In portraits, we’re well aware of the role physical proportions play on how a subject looks. Generally speaking, longer legs, an elongated neck, and other such physical attributes dramatically affect the aesthetic quality of portraits for many, be it subconsciously or not. And while ethics are rightfully called into questions when changing these proportions in Photoshop, it’s continuously done.

Looking to take this questionable practice and capitalize on it in the mobile market, developer Kim Taewan has created an application for both Android and iOS called Spring.

When his wife Meghan refused to have maternity pictures taken, Justin (who goes by DruishPrincess69 on Reddit) decided to take matters into his own hands. And by matters we mean his belly. Since his wife wouldn't take the photos, he hired a photographer and posed for all the stereotypical maternity shots himself.

Who Pays Photographers? is a Tumblr dedicated to demystifying at least some of the compensation standards held by many editorial clients throughout the world.

Dear Eric,

You are 18 years old. You just got a point and shoot digital camera from Mom as a high school graduation present. You are super excited, as you never had a camera before. A lot of exciting things will happen in your life surrounding photography. I wanted to write this letter to you and give you some advice I wish I knew. This is coming from your 26-year-old-self.

As a SWAT officer, Hou Weilin needs to be constantly prepared for any situation that may arise. Thus, when his fiancée, Li Jinyang, wanted to get engagement photographs, he was unable to do so in a studio setting, where he’d be too far distanced from his equipment and gear, should a situation arise.

As a compromise, Weilin and his fiancée used his workplace to their advantage to create some crazy, cinematic engagement photos.

As soon as the Sony a7S was announced, I knew I had to try it for astrophotography. With a full frame sensor and ISO 409600, is it the best low light camera out there?

If it wasn't for the very short behind the scenes video we've embedded below, we would have a hard time believing that the animation above really was just an incredibly intricate mix of stop-motion and long-exposure lighting effects -- it's beyond impressive.

We knew that Instagram was working on a Snapchat competitor of its own, and now that competitor has arrived... sort of... not really. It's called Bolt, and the 'sort of' and 'not really' have to do with the fact that the iOS and Android app is currently only available to people in New Zealand, Singapore and South Africa.

It may seem as though creativity is an innate trait, passed down in the genetic code from generation to generation, but that's just not the case.

It’s been shown over and over again that with the right mindset and ideals, creativity and success can indeed be taught. And in the above video, writer Shawn Blanc shares his insights on the abyss of creativity and how proper time-management, focus and routine lead to creativity and success.

Mirrorless Rumors has caught wind of a strange-but-exciting rumor from a trusted source: namely, that Nikon has a medium format camera based around Sony's much-lauded 50MP CMOS MF sensor in the works, and could be debuting it as early as this year's Photokina.

When it comes to photographing the elusive Milky Way in one of the most light-polluted major cities like Singapore, timing is critical. Most of the faint details will be washed out by the extreme light pollution and if we were to shoot the Milky Way under unfavorable atmospheric conditions, our attempt would be futile.

Unfortunately, most of the tutorials online only work in locations that are at least 2 stops darker than most of the dark locations in Singapore and so, we need to do more in post-processing to unveil the elusive Milky Way and more complex workflow is required if we’re shooting at much brighter locations.

Today, Mobli, a mobile app maker known for its ridiculous Yo application, has launched a new photo-messaging app called Mirage. Hoping to take away some of the ephemeral messaging marketshare of Snapchat, Mirage takes a minimalistic approach to sending and receiving self-destructing messages.

This past March Leica announced the opening of a new flagship store. It sits on Hanamikoji Street in the Gion district of Kyoto, Japan.

Most of us baby our film, making sure it's kept at the right temperature so that it produces the best possible photos when we finally do use it. Photographer Brigette Bloom takes a different approach: she pees on hers... seriously.

For her series Float On, the Hawaii-based photog produced ethereal imagery by soaking the film in a cup of her own pee before she ever went out to shoot it.

Only NASA could turn photography into literal rocket science. As Reddit user truetofiction points out in a resource-rich post, NASA meticulously decided upon a number of factors that determined the fate of the space-bound Hasselblads and the resulting images.

Not a particularly exciting release, but a camera release nonetheless, Canon earlier today debuted the PowerShot SX520 HS and PowerShot SX400 IS: two new affordable superzooms that will get you really close to the action without emptying your wallet.

The video above isn't a time-lapse per-se, but it is being reported as such because it allegedly condense a full hour of Israeli Army air strikes on a Gaza Neighborhood down to just one minute of footage. In that minute, you see an entire neighborhood vanish into explosions and massive clouds of dust that clear to reveal only piles of rubble.

