behindthescenes

This Crazy Camera Rig Spins a Phantom Camera at 150RPM

Steve Giralt is a photographer and "visual engineer" who uses wild-looking camera rigs to capture eye-popping shots seen in ads. His latest project involved a large, heavy camera rig that spins a Phantom VEO 4K high-speed camera around a tabletop subject at 150 rotations per minute.

Pro Food Photographer Debunks Viral ‘Food Styling Hacks’

Those "food styling hacks" videos that go viral online every few months might not be entirely truthful—in fact, they're often entirely misleading. Which is why professional food photographer Scott Choucino put together this video reacting to/debunking some of the most common hacks he's seen online.

Photo History: How Edward Weston Processed His Photos

Legendary photographer Edward Weston was one of the most influential photographers in American history, and in this short video, we get to go back in time, visit his home, and watch him process one of his negatives from start to finish.

How NOT to Be a Model: My Most Infuriating Photoshoot Ever

Recently, I worked one of the most frustrating shoots I have ever had to endure. In my day job, I work with amateur prospective models doing test shoots. Most of the people I work with have never modeled and have rarely even stepped into a photography studio before. Despite this, the people I work with tend to understand the relationship and the unspoken code.

How the Amazing Photos in the ‘I Spy’ Books Were Captured

Did you ever dive into an I Spy book as a kid? These photo books were filled with incredibly detailed images that showed tens, sometimes hundreds of objects in a single shot, and challenged children to find specific items within those pictures. And each illustration was captured using real objects by photographer Walter Wick.

10 Dirty Little Secrets of the Commercial Photography Industry

In an industry that’s overcrowded with photographers trying to get a piece of the client pie, commercial photography has an irresistible allure, especially to those new to the industry. Social media fails to show the full picture of what goes on behind the scenes, and photographers rarely talk about the many downfalls of being a commercial photographer.

How I Shot a Time-Lapse of the Total Solar Eclipse in Argentina

One of the best things time-lapse photography has given me is my interest in astronomy. When I started shooting the night sky, I needed to learn basic astronomy in order to understand what I was photographing. Thanks to that, I was able to capture a time-lapse of the total solar eclipse this past July 2nd in Córdoba, Argentina.

How I Shot a Concept Photo of an Organ Market

A surgeon at a meat market. It's an absolutely simple yet ridiculous idea, so it had to be done for real! China has been harvesting organs from detainees, so maybe this absurd project of mine isn't so far from the truth!

Behind the Scenes: What It’s Like on a Commercial Film Set

My name is Liam Hawe, and I work as a video editor. When I started out in the industry I worked for a creative services agency where I had the opportunity to document behind the scenes of commercials. Four great years have passed and now that I am about to take on a new role at a different company, the process of tidying up my old files has brought on a wave of nostalgia.

Putting a Man ‘on’ the Moon: A Photo for Apollo 11’s 50th Anniversary

I've been fascinated with the idea of incorporating the moon into photos whenever possible. And so, with the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s moon landing on July 20th, I was excited by the possibility to shoot something special for the occasion: Putting a man "on" the moon.

Behind the Photos: Incredible Human-Sized Jellyfish Caught on Camera

This past weekend, just off the coast of Cornwall, UK, underwater cinematographer Dan Abbott and wildlife biologist Lizzie Daly captured what is being called the most viral wildlife story of the year: incredible footage of a rare human-sized jelly fish swimming alongside Daly in the murky deep.

Building Hyper Realistic Photography Sets Underwater

Being an Underwater Photographer I've always been drawn to creating dreamscapes below the surface, it's just part of the allure for me, and trying to build a whole room underwater was one of the goals I'd set myself quite a while ago.

An Inside Look at How the Fujifilm GFX 100 Was Born

Last month, Fujifilm announced the GFX 100, a game-changing 102-megapixel medium format mirrorless camera. cinema5D has released a 2-part documentary that gives us a behind-the-scenes look at how this monster of a camera came to be.

I Photograph Birds in My Backyard by Setting Up Stages

Last year I joined my local photography club. The club holds regular competitions and I was amazed by the quality of the bird and wildlife photographs. I've never been much of a natural history photographer. So it's not surprising that my own photographs did very poorly in competitions.

