Educational

PetaPixel's editorials are in-depth stories, thought-pieces, and opinions on the photography industry led by the minds of our editorial team.

The Best Way to Access Camera Raw Photos on Your Smartphone

It seems like a small request to a simple need... you shoot an event using your main standalone camera and want to upload a few choice shots to social media or send to a client to give them something to post straightaway. Or - as I've done - undertake some quick processing on your phone before sending it to an Instax printer and giving your customer an instant print.

Why to Use Tilt Shift Lenses for Product Photography

Many people think of tilt shift lenses as something only used by specialist architectural photographers. Some actually don’t realize that they can do more than the tilt shift miniature effect emulated by the Photoshop filter (although it can give some fun results!)

A Beginner’s Guide to Zone Focusing in Photography

Zone focusing (ZF) is a great way to pre-set your camera's focus and aperture, then use that setting for multiple shots. Street shooters love it. And it's also great for sports, pets, jumpy kids, parties, or any subjects in motion.

Good Hobby vs. Great Hobby, and Why Photography is One of the Best

What makes a great hobby? Most people don’t have to ask themselves this, they just naturally gravitate to activities they enjoy and make time for them–but I’ve had to think about this for years. It’s an important question, particularly when your time is being pulled in multiple directions!

2022 Was Officially the Year of the Mirrorless Camera

Camera manufacturers have long told us that the future was mirrorless and - as if there was any doubt - Canon and Nikon even joined the party as far back as 2018, yet compact cameras and DSLRs have stubbornly refused to die. With 2022 well and truly over, we can now safely say that it was the year of the mirrorless camera and this marks some profound changes across the board for the industry as a whole.

Leica M3: The 35mm Film Camera That Became a Legend

During the century-or-so that film was the dominant medium in photography, a handful of cameras made a mark deeper than the rest and became legendary for their impact and legacy. One of these was the Leica M3.

Why Film Photography is the Antithesis of AI Art

The camera is a reasonably recent image-creation tool; compared to millennia of paintings, drawings, carvings, and illustrations, we have only a few hundred years of photographs and photographic development. What photography offers compared to those ancient arts is (relative) immediacy and accuracy.

How Photo Mechanic Was Born at Super Bowl XXXII in 1998

It was Sunday morning January 25th, 1998, and I was in The Associated Press’s trailer in the parking lot at Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego. Last-minute preparations were underway for coverage of Super Bowl XXXII between the Green Bay Packers and the Denver Broncos – Favre vs Elway. Perfect!

Tourists in Our Own Reality: Susan Sontag’s Photography at 50

This year marks 50 years since Susan Sontag’s essay "Photography" was published in the New York Review of Books. Slightly edited and renamed In Plato’s Cave, it would become the first essay in her collection On Photography, which has never been out of print.

What is Focal Length in Photography?

One of the most basic and common terms in the world of photography is the focal length of a lens. In this guide, we will dive down deep into what focal length is and how it works.

The Limits of ‘Computational Photography’

My name is Will Yager, and I'm a software engineer. I was recently discussing laser etching with an engineer/font-designer friend of mine, and I wanted to show him a picture of some really good laser etching on a particular piece of optical equipment.

What is an Intervalometer?

An intervalometer is an important tool for photographers that is useful across a range of photography genres and techniques, including timelapses, focus stacking, and long exposures.

What is Dynamic Range in Photography?

We’ve all heard the term "dynamic range" when reading the latest and greatest offerings of camera manufacturers -- "this camera has the highest dynamic range in its category!" We understand that a greater dynamic range is generally a good thing to have.

What is Chromatic Aberration? How to Deal with Color Fringing

If you've ever noticed an unsightly colored fringe or halo on objects in your photographs, you've seen chromatic aberration. It's a common problem in photography and can detract from an otherwise good image. Fortunately, there are ways to minimize or even eliminate it, both before you hit the shutter button and after when editing your picture.

How to Find Hidden Cameras

Hidden or inconspicuous cameras are fairly common in businesses with security concerns. Those black balls you see in ceiling corners or hanging from stems near checkout are undoubtedly watching and recording shoppers to make sure merchandise is being paid for.

