educational

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.

ISO Has Nothing to Do with Exposure: A Technical Explanation

Photographer Chris Lee of the YouTube channel pal2tech recently released one of the most straightforward technical explanations of ISO that we've seen. In this 12 minute video, he explains what ISO is and, just as importantly, takes on a couple of common misconceptions by explaining what ISO is not.

A Complete Guide to Using Off Camera Flash for Wedding Photography

Wedding photographer Reggie Ballesteros gets a lot of questions from aspiring wedding photographers, and one of the most common is: how do you use off-camera flash? So he's created a comprehensive guide that covers his entire process—from the gear he uses, to his thought process during setup, through execution.

How to Spot Fake Photos of Fake People Online

My name is Mike Solomon, and I learned a thing or two about AI-generated faces when I built the web app “Judge Fake People” last year. Here's a little guide on how to spot fake photos of fake people online.

A Hollywood Animation Artist Learns Timelapse Photography

When I’m not working on animated films like “How To Train Your Dragon”, I spend my free time photographing architecture. These are my passion projects. It is the creative outlet that stretches my brain in a totally different way then when I’m working on animated films.

Why Won’t the ’72dpi’ Myth Die?

When they were young, my children used to get very excited about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. But they saw through those by the time they were six. So why has the myth of saving JPEG files at 72dpi lasted far more than six years?

How an Anti-Aliasing Filter Impacts a Camera’s Photos

Some cameras on the market these days leave out the traditional optical low pass filter (OLPF), also known as the anti-aliasing filter, to increase sharpness at the expense of increase moiré patterns. If you're not sure what exactly this trade-off is, check out this 10-minute comparison video by New Zealand-based wedding photographer Richard Wong.

9 Simple Tips for Taking Better Photos of Waterfalls

Landscape photographer and YouTuber Mads Peter Iversen has released a helpful on-location tutorial for anybody who wants to photograph waterfalls. The beginner-focused tutorial runs you through 9 simple tips that will help you take better, more deliberate photos of this common landscape photography subject.

11 Secrets to Up Your Night Street Photography Game

I’m going to share with you 11 secrets that will help you up your night street photography game. These tips are based on what I teach paying customers on my London Soho Night Street Photography workshops, but don’t worry if you’re coming to one, I have many more secrets!

What’s Your Rangefinder’s Effective Base Length?

Looking to buy your first rangefinder? Here’s a tip: start with the lenses! Effective Base Length, or EBL, is often left with little or no consideration by SLR shooters looking for their first interchangeable lens rangefinder.

Low Contrast Lens Filters: What They are and Why You Should Use Them

As the name of the filter alludes to, these lens filters do indeed lower the overall contrast of a shot. To clarify what that means in relation to photography: these filters will reduce the darkness of the shadows by allowing light to bleed into them from surrounding highlights.

A Crash Course in 100 Years of Nikon Lens History

Well-known (and controversial) photographer and gear reviewer Ken Rockwell recently put together a fascinating video that is probably best described as a crash course in Nikon lens history. The video covers 100 years worth of Nikon's optical heritage, from the company's original rangefinder glass all the way to the latest lenses for the brand new Z-mount.

6 Shots Every Event Photographer Needs to Get

Photographer Mik Milman recently put together a helpful "shot list" video that any event photographer (especially beginners) will find valuable. In the video, he lists six shot "types" that you need to keep in mind, no matter what kind of event you're hired to shoot.

I Ordered Prints from Flickr, Here’s How They Turned Out

After learning about Flickr's new printing service last week, I decided to check the cost of prints. I want to build a physical portfolio, and have been unhappy with the quality of prints from local shops—I expect to get what I paid for (not a ton) and even then have been disappointed. So I ordered two prints from Flickr, both 8x10", both black and white.

