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Make Your Own Film Developer and Fixer Using These Household Items

Last week, photographer Brendan Barry created a timely tutorial on how to turn your bedroom into a giant camera, and use it to take actual pictures. But what if you don't have any photographic chemicals around for developing and fixing those images? Barry's got you covered.

How the Magic of Street Photography Can Inform Our Wedding Photos

Street photography has always been the cool kid of the photographic industry, and wedding photography has ever been the oldfangled unfashionable square. Even landscape photographers in their fishing vests and hiking boots seem to get more street cred than wedding snappers.

SEO for Photographers: 3 Ways to Improve Your Website

When most of us began pursuing a career as photographers, we pictured idyllic days spent behind our beloved cameras photographing all the things. We quickly learned that our time behind a camera would be precious, as most of us would spend way more time sitting at a computer editing, communicating with our clients, managing marketing and social media campaigns, and well, just running the business.

UK Police Dye ‘Blue Lagoon’ Black to Keep Instagrammers Away

The UK government has issued a national lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, but that hasn't kept picture-takers from flocking to a particular "Blue Lagoon" in Buxton. So, to make the spot less attractive for photos, the UK police decided to dye the bright blue waters black.

Did Apple Copy My Photo for Their TV Show?

Last night, once the kids were safely nestled in bed and only the wife and I remained awake, I reached for my iPhone, opened up the Remote app to fire up my Apple TV, launched Apple TV+, and hit play on one of the tech giant's newest shows: Amazing Stories.

Building an Afghan 8×10 Box Camera for $100

My name is Antoine Loncle, and I'm an independent photographer. I shared my homemade 8x10 box camera on several photography groups and it received a lot of interest. I figured I'd do a little write up for anyone that wanted to know more about the camera as well as see some images of the building process.

A Shoestring Photography Hardware and Software Setup

Camera and lenses aren't the only photographic essentials that cost money. A decent machine with plenty of RAM and fast storage (preferably SSD) and rather expensive serious photography software are must-haves, too.

My Friend Sent Me on a Photo Quest During Social Distancing

My friend Jon Gilchrist and I were talking about cabin fever and ways to stay active while also socially distancing during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. He had the idea to come up with a route on Google Earth and Street View for me to bike and take a few pictures on.

Prioritizing Concept Over Aesthetic in Street and Social Documentary Photography

There seems to be a trend in current photography goals to achieve a “look” to one's work. I feel this is a short-sighted goal, and that a consistent aesthetic is more the result of careful curation of a large body of work, rather than something that ought to be deliberately achieved.

Autonomous ‘Pandemic Drones’ Can Detect Coughing, Fever and More

US drone maker Draganfly—one of DJI's major competitors in the commercial camera drone space—is working with the Australian Department of Defense and University of South Australia to deploy special "pandemic drones" that can detect coughing, sneezing, respiratory rate, and even fever from a distance.

Cyclorama: How to Build Your Own Professional ‘Infinity Studio’

The folks over at Syrp have just released plans for one of the most intense, involved, but potentially rewarding DIY projects you could possibly embark on: building your own professional photo studio with no corners, giving the impression of an infinite background—AKA: a cyclorama.

Apple Just Made Final Cut Pro X Free to Use for 90 Days

Following in the footsteps of Adobe, Affinity and others, Apple has just made their professional-grade video editing program Final Cut Pro X free for 90 days, extending the usual 30-day free trial and even allowing current trial users to re-start their clock.

I Used My Drone to Take Fun Portraits of People in Self-Isolation

Since we're all stuck inside and social distancing, I recently took out my drone and photographed people in their homes through their windows or on their terraces. It's a 100% zero-human-contact way to see how people are going crazy during quarantine times.

These Artists are Using Photoshop to Encourage People to #StayatHome

Artistic duo of Tony Fero and Helena Juan have teamed up on a creative idea that uses Photoshop to send a public health message. It's called "send them home" and it involves removing the people from famous photos and paintings: a clever way to encourage people to #stayhome during the coronavirus pandemic.

