Here is a simple technique that I “discovered” a while ago… It has been useful in some projects… With this technique you can transfer texture and shadows to any surface… It’s simple: In PS create two layers. On the top layer place the photo to which you want to transfer the texture and shadow On the bottom layer put the photo with the texture. (in our example the flour). Apply Multiply Blending Mode to the top layer and mask the areas where you don’t want the texture… Simple but effective....

The United States Senate is subjecting the press to unprecedented restrictions as Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is scheduled to begin next Tuesday. There will be no cameras allowed and no audio recorders, which will make it impossible for the press to cover the event. Expectedly, this has caused significant negative reactions among the public, especially press photographers and journalists.Advertisements Interestingly enough, I was just listening to the news while I was reading about this story, and these restrictions were mentioned....

With a background in literature and journalism, today Eugene Reznik is the Digital Features Photo Editor at Bloomberg. Before grabbing that gig, he was the Director of Photography of the digital publication Hopes&Fears, an editor at American Photo Magazine, and a writer for Time Magazine’s LightBox photography section. In his current role at Bloomberg, we wanted to find out more about his needs for photography – including what he’s looking for and how he finds new talent....

When shooting portraits, the background is one of the things you need to be mindful about. And if you shoot outdoors, you don’t have so much control over it as you do in the studio. In this video, photographer David Bergman will give you a few quick tips for choosing the perfect background and improve your outdoor portraits in an instant. A good background mustn’t be distracting and it should help lead the viewer’s eye straight to the subject....

A few days ago, Ricoh filed a patent application in Japan for three new full-frame telephoto lenses, one of which is for mirrorless cameras. These aren’t the first they’ve filed, either, having filed patents for a couple of other mirrorless lenses a month ago. Could this be a turning point for Pentax, the one company that’s been holding onto DSLRs for dear life while the rest of the world goes mirrorless?...

Gel and lighting manufacturer Rosco has released the MIXBOOK. They say that it is the “world’s first digital swatchbook”. If you don’t know what swatchbooks are, the physical Rosco gel swatchbooks are essentially sample books of the different gels and materials that Rosco makes. But as LED lighting has become more popular, and particularly coloured LEDs, demands have changed. Rosco’s MIXBOOK digital swatchbook is essentially the digital LED equivalent of the original gel swatchbooks....

I use my phone to grab quick video clips regularly. But it’s not ideal, especially when it comes to audio. Smartphone microphones just aren’t that great. It’s a little ironic, really, given that, being phones, their primary function is to hear people talking and to let other people hear you talk. But when you point a phone camera at somebody and they start talking, usually you just hear them drowned out by background noise....

Once lauded as the kings of video, Sony’s been lagging a little of late with their A7 mirrorless series. They’re still clinging onto that 8-Bit video while the rest of the world is going 10-Bit or even 12-Bit raw. But it seems that Sony might finally be going at least 10-Bit after a sensor spec, allegedly for the Sony A7S III was leaked to EOSHD. It’s an interesting looking sensor if the leak is accurate, that actually looks specifically suited to video rather than stills....

If you are into filmmaking, there are plenty of ways to improve your work and to make the shooting more successful and efficient. In this video from StudioBinder, Brent Barbano of ShareGrid gives you seven quick, but very valuable lessons that will help you raise your filmmaking on a higher level. 1. Just shoot The first tip is pretty simple: just shoot! You don’t need to have fancy gear, you might as well use a 2009 iPhone....

Last year, Colin Wirth at This Does Not Compute inherited some old camera gear from his grandparents. Along with the usual assortment of cameras, lenses and other items, was a brand new roll of Kodak Plus-X Pan film. A Black & White Panchromatic ISO125 film containing 20 exposures. The only issue was, it expired in March 1983. Given how long film lasts after being made, that means this roll is over 35 years old....

