Last week, we reported on the news that Amazon had actually patented the age-old practice of photographing things against a white background. This led to much ridicule from the photography community, but one of the big guys just got in on the well-deserved roast, and his name is Stephen Colbert.
The great thing about creatives -- be they photographers, filmmakers or, in this case, an art director who does a bit of both -- is that they can capture even the most mundane of things in a dramatic and compelling manner. Case in point: art director Castor recently had to sell his crappy old 93' Volvo 245GL.
Forget classes and skill and gear and taking good photos, what you really want is to LOOK like a professional photographer, right? Good, because Kai Man Wong and the DigitalRev TV team are here to show you how to do just that.
We hope you’re ready for a gorgeous BTS look at one of the most beautiful cameras to ever hit the market, because this short video takes you behind the scenes with the revolutionary “WALLEY POS–86” camera. Featuring a 483mm long design, a 183mm lens, and coming in at only 25lbs, this thing is an absolute beauty from the ground up.
The week is coming to a close, and if you find yourself in desperate need of a giggle or two, we have just the thing for you: none other than Kai from DigitalRev offering tips for taking selfies without looking like a tool.
Talented photographer and web designer Sasha Juliard just won Craigslist for photographers everywhere, because even if you're not in the market for a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens, you're going to end up reading his entire classified ad from start to finish. (Warning: The ad contains a big helping of strong language).
What do you do when your photography professor at college goes on daily rants and rages, critiquing work with an iron fist while doling out priceless lessons? Well, thankfully, some student thought to start writing said rants and rages down.
But not only did he write them down, he shared them via a Tumblog so that the rest of the world could see, read and laugh hysterically at the brilliance and brutality of this awesome photo prof.
Need a little pick-me-up this Saturday? Check out this funny tutorial titled "How to Make a Sick Mountain Bike Edit."
As the title indicates, this is aimed specifically at mountain bike videos, but it could easily be applied to just about just about every extreme sports athlete BTS video you'll find online. It's even spot on for BTS videos of action sports photographers.
Dear Good Morning America,
I just watched your segment “Bride on a Budget,” during which ABC’s very own Ginger Zee gave listeners money-saving tips courtesy of her very own wedding coordinator.
First of all, a heartfelt congratulations to Ginger. Planning a wedding is very exciting and a bit overwhelming. I’m glad to see she spent money on a wedding planner to help her with her day. It’s alway a good idea to use a professional with experience rather than leave the day in the hands of someone who doesn’t know what he’s doing, which is why I found this money-saving advice from Francesco-the-wedding-planner a little disturbing:
If you're into Golf, you might have heard about this controversy over the most recent cover of Golf Digest. Apparently, the magazine erred when it decided to put Paulina Gretzky (daughter of famed hockey player Wayne Gretzky and fiancé of pro golfer Dustin Johnson) on the cover instead of an actual... you know... golfer.
But rather than get caught up in all that, Orlando-based photographer Cy Cyr decided to spoof the cover instead.
For the record, we realize that this is only marginally photo related, but we couldn't help ourselves. Because Family Guy protagonist Peter Griffin has officially joined Instagram, and he's already taking on some of the photo clichés that make us cringe.
This father is exhausted... in a funny because it's true kind of way. Over the past three months, YouTube user and proud father of two, Bottlerocket, has been recording a 6-second Vine video every Saturday morning with his 4-year-old. Complete with annoyed look (it's put on folks, he loves his daughter), obnoxiously loud music and rowdy little girl, the Vine compilation above is something of an ode to exhausted parents everywhere.
The Target Photoshop blunder last month attracted a LOT of bad press for the company. Target was called out in a big way, they had to come out and apologize to the public, and we doubt they'll ever shop out their Photoshop work en masse for cheap again.
But one questions not a lot of people asked was "how does the model feel about this?"
Okay, it's probably safe to say that ONLY photography nerds and photo websites will notice this, but for those of us who fit into those two categories the posters below sit somewhere between amusing and annoying.
You see, the Expendables 3 promo posters revealed recently feature studio lights in the frame because, well, they give the photos a certain 'star studded' feel. The problem is, the lights are frequently pointless and sometimes look like they're lighting up something that is actually in shadow.
Yes, we know it's the day after April Fools', but we couldn't pass up the opportunity to share this little gem. We're all fans of tutorials, right? Well, today we have for you a tutorial that will dramatically improve your capabilities in Photoshop. Photoshop 1.0, that is.
We’ve shared many a flowchart, both serious and silly, in our day, but this one …
Have you ever taken a photograph, just to look at it and be disappointed that you can only enjoy it with your eyes? Well, to your rescue is an incredible, fictional application called PicSong -- courtesy of The Onion.
Using only stock video footage from their library, Dissolve Footage took a humor article titled "This Is a Generic Brand Video” by Kendra Eash and turned it into a cliché-filled reality that will either have you laughing or crying... or both.
We all know them, some of us might BE them, and many of us have been annoyed by them: the photography snob. Well, DigitalRev has put together a sort of ode to photo snobs by listing out 10 ways to annoy the favorite snob in your life.
There are a few photos that every photographer takes in their lifetime. It doesn't matter who you are or where you came from, you've taken these photos or will take them one day in the future. They're mostly tired shots we're all probably best avoiding, yet none of us can. Even having read this, someday you'll catch yourself mid click, snapping off one of these photos.
Yes, much like the proverbial photographic flame to our poor, moth-like eyeballs, these photos have an allure we can't deny. No matter how self-aware or disciplined we are, we'll forever be incapable of escaping the seven photos every photographer takes.