Film Photography: A Complete Guide

Film photography. It’s coming back, and more and more photographers are dusting off their old film cameras or going out on a search to purchase one. Many people don’t see the appeal and feel quite comfortable with their phone camera. But for others, it’s becoming the only way they create images.

Do You Tip Photographers? (And If So, How Much?)

You've hired a photographer and they've delivered the photos. Now you come to a question: should you tip the photographer? Not every society has tipping as a common practice, and even in those that do, whether or not photographers should be tipped continues to be a much-debated topic.

A Guide to Camera Lens Features

There's more to consider than focal length and price when buying a new lens. Lenses come with an assortment of features such as stabilization and weather sealing, plus issues like distortion and bokeh.

A Complete Guide to Leica M Lenses

Leica. The name conjures notions of luxury, history, quality, and precision. This especially applies to Leica’s M-mount lenses. While some of Leica’s latest camera bodies like the M11 have gathered praise, the lenses have set the industry gold standard.

Dora Maar: A Great Photographer Hidden Behind the Master of Painting

In the inevitable tide of recognition of so many women artists of the past 20th century who passed simply as muses, lovers, wives or companions, when their work was truly as strong, beautiful and original as that of their partner, Dora Maar, for many reasons, occupies a special place.

RAW vs. JPEG: Which Image Format is Best?

We all have been there at some point in our photographic journeys: Our cameras, set to AUTO, pointing and clicking, saving JPEG images that we perhaps edit a little and put in an album to archive. Maybe we throw on an Instagram filter to fancy it up for social media. Then we forget about these images for a while.

Unsplash: What is It and How Does It Work?

If you work with stock photos, you might already be aware of Unsplash, one of the largest and most popular sources of free online images. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the service, this explainer will walk you through what exactly Unsplash is and how it works.

Barnack Quirks: An Intro to Shooting with Early 35mm Leica Cameras

If you're primarily a digital photographer with an itch to return to your roots or a film photographer who appreciates the tech as much as the image, Barnack Leica's are a fun way to see what it was like to take photographs almost a century ago with one of the world's most innovative and celebrated camera designs.

How to Smile for Pictures: 8 Tips for Perfect Portraits

It’s a beautiful, sunny day. You’re celebrating a special event with a photo session, getting your poses ready. You’ve posed countless times with family and friends, at parties, and for selfies. This should be a piece of cake, right? You say ‘cheese’ in your head and bring out the pearly whites. Then you check the camera to see the result.

How to Become a Photographer

You’ve been taking your camera everywhere, shooting photos of your experiences, and you love the way photography makes you see the world. Gradually, you’ve started to wonder what it would be like to turn your passion into a career. This guide will walk you through the process of how to become a photographer.

Does Instagram Notify When You Screenshot a Story?

When browsing Instagram, it could be tempting to take a screenshot of a Story, particularly since the content is always changing, advancing to the next Story after only a few seconds. If you give in to that urge, you might wonder if the owner of the account gets notified about your interest and that you saved an image from their story or feed.

What is a Low-Pass Filter and How Does it Work?

Most digital cameras from the 2000s and 2010s are equipped with an optical element called an optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing (AA) or blur filter. As the name "filter" suggests, this optical element filters out some information coming from the imaged scene.

What is a Mood Board and How Do You Make One?

Mood boards are more than a random collection of photos found online. If you want successful photoshoots that deliver what you, your client, or your team envisioned, mood boards can help you. All it takes is some brainstorming and curation.

A Complete Guide to Camera Lens Filters

Back in the days of film photography, things weren’t quite as advanced as they are in our modern digital era. Photographers struggled to manipulate available light or had to work a lot harder to capture simple in-camera effects. That was the reason for the invention of photographic lens filters.

Where CAN You Bring Your Camera in San Francisco?

It happened again in San Francisco. A wedding photographer was attacked while shooting portraits at the beautiful Palace of Fine Arts, yet another in a long line of terrible situations playing out in a city that has chosen, for whatever reason, not to crack down on these series of camera crimes.