free

VSCO Keys Lives On By Going Free and Open Source

In early September 2015, we reported that VSCO was discontinuing its VSCO Keys keyboard shortcut software for Lightroom. There's some good news today: instead of killing off the product, VSCO has decided to turn it into a free and open source project.

Over 1,500 Free 4K Stock Video Clips, All Courtesy of a Single Cinematographer

Mitch Martinez is a Philadelphia-based director of photography and cinematographer. Over the past 2.5 years, he has been working on building a free library of 4K stock footage. Since its inception in January 2013, the collection of clips has become an impressive resource: the 1,500+ clips have been downloaded over 300,000 times, and they been used by some of the largest companies in the world.

Corbis Charges Hefty Fees for Freely Available Public Domain Photos

If you come across any photograph published in the US before 1923, you're free to use it for whatever purpose you'd like, with or without permission, and with or without attribution. Why? Because its copyright has expired and it's public domain.

Strangely enough, sometimes free public domain photos get sold as stock photos, and those who don't know any better may pay large sums to use something they could have used for free.

The Online Depth of Field Simulator is Now Available as a Free Android App

A couple of months ago, we featured a helpful little web app called the Bokeh Simulator and Depth of Field Calculator. The website allows photographers to quickly visualize what different options in a particular shot (e.g. aperture, focal length, distance to subject) do to the bokeh and depth of field in the resulting photo.

The app has now gotten even better: in addition to some nifty feature upgrades, it can now be downloaded as a free app for Android devices.

My Last Word on the ‘Working for Free’ Debate

Please allow me to introduce myself: I'm Pat Pope and I'm addicted to reading negative comments and abuse hurled at me on the Internet. For the sake of my own sanity, this is me going cold turkey.

Last week I made the mistake of writing one of those open letters you hear about. I wrote it in response to a request from Garbage's management company that they'd like my permission to use a photo that I took and I own in a book they intend to publish and sell for money. But they'd like to not pay me.

Photographer Trades Open Letters with the Band Garbage Over Free Photo Request

The photography and music worlds are at odds in a dispute between a music photographer and a popular band. Photographer Pat Pope was miffed by a request from the band to include his photos in an upcoming book without any payment, while the band Garbage argues that they've already paid Pope for his work, and that they were simply giving him a chance to have his work represented in the publication.

SpaceX is Now Publishing Its Photos Into the Public Domain Thanks to a Tweet

NASA is a government agency, so the photographs it creates are released to the public domain and can be used by anyone for any purpose. Now that private companies such as SpaceX are getting involved in space exploration and collaborating with NASA, the copyright of mission photos becomes a little more murky.

All that cleared up in a big way this past weekend: SpaceX is following NASA's lead and will now be releasing photos to the public domain.

Download a Free Copy of the $60 Perfect Effects 9 by onOne Software

Heads up: you can currently download a free copy of onOne Software's Perfect Effects 9. It's a $60 program that can be used as a Photoshop or Lightroom plugin or as a standalone tool. Inside are customizable filters and hundreds of presets that allow you to quickly apply custom looks to your photos.

The Cincinnati Public Library Lets You Use DSLRs and Studio Equipment for Free

As books are easier to buy and borrow in digital forms, public libraries are evolving and experimenting with new ways to stay relevant. The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County has one awesome idea for how to do so: the main branch of the library in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, features a makerspace that provides free access to tools for creative people -- equipment that includes DSLRs and photo studio gear.

The Consequences of Working for Free

More than a few articles have been written on the detrimental effects of working for free in the photo industry. Unsurprisingly, the same issue has raged on for years in the writing community. But I didn’t expect to see the issue percolate in my Facebook feed in relation to the circus industry.

You Can Grab a Copy of DxO Optics Pro 8 Completely Free for a Limited Time

Between now and January 31st of 2015, those interested in switching up your post-processing workflow and experimenting with software outside of the Adobe ecosystem have a great incentive to do so: DxO has partnered with Digital Photographer to offer free, no strings attached licenses of DxO Optics Pro 8 to anybody who wants one.

Camera+ For iPhone is Free Through November 16th; Here’s How to Get It

Camera+ is one of the most well-liked third party camera apps for iOS devices. It has sold over 10 million copies, and its robust interface and suite of editing tools help set it apart from the stock camera app.

