The whole manual vs auto thing for me isn’t really much of a debate. And whether you prefer to use auto or manual, you’re still going to need to understand the underlying principles of photography and how your camera “sees” a scene in order to get the most out of it and the best possible images you can that achieve your vision. Coming to you from Paul at Photo Genius, this video compares the differences when shooting multiple scenes using both manual and auto exposure controls....

Understanding how light and shadow falls on different shaped objects is pretty important. It gives us the ability to be able to quickly recognise problems with lighting setups in many different situations with all kinds of subjects. It also helps us to remedy them more quickly. Jay P Morgan’s recently launched new series, Laws of Light shows us these principles in action. In the first video, Jay showed us the humble sphere....

Instagram isn’t real life. I’ve been repeating this in my articles, to my friends, and myself pretty often. And yet, I recently realized that I’ve also fallen into this “perfect life” trap. I noticed that I’d shared some photos that look far from how I felt at the moment. And it got me thinking – how easy it is to become a part of the problem? In this article, I want to address two sides of the same coin....

This is the famous and elusive Horsetail “Firefall” Fall in Yosemite, but unlike every other image you may have seen – always taken near sunset around February – the fire effect in this image is caused by moonlight. That’s the only possible way one could see the firefall and stars at the same time! How does the firefall effect happen in the first place? Before we dive into the moonlit firefall, let me quickly explain how the more popular firefall event works....

There is a particular obstacle that stands in the way of almost all travel, documentary and cultural photographers alike and, for some reason, no one seems to be willing to talk about it – so I’m going to. The way I see it, that obstacle could be best described as ‘Misconception’. No matter how hard I try to prepare for what may lay ahead in my photography projects, it never ceases to amaze me how much of a difference there is between what I think I’m going to find and what is really out there....

A while back, I had another roundtable discussion at the Film Photographers Association. This time the subject was Still Life Photography. It is a genre we all take for granted and include in it a great variety of photographs. I would like to explore the origins of still life in painting, how it came to photography, and eventually expanded in coverage and scope. Mind you, I do not intend to limit anyone’s vision but to make the reader a bit more aware of the origins of still life....

As my love for photography has increased over time, so has my love for manual focus lenses. Lenses such as the Samyang 135mm f2 provide unsurpassed sharpness and image quality, at a price much lower than its autofocus counterparts. Often you also save weight and size when switching to a manual lens. I switched my Sigma 35mm f1.4 ART for a Voigtländer Ultron 35mm f1.7, and got a lens that was just a fraction of the weight and size while maintaining comparable image quality and low light performance....

Here is an entry that will probably go down as a totally impractical build, but it is just so insane that I had to share it. I mean I can’t see anyone actually using such a bright light (especially with the low CRI they probably produce), but it can set the ground for some a groundbreaking cinema lights. The build, made by EcProjects, is using 18 (yes eighteen) 100WATT LEDs, 2 one kg heatsinks and 2 6-cells 5200mHa LiPo batteries....

Balloon lights are an uncommon light source for most of us. But such lights are often used in TV and movie production. They’re essentially huge light sources that are overhead of your subjects using very bright bulbs. The balloon part of it acts like a big diffuser to help soften and spread the light out more evenly. They’re not cheap, though. But this DIY option from Todd Blankenship at Shutterstock shows us a way to make one fairly easily using some shower curtains, LED strips and helium....

Sometimes, you just need a spinning camera that orbits around your subject for a video. There are many really fancy, expensive, customised and automated rigs out there that will let you do this costing a whole lot of money. But sometimes, you just want to go the DIY route with grip gear that you possibly already own. The folks at Threefold needed a way to shoot a cool shot idea to film a promo for a planner called Evertide....

Advertisements Equipment White background1x standard reflector with grid on 500Ws monoblock1x standard reflector to 500Ws monoblock1x Octabox 90cm with net honeycomb and ceiling mount (gallows would also work) to 1000Ws monoblock1x Color gel Cyan (Lee # 118 Light Blue) Setup The main light in this image is a 90cm octabox, which was easily attached to the ceiling in front of the model. The technique used here is called feathering. It works like this: The light fall-off from the source that occurs over the model is balanced by the positioning of the light....

Are you a rule follower or a rule breaker? The rebel in me usually likes to bend the rules as much as possible, and the rules of photography and composition are no exception. It’s true that they exist for a reason, and often by following them, at least in the early phases of learning, we will get much better results. However, following rules all the time when creating art can quickly get boring....

I find it amazing that so many “everyday objects” can be used to create fantastic photos. If you’re at home these days, Ben from Adaptalux has a perfect photo idea for you. All you need is some paper and some lights, and you can create an infinite number of abstract macro photos. For his setup, you will need a couple of sheets of regular white paper, nothing fancy. I suppose all of us have some printer paper at home....

Are you a fan of The Avengers? If you are, you’re gonna love this tutorial by Colin Smith of PhotoshopCAFE. In this 12-minute video, he’ll teach you how to create the awesome disintegration effect from The Avengers (Infinity War and Endgame). 1. Cutout When you open the image, cut out the subject using your preferred method for making selections. Refine the selection so it’s as precise as possible, and make two copies of the cutout (press Ctrl/Cmd + J twice)....

Here is a great tool to add to your lighting toolbox, controlling lights with gels. It’s not about making the light hard or soft, it’s different of control, one that allows playing with color relations. And While there is quite a bit you can do with gels in general, today I am going to focus on controlling backdrop color. There is a way to get three looks using only two lights and a gray backdrop....

After a while of shooting with the DJI Mavic Pro, I notice something weird, my footage was off. Whatever I did I could not get a clean sliding shot. Looking deep I realized many of my shots were a bit crooked. Turns out my gimbal was not calibrated. When you are taking photos or footage looking down, it’s barely noticeable but when you are trying to shoot anything with horizontal lines it becomes obvious....

In honor of Inktober, Isaac Alvarez of UNPLUG Production made his own ink-related project. But rather than making an ink drawing, he focused on commercial watch photography. He used only a simple two-light setup and some super-cheap items, most of which we all have lying around the house. Despite the low-budget setup, the results are professional-looking, so let’s dive in and see how he did it. For this video, Isaac made some ink in water photos to composite with photos of watches....

If you photograph people or even furry animals, then at some point you’re probably going to have to make some kind of hair selection that lets you cut your subject out from its background. While cutting out hard edged shapes like body parts covered in skin or clothes are often fairly straightforward, hair can still be quite a challenge. In this video from Tutvid, Nathaniel Dodson shows us some methods to help assist with this process....

Being in a photography business involves interaction with lots of different people. But putting yourself and your work out there seems more difficult if you’re introverted. In this video, photographers Sean Tucker and Simon Baxter discuss this topic, and their thoughts will inspire all you introverts out there. Unlike many other videos or blogs, Sean and Simon don’t suggest that you overcome your emotions, habits and needs and pretend to be someone you’re not....

Taking photos of the same subject over and over again sounds tiring. It seems hardly doable to make the shots interesting every time. But it’s not impossible. In this video, Peter McKinnon shares some awesome advice how to take new, fresh and interesting photos without losing inspiration. It will certainly inspire you to take a new look on photographing the repetitive subjects. Even if the subject is always the same – your photos don’t have to be....