Everybody has had pictures taken that they can hardly stand to look at. Even professional portraits that eliminate blemishes and show you in attractive poses sometimes look strained, or emotionless. Well, a recent study published in Experimental Brain Research seems to say that the remedy could be as easy as turning the other cheek.
Los Angeles-based photographer and photo assistant Shawn Corrigan has spent the past 10 years traveling the world assisting and shooting. Over time, he has developed an “everything but the kitchen sink, plus the kitchen sink” kit that he brings to each set. In addition to the absolutely essential leatherman and light meter that every assistant should carry around, here's a checklist of others things you should consider packing.
Sick of staring at giant darkroom timer while waiting for chemicals to do their work? Try replacing the timer …
Here’s an hour-long live video interview that Photoshelter recently did with Michele Hadlow, …
When working with rim lights, or shooting into a significant backlight, glare becomes a serious issue. The typical solution to this problem is setting up flags on either side of your subject, but who needs flags when you have a spare piece of Coroplast sitting around your studio?
If you’re ever photographing a baby that’s sitting on anything above ground level, make sure you have a spotter …
Want to attach your smartphone to your tripod without buying a special mount? Two large binder clips can do …
Have trouble figuring out exactly where you need to hammer in a nail when hanging up a picture frame? …
Mailers are a popular way to self-promote as a photographer, but too often the promos go directly from the …
Update: We’re hearing that Walmart is no longer offering medium format film development. Want to try your hand at …
In 9th grade, photographer Joe Edelman was given the assignment of creating 5 …
Want to capture some wind-blown hair in a portrait photograph but don’t have access to an electric fan or …
Flickr user Nick Cool was shooting in Machu Picchu, Perú on a sunny …
Here’s your completely random photography fact of the day: Nutella lids can double …
Here's a tutorial by skateboarding photographer Michael Burnett in which he discusses various composition tips and techniques. His area of expertise is in shooting skateboarders, but the tips are very applicable for other types of photography as well.
Editor's note: This is a piece by photographers Bryan Formhals and Blake Andrews on how famous photographers' styles are copied over and over again. Please do not read or comment if you take things too seriously.
The other day while reading the Internet I came across “The 10 Most Harmful Novels for Aspiring Writers.” I wondered whether there could be a list for photographers as well. I thought about it and then sent my list to Blake Andrews to see if he wanted to contribute and have some fun with it. Here's what we came up with.
Did you know that your morning cup of coffee can help you predict rain? It’s a trick used by …
Earlier this month the US Army published an article warning its soldiers that …
Photo enthusiast Chris Malcolm needed a better way to aim his 500mm lens at fast moving subjects (e.g. birds in flight), so he upgraded his lens with a DIY sighting aid by attaching a non-magnified red dot sight:
They're designed to clamp onto a gun sight wedge mount, so some kind of adapter is required. I played with the hot shoe mount, but it was too flexible -- the sight needed re-zeroing at every mount, and was easily knocked out of calibration. The degree of precision required to aim the central focus sensor at the target via the dot also made parallax error a problem on the hot shoe. So I decided to mount it directly on the lens. Least parallax error, plus the geometry of the lens barrel and the sight mount naturally lines it up with the lens. To protect the lens barrel I glued the sight clamp to a cardboard tube slightly too small, slit open to provide a sprung grab on the lens body. The slit also handily accommodates the focus hold button on the lens barrel.
Malcolm reports that the site "works amazingly well", making it "trivially easy to aim the lens at anything very quickly".
Here’s a simple tip by photographer Benjamin Von Wong for traveling abroad: you …
If you were to lose your camera today, would anyone who found it be able to get in touch …
Here’s a helpful video that shows how you can optimize your Canon DSLR for video recording based on …
Daylight saving time started this past Sunday. Unless you’ve been operating an hour off from those around you, you …
Want to get closer to animals when doing wildlife photography? If there’s access, your car can do the trick …
Have you ever wondered why newer Canon DSLR battery covers have a small rectangular hole punched into them? It’s …
Here’s a quote by photographer Richard Benson on …
The Giottos Rocket is a popular tool used by photographers to remove dust …
KEH has published a helpful primer on memory cards that describes the different …
Having some dust or smudges on your lens’ front element generally doesn’t have a noticeable effect on …
David Hobby has written up a great post over at Strobist on how …
Here's a simple trick for those of you who find yourself always plugging in USB cables the wrong way on your first attempt: pay attention to the seam on the metal tip.
Here's a short video in which renowned American photographer Mary Ellen Mark shares some thoughts on photography and iconic photographs.
The Photo Society has published an interesting article in which Kent Kobersteen, the …
If you’re relatively new to Photoshop, you might not know that it’s possible to highlight and/or remove the various …
If you’ve ever tried shooting in a dark location without using flash or a tripod, you probably know how …
So I've been shooting some shows for some of the choral groups on campus at my school, and I've started to notice a trend: people make some stupid faces when they are singing. They can range from an approaching sneeze to a full-on O-face.
Do you feel like the quality of your photography falls short of where you want it to be? Don’t …
Here’s an excellent video tutorial by photographer Peter Hurley on how to improve …
Mark Rober — the guy behind the gaping-hole-in-torso costume — recently came up with a creative way …
The beautiful light painting photo you see here was created using steel wool (here's a tutorial on the technique). Basically, you fix some steel wool on the end of a rope, set it on fire by rubbing a 9V battery against it, and then swing it around to fling sparks all over the place. While it's becoming a pretty common photo project, it can also be hazardous to your lens' -- and your body's -- health. Jon Beard, the photographer behind this photo, learned the hard way. See that thick yellow line in the upper right hand corner? That's one of the bits of burning metal striking his $2,000 Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G lens.
Photographer Kenneth Jarecke has written up an …
Here’s a Photoshop protip: before saving a final version of a photo for publishing on the web, make sure …
Kai of DigitalRev shares some tips — both serious and humorous — on …
Here’s a short and sweet video in which Chicago-based food photographer Stephen Hamilton …
If you’re in the market for a new digital camera this year, buying it in January or February might …
Here’s a short video in which photo instructor Bryan Peterson shows how you can use sunlight and a simple …
Here’s a quick and simple tip for better portraits by Reddit user rmx_: …
Steve 21 has an interesting trick for finding good available light: he places …
Here’s a crash course on how to work with models as a photographer. Photographer Mark Wallace discusses tips for …
Reading a camera’s user manual is a great way to become familiar with all of its features and functions, …