Photographers, Here’s a Quick and Free Way to Improve Your SEO

Backlinks are a pillar of SEO. As photographers, we have a unique niche in to getting backlinks. Websites need images for their pages, we have images, and some of these websites might be using your images and mentioning your business, but not linking to your website. These are called unlinked mentions, and they are some of the simplest backlinks you can get.

Lomography Unveils New, Super-High Contrast Black and White Film

Lomography has just announced a brand new high-contrast black and white film stock for 35mm SLRs. The soon-to-be-released Fantôme Kino B&W ISO 8 35mm Film is being hailed as "a monochrome masterpiece" that originates from a roll of German cinematic production film.

Sony Spins Off Camera Business Into Separate Company

Early this morning, Sony announced that it would be spinning off its entire "Electronics Products & Solutions" (EP&S) segment—including its imaging and mobile businesses—into an intermediate holding company called "Sony Electronics Corporation."

A Real-World Review of the Canon 1D X Mark III

As many of you know, I have been lucky enough to have a Canon EOS 1D X Mark III in my possession for more than a month now. People have been asking me to review this new top-of-the-line camera, but I really wanted to put it through its paces in order to do a fair review.

Portraits In The Time Of Coronavirus: Shooting Free Front Porch Photo Sessions

We are living in unprecedented times. As a photographer of social events (weddings), individual, family, business portraits and sports, the recent closing of schools and the virtual shut down of our towns and cities—basically our lives as we have known it—has shut everything down.

This Obstacle Avoiding Drone is So Fast it Can Play Dodgeball

Researchers at the University of Zurich have created a custom drone that's so good at obstacle avoidance it can play dodgeball. The drone uses a special camera that allows it to react to incoming objects in just 3.5 milliseconds, about 10x faster than anything on the market today.

Ilford: Stockpile Rolls of Film, Not Toilet Paper

Yesterday, UK-based film manufacturer Ilford released an official company statement regarding its handling of the novel coronavirus pandemic. And while the statement covered all of the important updates, Ilford also took the opportunity to strike a cheeky, lighthearted note.

These Stock Photos Are Selling in the Coronavirus Pandemic

It is very hard to find any positives in the virus that is sweeping the world and creating havoc with every economy. But one thing that is happening in our stock world is that images and videos are being sought by buyers that just never existed before.

Advice on Handling Contract Cancellations for Photographers

On March 12, 2020, the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) held a webinar with General Counsel Thomas Maddrey entitled “Potential Business Ramifications of Coronavirus (COVID-19).” Maddrey covered a variety of topics, including cancellation clauses in photographer contracts.

When a NYC Fashion Photographer Becomes a Whiskey Maker

Michael Myers spent years as a fashion and beauty photographer in New York City. Then 9/11 happened, and the event was so life-altering that Myers left NYC and the photo industry. He then decided to blend his two passions: photography and whiskey.

You Can Use Any Lamp in Your House as a Tripod

Photographer and YouTuber Peter McKinnon has just shared a brilliant little camera hack that's blowing people's minds. In his most recent 2-minute tips video, he shows how any bedside lamp can be used as an impromptu tripod (monopod, actually).

21 Portrait Photography Lessons from 21 Great Photographers

My portrait photography education didn’t happen in a classroom, library, or workshop. Most of what I learned came from studying my heroes’ work, trying to figure out why I loved their pictures, and then putting my own twist on them.

Ep. 334: Exposure Bucks Don’t Buy Toilet Paper – and more



Episode 334 of the PetaPixel Photography Podcast.
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Featured: Portrait Photographer, Marco Jilpas

Impressive Drone Shot of Lounging Seals Wins Nature TTL Photo Contest

Nature TTL—the online nature photography resource—has revealed the winners of their newly minted "Photographer of the Year" awards, and oh man did the community deliver. From stunning aerial shots to a life-and-death struggle between a Pelican and its prey, there's a lot to love here.