Sometimes our photos end up being underexposed by accident, or because of poor lighting conditions. But what about doing it on purpose? Photographer Manny Ortiz admits he tends to underexpose his photos for one or two stops. In this video, he talks about why he does it and about the benefits of this approach. Since Manny shoots mainly portraits, he uses this technique in portrait photography. Also, it’s useful when he works in natural light....

We should be used to it by now, but it’s always sad to see the magazines we love disappear. Just last year, Popular Photography magazine closed after 80 years of business. And today, the 45-year print-business veteran Shutterbug announced that they will no longer publish their print magazine as well. However, it’s not all bad news for Shutterbug as they will continue their operations online.“Shutterbug.com has grown dramatically in recent years with record traffic and expanded reach to photographers around the world,” Editor-in-Chief Dan Havlik says....

Sigma has now announced pricing for three new lenses. The E-Mount version of the very popular (and rather sexy) 105mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art series lens, as well as the two new 40mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art and 56mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary lenses. Sigma 105mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens for Sony E Not surprisingly, the Sigma 105mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens for Sony E mount comes in at the same $1,599 price as its Nikon F, Canon EF and Sigma SA mount counterparts....

Last month, a rumor was going around that Sigma would expand its product lineup to include Nikon Z and Canon RF lenses. And now, it’s not a rumor anymore. Sigma’s CEO has confirmed that the company is considering adding the two new mounts to its offer. Speaking with ICAN, Sigma’s CEO Kazuto Yamaki confirmed the rumor. He said that the company’s short‑term strategy indeed involves “a possibility of introducing lenses with new mounts – to such photography systems as Nikon Z or Canon EOS R....

Sigma has today announced two new lenses in their full-frame mirrorless lineup. First, we have a new 90mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary with a very attractive $639 price tag. The other is a shorter, wider angle 24mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary lens with an equally impressive price tag. Literally, it’s the exact same price. Interestingly, today also marks Sigma’s 60th birthday. Yes, the company was established on September 9th, 1961....

Smartphone cameras are now advanced enough to give us many possibilities for shooting photos and videos. But with some tricks and DIY magic, you can make your work much, much better without spending lots of money. In this video, COOPH brings you a selection of their six best DIY rigs for smartphone photography and video. They’re affordable, easy to make, and they’ll help you add a new dimension to your smartphone shots....

According to a report by SonyAlpha Rumors, a code-savvy individual managed to get around the 30-minute recording limit and unlock the language menu of Sony A-series cameras by reverse-engineering the cameras’ firmware.Advertisements Under the username ma1co, who is known for hacking Sony equipment in the past, the individual posted the full hack on the Personal View forums. In it, he claims that both the 30-minute record limit and the language menu have been unlocked....

Since Nikon and Canon joined Sony on the mirrorless bandwagon, the competition has been hotting up quite nicely. All three manufacturers have a comparable basic model full-frame mirrorless camera; the Sony A7III, Canon EOS R and Nikon Z6. They all have advantages and disadvantages over the other two, although in the early days, the Sony was still the clear favourite. In the last 18 months, though, all three cameras have seen some pretty major firmware updates released to add a bunch of different features....

Sony recently announced a pair of new smartphone-sized IMX camera sensors. They’re the first two models of what Sony calls their “intelligent vision” sensors. Sony says that they’re the world’s first image sensors to be equipped with AI processing functionality built right into the sensor itself for the fastest possible processing speeds. This first generation of sensors, which includes the IMX500 and IMX501 (both 12.3-megapixels), is destined more towards Sony’s commercial and industrial product clients, but their smartphone sensors will almost certainly evolve to incorporate this technology over the next few years....

When the project started I wondered if this mosaic was too ambitious. I had made a few tiled light painting mosaics and I was recently inspired by the work of Chris Bauer. I also hadn’t been feeling like actually shooting any new pictures but I wanted to stay connect to my light painting friends so I created PieceOut.com. This is a site that helps coordinate the creation of photo mosaics for groups of people around the world....