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A Brief History of Kodak: The Rise and Fall of a Camera Giant

Kodak was once the 800-pound gorilla in the world of photography. But after a century of dominance, Kodak's business crumbled and it was forced to declare bankruptcy in 2012. If you'd like to better understand what happened to the iconic brand, watch this great 12-minute video by the popular YouTube channel Company Man.

A Brief History of Artificial Light

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, chemists Robert Bunsen and Henry Roscoe and showed that burning magnesium produces artificial light that's similar to daylight. A man named Edward Sonstadt then brought the technology into the world of photography, and thus the idea for the photographic flash was born.

The Physics Behind Sunbursts and How It Can Help You Focus Your Photos

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and when it comes to “sunbursts” in photos – those points of light with rays streaking out of them – people often have polarizing views. Optical diffraction is the physical property that causes this effect. The appearance of sunbursts is more technically described as “diffraction spikes,” and it’s caused by the bending (sometimes referred to as spreading) of light around an object like the edges of your camera’s aperture.

Why Bad Photographers Think They’re Good

Did you know that the worse you are at photography, the more likely it is that you think you're great at it? It's a cognitive bias in psychology called the Dunning–Kruger effect. Here's an inspiring 9-minute video by photographer Jamie Windsor on how you can avoid falling into this common mental trap and actually become a better photographer.

Remove a Stuck Lens Filter by Tapping It Lightly With Your Finger

Here's a strange photography hack that may sound stupid and unbelievable... but it can actually work: if you have a filter that's hopelessly stuck to the front of your camera lens, try lightly tapping it with your finger. The Koldunov Brothers show how it's done in the 1-minute video above.

How to Use Long Exposures to Up Your Photography Game

If you've been itching to try your hand at daytime long exposure photography but aren't sure how to jump in, here's a great simple and straightforward 12-minute tutorial on the subject by photographer Adam Karnacz of First Man Photography.

This is Why ‘Zooming with Your Feet’ Isn’t the Same Thing

"Zooming with your feet" means getting closer to your subject physically instead of relying on a longer lens, but you should be aware that the results you won't be the same. Here's a 9-minute video from This Place that looks at how different focal lengths affect perspective when compared to "zooming with your feet."

How to Use a Projector as a Lighting Tool for Creative Portraits

In my opinion, there’s an extra layer of believability -- a tangibility, if you will -- to using practical effects as opposed to relying heavily on post-production. Post work is limited by the breadth (or lack thereof) of imagination, which is why I try to get as much as I can in-camera.

Who Owns the Copyright to Your X-ray?

A friend recently posted an X-ray of his ankle replacement on Facebook, which led me to wonder “who owns …

An 8-Minute Crash Course on Blending Modes in Photoshop

Want to get a good grasp of Photoshop's Blend modes? Here's an 8-minute crash course on the subject by the Photoshop Training Channel. They may be one of the least understood features, but blending modes can be extremely useful when creating composites and retouching.

Who Invented the Selfie? Not Paris Hilton

The word "selfie" exploded into the mainstream over the past 5 years, but self-portraits have obviously been around much, much longer. Sarah Burton of BuzzFeed recently set out to discover the origins of the selfie. In this 7-minute video, take a trip through the history back to the birth of the selfie.

Review: Annie Leibovitz’s MasterClass is a Disappointment

When MasterClass announced Annie Leibovitz Teaches Photography, I was pumped. I'd already taken ​the James Patterson Teaches Writing MasterClass and loved it. In just a few hours, I got a crash-course in fiction writing with plenty of actionable tips I still use every single day. So when MasterClass finally released Annie's class on December 14, I yelled: "Take my money!"

How DSLR Phase Detection Autofocus Works

Most photographers rely heavily on the capabilities of autofocus systems in DSLR cameras, but knowing how they actually work is something that even experienced photographers may not have learned. Here's a 4-minute video by ZY Productions that helps decode the mystery of DSLR autofocus by explaining the technical details behind it.

Here’s the Best Way to Match Tones in Composite Photos

One of the most common difficulties with compositing photos is having the color tones of the different parts of the image match. This can be tricky to achieve, but this 10-minute tutorial by Photoshop expert Antti Karppinen shows a powerful way you can do it using a Selective Color adjustment mask.

Here’s a Free Tutorial on Lightroom CC for Beginners

Adobe just announced its new cloud-based Lightroom CC app. If you're looking into get started with this software, Photoshop Training Channel just released a comprehensive tutorial geared toward beginners. You can find the 38-minute training course above.

Why You Should Look Into Shooting with Vintage Lenses

Vintage lenses seem to be increasingly popular nowadays, and not just in the hipster crowds. In this 5-minute video, photographer Mark Holtze looks at why some people are picking up (and dusting off) old vintage lenses instead of their more modern equivalents.

Why the Brush Tool Has a Weird Purple Line in Photoshop CC 2018

If you've started using Photoshop CC 2018, you may have noticed a strange purple line following your brush around as you're using it now. That line is called a "brush leash," and here's a helpful 6-minute video by retoucher Pratik Naik about what that purple line is and how you can use and customize it.

Video: How to Post to Instagram From Your Computer

Here's a quick 2-minute video tutorial by photographer Travis Transient on how to post photos to Instagram using the browser on your desktop computer. The trick involves using the Developer Tools feature in your browser and using your browser as a mobile browser.

Why Photos of the Eiffel Tower at Night are Illegal

You can almost never find videos or photos of the Eiffel Tower at night on stock sites. Why is this? Because the Eiffel Tower is copyrighted when those lights are twinkling in the night sky. This 4-minute video from Half as Interesting explains why.