How to Bring Something New to Film Photography

A very common piece of advice for photographers looking to take their work to the “next level” is that they must invest time in themselves in the process of developing a “style.” A photographic style can mean many things; a theme within the subject matter, a specific color palette, a certain compositional approach, and anything else that leaves the artist's work with a distinct "fingerprint."

5 Macro Photo Ideas to Shoot at Home

Want to get creative without leaving the comfort of your own home? Here's a 5-minute video by COOPH that contains 5 ideas for macro photographs you can do with a small budget, simple gear, and everyday items.

5 Lighting Portrait Positions for Couples

Lighting two people can be difficult to do, so I’m going to use 5 portrait lighting positions to breakdown how to best light a couple.

Instagram Tests Hiding Like Counts

Instagram has internally floated the idea of a small design change that would have a huge impact on the service. Leaked screenshots show mockups of Instagram in which the Like counts on photos and videos are hidden from public view.

Getting Creative With One Light

So you have just picked up your first light or you have had one light for a while now, and you are wondering what more you can create with just that one light. Well, you can create loads.

This Leica Video Just Got ‘Leica’ Banned in China

Leica has sparked a huge backlash in China over a short film released by its ad agency in Brazil. The video (warning: strong language) depicts a news photographer covering the Chinese government's crackdown during pro-democracy protests in Beijing in 1989.

6 Bad Habits That Photographers Have

Photographer, videographer, and YouTube star Peter McKinnon brainstormed with his photographer and filmmaker friends and came up with 6 common bad habits in photography that photographers should try to avoid having.

Godox V1 vs Profoto A1: A Battle of the Round-Head Flashes

The Godox V1 round-head flash is coming to market despite the loud protests and legal threats of Profoto, which claims its A1 design was stolen (something Godox denies). If you're wondering how the $259 V1 compares to the $995 A1, photographer Robert Hall has a sneak peek for you.

I’m a Wrong-Way Photographer

My name is Brian Carey, and I'm a photographer in St John's Newfoundland Canada. I'm like a lot of photographers in that I like to complement my professional work with something personal, something I can connect with.

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G Ties Huawei P30 Pro for #1 at DxOMark

Samsung and Huawei are #1 and #2 (respectively) in worldwide smartphone market share, and now they're together at the top of the DxOMark smartphone camera quality test leaderboard. The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G just scored the same best-ever score of 112 as the Huawei P30 Pro.

Justifying the Noctilux and Its Place in My Workflow

I have gone through the gear of almost every major brand during my early photography journey, buying my way through cameras and lenses until I arrived at my current setup, which has remained more or less the same for my entire professional career. Despite settling on a brand known for its high price point, I have been comfortable with all of my camera and lens choices except one, which is what I’ll be discussing here.

Actress Pranks Lewd Insta-Perverts with Fake Cleavage Photo

Like many women these days, German actress and model Palina Rojinski has been on the receiving end of wildly inappropriate and lewd comments left on her Instagram photos. She recently got back at the abusive and sexist Internet commenters in quite a clever way: by sharing a fake cleavage photo featuring a guy's butt crack.

A 3.5-Year Review of the $4K Leica Q

If there’s a fundamental flaw with product reviews, it’s the typically short duration that reviewers have with the item before hitting a publishing deadline or needing to return the product to the manufacturer. With rapid product refreshes, the lifetime of any particular product can be short, which can often render longer evaluations as impractical.

When You Feel Your Reputation as a Photographer Slipping Through the Cracks

There are a great number of differences between professional photographers and those that shoot only as a hobby. Surprisingly enough one, of those differences isn’t always talent. There are many amazing and talented photographers that shoot for a hobby and they take my breath away.

2019 Pulitzer Prizes Won by Photos of Migrants and Famine

The Pulitzer Prize has just announced the winners for 2019. In the area of photography, Reuters' photography staff won in the Breaking News Photography category for photos of migrants journeying to the US, and photographer Lorenzo Tugnoli of The Washington Post won for his photos of the famine in Yemen.

Ep. 319: Cull. Cull to Your Heart’s Content – and more


Episode 319 of the PetaPixel Photography Podcast.
Download MP3 -  Subscribe via iTunes, Google Play, email or RSS!
Featured: Photographer, author, and educator, Nicole S. Young (aka Nicolesy)

Creative Lighting Using an Optical Snoot

I am always looking for new and easy ways to light part of an object or create interesting light in an image, and I think I have found the perfect tool for just that and so much more! Pixapro's Optical Snoot has opened up a more efficient way to be able to do this.

The World’s First Etch A Sketch Camera

Self-taught programmer Martin Fitzpatrick of Two Bit Arcade has created the world's first Etch A Sketch digital camera. It captures digital photos and then outputs them by drawing them onto the Pocket Etch A Sketch "screen" found on the back.

Trey Ratcliff Wrote a Book Exposing How People Cheat at Instagram

Brands spent an estimated $2 billion on marketing through Instagram "influencers" in 2017, and that number is expected to balloon to $10 billion by 2020. The game has become so lucrative that many people are finding all kinds of ways to fake influence in order to reap the rewards. Popular photographer Trey Ratcliff has written a new book that exposes these "cunning tricks."

Shooting Portraits Wide Open Versus Stopping Down

If you have a fast and expensive lens, it may feel like a waste to shoot portraits stopped down to f/8, f/11, or f/16. But in this 20-minute video, photographer Miguel Quiles explains why he often opts to shoot stopped down instead of wide open for increased depth of field and finer details and textures.

Creating Your Own Assignments in Street Photography

Street photography is one of the best ways to exercise and train your eye for application to photojournalism projects. I've written before about the way I apply the techniques and style from my street photography to my set stills and BTS as well as my long term fashion BTS project and I think that practicing some form of street photography every single day is an incredible way to keep your eye active and your mind constantly searching for new possibilities.

Why Can’t We Celebrate An Image Without Snark?

I’ve read The Onion headlines and McSweeney’s pieces that have knocked me off my chair. I can still remember staying up late during high school to watch Saturday Night Live sketches like “Change Bank,” or Dave Chapelle’s Killing Me Softly on HBO. I’m a person who can appreciate good humor and satire.

Photographing NBA Star Dwyane Wade in China

Doing a photo shoot in China is different than anything I have experienced on any set anywhere else in the world. Heck, just getting from the hotel to the set is like playing a video game when it comes to driving on the roads... or sidewalks, for that matter. However, to go to a country expecting it not to have a different culture is ethnocentric and prepares one for nothing.