Photography Features

How To: Set the shutter speed and aperture of a camera

When setting the shutter speed and aperture of a camera, use a light meter to take a reading, then set the aperture or shutter speed, depending on which is more important for the photograph. Set the shutter speed and aperture of a camera with the tips in this free instructional video on photography tips from a professional photographer. For novice photographers, setting the shutter speed and aperture is an important first step in mastering the art of photography.

How To: Take a fashion portrait photograph

A fashion portrait should convey emotion and follow a story line. Delightfully, besides these two rules, it doesn’t have to make sense. Art photography can be dramatic or goofy. Make sure you don't just leave it all for Photoshop. Make an effort to get the right lighting before you start flashing away for your beauty shot or headshot.

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.

News: The Greatest Artist in the Universe

Who other than Mother Earth? Below, a selection of 10 images from the USGS' Earth as Art, a collection of stunning photographs from the Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 satellites. The bright color is a false effect produced by satellite sensors, but the texture, shapes, patterns, scale- that's all real.

How To: Use a DSLR camera to shoot wedding photography stills and videos

If you're about to shoot your first wedding, don't be unprepared. A wedding is a very important and special time for those soon-to-be mates, and you don't want to be responsible for ruining that precious memory. So, know you're stuff before jumping into wedding photography. This video gives a lot of advice for newbie wedding photographers who want to start shooting pictures and videos using a DSLR (digital SLR camera). This is a crash course with tons of information.

How To: Read a hand-held light meter

When reading a hand-held light meter, make sure the ISO setting is correct and point the cone of the meter toward the subject to get an accurate reading. Learn how to read a hand held light meter with the tips in this free instructional video on photography tips from a professional photographer. After learning about the light meter, you won't make any aperature mistakes in the future.

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.

News: Money + Face = Art

Remember sleeveface? There's a new craze to hit the web, and though maybe not quite as fun, it's worth noting. Moneyface. Take a bill, any bill, strategically place in front of your face, point, and shoot. Voila.

How To: Develop black and white 120 roll film

This four-part video describes, in great detail, how to develop black-and-white 120 film. With photo labs becoming rarer by the day, knowing how to do this yourself will become increasing important if you want to continue to take and develop pictures with film. Developing 120 is a bit different than developing 35 millimeter, so if you can already do that still watching this video! Thankfully, the presenter demonstrates the process in full light. Bear in mind it will be very dark when you do t...

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: Take top fashion photos with a point and shoot camera

You don't need a 30,000 or even 3,000 dollar camera to shoot high-quality fashion photographs. A regular point and shoot and a lighting umbrella are all it takes to take quality images. Watch this video photography tutorial and learn how to take magazine quality beauty headshots with a point and shoot camera. Take top fashion photos with a point and shoot camera.

How To: Shoot directly from your camera to your hard drive

Sick of transferring megabytes and megabytes worth of photos into your computer, only to send them to your hard drive? Skip the middle step and learn how to shoot directly from your camera to your hard drive with help from this video by Pro Photo Life. Get your photos to your hard drive quicker and easier with the tips and tricks given here.

How To: Shoot high dynamic range (HDR) photography

You can take high dynamic range photos with a regular point and shoot digital camera. You may need to take up to three versions of the same photograph and make a high definition composite photograph. Even a small digital camera can take three photographs at the same time using an auto bracketing feature. You can also do this by hand if you have a steady hand or a tripod. Edit the individual photographs on the computer using Adobe Photoshop or a another digital photo editing program.