Just picked up a DJI Phantom but don't have the cash to drop on an expensive gimbal to keep your shots steady and level? Well, it turns out $10 will get you at least half-way there and keep the 'jello effect' and blur out of the videos and photos you plan to go out and capture.

Flickr announced this morning the addition of a new licensing program to their lineup. Describing the program as a way for photographers to “partner with photo agencies, editors, bloggers and other creative minds who are seeking original content,” Flickr seems to be taking strike at 500px and others to get their hand in on the licensing game.

DIY paper pinhole cameras aren't a new idea, but a new creation called Viddy thinks it can stand head and shoulders above the crowd by sheer 'cuteness.' Seriously, the camera has dubbed itself the 'world's cutest' medium format and 35mm pinhole camera, and it's so easy to put together, it might even entice some newbies to give pinhole photography a shot.

Zack Arias is a man who knows his gear inside and out. Switching multiple times between various companies, he’s seen almost everything there is to see in terms of equipment. In the past, he’s continuously praised full-frame sensors, for their quality and the aesthetic they’re known for.

But lately, as many you may know, he’s fallen in love with the FujiFilm X-Series. It’s this switch that lead him to realize that while full-frame most certainly has its benefits, crop sensors com with a myriad of their own benefits. In the above video he takes a look at both full-frame and crop sensors, giving his honest outlook and opinions on both.

Today, 500px launched a new iOS app. It’s called 500px Insights and its purpose is to provide users access to the statistics of their 500px content. Not only does it provide statistics though, it’s also meant to provide a better promotional platform to strategically engage with their audience, all from a mobile device.

It’s been a tough few years and people are frustrated with the state of the industry. Everywhere I turn, people seem to be saying that a photography career isn’t what it used to be and that budgets are tight. Many of the blogs I read and the message boards that I visit all seem to be repeating the same message: There’s no work, there’s no money, and the competition is too intense to succeed. To quote one frustrated photographer, “How do you f’ing make a living shooting pictures anymore?”

It’s a sad day when your Grandfather needs to go into a ‘nursing home.’ For years my Grandpa, Stephen Clarke, had always been the strongest, smartest, most capable guy in the room. Now, he had been reduced to needing 24-hour care in a place that smells like a hospital.

In an effort to help him, my family and I cleaned out his now empty house. As I was sorting through things and cleaning I found a box of old 35mm slides. Little did I know just how much these slides would change the next half-decade of my life, eventually leading me to create my latest project, Grandpa’s Photos.

In the age of social media, major publications frequently source photos from Facebook or Twitter profiles. But as the NZ Herald recently discovered, this can lead to major, embarrassing mistakes.

We are our own worst critics. It’s always the case. Naturally, we see the works of others and gawk in amazement, but when viewing our own work we can often only notice the flaws and imperfections. But, photographer Mike Browne is here to hand out a healthy dose of inspiration and speak to the power of self confidence.

While he was born in 1965, it wasn’t until 2008 when Tatsuo Suzuki first picked up a camera with the intent to be a photographer. Since then, he’s been traveling around, camera in-hand, capturing the turbulent street life of Tokyo. Deep in contrast, strong in grain and often paired with a dragged out shutter, his monochrome images seem to paint a perfect picture of the world around him.

The title sort of says it all doesn’t it? The cool, slightly nauseating video above is the result of …

That pop-up flash on top of your camera can come in very handy, but if you're a beginner, try giving these alternatives a shot to produce more creative, atmospheric images.

Australian car company Holden recently made a wise choice: they gave photographer Nathan Kaso and director Timothy Melville a couple of cars and set them loose on a 1,200-mile trek around Tasmania. What resulted was the fantastic time-lapse above.

Want a blurry background for your portraits on-demand, whether or not you're using a fast lens? Or maybe you are using a fast portrait lens, but you want to shoot with it stopped down to the sharpest possible aperture without sacrificing that beautiful bokeh you're going for.

Well now you can now do that without having to put serious distance between your background and subject. Just pop up one of Lastolite's new Out of Focus Backgrounds.

Landscape photographer Tim Cooper is a name we just recently shared with you. Today, we’re sharing his work with you again, this time in the form of a presentation he shared at a B&H event earlier this year. In it, he gives a detailed look at the world of macro photography.

A couple of kayakers, believe to be a father and daughter, had an unbelievable encounter with some playful whales in the waters off the coast of Puerto Madryn, Argentina. They captured the entire thing in a GoPro video that has since gone viral, but the footage has sparked serious criticism from authorities and those who capture professional footage and photos of these gentle giants.

