effects

TikTok is introducing a new $6 million fund to pay creators for making viral effects and filters -- in the first reward system of its kind on the platform.

Dubblefilm has announced a new special effect black and white film called Glitch which is designed to imitate the TV glitch and VHS tracking effects that were common in the era of analog television.

VSCO has announced a set of more than 100 new film-inspired photo and video effects for iOS devices. Built from film scans, the company says they will give photos a nostalgic look and feel and bring the magic of analog to smartphones.

Academy and Emmy Award-winning software developer Boris FX is dipping its toes in the world of still photography with "Optics": a new standalone application and plugin suite that brings some of the company's feature film visual effects to the world of photo editing.

For those that have followed my work for a while, you’ll know that I love to show a sense of depth to my images. Sure we can all shoot wide-open (f/2.8 for example) to get that shallow depth of field, but nothing beats the depth of showing not only a separation between subject and background, but a foreground element to your image too.

Google has added a new feature called 'Art Transfer' to its popular Arts & Culture app. The tool uses AI to "transform" all or part of your photo into the style of famous artists like Frida Kahlo, Vincent van Gogh, or Edvard Munch.

Our friends at SLR Lounge have created a simple little DIY tutorial that can help you add some creative flare to your portraits... literally. In 2 minutes, photographer Pye Jirsa show you how to make what they call a "flare ring" using some simple crafts supplies.

This short DIY tutorial by Caleb Pike over at DSLR Video Shooter shows you how to create a great smoke effect for your product shots or B-roll footage—no fancy smoke machine required.

One of my absolute favorite things to do in Photoshop is to play with lighting effects. Whether that be to make something glow, create a spotlight sort of effect, or set my hands on fire, I'm always so impressed with the many ways Photoshop allows you to alter lighting.

Because of the skills I've gathered for bending light to my liking, I no longer look at an image I've taken and think, "Oh man, I wish I would have brought some flash equipment with me so there could be light spilling through the archway from behind her." I now just think, "Wouldn't it be simply fantastic to have some magical light coming from behind her? Yes, yes it would... I think I'll add some."

Every week, Apple selects an application from the iOS App Store and makes it available for free to anyone with an Apple ID. This week’s app is ‘Matter’ by Pixite, which is normally $2. It allows you to add surreal 3D objects to your photographs. With only a few taps, you can add three-dimensional effects to your pictures with realistic shadows and reflections.

Lensbaby has been producing creative art lenses since the company was established in 2004. They have since released a number of different products for both SLR and Mirrorless camera bodies, as well as mobile smartphones. Recently, Lensbaby released the ‘Creative Mobile Kit’ which features two unique lenses: the LM-20 and LM-30. Today, we are taking a look at the kit to see if it truly delivers on its creative promises.

Web developer Felix Turner has created an interesting new browser-based app called Mosh that can apply a large number of "glitch" effects to your photographs.

It’s not news that lighting makes or breaks an image, particularly portraits. But in Perception Is Reality by photographer Sebastian Petrovski, we get a better first-hand look at just how influential lighting can be when trying to accurately and most pleasingly capture the face and features of individuals.

As you could expect, the results are – almost quite literally – night and day.

It’s not often a company hands out an entire piece of $100 software for free, but today is one of those exceptions, thanks to onOne Software. As of writing this article onOne is offering a completely free download of Perfect Effects 8 Premium Edition and there’s no sign of when this offer will end.

Video effects team Corridor Digital created this clever short film titled “Photoreal” featuring …

There's a subgroup of film photographers who are dedicated to coming up with inventive new ways to distress film in order to achieve unexpected -- and occasionally beautiful -- results. Last year we shared that soaking film in rubbing alcohol does strange things to your images. Here's another crazy idea: put a roll of film through the dishwasher. Photographer Tom Welland did just that and ended up with some vintage-looking photos.

The success of Instagram has shown that photo filters are very much in demand with the general population. Facebook is rumored to be working on its own retro filters, but Google has beaten it to the punch: today the company introduced a wide range of creative filters to Google+'s Creative Kit. The filters (called "Effects") include looks that mimic daguerreotypes, Reala 400 film, Polaroid pictures, Lomo, Holga, and even cross processed film.

Here’s a mind-blowing demo reel by Stargate Studios that will make you doubt …

The latest Transformers movie to crawl out of the Hollywood cookie-cutter machine had a budget of $200 million. The above 2.5 minute short film was created by Amateur Russian filmmaker Alexander Semenov using a Canon 550D (with a 18-55mm kit lens and 50mm 1.8) and a Nikon D5000 (with a 18-55mm kit lens). In other words, the gear used was entry-level quality with kit lenses.

Freddy Wong's YouTube channel is a must-subscribe if you're interested in video editing and home-brewed CGI. A couple months ago we featured an amazing video they made where an entire action scene was done using light-painting techniques. What's neat about their channel is that they also create behind-the-scenes clips explaining how each one was made.