lifehack

Amateur photographer Guy Sie of The Netherlands needed a better way of remembering what film speed he has loaded into his camera, so he created custom 3D-printed camera hot shoe covers with ISO numbers on them.

Here's a simple little life hack for photographers: wine storage can sometimes double as great camera lens storage. A shelf or rack designed for wine could be a way to keep your lenses organized and ready to go.

Off the top of your head, do you know how much more light f/2.8 lets in compared to f/5.6? Do you know the f-stop number that comes after 11? This 1.5-minute video reveals the simple pattern used by the scale.

There's a Gmail add-on feature that photographers and others always seem to benefit from once they find out about it. I've been using it since it has been available and it has been amazing. If there are any responses that you continually re-write over and over again, Gmail's "Canned Responses" feature is there to help.

Are you in need of a new camera bag, but you're on a budget and still want something durable? An army surplus store may be your answer.

My name is Jesse Rockwell, and I'm a California-based photographer with an insatiable appetite for travel. I wanted to share a solution I have found for international travel and the hassle of charging large numbers of batteries on strange foreign outlets.

This is really neat. Here's a quick, useful DIY tip that'll show you 5 creative ways to add a 1/4" tripod mount to just about any object both destructively and non-destructively.

If you ever need to soften your flash in a pinch, you can go the MacGyver route and fashion a diffuser for yourself using an ordinary piece of paper. They usually cost about $0.01 per sheet, so this is one of the cheapest diffusers you can make.

Here's a clever idea: if you have unwanted 35mm film canisters lying around, you can turn them into simple cases for storing and organizing your SD cards.

Suppose you come home from a trip in which you shot many rolls of film. You want to develop your film chronologically, but found that you forgot to label them with their order. What do you do? I have a solution... a chemical solution (photography joke): smell your film.

Here’s a sweet and simple photo organization tip for those of you using iPhones and iPads: in the Photos …

Here's a little tip for those of you who shoot with Fuji Instax film while out and about: once you're done exposing a pack of film, you can use the empty plastic pack as a container to hold your Instax photos.

YouTube woodworking guru Matthias Wandel just posted this video about how he recently discovered that he can use his tripod as a simple DIY camera stabilizer for some casual filming. After doing some experiments with a DIY glidecam system, Wandel found that he actually got the smoothest shots by simply pointing the legs of his big and heavy Manfrotto tripod out and running around with his camera attached to it.

If you’re out shooting on a sunny day and suddenly find that you need to start a fire, your …

If you're planning on buying or selling some camera gear with the help of Craigslist, here's a simple tip: the lobby of your local police station is a safe place to arrange the meeting with the stranger.

A few years ago, we wrote about how phones can be used as negative film strip viewers by simply inverting the screens. Swedish photographer Adam af Ekenstam took the idea a step further by using an iPad and iPhone together as a simple yet powerful negative viewing station.

I often shoot time-lapse photos in harsh outdoor environments, and over the years I have discovered a number of odd items that are useful for my work. One of them is sanitary napkins (AKA sanitary pads).

There are now a number of smartphone tripods out there that are designed to fit inside your wallet when not in use. Before you buy one, though, here's a random little tip: if your wallet is thick and sturdy enough, you don't even need a separate accessory -- your wallet itself can do just fine.

If you're ever in a situation where you need to (or want to) give some constructive criticism to another photographer, here's a simple trick for giving good feedback in a way that will help rather than hinder: use the word "and" instead of "but."

Duct tape can often be a photographer's best friend. Cable management can often be a nightmare. The two don't naturally combine very well though, since duct tape can leave sticky reside on your cords after its removed.

If you ever need to wrap up cables and don't have any twist- or zip-ties on hand, here's how you can use duct tape to wrap cables without the cables getting sticky.

Want to make sure you can upload your travel photos quickly from your hotel room? Hotel WiFi Speed Test is a service that can help you plan ahead when you're roaming the world with your camera.

We've shared a few pretty cool life hacks over the years -- for example, check out this super-simple drop test that'll let you know if your AA batteries are juiced and ready to go -- but the video above brings together some of the most useful.

Put together by DigitalRev, these ten photo-related life hacks have the potential to make your photographic life that much easier, while saving you some money as well.

Even though most camera bodies these days use some sort of Lithium-ion battery, chances are there's still some gear in your bag that still runs off alkaline batteries. If you've ever found yourself in need of checking the charge on those batteries but you happen to leave your volt meter at home (I know ... what were you thinking!?) here's a cool little life hack that'll give you the info your need.

If you're into photography, whether as a serious hobby or as a profession, you probably find yourself doing repetitive tasks on a routine basis. You've probably also heard various tips, tricks, and strategies on how you can do these tasks faster and more efficiently. Heed them.

While saving a few seconds here or a few minutes there might not seem like much, optimizing your efficiency is definitely something worth doing, especially for tasks you're doing all the time. The reason is simple: small efficiency gains might seem inconsequential, but they build up and can save you quite a bit of time over time.

Did you know that YouTube isn't just for uploading videos? Google's popular video hosting service also has a special feature designed just for photo slideshows. If you've never considered using YouTube for photos, you may have never noticed the option, but it's right there on the Upload page.

David Hobby over at Strobist shares a fantastic idea for photographers who would …

After shooting music events, Perth-based photographer Perry DeGennaro keeps the media …

Last week, we wrote on how you can use LEGO pieces to keep your lens caps on your camera strap when they're not protecting your lenses. A reader named Fearn quickly pointed us to a similar tip published over at Sugru at the end of last year. Instead of using camera straps, however, they suggest tripods as a sturdy way of keeping track of the caps.

Want to know how much film you and your camera are chewing through? John Sypal over at …

Want to learn how to be more productive with your photography? Instead of simply "trying harder" and relying on your willpower, a better way may be to take simple steps that have been shown to be effective by science. The above 3-minute video, created by artists/educators Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown, offers some tips that science has taught us about being more efficient at working and spending less time getting our work accomplished.

Here's a clever trick for if you ever need to print out a photo but find your inkjet cartridges low (or dried out): bust out your hair dryer.

If you regularly shoot in dusty or sandy environments, here’s a handy tip for keeping your camera clean: create …

If you do any darkroom work, you probably regularly print contact sheets to peek at the positive versions of your B&W negative film strips. Did you know that your iPhone can be used as a quick an easy tool for this same purpose?

Don't have any more babies to transport? Old strollers can be repurposed as a way to wheel your camera gear from place to place. Just load it up with your camera bag, tripod, lighting equipment, and accessories, and you'll have yourself a mobile mini studio.

If you own an iOS device, you've probably noticed that the Camera Roll in the native Photos app doesn't come with any way to mark photographs as private. For this reason, the App Store features a large number of apps (both paid and free) designed to offer that feature, allowing you to choose what to show and what not to when someone else is flipping through your photographs. If you want an easy way to "mark photos as private" without having to download a special app (or pay money for a fancy one), Amit Agarwal over at Digital Inspiration offers this simple trick: crop them.

Preparing for a trip to a foreign country where you don't know the language? If you don't have an Internet-connected phone handy, a camera can help you out. Redditor Jhojgaard regularly travels to various countries around the world, and suggests that storing some key photos on your camera can come in handy when you're in a communication crunch.

Things that are useful to store on your memory card include the names of places you need to get to and common things you might need (e.g. a certain subway station, the restroom, a taxi). If you have a smartphone with you, you can toss all of the "translation photos" into a separate album.