Normally Camera+ would set you back $3 in the app store, but right now there's a lesser-known promotional offering from Apple that lets you download a copy for free. You just need to know where to look.

How I Built a Lightbox for $0

I'm 39 weeks into a 52 week project. Every week I go to this Art Prompt Generator for a random prompt and then spend a week taking a photo to match the prompt. This week was "Candy". I wasn't getting great results taking pictures of candy on plates, counters or other mundane surfaces so I thought I'd try a lightbox.

Free Aperture to Lightroom Migration Tool is in Open Beta

The announcement that Apple is discontinuing Aperture has left many users wondering how they’re supposed to properly transfer their soon-to-be irrelevant file structure over to Adobe's Lightroom.

Neither Adobe nor Apple have yet released an official means to do so (at least not yet), and so software developer Adrian Grah took it into his own hands and created Aperture Exporter: a free utility that automates the process of moving from Aperture to Lightroom 5.

The Best Free Online Photography Courses and Tutorials

Given my interest in lifelong learning and skill-development, I often ask people which new skills they’re looking to learn. The most common response? “I want to be a better photographer”.

And for good reason! Few things evoke the instant emotional response a great photo does. It’s what made Instagram worth a billion dollars to Facebook.

For those of you who, like me, are looking to kick their photography skills up a notch, I’m curating a list of the best free online courses and resources I’ve found. So whether you’re a budding photojournalist looking toward a career behind the lens, or just a hobbyist looking to take better shots on your next trip, I’m hoping you’ll find something useful here!

EyeEm and Uber Team Up: Get a Free Ride, Take Photos, Win More Free Rides

Crowd-sourced taxi service Uber and photo-sharing service EyeEm announced an interesting partnership today: EyeEm will give you $20 in Uber credits no strings attached via a promo code, but if you're willing to document your Uber travels using the app, you can win even more credit and keep on traveling around town for free.

Should You Take that Lower-Paying Job for ‘Photo Credits’ from a Big Publication?

One question -- or should we say debate -- that often arises among photographers is whether or not you should take a lower-paying job if it means getting an assignment from a reputable publication or brand. The hope, of course, is that the impressive photo credits will entice other clients to hire you for a fair rate, making up for the initially low pay.

While there is no “right” answer to this question, the team over at PhotoShelter asked John Harrington, author of a number of top-selling photography books, to weigh in on the debate over Skype.

Samsung Will Give You a Free NX30 if You #DitchTheDSLR on June 4th in NYC

If you've been thinking of swapping out your old DSLR for a more nimble mirrorless camera, but you just don't want to go through the hassle of selling your old kit and raising the necessary funds, Samsung has one hell of a deal for you.

On June 4th between the hours of 12pm and 6pm in Times Square, Samsung will GIVE you an NX30 for free if you're willing to hand over your DSLR (any DSLR) in exchange.

Beautiful Poster Shows How We Got to the Cameras We Use Today

If you’ve ever wanted a visual history of photographic cameras, this poster by Retrofuturismo-Kitsch, should suit your needs. Taking a look as far back as basic camera obscuras and all the way up to the Sony Mavica, this graphic pulls out some of the most iconic – and unusual – cameras to ever hit the market.

Deal Alert: onOne Software is Giving Away Perfect Effects 8 for Free

It’s not often a company hands out an entire piece of $100 software for free, but today is one of those exceptions, thanks to onOne Software. As of writing this article onOne is offering a completely free download of Perfect Effects 8 Premium Edition and there’s no sign of when this offer will end.

Pro Photographer on Craigslist: Why Don’t You Work for Free?

You don't exactly have to be telepathic to know where this Boston-area photographer is coming from. He/she was probably checking over his accounts receivable, wondering how he was going to make it to the next gig, when some clueless would-be entrepreneur contacted him with a fabulous opportunity to do head shots of his entire staff in return for exposure and goodwill, aka bupkis.

The New ‘Flag’ App Will Print and Mail You Your Photos for FREE

A new app called 'Flag' is exploding on Kickstarter today, and it's based on a very simple premise. The app will print and mail you museum quality, 220 gsm prints of 20 photos per month absolutely free... just as long as you allow them to place advertisements on the usually-blank back side of the photo.

That's it: no catch, no shipping charges, nothing. For now, you have to live in the US, but they hope to expand out soon.