition. The Big Picture reports:
How To: Make a family photo album from digital photos
In this tutorial, we learn how to make a family photo album from digital photos. iPhoto from Apple has a ton of different options for you to make a great photo album. You can first start out with loading these on your computer and then creating them into a book. After this, you can choose the borders and text that you want to include in this, then drag the pictures in. After this, you can add in captions for each of the photos and then design the layouts of the different pages. After this, yo...
How To: Use long exposure speeds to capture motion in digital photography
A long exposure setting can create some interesting effects, especially when you're photographing a moving light source at night. This tutorial shows you how to set up your camera and maximize your surroundings so you can take the absolute best and most dramatic photographs possible.
How To: Make a face more symmetrical and balanced in Photoshop
The relationship between one side of your body - including your face - to the other is not like that of a twin to a twin. Rather, most people don't know that the left and right side are more like sisters than twins. This means that one leg may be a millionth of a degree shorter, or that your left ear is slightly smaller than your right.
How To: Process large-format sheet film in trays
In the digital age, old fashioned film processing and developing may seem outmoded and obsolete. However, for professional and aspiring professional photographer who want o make classic-looking prints, this is far from the case. This three-part video describes how to do tray processing yourself for large-format sheets. It breaks down the equipment you will need, the advantages and disadvantages, and of course how to go about processing you own film sheets. The dark room is back!
How To: Take a surreal photo of yourself for your profile pic
Take awesome myspace/facebook profile pics, follow this short guide to taking photos that look like they've been photoshopped without even touching the photo itself.
How To: Photograph star trails on 35mm film
This is a great tutorial for photographing beautiful star trails on a 35mm SLR camera. Because only film has low enough ASA to shoot for such long exposures, this tutorial unfortunately apply to digital SLR's.
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 Manfrotto Super Clamp
Did you ever have trouble keeping a steady shot with a camera or camcorder when you didn't have a tripod ready? In this video, Steve from Cameras Brookwood shows you why a Manfrotto Super Clamp might just be the tool for you. A Super Clamp can open up to three inches and attaches any camera weighing up to fifteen kilograms to a post, beam, or table. To use the Super Clamp, open it fully and place it around the object that you want to attach it to. Turn the crank until the Super Clamp is snug,...
News: Convert a Truck Into a Camera
We've featured unusual pinhole cameras before, but nothing at this grandiose scale. Presenting the world's largest mobile pinhole camera, the Cameratruck, creation of photographer Shaun Irving. The Cameratruck can take pictures approximately 3,000 times the size of a 35mm!
News: Spy With Google Street View
Need to find some directions? No problem, use Google Maps. Want to find some spy photos of yourself? No problem, use Google Street View.
News: Take Pictures With Your Mouth-Camera
Justin Quinnell has created a series of pinhole photographs taken from the perspective of an open mouth. Pinholes can be disposable, flexible and pretty simple to make. Play around and see what kind of interesting perspectives you can come up with...
News: Fold-It-Yourself Pinhole Camera
Easy as 1-2-3... Print, fold and start taking pictures. Free download and instructions for the Czechoslovakian designed Dirkon camera here. The Dirkon uses 35mm film and takes hazy, blurred, highly saturated pictures typical of the pinhole format. Image examples below.
How To: Make a pinhole camera
In the age of digital cameras and instant gratification, make the simplest camera ever invented using just a light proof box, a hole, and paper. Check out this Howcast video tutorial on how to make a pinhole camera.
How To: Make a 35mm plastic camera rewind helper
This photography video shows how to make a rewind helper out of an 35mm film canister. If you use a simple film camera with a small rewind crank, you can use this tool to make a more comfortable grip. Use a 5/32 inch drill bit to make a small hole in a film canister. This can easily slip over the small film crank for quicker film winding.
How To: Load a roll of 120 film into a Holga camera
This photography tutorial demonstrates how to load a roll of 120 film in a Holga camera. You can use different masks for different shapes of negatives. This vintage camera is difficult to get used to, but once mastered, the Holga is an incredibly versatile film camera.
How To: Load 120 film into a Paterson plastic reel
Many people have trouble loading 120 film into developing reels when they are first starting. In the darkroom, it's tricky business to wind film and load it into a developing tank. Find out what works for you and repeat the process until it becomes second nature. If you are interested in developing your own photographs, you will need to know this process backwards and forwards, using all types of film, reels and developing tanks.
How To: Load 120 film onto stainless steel reels
Ever try to load a roll of film onto a reel and into a sealed developing tank in complete darkness? If you have, you know that anything unexpected can throw a kink into your personalized process of developing photographs. This video demonstrates how to load film onto stainless steel reels. If you are interested in developing film by hand, it is a good idea to be aware of all types of winding reels and developing tanks so you don't fumble in the darkroom.
How To: Load film into Kodacraft tanks
This video will be useful to a select group of people, who are still interested in developing film by hand using the Kodacraft film canisters. Practice loading Kodacraft film tanks with plastic film aprons. Use an exposed roll of film to do try this process in the light. Now, let's see if you can do it blindfolded, or in the dark room.