I’m generally not a big fan of cheap Chinese crap, but there are occasionally exceptions – especially when it involves re-purposing and adapting inexpensive consumer items for photography. In this article, I will share a selection of twenty one items ranging from $1 to $4 that I have found at my local Dollar Store that I have used for photography. In case you’re not familiar with the North American phenomenon of the Dollar Store – I’m talking about a retail store that sells very inexpensive, low quality imported stuff for the home, plus some clothing, accessories, office supplies and toys....

Since I have been running this site and doing this job I have watched as the prices for compact cameras have steadily increased into the sort of price ranges usually reserved for collectible cameras. I do feel partly responsible for this as the site helped to popularise these cameras and bring them to new audiences. But this was also inevitable. These cameras are getting expensive not just because they are more popular, but also because there are fewer and fewer or them available now....

As humans we always have a desire to do more, be better, and move faster. That doesn’t mean we always do, but the desire is there. When you are in the groove, you can push out new work, create, and make at hyper speed. When we do hit that stride, it feels amazing. Until suddenly it doesn’t. That’s because you can only sustain that kind of pace for so long without balance....

It’s something that all of us have run into at some point or another, particularly when we’re still learning the basics of photography. We learn that when we stop down our lenses, we get more depth of field and a sharper image. So, if I need the most depth of field, I should just stop it down all the way, and everything will be in focus and super sharp, right?...

If you’re looking for an economical way to add clean, smooth motion to your time lapse or live action video clips, the Syrp Genie Mini is a great place to start. However, I didn’t expect just how easy and fun the Genie Mini would be to use in the field – continue reading for the complete review… Syrp Genie Mini Panning Motion Control System The Syrp Genie Mini is a small motorized single axis (horizontal rotation) panning control system that is designed to sit between your camera and your tripod....

We got our hands on a YI 4K and thought we’d put it against the current crown holder: the Gopro Hero 4 Black edition. I was expecting great things from the YI, as it is getting quite popular review, but I was quite blown away with what you can get for $250. I mean, the YI 4K is half the price of the GoPro, which you would think will put it with the knockoffs bin....

DJI, manufacturer of the very popular series of Phantom drones, have opened up a new facility in South Korea. Named the DJI Arena, it allows drone owners to learn more about how to fly their craft. It’s a fairly substantial size, with 1,395 square metres (15,015 sq ft.) of space. It also offers an obstacle course, for those wanting to test their aerial prowess. Their goal is to “help foster the local drone culture and play an important role in building a healthy UAV ecosystem in Korea”....

When photographing wildlife – much like hiring a new employee or going on a date with someone you met online – it’s essential to do a background check. What is behind the animal that you’re photographing? The background can completely make or break an image. It’s essentially the canvas that you’re painting the rest of your picture on top of. By paying more attention to what’s going on back there you can vastly improve your images....

We’ve all heard about them, a lot of us have experienced them and most people are worried about them, so today we’re going to talk about creepy photographers. We’re going to talk about how you might be one without even knowing it, some basic things you should just understand, both as a human being and a photographer, and we’re going to rant a bit about how much creepy photographers suck for both us photographers, and for everyone else....

Whether it’s just for fun, or to expand their offer, many photographers decide to start shooting videos in addition to photography. But although there are similarities between shooting photos and video, there are also are differences that leave a lot of room for mistakes. If you’re a photographer just switching to video, make sure to watch this video from Teppo Haapoja and avoid five most common mistakes new videographers make....

Is it safe to go back in the water? Well, not quite. At least, not if you’re near Israel’s Haifa Bay. Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority captured the incredible drone footage, which shows a small boat surrounded by what almost looks like white flower petals. The white blobs are jellyfish, however. While it’s not uncommon to find large numbers of jellyfish in the Mediterranean during the high temperatures of the summer, this intensity and size of the swarm are less usual....

Well, there’s no denying that the recently released Dune remake has a unique yet familiar look and feel to it. But the process to create it might not have been what you thought it was. While some will instantly assume that it was shot on digital (because there isn’t much that isn’t these days) others will believe it was shot on film. Well, both sides are right. It turns out that it was shot digitally on the Arri Alexa LF which was then transferred to film and then scanned to turn it back into a digital format again....

A gift for photographers comes from DxO Labs. In cooperation with Digital Camera UK, they are giving away a free license for DxO OpticsPro 9, for a limited time. All you need to do is submit your email address and do it by the 28th of February – and it’s all yours. https://vimeo.com/85729072 DxO Labs did the same thing in 2015, when they upgraded to the version 10, so they gave away free license codes for version 8....

Edelkrone’s SliderONE, whilst small, is still quite mighty. The SliderONE was introduced back in 2015, and it’s proven to be popular with those who own one. Last year, they added motors and motion control. Now the whole thing’s been updated with a slightly longer SliderONE Pro. But it’s also received some pretty cool app updates, too, offering some great motion control options to let bend time to your will. The Edeklrone Wing also sees a second generation update, along with a new Wing PRO....

Depth of field can be a somewhat confusing topic to get to grips with if you’re new to photography. That is to say, it’s easy to see what depth of field is, but it can be tricky to understand what elements can cause it to change, whether intentionally or by accident. In this video, photographer Kellan Reck takes a look at depth of field and explains the variables that can affect your depth of field....

Smart Objects are one of Photoshop’s most versatile features as far as I’m concerned. When I first discovered them in about Photoshop CS2 or 3, they completely changed my workflow. In this video, Unmesh Dinda of PiXimperfect offers up a huge complete guide showing what they’re for and how you can use them. I first came across Smart Objects when I saw a video on YouTube by a photographer whose name escapes me....

A while ago, we shared a practical solution for extending a Sony camera battery life with a power bank. If this is something you care about, the guys from The Film Look bring you an even cheaper way of doing it with big NPF Sony batteries. If you shoot film with a DSLR or a mirrorless camera, you should definitely have a look. Robert and Richard use a Sony NP-FW50 battery as an example....

iPhone users have noticed a pretty worrying and creepy bug while using Facebook on their phones. It seems that the app was accessing the camera while they were watching videos or looking at photos on their News Feed. A number of users noticed a glitch and then discovered that their camera had been running in the background without their knowledge. Some users spotted the bug when looking at videos in full screen, and then returning them back to normal....

Facebook’s Moments app came onto the scene with a lot of promise. Announced in June 2015 for Android and iOS, Moments allows users to take advantage of Facebook’s face recognition algorithms to detect your friends in the photos on your camera roll, and then share those images with those recognised friends. Unfortunately for Facebook, though, it seems that users just didn’t care, and very few have been actively using the service....

Facebook has the policy to ban photographic nudity, which has been a problem for many photographers who share their work on Facebook and Instagram. But this could soon change. Photographer Spencer Tunick recently organized a nude photo shoot outside of company’s offices to challenge its policies. As a result, Facebook will reconsider its nudity guidelines when it comes to photographic art.Advertisements The photo shoot took place on 2 June outside of Facebook’s New York offices....