2016

How to Create Realistic Jedi Levitation Portraits

Photographer, weird lens expert, and friend of PetaPixel Mathieu Stern created this very simple and straightforward Photoshop tutorial for anybody out there who wishes they were a Jedi and wants to impress their friends.

The Power of the Internet: My Journey from Vimeo to Planet Earth II

Five years ago I was somewhere in the wilds of central Vietnam, about to click upload on my first ever video project. If you had told me then that, in just a handful of years, I would be contributing to one of the entertainment world’s most prestigious and popular wildlife documentaries — BBC’s Planet Earth II — I think I’d have had trouble keeping a straight face. But that was before I witnessed firsthand the power of the Internet and a good idea.

Canon Files 2 Curved Sensor Patents, One You Can Control

Curved sensor mania first took over the blogosphere back in 2014 thanks to Sony and their curved creation. But while that sensor never really came to anything worthwhile—although it was used in a "camera"—two Canon patents are sparking interest in this technology once again.

This is What a Rocket Launch Does to a Camera 45 Yards Away

Photographer John Kraus has brought rocket launch photography back into the mainstream. His photos regularly go viral online, and we've shared several of them here on PetaPixel as well. But these incredible shots come at a price, as he showed us yesterday.

How My Photography is Inspired by Great Paintings

The kind of photography I do begins as a moment of theft. Finding the scene, finding your angle, and stealing the moment for yourself. Some photographers are creators. They build a scene, a still life, or arrange their models and angle their lights and create an image from nothing. I’m not one of those photographers. I’m a thief.

PSA: Fotodiox’s Nikon to Sony Adapter Could Kill Your Camera

Fotodiox sells a wide range of adapters for using lenses and cameras of different mounts, but one particular adapter is causing a major headache for both photographers and the company. At least two photographers are claiming that their Sony mirrorless camera was ruined by the Fotodiox Fusion SmartAF Nikon to Sony adapter.

This Black Model Faithfully Recreated Fashion Ad Photos

Liberia-born and Los Angeles-based fashion model Deddeh Howard wants to promote more racial diversity in fashion advertising. For her new photo project, titled Black Mirror, Howard faithfully recreated major ad photos from top brands with herself as the model.

Sneak Peek: This is the Yongnuo 85mm f/1.8 for Nikon Photographers

The Chinese gear manufacturer Yongnuo made a splash a couple of years ago by launching a thrifty clone of the Canon 50mm f/1.4. After some more Canon lenses, this year they expanded into Nikon with a 50mm f/1.8 and a 35mm f/2. Today we have a sneak peek at an upcoming 85mm f/1.8 lens for Nikon shooters.

A Matter of Perspective: The Privilege of White Males in Photography

"Yet to an obsessive his obsession always seems to be of the nature of things and so is not recognized by what it is." Those words, written by art critic John Berger in his book Ways of Seeing, annotate one part of his understanding of the history of oil paintings: it’s obsessive tendencies toward showmanship of what one has, and the relationship between property and art.

How to Shoot Street Photography While Traveling

One of my passions in life is travel. I love to travel, experience new cultures, try new foods, meet new people and, of course, take photos while I’m traveling.

Photographers Will Relate to This Filmmaker’s Thoughts on Depression

Don't let the Photoshopped facades fool you, creatives of all stripes deal with depression. That's the topic of this short-but-important video by Rob of Rob & Jonas' Filmmaking Tips. Rob is a filmmaker, but many photographers will instantly relate to the thoughts he shares in this video.

How to Add Warmth Back to Skin with Photoshop

A lot of the time when we're shooting with flash photography in a big white studio, our portrait images can appear a little stark or cold. This quick fix in Photoshop takes less than two minutes to do but can add a lot of warmth and life back to our models skin.

Gorgeous 4K Drone Montage of the Oregon Landscape

When we've shared Michael Shainblum's work in the past, it's usually been a timelapse or tutorial. But the photographer and filmmakers has continued to evolve creatively, and RISE is his debut into the world of aerial videography. The subject: Oregon.