Shooting a Steeplechase Horse Race

Jamey Price is a freelance motorsport photographer based in Charlotte, North Carolina, but he shoots way more than cars racing. Here's a 6-minute video in which Price takes us behind-the-scenes of shooting a steeplechase horse race at Queen's Cup in Charlotte.

Photographing NBA Star Dwyane Wade in China

Doing a photo shoot in China is different than anything I have experienced on any set anywhere else in the world. Heck, just getting from the hotel to the set is like playing a video game when it comes to driving on the roads... or sidewalks, for that matter. However, to go to a country expecting it not to have a different culture is ethnocentric and prepares one for nothing.

Truths Learned After 3 Years in Stock Photography

Landscape photographer Rachel Lerch spent the past three years selling some of her photos through stock agencies. In this 20-minute video, Lerch shares all the truths she has learned about how the story photo industry works and whether it's worth getting into.

Shooting an Action Photo of a Toy Fighter Plane

Have you ever found yourself looking at your children's toys and thought to yourself, "Man that would look great in an image?" Well I have, I do, and I love creating images this way, trying to create a realistic/surreal image which tells a story from using nothing more than a piece of plastic.

Behind the Scenes of a Travel Assignment for the New York Times

What is it like to shoot a travel assignment for a major publication? What’s the process from start to finish? Every publication is a little different but I’ll speak from my experience shooting dozens of assignments for The New York Times travel section throughout Southeast Asia for over a decade.

Shooting Overhead Action Photos of Tennessee Basketball

If you've followed Tennessee basketball, chances are you've seen one of those really cool overhead photos. That top-down, bird's eye view is something you don't see every day, and only very few have access to capturing this unique angle.

How to Save 100,000 Cameras: A Look Inside Camera Rescue

Camera Rescue is a project based in Finland that's working to rescue 100,000 analog cameras by 2020 in order to preserve them for future generations. Photographer Jordan Lockhart of Cameraville recently traveled to Tampere, Finland, and made this 10.5-minute behind-the-scenes video at the organization's ambitious endeavor.

Photographing the Fake Holy Men of Varanasi, India

"Where should we go?" Melissa, my girlfriend, was trying to narrow down what seemed like a mountain of possibilities-places that were worthy of exploration. After a month of repeating that same question a million times, we finally settled on India.

Judging a Photo Contest: My Experience with FOCUS Photo L.A.

It began with an email one morning. The link in it led to the work of one hundred fifty photographers. I had 1,500 images to judge for Focus Photo, a s**t ton of looking to get it right. It wasn’t going to be easy to hold it all in my mind, to remember why I was making the decisions I was making.

Apple’s New iPad Pro Ads Were Shot and Made Entirely on the iPad Pro

Apple recently released a new series of ads for the iPad Pro that shows how the tablet computer opens the doors to new ways of doing things. What's neat is that Apple is "eating its own dog food": as the 2-minute behind-the-scenes video above reveals, the ads were shot, edited, animated, designed, and composed entirely on the iPad Pro.

I Built a Replica Chinese Takeout Restaurant in My Photo Studio

My name is Nicky Hamilton, I’m a photographer from London. In-between commercial work I produce fine art photography, specializing in cinematic set builds, which unlike my commercial work is done solo, the set design, build, photography, styling, and retouching. It started this way as a means to an end but then blossomed to become a meditative process that’s creatively very fulfilling for me.

How This Pro Instagram Star Earns Up to $100K Climbing Peaks Full-Time

The rise of Instagram in our culture has spawned a generation of professional Instagrammers who make a living from broadcasting (often sponsored) photos to their massive followings. Meghan Young is one such Instagrammer, and this 12-minute feature by Bloomberg gives us a look into what her life and career are like.

Behind the Scenes of a Year’s Worth of Street Photography

I've been using some version of "street" photography as practice and exercise for all areas of my photography since I started taking it seriously in 2015, but I've never been as focused and regimented about honing my approach to street photography every day as I have been since the start of 2018, when I decided to give myself an entire year to "make it" as a photographer.