Hot Photography How-Tos
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: Frame black and white photos
Have a wonderful black and white photo? Time to frame it! Learn to frame black and white photos, including matte options, frames, glass, laminates, hangers, and more in this free photography video series on framing taught by expert Minnie Bell.
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 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: Photograph outdoors with natural light conditions
How does taking photographs outside differ from taking photos inside? Well, unlike indoor photography, which boast easily adjustable artificial lighting and lighting effects, with outdoor photography the light you get is the light you use.
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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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: Replace focusing screens on Canon EOS cameras
In this Fine Art video tutorial you will learn how to replace focusing screens on Canon EOS cameras. The EOS 40D, like the EOS 5D and EOS 1 series of digital cameras has a user replaceable focusing screen. With the EOS 40D, you have the option of Ef D and the Ef S focusing screens. To replace the focusing screen, use the tool provided with kit supplied with the screen. The tool has a hook at one end and a spring loaded grip at the other end. Use the hook to lift the latch of the focusing scre...
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: 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: 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: Varnish wet plate Collodion images
This video shows the process of varnishing a black glass Ambrotype. Not a high "wow-factor" here, but some practical knowledge needed in the process. It's very important to varnish wet plate images as they damage and tarnish easily. Learn how to varnish Collodion pictures by watching this video photography tutorial.
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: Fake UFO photographs
The best evidence that UFOs represent spacecraft from other worlds consists of grainy photographs, blurry videos, and anecdotes about things that go bump in the night. In this episode Michael Shermer shows how easy it is to fake UFO photographs, enlisting the help of children and disposable cameras to create convincing photographic evidence that even fooled experts!
How To: Take Perfect Selfies
The selfie craze has caught up and how! But sadly enough, not all of us know the tips and tricks to get it right. Watch this video if you're yet to master the art of clicking the perfect selfie.
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: Take the Perfect Selfie, Oxford Dictionary's Word of the Year
Ladies and gentleman, it's official—"Selfie" has been named Word of the Year by Oxford Dictionaries.
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: Do a Nighttime Halloween Photoshoot
Eric Levin is back! Check out his latest photography how-to video. It's basically a cool nighttime photoshoot session in the middle on New England forest, obviously featuring... Ice Nine Kills!
How To: Add Creepy Apparitions to Your Halloween Photos Using the Pepper's Ghost Illusion
Photographers have been using the Pepper's Ghost Illusion for over a century to play up the level of creepiness in their photos. Many of the pictures that claim to be real "sightings" use this technique to project a ghostly figure into the background of their images. Today, it's still used in theatre, "scary" rides at amusement parks, and haunted houses all over the world, which makes it a great photography trick for Halloween time. As shown in the tutorial below by Make's Jason Poel Smith, t...
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: 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 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.
Light Painting with Fire: How to Capture the Perfect, Most Badass Wall of Flames Photo
You may remember this badass wall of flames photo... That's because last month I highlighted a tutorial by photographer Barry Elder that showed how to light paint with fire.
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: This Clever DIY Contraption Lets You Capture Exploding Balloons Without a High-Speed Trigger
There are some pretty incredible camera techniques out there, but the biggest problem that amateur photographers run into is that they don't have the equipment to try them. You can still get some great shots, but there are some things that are really hard to do if you don't have the money to drop on expensive lenses and accessories.
How To: Use a Video Projector for Long-Exposure Light Painting in the Snow
There's no shortage of techniques when it comes to light painting—you can use LEDs, flashlights, or even make your own light painting nunchuks. If you want to do something a little different, though, why not use a projector like photographer Brian Maffit did to capture these gorgeous long-exposure shots of a recent snow storm? Maffitt used a projector to play the movie The Lorax onto a tree in his backyard, providing the backdrop for these photos. The long exposure shots were taken using an o...
How To: Need More Juice from Your DSLR? These 2 Battery Hacks Will Keep the Power On Longer
For most people, the battery life on a DSLR is more than sufficient, but if you want to do a really long exposure or time-lapse, one charge might not last long enough to get the shot you want. You can always connect it to an extension cord to charge while you shoot, but that can be really annoying to work around.
How To: Build a Double-Shoulder Camera Mount for Only $8 Using PVC
Shoulder mounts are great for stability, but they can be pretty pricey. This DIY project by TheJamesTheatre is better in both aspects—it rests on both shoulders for extra stability, and it only costs 8 bucks to make. The frame is made of PVC with foam pieces from a pool noodle for cushion. All you need is a few connectors and the nuts and bolts to put it all together. You can find the full parts list on the About section on YouTube.
How To: Keep Track of Your Disappearing Camera Lens Cap Using LEGOs!
Lens caps are one of those necessary evils that serve a very useful purpose while still creating tons of headaches for users—who hasn't lost at least a few? Sure, you can always buy a holder for it, or just shove it in your pocket, but if you have some LEGOs lying around from your distant youth, you can make your own in just a few minutes.
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: Print Memorable Photos of Your Digital Life Online Using the Polaroid Cacher
Polaroid photographs have a charming old-fashioned feel to them, evoking nostalgic memories of past days. My younger sister used to carry her Polaroid camera everywhere she went, transforming even the most trite moments into something wonderful.
Light Painting with Fire: How to Create a Badass Wall of Flames!
Believe it or not, capturing a beautiful shot of a vehicle is more difficult than you think. Sure, you can just snap a photo, but capturing the design, detail, and essence of the car is a whole other story. Lighting, location, settings, and angles are play into how well the photographic representation turns out.
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: Film at Night with Your DSLR
Have you ever tried to film at night with your DLSR in place with no good lightning at all or at places were the lights are flickering? Here its the Solution in 4 simple steps.
Next Page
Prev Page