Photographing a Double Mastectomy: My Friend’s Fight with Breast Cancer

Every photographer should photograph a cancer patient at some point in his/her life. It teaches you how little of a person you are and how you’re but one character in the story of life. That’s what I learned at least when I had the privilege of photographing the double mastectomy of my friend, Diana Sheldon, 38, last fall.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Memory Cards: Tips for Photographers

My name is Jeff Cable, and I'm a photographer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. I previously spent many years of my life as Director of Marketing at Lexar dealing with the ins and outs of the memory card business. And in all that time, I have never written about the do's and don'ts of memory cards. Now that I am not on that side of the business any more, I feel that I can write this objective piece for you without any conflict of interest.

I Photographed My Own Wedding Day

As photographers, whether consciously or not, I think we’re all trying to capture moments in the way that we would like our own moments to be captured. What then are we supposed to do when it’s our turn to be the subject? This question troubled me as my wedding day drew closer. Who does the wedding photographer choose to photograph his own wedding?

A Lawyer Digs Into Instagram’s Terms of Use

Social media have so thoroughly infused our everyday lives that calling them “ubiquitous” seems inadequate. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and others take up an astonishing amount of our time, bandwidth, and attention, and have become indispensable business and marketing tools as well.

iPhone 7 Plus Camera Holds Its Own Against $50,000 RED Weapon

The iPhone 7 Plus—and many other high end smartphone cameras these days—can capture some really impressive photos and video. If you were doubting that, just watch this comparison by Parker Walbeck of Fulltime Filmmaker. He compared the iPhone 7 Plus against his $50K RED Weapon, and was "blown away" by the results.

Recreated Family Photos from Around the World

Then-and-now photo recreations have become extremely popular online over the past several years. Especially with rephotographed family photos from decades past, the concept offers a fascinating look at how people have changed over the years.

How to Speed Up Your Lightroom Editing By Using Anchor Photos

One of the ongoing pain points of being a photographer is the time we spend editing. Don’t get me wrong, I love turning a flat image into something breathtaking, but it does take a while to get through a batch of 1000+ photos from a wedding or concert.

Camera Brand Loyalty is Overrated

Since elementary school, I've been told that things had to match. If I wore Sean John pants, then I had to wear a Sean John shirt. If I wore anything Nike, then I had to have the matching shoes to correspond. This was a mindset that I held throughout most of my life.

Ricoh Takes On Google with Its New Photo Management Service Keenai

Ricoh wants to play with the big boys. In a surprising move for the company, Ricoh today unveiled Keenai (get it, "keen eye" but with AI?), an intelligent photo storage and management service that wants to bring all of your digital photos under one easy-to-organize umbrella.

This is the First Sports Illustrated Cover Shot with a Smartphone

When veteran SI photographer Michael J. LeBrecht II got an email from a DOP at Sports Illustrated offering him the chance to shoot "an A-List Celebrity," he immediately said yes. It wasn't until a later, on the phone, that he hear the catch: "we would like you to try and shoot the cover with a Smartphone."

Seeing in Circles: How to Compose a Circular Photograph

When was the last time you saw a round photo? It's probably been a while. The world is ruled by squares and rectangles. It's almost as if there's no place for circles, but I have come round to thinking that maybe those ancient mathematicians were onto something when they got all excited by circles, maybe you can have your pi and eat it too.

I Combined Digital Photography with a 174-Year-Old Hand-Printing Process

I entered the world of photography when digital cameras where already on the rise, and as a result, I learned photography on digital. That being said, I am a sucker for anything analog... the sensation of using real organic materials to produce photographs excites me.

What I’ve Learned Fifteen Years Into Photography

I've been doing this long enough that I honestly can't remember why or how I started. I mean, I remember my origin story... but as an adult I also know that is probably a distillation and summary of what exactly went on. There are no easy lessons now.

What I’ve Learned My First Year Into Photography

December 3rd, 2015 was the day I bought my first camera. I carefully chose one body and one lens: a Nikon D5300 and a 50mm prime lens. Here are a few of the things I've learned throughout my journey