Color grading is a crucial creative adjustment that enhances storytelling and evokes emotions. In portrait photography, it plays a significant role in establishing the mood of the subject. This article explores how to craft color grading in portrait photography, from sourcing inspiration to achieving the final result.
No matter what skill level you're at, PetaPixel has educational guides to help you create vivid, masterful fireworks photographs. This how-to offers five creative fireworks photography techniques to elevate your shots beyond the basics, including a Grand Finale trick perfect for capturing unique, expressive images that stand out from the crowd.
Autofocus (AF) is one of the most significant advancements in the history of photography. From the first autofocus camera -- the Konica C35 AF in 1977 -- to the first true autofocus ILC, the Minolta Maxxum 7000. Although manual focus still has its devotees -- especially in genres that reward deliberation, such as macro, landscape, or vintage shooting -- autofocus has become the default expectation for most modern photographers.
In 2012, beneath the unassuming asphalt of a Leicester City Council car park, history stirred. Archaeologists and historians from the University of Leicester, in collaboration with amateur enthusiasts and the Richard III Society, undertook a dig many thought more symbolic than scientific.
Pick up a dusty old lens from a flea market, an estate sale, or even your own forgotten storage bin, and you might notice something strange glinting beneath the surface of the front element: delicate white threads, odd patterns like spiderwebs or frost creeping across the inside of the glass. That eerie substance is lens fungus -- an unwelcome guest in the world of photography that quietly invades optical systems, thrives in darkness and moisture, and, if left untreated, can cause permanent and …
To cap off its duo of wildlife-focused YouTube series In Search of Nature and Framed in Nature, BBC Earth has published a 45-minute supercut tutorial titled "How To Take Stunning Wildlife Photographs" for free.
Photography is as much a science as it is an art, and nowhere is that more evident than in the construction of camera lenses. Behind every sharp image is a complex array of glass elements, coatings, and design choices that collectively shape how light is captured.
The following article is a resource to help the world’s photography competition judges work out if the “travel” images they are judging are real or not! Yep, this is the first library of fake travel photos focusing on people photography in Asia. You’re welcome!
A pair of detailed video lectures provide a fascinating insight into the mechanisms of CMOS image sensors -- the technology featured in nearly every modern digital camera.
For decades, OM SYSTEM Ambassadors Joe and Mary Ann McDonald have traveled the globe, documenting wildlife in its natural element through their photography.
While photographing wide-angle nightscapes is a common occurrence for astrophotographers, not many capture the faint nebulae and distant galaxies hidden beyond the Milky Way. Trevor Jones, creator of AstroBackyard, turned his obsession with space into a dedicated passion, teaching himself astrophotography to share the deep-sky he first witnessed through a telescope. Now a successful YouTuber and respected voice in the community, Jones helps demystify the process.
Carl Zeiss is a legendary name in photography. Though successful in many other areas related to the field of optics, like in microscopy for instance, it is particularly Zeiss camera lenses that have earned a spot in the pantheon of photographic giants through their engineering excellence and luxurious quality.
Google launched new AI-powered Arts & Culture experiments this week, including Learning Light, an experiment by Google Arts & Culture Lab artist in residence Jack Wild. This interactive tool walks users through lessons and experiments to help them learn about lighting.
Since I started using ball heads in balanced mode, I’ve been a very happy camper. In this article, I'll be sharing a review of multiple ball heads as well as a tutorial about using ball heads in the balanced mode.
Raspberry Pi computers are a boon for tinkerers inclined to design one-of-a-kind cameras. And now one Redditor has made a Raspberry Pi Zero-based instant camera.
The Motion Picture Production Code, more commonly referred to as the Hays Code, was one of the most influential forces shaping Hollywood’s Golden Age. Created to uphold moral standards in cinema, the Code governed what could and could not be shown on screen for over three decades. Yet, as restrictive as it was, resistance to its rules surfaced even from within the industry itself.
The rise of "noctourism," or nighttime travel, among photographers is about much more than just stargazing. As a night photographer, here are my best tips for capturing the growing art of noctourism.
A total lunar eclipse will be visible across the entirety of North America, most of South America, and other parts of the world tonight and tomorrow, March 13 and 14.
Film photographer and educator Tim Klein's recent YouTube video explains the tricky concept of exactly why aperture affects your depth of field in a very digestible way.
Aptly named Vintage Resurrection shared a spellbinding video detailing the work of restoring a broken 1979 Canon AV-1 film camera in "From Zero to Hero."
Photographer, writer, occasional PetaPixel guest author, and photography teacher at Dakota College at Bottineau, Todd Vorenkamp wrote an adorable and educational book about photography for kids, A Is for Aperture: The ABC's of Photography.
For several decades, there were two big names -- both of which happened to be German -- in the 35mm camera world that stood like skyscrapers among all companies. You’ve undoubtedly heard of both of them: Carl Zeiss and Leitz Camera, more commonly known as Zeiss and Leica.
Everyone has an intimate relationship with food. The job of food photographers, says an award-winning pro, is to create images that connect food’s personality to people who consume it.
The resurgence of film photography in recent years has breathed new life into the world of analog cameras and for many, the 35mm format remains the gold standard. Its perfect balance of image quality, convenience, and affordability makes it a favorite among both newcomers and seasoned photographers.