A new camera app for iOS is looking to minimize distractions for concertgoers across the globe. It’s called Kimd and its unique set of features ensure that when you or others are snapping up that perfect Instagram moment, you won’t be taking away the quality of the concert for others.

There are plenty of reliable rumors from trusted sources claiming that the 7D Mark II (if that's even what it'll be called) will finally be arriving sometime in early September, but those rumors are now being bolstered by another piece of news.

July 4, 2011 is a day architectural and commercial portrait photographer Kevin Young will never forget. While taking a short break from a plethora of assignments he was working on, he was involved in a swimming accident that broke his C4-C6 vertebre, paralyzing him from the neck down.

In the above video, Young details his recovery, how he used photography as a motivation, and how the entire situation left him with a desires to help others, including the woman who saved his life.

Photographer Javier Laspiur has long been a fan of video games and their respective consoles. And so, to pay tribute to the consoles of his past and the memories he made with them, he created a series that takes us on a journey through the consoles of Laspiur’s past and gives us a fascinating 'time-lapse' look at how much consoles have changed over the decades.

Drone photography is the next time-lapse (which, incidentally, was the next HDR), but it presents a challenge that the previous two styles never did: safety. In this particular case we don't mean safety of the people around (or rather below) you, but rather the safety of your gear itself.

As we've seen time and again, drones drop from the sky on occasion, and when they do, they rarely survive the journey south... Until now. A new product called DJI DropSafe aims to change all that.

If you’ve ever been interested in developing your own film, but don’t know where to get started, this comprehensive video by YouTube user Photography_Bloke might be just the resource you’ve been looking for.

With each passing day, it seems as though light field photography (and its imitators) is becoming more and more ubiquitous. Patents here, rumors there, it’s a conglomeration of what is very likely the next frontier in photography.

And this past week, Pelican Images published a collection of online 3D viewer images captured with its thin light field camera that might be making its way into mobile devices soon.

Admittedly, it's a VERY first world problem, but a problem it is nonetheless: you hand your friend your phone to look at certain photos you took, and they go on a swiping spree. Immediately your mind goes into overdrive as you try desperately to snag the phone out of their grasp without looking too much like you're hiding something.

We'll call it 'overswiping,' and it's even got its own meme. But you can save your ulcers, because a new app is making sure that overswiping is a thing of the past.

In the world of photography, we typically hide behind our cameras and our images. Many of us are shy and would prefer to stay behind the camera, not in front of it. And then that starts to extend into our online brand as well.

I can relate. I’ve done this for a long time. But I recently had a meeting that changed everything.

So much of the world today is invisible to cameras. Technology operates in a light-less world of zeroes and ones, electromagnetic waves that fly over our heads in ever-increasing abundance.

For his fascinating project Digital Ethereal, designer Luis Hernan set out to capture one of these invisible signals, WiFi, using a creative combination of long exposure photography and an Android app.

This is the iPatch, a cheekily-named iPhone case hoping to add an added layer of privacy to your mobile device(s). Currently seeking crowdfunding on HeadFunder, iPatch as an iPhone case with a built-in slider for the front and back cameras that allows you to manually cover them when not in use.

Last night, I posted a photo I took (shown above) in 2012 to Reddit's /r/pics subreddit.

After I posted it, the upvotes slowly began to trickle in. Within the hour it had amassed around 4000 upvotes, peaking at around 6500 and holding the top spot for a long while. Recognition! Sweet, sweet recognition! It felt great.

What's the worst photographic mistake you've ever made? Whatever it was, the scope of the error -- at least geographically speaking -- was probably much smaller than what Scott Kelby recently did. In the short video clip above, Kelby shares what he calls "probably [his] most embarrassing photography story ever."

Just got your hands on a drone and can't wait to use it to shoot aerial photographs? First, make sure you only use it where it can legally fly. If you're not sure where to look for this info, there's a new website designed just for you.

It's called Don't Fly Drones Here (DFDH), and is an interactive map that shows off limit areas of the US by shading them in with red.

Raymundo Panduro of Pixel Análogo recently created the camera above, which he calls the "Pinolga". It's a realistic pinhole Holga medium format camera made out of cardboard that can take pretty impressive photographs.

Here's a protip from Wildlife Photography 101: if a deer walks up to you and starts licking the front of your camera lens, you're probably a little too close at that point.

'No Cameras Allowed' is an upcoming film that shows the journey of a guy named Marcus Haney who got into Coachella festival with a faked press pass and got exclusive film footage of famous bands.

After that, he got invited by bands like ‘Mumford and Sons’ to join them on tour. The film has gotten quite a bit of hype in the online photo world, but is No Cameras Allowed real or just a faked story to get some money out of kids who believe this is how the music photography business works?