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.

Recreating the First Color Photo Ever Made

In the "Olden Days," professional science was still in its infancy. People who trained in science and practiced science were using every ounce of creativity and imagination at their disposal to discover the nature of the world. They were scrappy and inventive. In this article, I will outline a modern replication of the experiment that produced the first color photograph ever made.

How to Take a Picture of a Black Hole

The first-ever picture of a black hole was unveiled yesterday, generating a huge amount of interest and excitement across the world. But how exactly was this picture captured? Well, it definitely wasn't as simple as "pointing and clicking" a giant camera.

Footprints on the Moon: Photos with a Different View of the Moon Landings

In 2009, NASA launched an orbiter around the Moon with the goal of capturing high-resolution images of the surface, including sites explored by Apollo missions. These images of incredible precision also aimed to convince some of the veracity of the Apollo missions.

An ASMR Video for Photographers

ASMR videos have exploded in popularity over the past few years. Capitalizing on this trend, photographer Noe Alonzo of South Korea made this 6-minute tongue-in-cheek video titled "Camera ASMR" with sounds photography lovers will appreciate (you may need to turn up your sound for the full effect).

3 Essential Tips for Landscape Photography

Before a presentation we did during a bad-weather day on a photography workshop I co-guided in Northern Norway, I was asked to give my best advice for landscape photographers. I wanted to talk about some slightly different topics rather than repeating standard tips such as "straighten the horizon," "use f/11," and "photograph during golden hour."

Are You Sharpening Your Photos Enough?

I’ll own up to this and say that I’m guilty of being stuck in my ways. But age is no excuse for not being as adaptive as I should be to the changing times. But let me explain.