During the tumultuous years of World War II, communication between American soldiers overseas and their loved ones back home was not just a matter of personal comfort but a crucial element in maintaining morale on the front lines.
To take a photograph is to encapsulate a singular moment in time and space in the form of an image. In order to do that, no matter what kind of equipment we are using, we need a sort of tool to divide the past and future from the singular present, the precise moment that we wish to capture – no matter how long or how fleeting it might be.
Photography is an art and science deeply rooted in the manipulation of light. From the earliest days of the camera obscura to the digital age, photographers have sought to control exposure—the amount of light that reaches the camera sensor or film—to create compelling images. Central to this control are the variables of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO (no, ISO does not actually change the sensitivity but nevertheless plays an integral role in exposure choices).
Knowing a camera’s ISO limit isn’t just a technical curiosity. It’s the difference between capturing stunning, clean images or losing details to distracting noise.
In the world of professional photography, the choice of print medium can dramatically affect how an image is perceived and experienced.
H&Y announced its next-generation, dual-function RevoRing Mark II, which uses the same adapting filter thread that the original RevoRing debuted and combines it with a dual rotating circular polarizer and variable neutral density filter.
Arguing the upside of proximity, photographer Robert Capa said, “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” In-studio commercial photographers, with robotic cameras and high-tech lighting, get plenty close to their subjects.
Few lens makers can claim a lineup as huge and diverse as Nikon's. Its legendary F-mount for film-based and digital SLRs has been in continuous production since 1959, along with the newer Z-mount specifically for mirrorless cameras that launched in 2018.
As a photographer, you are taught to see different compositional elements in other people’s work, and you apply the elements that resonate with you to your own work.
Nowadays, we photographers are a bit spoiled. With how much power current-day cameras and lenses are packing, we can feel free to relegate a lot of the most basic operations, from determining exposure to acquiring focus and more, to automatic functions.
If you, like me, are prone to idly perusing the catalogs of your favorite camera store searching for the next bit of kit to add to your collection, you’ve probably stumbled into the “Professional Video” section and been absolutely bowled over by how much money one can spend on literally anything in this category.
“When you realize the value of all life, you dwell less on what is past and concentrate more on the preservation of the future.” --Dian Fossey
If you’re an aspiring photographer, you’ll know the presentation of your work is just as crucial as the images themselves. In a competitive field, your portfolio serves as a visual resume, showcasing not only your technical skills and artistic vision but also your understanding of presentation mediums.
About a week ago, I caved in and decided to spring for one of those huge, high-power USB-C power delivery hubs that have sprung up in the past couple of years.
With the Fourth of July quickly approaching in the United States, photographers are getting ready to capture the magic of fireworks shows. If you want to nail some spectacular shots, you'll want to pay attention to a few key tips.
This is a photograph that was on the wall of my house when I was growing up — it’s Jerry Uelsmann’s Self-Portrait as Robinson & Rejlander (1964). I always wondered who those guys were. I was about to find out.
As a huge nerd for the history of photography, I've spent a lot of time reading about and studying products of the past. And there have been a lot, to say the least.
The tattooed man arrived at the photographer’s right on time, a walking gallery of living art in vibrant blues, greens, and reds imprinted all over his face and neck. He sat for a portrait in the studio as scheduled.
In the world of photography, achieving precise focus is a requirement when capturing great images. Whether you're shooting a landscape, a candid portrait, or a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in a fast-paced event, sharp focus can make or break your image.
Throughout photographic history, few cameras have had the kind of defining influence that can compare to the original Barnack Leica. It’s only natural that the industry of the time would react impulsively to the arrival of such a new, exciting, and innovative breed of camera – which is exactly what happened.
Although there is no such thing as a sure thing when it comes to dazzling aurora displays, tonight offers photographers a great chance to see the northern lights.
As many of us, including myself, prepare to travel this summer, we -- as photographers -- tend to carry a lot of lithium batteries for our photography gear. After all, we aren’t going to check our precious and pricey cameras, lenses, and other equipment. Naturally, batteries are a necessary component of any photographer’s kit, whether they be camera batteries, lithium-ion AA or AAA batteries, or something else.
Back in the day, 35mm film was called “miniature” format; its itty bitty negatives were considered only good for snapshots and maybe street photography (sorry, Leica shooter Henri Cartier-Bresson). Serious photography—landscape, portraiture, documentary, commercial—was dominated by medium format film, a platform that produced images with fine detail and luscious tonality, even when blown up to make billboard-size prints.
Nothing to see here. You take photos on a smartphone to share them on social media, and that’s it. Only a tiny minority of phone users would ever ponder the color gamut of smartphones or their color management. Accuracy is not a priority.
After years of anticipation, the 2024 total solar eclipse has finally arrived. Many millions of Americans will be in or near the eclipse's path of totality, ranging from Texas to Maine. However, hundreds of millions more people will have to find other ways to enjoy the celestial event. That's where ABC News and National Geographic come in with Eclipse Across America.
National Geographic photographer, Canon Explorer of Light, and friend of PetaPixel Keith Ladzinski is preparing for the total solar eclipse on April 8th and has plenty of tips to help other photographers capture great shots next Monday.