Beginner’s Guide to Mastering Manual and Avoiding Auto Mode Mistakes

Getting a proper exposure means that you’re letting enough light through the lens and onto your sensor/film to capture your subject and the environment. To achieve a proper exposure, you’ll have to balance shutter speed, aperture, and ISO according to your purpose. The key word there is “purpose.”

This is How Scientists Colorize Hubble Photos of Deep Space

Every mind-blowing deep space photograph captured by the Hubble space telescope that you've ever seen started out black-and-white. So how do we get those amazing technicolor images of the Pillars of Creation or the Bubble Nebula? This short video explains how scientists manage this feat.

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.

Explaining Bit Depth and Debunking a Common Myth

Each year, someone new comes along to try and demystify bit depth for the masses. In 2017 it was Tutvid, in 2018 Greg Benz did a great job in this article, and now StyleMyPic has created a comprehensive and easy-to-follow video that explains exactly what bit depth is, how it works, and debunks a common myth.

Does Sensor Size Affect Depth of Field: The Definitive Answer

In this video, I’m going to put to rest this question once and for all: does sensor size affect depth of field? I’ll be physically taking pictures with a full-frame camera and a Micro 4/3 camera, and showing you the visual difference in a range of aperture settings. There are lots of theories and opinions on this but here is the definitive answer.

Recreating the First Color Photo Ever Made

In the "Olden Days," professional science was still in its infancy. People who trained in science and practiced science were using every ounce of creativity and imagination at their disposal to discover the nature of the world. They were scrappy and inventive. In this article, I will outline a modern replication of the experiment that produced the first color photograph ever made.

How the Iconic Photo ‘Migrant Mother’ Came to Be

Dorothea Lange's 1936 photo Migrant Mother is an iconic photo of the Great Depression. The Nerdwriter made this fantastic 6-minute video that tells the behind-the-scenes "story of how Dorothea Lange created perhaps the most iconic photograph in American history."

The Pros and Cons of Syndicating Your Photos

For a while now, I’ve wanted to cover the topic of syndication as it was a major factor in my work gaining widespread exposure and for the full-time career that I have now as a fine art, commercial, and editorial photographer.

The Terrible History of Photographs, Sesame Street-Style

It has never been easier to shoot and share photos than in our modern Instagram age. The YouTube puppet web series Glove and Boots made this tongue-in-cheek 5-minute video on the "terrible history of photographs" to explain how much time and effort it took to do photography in past eras.

How is Photography Affecting Us?

In the past two decades, most people went from not carrying a camera to always having a smartphone camera with them at all times. With millions upon millions of photos shot (and shared) every single day, how is this explosion in photography affecting us? Here's a 10-minute video by WIRED that explores that question.

It’s the Exposure Quadrangle, Not Triangle

The Exposure Triangle; you’ve heard of it, I’m sure. It’s fabled in story and song and celebrated by photo instructors everywhere. We can even buy t-shirts commemorating the concept! There have been countless articles written about the “exposure triangle” (try a Web search and see for yourself), all with the intent of helping newcomers to photography figure out how exposure works in their cameras.

8, 12, 14 vs 16-Bit Depth: What Do You Really Need?!

“Bit depth” is one of those terms we’ve all run into, but very few photographers truly understand. Photoshop offers 8, 16, and 32-bit file formats. Sometimes we see files referred to as being 24 of 48-bit. And our cameras often offer 12 vs 14-bit files (though you might get 16-bit with a medium format camera). What does it all mean, and what really matters?

Flange Distance and Mount Diameter Explained by a Lens Engineer

Nikon has understandably made a big deal about launching their new Z-mount alongside the announcement of their new mirrorless cameras, the Z6 and Z7. The Nikon F-mount was originally released 59 years ago and the company has made backward compatibility of the system a brand pillar.

A Sketch History of Early Color Photography

I ran across yet another case of Holy Cow Look At These Russian Photos, in which the photographs of Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky were showcased. In 1902, Prokudin-Gorsky learned the method of shooting three negatives (color separations) and then projecting them in registration through filters to produce projected color images.