There's a lot of resources out there for people who want to get to know their SLR just that much better -- ranging from books to about a gazillion (that's a technical term) YouTube tutorials -- but not a lot of people seem to know about Nikon's own Digitutor website. The Nikon Digitutor offers helpful flash tutorials about all of the different aspects of your Nikon camera.
Here's a tutorial by Elizabeth Giorgi of Being Geek Chic on how you can turn your Instagram photos into beautiful canvas-style prints for about a buck a pop. You can find a text version of the tutorial here.
Watermarks are a popular way of "signing" photographs and deterring theft, but having a giant logo overlaid on your images can ruin the viewing experience. Photographer Klaus Herrmann has one solution: integrated watermarks. He writes, …
Here's a short and sweet video in which photographer/entrepreneur Gary Fong shares his "red hallway" trick for turning a drab background into something colorful. The basic idea is to trick your camera into thinking the world is a certain color by doing custom white balancing with a colored gel in front of the lens. Once you have the WB set, use the gel over your flash to color balance your subject while the background is transformed.
If you've ever wondered when, or how, or why you might use a ring light or ring flash, this short lighting tutorial from The Slanted Lens should help you answer all of those questions. In this case, Jay P. Morgan was shooting for Zombie Juice soda and he took the opportunity to explain why he chose to use a ring flash, some of the disadvantages of ring flashes, and how he supplemented it to get the perfect shot.
If you're creating a short film that requires a "through the viewfinder" clip, there's an easier way to create it than pointing your camera through an actual viewfinder (does anyone actually do that?). In the short tutorial above, Luke Neumann of Neumann Films shows how you can simulate the look of a viewfinder by overlaying your footage with some focusing screen images. All the necessary image and audio files are available as a free download.
Here's a tutorial by photographer Stephen Davies on how you can create a pseudo double exposure photograph using a couple simple steps in Photoshop.
Being a good photographer, you have a tripod. Maybe two tripods. Maybe even a big, heavy duty one for your big lenses, a standard one for everyday use, and one of those small, cool ones that folds up like a roadmap and you can carry it in your back pocket.
Portrait photographer Peter Hurley gave this talk at the recent Google+ Photography Conference in SF. His training on headshots have made quite a splash in the photo world in the past year, and this free hour-long lecture is a great way to glean some tips for your work.
Portland-based photographer Jimmy Hickey made this helpful video in which he shares how he goes about shooting portraits of complete strangers he meets during his travels both overseas and on his local streets. He has some great tips that you can easily apply to your own street/documentary photography.
Laptop bag straps make for pretty comfortable camera straps since they're designed for carrying a good amount of weight on your shoulders, but they usually come with clasps that aren't compatible with strap mounts. Nano_Burger has the solution: add clasp-friendly loops to your camera using some thin strapping, staples, and Gorilla glue. The sturdy loops will last the lifetime of the camera, and can be cut off if you ever decide to switch to a different strap.
Here's a talk Photoshop guru Scott Kelby gave at the recent Google+ Photography Conference on how to "crush the composition". It's a talk that goes beyond the basics of rules of thirds, leading lines, and repeating patterns.
Mike Warren has written up an in-depth tutorial on how you can build a 360° camera hat using 6-8 disposable cameras. The cameras are worn around the head like a crown, and are simultaneously trigger using a single shutter release with the help of servo motors that depress the shutter when triggered. Warren writes, …
If you're looking for a thrifty way to have gigantic (monochrome) prints made of your photographs, look no further than your local Staples. Monica and Jess of East Coast Creative write, …
Want to enjoy a glimpse of photographic awesomeness every time you glimpse at the time at home? Create a giant wall clock with picture frames to mark each hour! You'll need a clock kit (or a disassembled clock) and 12 picture frames. You can be more serious by shooting photos of the numbers 1 through 12 for the frames, or go creative by putting in all kinds of random images.
It happens every time you press the shutter. Tiny circuits spring into action and furiously record the information from every sensor pixel onto your memory card. But pixel information is not all that is recorded. With every shutter press, your camera records dozens of interesting details about how the photo was taken. These details are tucked away deep inside the labyrinth of code that comprises your photo file. Photo editing softwares, such as Photoshop or Lightroom, can unlock some of this …
Here's an interesting video in which street photographer John Free shares a system he's developed to take the confusion and guesswork out of practicing street photography, called "the five Fs". He says that contrary to popular belief, it's not about "seeing": …
While working on some light painting shots, Sawo from Enlightpaintment was frustrated that he had to keep running back and forth from his camera. Even using an IR remote he was adding seconds of unnecessary exposure during which he wasn't actually doing anything but running. So, in a fit of creativity, he decided to put together his own DIY wireless remote using about $20 worth of equipment from Radio Shack and eBay.
Here's a 10 minute photography lesson by Karl Taylor on the four main types of light: transmitted, reflected, soft, and hard. Understanding these concepts can revolutionize the way you see and shoot scenes.
Well, lets just say I've gotten better at this over the last couple of years. The left image was one of the first I've "scanned" with my DSLR, and the one on the right I've just rescanned using the techniques described below (higher resolution available here). Right now I can get higher resolution and better image quality that what street labs give you on CD.
