behindthescenes

How the Syrian Refugee Crisis Inspired the Photo Editing App Darkroom

Earlier this week, Apple announced the winners of its annual 'Design Awards,' and as usual, one of the honorees was a photo editing app. This year, that app was Darkroom, and while the photo and video editor for iOS is impressive in its own right, the most interesting thing about Darkroom might be the story behind how it came to be.

Making a Custom Raspberry Pi Camera with Zero Coding Knowledge

The Verge Video Director Becca Farsace recently set out to build her very own custom camera by merging a point-and-shoot film camera with the new Raspberry Pi High Quality Camera module and a Raspberry Pi 4 computer. Just one problem... she has zero coding knowledge. Cue a very frustrating week.

How a Snapshot from 1987 Became a Book Cover in 2020

In 1987, choreographer Margo Sappington came to Houston to set her dance "Rodin, mis en vie" on the world-famous Houston Ballet at the invitation of Artistic Director Ben Stevenson. Not knowing who she was, but attracted by her energy and persona, I introduced myself.

My Photo Shoot with Mike Tyson

Every so often a photo shoot comes along that both excites you and terrifies you at the same time. Today’s article is about one such experience.

Turning an Old BMW M5 Into a Camera Car that Can Shoot at 130MPH

The folks over at Valkyr Productions have spent the last decade trying to create the "perfect" rig for capturing car-to-car footage at high speeds. This is the story of how they turned an old BMW M5 into the ultimate chase car, capable of capturing smooth footage at speeds of over 130MPH.

How to Set Up a Basic Photo Studio at Home Using Only One Light

Filipino portrait and wedding photographer Jiggie Alejandrino recently released a great beginner's guide to creating a basic photography studio at home. In the video, he shows you how you can set yourself up to take beautiful portraits using just one light, a 5-in-1 reflector, and not much else.

How to Capture Creative, High-Quality Pinhole Photography in Your Backyard

Fine art photographer Martin Henson has published a wonderful behind-the-scenes look at his pinhole photography process that highlights the results you can get when you use a high-quality camera, you get creative, and you know what the heck you're doing. The result is a masterclass in capturing high-quality pinhole photography that actually qualifies as fine art.

How I Shoot Insect Macro Photography in My Home Studio

Insects and other animals have fascinated me since I was a small child. I remember well how I used to pick them up and simply stare at them in wonder for hours. The concept of photographing insects indoors had been on my mind for years, even when photography and playing with light was a hobby, and long before I considered photography a profession and way of life.

Shooting Hockey Player Portraits from Below, Through Plexiglass

Ever since joining the San Jose Sharks two years ago, I’ve looked for different ways to photograph hockey and showcase our athletes. There was one specific photo that I had been thinking about for a while. The concept would be to create a photo from below the ice, as if looking up at a Sharks player inside SAP Center.

How I Shot a Car Flying Off a 100-Foot Jump

I'm San Diego-based photographer Daniel Schenkelberg, and in the 1-minute video above, watch as I show you how I captured this face on remote camera shot mid-air.

Shooting a Professional Timelapse on a Smartphone

Hi! My name is Patrick Poh, I’m from Singapore, and I have been playing with timelapse photography for a few years. I recently completed the above timelapse video using a 3-year old phone (Sony XZ Premium) and a phone gimbal (Zhiyun Smooth Q), and I want to share about how it was done.

Capturing Both the Crescent Moon and ‘Earthshine’ in One Image

This is something I’ve been wanting to attempt for a while, but the skies have not be clear enough to do so. Iowa skies in fact have been almost constantly cloudy of late – or a least when one wants to shoot the moon.

I’m a TV Show Set Photographer and This is My Process

I get asked all the time about my process: what applications I use, what gear I use, how I do what I do. So I figured, since I'm locked in my apartment by myself because of COVID-19, I might as well write my first blog post about it.

The Red Prison: My Photo Exhibition in a Saddam-Era Jail

When people ask me my favorite places on Earth, typically I respond like this: the best food is in Ethiopia, the best historical sites are in India, but the best people are in Kurdistan. For that reason, I have been pulled back to Kurdistan as a photographer again and again.

Behind the Scenes: Shooting a Bugatti Chiron Going from 0 to 250mph

Back in 2017, automotive filmmaker Al Clark and his team at OUTRUN filmed an impressive "0-400-0 km/h" commercial for Bugatti's latest and greatest supercar: the 1500bhp Bugatti Chiron. Now, after years of online speculation, Clark is finally revealing how exactly they did it.

In-Depth Breakdown Shows How to Properly Weather-Seal a Camera

Dave Etchells over at Imaging Resource has released a fantastic breakdown the dives deep on exactly how camera makers—Olympus specifically—go about properly weather-sealing their cameras. In keeping with Etchells' reputation, this video is the most comprehensive overview of the topic that we've ever seen.

My Portrait Session with Fidel Castro

It was my younger years. I had just published work from the Sudanese Civil War, and the Editor-in-Chief of Germany's GEO magazine, wrote that “Per-Andre risks life and limb for a good shot." Basically, I presume he meant I was a young fool, who took on assignments very few in their clear mind would consider.

Developing 120-Year-Old Cat Photos Found in a Family Time Capsule

YouTuber Mathieu Stern recently discovered a 'time capsule' in the basement of his old family home. The box—dating from about the year 1900, by Stern's estimation—contained two glass plate negatives, which he decided to try and develop using one of the oldest photographic printing methods in existence: the Cyanotype.

Shooting a Creative Album Cover Photo with a Delorean

In late 2018 my buddy RJ (AKA RJD2) approached me about shooting the cover art for an upcoming album he was working on. He didn’t have a concrete idea about what he wanted to do but suggested possibly involving his Delorean.

Capturing Portraits in Indonesia’s Trash Dumps with a Dislocated Knee

I’ve always laughed when, as a photographer, people ask me if I can deal with a difficult client or shoot in a difficult situation. But even still, things are never going to be as bad as the conditions on my most recent trip – after this, I feel like I can shoot anywhere.

These Oversized Objects Were Shot with Photo Tricks and Zero Budget

For our latest project, Oversized Normality, we wanted to create an unreal world while at the same time achieve a realistic final result even if we had changed the proportion of an object 1:1000 times. We wished to accomplish this without using any advanced VFX techniques, which would have required a higher budget and more time.

Documenting the Fate of the Northern White Rhino

My fascination with documenting the last two remaining northern white rhinos at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya began in April 2019 as I launched my personal project Kindred Guardians. The project tells the stories of people who have dedicated their lives to helping animals. The caretakers of the rhinos felt like a perfect way to launch the project.

Fashion Meets Fantasy in the Stunning Photography of Bella Kotak

The latest installment of SmugMug Films brings up behind the scenes with fine art fashion photographer Bella Kotak, whose stunning imagery toes the line between fashion and fantasy, creating a look that's immediately recognizable and nearly always awe-inspiring.

Photographing the Contestants of Survivor 40 on a Deserted Island in Fiji

During my tenure working as a Senior Photo Director and a still’s photographer at CBS, no other show has captivated my interest like the reality-based competition series Survivor. While other reality programs have come and gone, Survivor has stood the test of time and exceeded all expectations for 39 seasons.

These Before-and-After Images Reveal What Goes Into My Photo Art

As a digital artist, I create images that are optical illusions, interesting concepts, and fantasy worlds. For this, I have to have tools to achieve my visions and this is where my retouching background comes into play.