Photography Features
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: Hand color black & white photographs
Watch this video to learn how to traditionally hand-color silver gelatin black and white photographs.
News: Art Borne From the Barrel of a Gun
Incredible high speed photography, capturing bullets piercing objects (via Flickr user Alex Andrea Broderick).
How To: Do RGB curve adjustments in Photoshop and Lightroom
Yanik Chauvin shows you how to do basic curve manipulations in both Photoshop and Lightroom. The curves are the simple adjustments for changing contrast, exposure, and color curves.
How To: Do infrared photography
Watch this Photo 101 podcast on how to do infrared photography.
How To: Use a two-flash setup
Learn how to use 2 flashes by watching this model shoot in a small space using two off-camera flashes with Gary Fong Whaletails attached.
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.
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:
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: 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.
News: "Seeing" Beethoven with Milk
Photographer Sara Naim creates an oddly beautiful visual documentation of sound: Beethoven's classic Moonlight Sonata, envisioned with milk.
How To: Set up a pocket wizard system and use mixed lighting
Mark Wallace shows how to set up a pocket wizard system and use mixed lighting for photography.
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.
HowTo: Transform a Boring Image Into Amazing 3D Magic
Andrew Odewahn of O'Reilly Answers posts a HowTo on creating 3D(ish) images through simple processing. Odewahn employs the practice of stereoscopy (a technique for creating the illusion of depth in a 2D image):
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.
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.
News: Canon 7D Jerry-Rigged to Shoot Pinhole Video
We've had our fair share of pinhole cameras showcased in Wonderment. And while the pinhole is certainly cool, it typically creates the same, familiar effect across the board. This time we have something slightly more unusual for you.
How To: Understand photo studio quality of light
Understand the basic qualities of studio light by using a simple, one-light strobe lighting kit.
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: Get a magazine cover text effect in Photoshop CS3/4
Are you an aspiring art director for editorial work? It's important that you know how to lay-out text and especially how to lay-out text on a magazine cover. In this tutorial, learn how to achieve a magazine cover effect in Photoshop CS3/4.
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: 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.
How To: Use strobe lighting for fashion photography
How to use two strobe lights for a simple fashion set.
How To: DIY your own SuperMacro lens with working aperture
In this video, learn how to take apart any old lenses you may have a fuse them together into the ultimate SuperMacro lens. This absolutely gorgeous tutorial will show you, step by step, exactly how to create this fantastic eye piece and take incredible photos with it.
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.
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: Shoot fashion photography
Learn the best kept secrets of professional photographers.
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.
News: Exploded! Photographer Dissects Objects
Texas based photographer Adam Voorhes takes four objects (telephone, frog, gun, etch-a-sketch) and dissects them for his photo essay entitled Exploded. The frog in particular looks like an illustration, but is indeed a photograph.
How To: Light a fashion shot
The difference between a good fashion shoot and a great one isn’t the model — it’s the lighting. Learn how to expertly light a fashion shot with this how to video.
How To: Blur backgrounds on portraits
Learn how to use your camera (including how to choose an aperture setting) for blurring the background of portraits.
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: Edit lighting in Photoshop
Learn some basics on editing lighting and other aspects of photos in Photoshop.
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: Develop black and white film for photography
In this photography tutorial, learn the developing process of black and white film. Jim Talkington guides you through the steps in this instructional video. A good way to start developing your own black and white film photographs.
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.
News: Deep Fried Flowers (For Art, Not Eating)
“Domestic Stills” (Domestication, femininity and subversion) is an oddly interesting photography project by Namiko Kitaura in which the artist fries, washes and stitches flowers.
News: Somewhere, in a Far Off Land, Buildings are Video Game Consoles...
Joseph Ford's photography series couldn't have a more befitting name: If I Were President...
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.