free

That Time I Said ‘F*** No’ to a Hotel’s ‘Advertising Opportunity’

My name is Ryan Horban and I’m a wedding photographer based in Southern California. I shoot 30+ weddings a year, drink IPAs because they are tasty and get me buzzed, have an amazing family that I absolutely love, and won’t be staying at a Sheraton Hotel anytime in the near future unless I’m kidnapped by terrorists and held against my will at a Sheraton property.

Macphun Luminar is Now on Windows: Get the Free Beta

Macphun announced earlier this year that it will be releasing its popular photography software for Windows after focusing on Mac up until now. Today the company made its first big move by launching a free public beta version of Luminar for Windows.

This Ad Has Photographers Shaking Their Heads

There's a new "photographers wanted" ad that's making the rounds online and causing quite a reaction from photographers. This one was apparently posted by a couple looking for wedding photographers for their upcoming wedding.

How to Safely Retrieve Files Off Failing HDD, SSD, or SD Cards Using Free Tools

All of the drives we are using to store our precious photos and videos are not 100% reliable. Everybody should know that by now (and back everything up) but even if you are doing it properly, there are times when a drive fails and you have nowhere else to get its contents except from the drive itself.

The Only 3 Reasons to Work for Free

Working for free has a huge stigma attached to it, and for good reason. If you don't know how to work for free properly, you can be taken advantage of and devalue other photographers' work in the process. That's why there are, in my opinion, only 3 reasons to work for free.

Wesaturate Lets You Download Free RAW Photos for Editing Practice

They say 'practice makes perfect,' and if you want to practice your photo editing, you need some RAW files. That's where a new site/service called Wesaturate comes in. If you don't have time to go out and shoot your own RAWs, or you want more variety, the site wants to provide a source of free RAW files for everyone.

Get More Performance Out of Your X-Trans Sensor with This Free Software

In my previous article on the difficulty FujiFilm’s X-Trans sensor has preserving fine color detail, I used the free software Darktable to process the RAW examples. I showed how, specifically in terms of color detail, Darktable was able to do a better job than FujiFilm’s own processing.

Amazon Launches Photo Print Service, Sinks Shutterfly Stock

One of the biggest companies in the world just got into the photo print business. Seattle-based ecommerce giant Amazon just launched Amazon Prints—an online service that lets users order photo prints, build photo books, and soon much more.

Free Collection of Custom Lightroom Presets from a Fuji Ambassador

Fujifilm ambassador (and author of this rather controversial article) Samuel Zeller is lending a helping hand to all the Fuji users out there. In a bid to help fellow photographers get the most out of their photos, he's giving away a whole collection of custom Lightroom presets for free!

These Google Nik Collection Video Courses Are Now 100% Free

Last week, Google dropped a bombshell when the company decided to give the Nik Collection of desktop photo editing plugins away for free—no catch, no strings attached, 100% free. But what if you have no idea how to use your newly-acquired suite of editing tools? No worries, Tim Grey has you covered.

You Can Get 2GB of Free Google Storage Today

Deal alert: if you use Google's services for your photos, emails, or life in general, you can snag an extra 2GB of permanent storage space for free today. All you need to do complete Google's simple Security Checkup to verify that your account is secure -- it takes just a few clicks of your mouse.

Here’s the Thrifty Way to Mount a DSLR Lens to Your Phone Camera

Smartphone camera quality has gotten pretty darn good in recent years, but one of the limiting factors is still the tiny lens that's found in front of the (usually) tiny sensor. Accessory makers have started addressing this problem by creating add-on lenses that you can attach to your phone to improve the look of your photos -- even ZEISS jumped into the game this week.

Jake Burgess wanted to use his Canon SLR lens on his iPhone, but he didn't want to pay the high prices it takes to buy a commercial one. So, he came up with a makeshift solution that costs $0.

Apple Stores to Offer Free 1-Hour Photo Workshops

Guess who's getting into the world of photography workshops? Apple.

That's right: the company wants people to be more adept at shooting photos with their iPhones and editing photos on their Macs, so it's now launching free 1-hour workshops on those subjects (and more) in its sleek Apple Stores.

Photographer’s Business Booms After Her Viral Act of Kindness

Selfless acts of kindness are sometimes rewarded in a big way, and that's what photographer Dana Gruszynski has been learning lately.

Last month, we shared how Gruszynski came to the rescue when a wedding photographer didn't show up at a couple's wedding. Gruszynski, who heard about the story from her cousin at the wedding, surprised the couple with a free photo shoot that faithfully recreated the wedding. The story went viral, and now Gruszynski has been overloaded with inquiries.

Everyone at Adobe MAX 2015 Received a Free Fujifilm X-T10 Kit Worth $999

Google's annual I/O conference is famous for giving attendees free phones, tablets, and laptops over the years. In case you haven't heard, Adobe has the same tradition going on with its Adobe MAX conference. At the MAX 2015 conference in Los Angeles earlier this month, Adobe gave everyone who attended a free Fujifilm X-T10 mirrorless camera and an 18-55mm kit lens. It's a kit that's worth $999.

My Free and Open Source Photography Workflow

After several years of trial and error, I finally have a complete RAW photography workflow in Linux that I am happy with.

The applications in this workflow aren’t just native to Linux, they are also free, open source software (FOSS). There is no need to dual boot, use WINE or a virtual machine. It’s a pure FOSS photography workflow running in Linux.

Wanted: Wedding Photography in Exchange for Free Instagram Publicity

Instagram has over 400 million active users now, and top photographers on the service can make thousands of dollars per photo by promoting products. With the value of Instagram followers increasing, it seems that some people are now trying to use their follower counts to get free photography.

A young couple in Chicago posted an ad this week that was aimed at photographers (and other vendors) who would be willing to offer their photography (and other services) in exchange for free publicity... through an Instagram account with 17,600 followers.