The anti-Photoshop movement is serious business. Videos that demonstrate what the liquify tool and an overzealous retoucher can do …
A reader over at Gizmodo sent a tip their way yesterday pointing to an embarrassing situation involving PayPal's use of a certain stock photograph.
Although it has since been removed, a photo of a small pocket watch over on PayPal's Political Campaigns page with a "donate" button located over it was found bearing a rather obvious iStock watermark... oops.
Here's something that'll help you start off the week with a grin (or a grimace, if you harbor an aversion to beards). Will it Beard is a fun photo experiment of sorts created by art director Pierce Thiot and his photographer wife Stacy Thiot.
They wanted to determine what household items 'will beard' -- meaning what random objects they could successfully pack into Mr. Thiot's beard -- and got a fun, viral photo series for their troubles.
For some of us photo types, the enduring relationship we'll be celebrating this February 14th will be the one we share with our beloved gear. Fortunately, the wonderfully quirky people at LensRentals understand, and have created a hilarious ad that takes "loving" your gear to the literal extreme.
Here’s a fun little thought experiment for you: what would Instagram have been like if the filter-tastic service had …
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.
Dominic, the guy behind the popular web comic Domics, put together this humorous …
Here’s a bit of humor to help drive away the thought that Monday is just around the corner. At …
I didn’t want to like this show. Cross my heart, I didn’t.
Zombies? The undead? Not really my thing. I liked to think I was a little more cultured than that. Sure, I’ll eat Nutella straight from the jar but I DO use a spoon and I always heat up my Pop-Tart before eating it, which is a true sign of refinement. So, I held out for the entire first season. I felt it to be just another apocalyptic zombie show like a gazillion that had come before it.
But then, while editing on a long winter’s night, I clicked on Netflix to occupy myself while I worked and there, in my “Suggestions for Cheri” list was none other than the AMC hit series,“The Walking Dead.”
GoPro cameras, or rather action cameras in general, are amazing little devices that have enabled people to capture everything from the exciting to the harrowing to the downright weird. But there's something they don't put on action cam packaging that they should. The question: "do you actually do anything exciting worthy of an action cam?"
For late night show host and comedian Conan O'Brien the answer is a definitive 'No,' and so he put the GoPros he supposedly got for Christmas (it feels a bit more like an advertising stunt to us) to use in the most mundane ways imaginable as part of a funny new segment called 'Complete Waste of a GoPro.'
It’s a pretty popular opinion these days: taking photos keeps you from experiencing the moment. It’s why concert venues …
Editor's Note: After the piece was published, we were made aware of a deal WeSellLikes is running that gives away 1,000 likes to anybody who writes about their website. We wanted to make it clear that we did not know about this deal nor do we have any intention of taking them up on their offer... although the irony did make us chuckle.
I had a really great Christmas.
I asked Santa for several things, among which were pink slippers, pajamas with the bear from the movie “Ted” on them, a new cell phone case made out of big fake pearls, and a mini-vacuum to suck up all the sunflower seeds that accumulate around my desk while I work. Yes, I am a seeder.
I was a reasonably good girl this past year. I suppose it all depends on one’s definition of “good,” but I always did my best and tried to stand up for what was right in the world and only got heavily intoxicated a few times and paid for the person behind me in line at Starbucks as much as possible, so all in all, I figured I was on the “Nice List.”
We're starting to suspect that wild animals the world over are collecting action cams for some nefarious plot... well, either that or wild animals like carrying away shiny objects, but we prefer our first theory. We've seen birds, cheetahs and hyenas all make away with GoPros, and now it seems the crustaceans are getting involved too.
Here's a little funny to get you through your Sunday afternoon: a flowchart that can help you decide whether or not that photo you're thinking of taking is actually worth going through with.
Being "journalists" more or less restricted to "facts," we can only look with awe and envy at New Camera News: a blog that tells the truth about the photography industry by making up witty, insider satire in the mode of The Onion
If you haven't heard of celebrity photographer Matt Hoyle's photo book Comic Genius: Portraits of Funny People, then you're in for a treat. We're talking about a book full of hilarious portraits of hilarious people that is being sold for a good cause... what more could you want?
A portrait is a powerful thing. Programs like Help Portrait -- which is dedicated to spreading joy, inspiration and hope by taking portraits of people who have never had one taken before -- are easy proof of this. But just in case you find yourself in need of more proof, the If Only for a Second portrait project is here to provide it.
Sometimes inspiration strikes when you're out in the wild, climbing mountains and taking in breathtaking vistas. Other times, it happens when you're looking after your 7-year-old daughter and playing LEGOs. You can probably guess how photographer Jeff Friesen's 50 States of LEGO series came about.
Our quest to continue giving dogs the attention they deserve in the photography world continues (for the record, we don't dislike cats... we just think they get too much attention). We've had dogs shaking, dogs licking and now, for the sake of rhyming, dogs dripping.
This series is called Wet Dog, and it's a fun and funny series by pet photographer Sophie Gamand of Striking Paws Photography.
The idea isn't entirely new. At one point, photographer Allen Murabayashi experimented with re-imagining famous photos as if they had been taken with Instagram to dispel the thought that filters and a square crop often somehow "improve" a photo.
The website Histagrams is similar, only it takes it a step further and lends a comedic edge to the whole experiment. Site creators Gusto NYC and Gavin Alaoen imagine how historically significant moments might have been shared if the people behind them had had Instagram at their disposal.