Hot Photography How-Tos

How To: Use a wide or telephoto lens for portrait photography

Mark Wallace shows us how to use a wide lens for portrait photography. A longer lens minimizes distortion in your picture and it maximizes what type of view you can see, so you can see more of the thing you are taking a picture of and less of the background. These lenses help keep the picture clean and uncluttered. You can see the difference between a wide and short angle lens by taking pictures with them and looking at the differences between them. There is also a zoom available, which makes...

How To: Shoot an engagement photo

In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to shoot an engagement photo. An engagement shoot should be a lot more special and personal. To do that, you need to find meaning to the photo. Finding a scene with a deep meaning will help make the photo much more special. A challenge when shooting an engagement photo is to get the couple to be comfortable and relaxed in front of the camera. Try to get the couple to interact with one another to make the photo look honest and real. This video will ben...

How To: Safely pack your photo equipment for travel

Yanik Chauvin teaches us how to safely pack photo equipment for travel in this tutorial. First, remember to have good insurance on all your equipment, just in case something does break. To pack your things, use a backpack that is specifically made for cameras. Also, arrange for the lens not to be attached to the body of the camera while traveling. If you have to have it attached, make sure there is something under your lens to protect it from any additional shock. If you don't have a backpack...

How To: Take professional-quality photos using natural light

Interested in taking professional-caliber portraits but haven't time (or money) for a bulky light rig? Great results can be had by taking advantage of the available light from windows. This photographer's guide offers a number of pointers for you shooters out there. For more information, and to get started taking your own beautifully lit photos, take a look.

How To: Use & understand studio flash

This video tutorial is in the Fine Art category which will show you how to use & understand studio flash. Right in front is the flash ring. It controls the direction of the flash. The most important buttons are the up and down button that controls the power of the flash. Five is the lowest power and it goes up to ten. Starting with five it goes up by one stop increment. You don't need to use any of the other buttons. All you need to do is to turn on the flash with the ON / OFF button, point i...

How To: Photograph with infrared

In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to photograph with infrared. Infrared photography is photography the infrared spectrum of light, rather the visible spectrum of light. The main effect are to turn the sky darker, smooth out skin and turn foliage white. Users will need a camera that is converted into infrared. Then simply take a picture with the infrared camera and all the photos that are created by the camera will be in infrared. This video will benefit those viewers who are intereste...

How To: Make a cool lampshade using a panorama photo

If you've taken some great looking panorama shots, but have no idea what to do with them, this tutorial may have something in mind. In this tutorial, you'll be finding out how to take a cool looking panorama and trasnfer it onto a lamp shade. It will not only give use to your photo, but add an interesting piece of furniture to your home as well.

How To: Photograph with a tilt shift lens

In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to photograph with a tilt shift lens. Shooting in a position of height will exaggerate the field, Make sure to lock down the exposure of the camera before tilting. A tilt shift lens allows users to choose where the focal point lies and are able to blur out the image. To maximize the depth of a field, users need to simply turn the lens to change the focal point. This video will benefit those viewers who are interested in photography and have a tilt shi...

How To: Shoot a white object on a white background

Anxious about shooting a white foreground object against a white background? Learn how to take stunning white-on-white photographs with this free video photography lesson. For more information, including detailed, step-by-step instructions, and to get started taking your own wintry photographs, take a look.

How To: Select a solid tripod for photography

Forget dogs - tripods are a man's best friend (well, if he's a photographer). Eliminating many of the factors that create crappy photos, including the instability of holding the camera up by hand, photo blurs, and general strain of weilding those hulking digital SLRs, tripods are always there to lend a helping leg. Or three.

How To: Take evenly lit professional high definition photos

You can take high resolution photos with just about any digital SLR, but whether these high resolution photos turn out impressive depends on setting, lighting, and the compliance of your subjects to pose. While photographing your friends and family in everyday life has these aforementioned conditions already set for you, if you take photos in the studio many factors can be adjusted to your liking.

How To: Do long exposure photography of rivers

Have you ever been camping, sitting by a peaceful brook or stream, and wanted to capture the beauty of that delicate flowing mass of water? For most photographers, capturing a river or stream is not hard, but the river often comes out stagnant, frozen in place rather than alive and vital as it is in real life.

How To: Change your lens aperture to affect depth of field

In this Fine Art video tutorial, you will learn how varying your lens Aperture can affect Depth of Field. Depth of Field is defined as the range of the photograph that appears to be in focus. This can be controlled by using the aperture settings. With a wide aperture like f/1.4, f/2 or f/2.8, only a small range of the image will be in focus. This is used to isolate the subject from the background. But, if you have a smaller aperture opening like f/8, f/11 or f/16, you will get a large depth o...

How To: Clean camera lenses safely

Cleaning your lens will help your lens performing at its best, and this tutorial shows us how to do it properly. You will need: lens cleaning fluid, soft cloth, blower ball, and pencil. Start off by blowing air onto the lens and then dropping the cleaning solution onto the cloth. Rub the cloth into circles and start rubbing the lens gently. Now, take your pencil eraser and rub the contacts to remove any grease, then use the blower ball to remove any particles you see around the lens. Do this ...

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: Price your photography

While it might pain you to put a price on your art, if you want to support yourself through photography you may have to. Fortunately, it isn't as difficult as you might expect. It's so easy, in fact, that this free video tutorial can present a comprehensive overview of the process in just over three minutes' time. For detailed instructions, as well as to get started sharpening your own knives, watch this helpful how-to.

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: Use speed lights with studio softboxes

In this helpful video, Yanik Chauvin will show you exactly how to use speed boxes with studio softboxes. You will learn how to hook up an SB-800 camera flash inside a studio soft box to get great light and photos. The best part is, you most likely already have these supplies in your photo studio so it's cheap! Have fun and good luck with your photo taking!

How To: Photograph your dog or any other pet like a pro

Dogs and pets make beautiful portrait subjects, but they can be difficult to photograph. In this video, learn exactly how to set up your surroundings, lighting and camera to take your best animal picture. This tutorial will teach you a photography technique that you can use to photograph your pet in studio or at home using an inexpensive lighting setup. You can apply the same technique to shoot a cat, bunny, pig, pony, tiger.. anything!

How To: Create mood with the Gaussian blur tool in Photoshop

Learn how to use the Gaussian blur tool to add mood to your digital photos while maintaining sharpness and detail. Meet the Adobe Photoshop pen tool! Whether you're new to Adobe's popular image editing software or simply looking to pick up a few new tips and tricks, you're sure to benefit from this free video tutorial, which presents a complete overview of how to use the Gaussian blur filter when touching up a photo. For more information, and to get started using the Gaussian blur tool yourse...

How To: Create an easy photo montage as a Photoshop beginner

Create stunning montages the easy way. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular image editing software or simply looking to pick up a few new tips and tricks, you're sure to benefit from this free video tutorial from Pro Photo Life. For more information, including step-by-step instructions on how to create your own custom photo montages, watch this graphic designer's guide.