Admittedly, lighting tutorials are pretty common these days; but when it comes to a subject as vast as proper lighting in the studio, more info can't hurt. This 10 minute tutorial from The Slanted Lens by Jay P. Morgan runs you through the differences between octaboxes/octadomes and the traditional softbox, when it might be beneficial to use one over the other, and how to choose the proper octabox lighting setup to fit your needs. All pretty useful info if you ask us.
After seeing some elegant black picture frames with brass edges in a designer magazine, Courtney of A Thoughtful Place realized that she could create the same look on the cheap by using some plain painter's tape and a can of brass spray paint. The project takes a couple hours to complete and a few dollars in supplies, and is a thrifty way to add a dash of style to your home if you don't want to shell out money for pricey frames.
Camera hoarder Stacie Grissom of Stars for Streetlights received a massive collection of old cameras from her uncle a couple years ago. She soon discovered that she wouldn't possibly have time to use all of them, so she took a few of the neglected and worn down ones and made a one-of-a-kind lamp for her home. The cameras were turned into the lamp base using a pipe and some cold weld, and the lamp shade was made using color slide film. If you have some broken cameras lying around and want to …
We really enjoy DIY projects for photographers, and as such we've featured everything from the ultra simple to complex light-painting robots. But what excites us about Instructables' DIY tilt-shift adapter isn't just the durable plunger adapter you end up with, but rather the idea that one could manufacture their own camera accessories with a little bit of design skill and a 3D printer (check out Shapeways if you don't have one sitting around).
High definition video recording is a standard feature on digital cameras these days. If you've never really understood the terms 1080p, 1080i, and 720p, here's a short and sweet explanation that'll bring you up to speed. Benjamin Higginbotham of Technology Evangelist describes the differences between varieties and why you can consider 720p "better" than 1080i.
You may remember photographer Benjamin Von Wong from last week's behind-the-scenes video of his photo shoot with the band The Agonist. In that video he showed you how he put together a very creative, cinematic composite shot that really stood out from other band photos. In this video, Benjamin runs you through the lighting challenges unique to black and white photography, and how he chose to overcome them.
If you have a Canon compact camera running the Canon Hack Development Kit (CHDK) firmware, you can create a simple shutter release cable using some cheap components. The firmware causes the camera to snap a photograph anytime 5V is sent down a USB cable connected to the camera. You can do this using a USB cable (e.g. the one that comes with your camera), 5V battery, simple push button, and some kind of housing (a metal candy tin, for example). Oh, and you'll need to be comfortable cutting up …
Matthew Gore of Light & Matter created this beginner-friendly video tutorial on the three basic elements of exposure: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. It's explained with easy to understand illustrations and examples, and features graphics and sounds that are reminiscent of old 8-bit video games. You can also find a text-based version of the tutorial here.
The Afghan box camera, or kamra-e-faoree as it's called in Afghanistan, is a humble creation that has served its purpose well for many years. We say humble because the "camera body" consists of a wooden box, the "focusing apparatus" is a metal shaft attached to a piece of wood, and the "shutter" is controlled by removing and reinserting the "lens cap" manually.
For those of you amateur photographers out there who like shooting film, sometimes old cameras don't have the right light meter for getting the correct exposure. Sometimes they are faulty, inaccurate or have no light meter at all! Photographic light meters can be pretty expensive but analog foot-candle meters are cheap because they don't really have any photography purpose, until now. This guide will show you how to put it to work for photography.
In this video from Master Photo Workshops photographer Jim Zuckerman shows you how he creates his iconic sunrise photography, using a beautiful lighthouse as his subject. He begins with the basics of choosing your subject and exposure well and then continues on to explain the need to move quickly, "work the scene," and understand that auto white balance works against you in sunrise and sunset scenes.
This video tutorial, courtesy of Jeff Farmer of XNCreative.com, is a testament to what someone can do with just four still images, Photoshop, Motion, and a whole lot of creativity. The images were shot using a Canon EOS Rebel T2i, and all of the editing and effects work was done in Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended and Apple Motion. Although Jeff makes it seem very easy, words like "meticulously" clue you in to the amount of time this must have taken to make.
Photography enthusiast Jeff Vier made himself a cheap DIY grid spot using a $5 gutter downspout adapter he purchased from Home Depot and a $0.50 bag of drinking straws. Simply cut all the straws to the same length (the longer the straws, the more focused the light), carefully arrange them inside the adapter, and then use super glue to fix them into place. Vier found that his makeshift adapter fit perfectly over his Speedlight 580 EX II without any adjustments.
This short video tutorial shows how you can shift the color balance of sunlight to create a blue background that looks like moonlight.
Photographer Shane Murphy has written up an informative step-by-step tutorial on how you can photograph the International Space Station as it whizzes by overhead.
After cleaning out his garage, photo enthusiast Drew decided to convert it into a makeshift studio by creating a mount to hang seamless white paper or a muslin from the rafters. He used ceiling hooks, chains, S hooks, and a 12-foot-long dowel.
Here's a short video tutorial on how you can make a cozy for lens protection using some fleece and some velcro. It's a simple wrap that allows you to keep your lens safe when transporting it in something other than a camera bag. Simply measure out a piece of fleece that's the appropriate size and sew some velcro onto the ends. The project takes about 30 minutes and costs a buck or two for each cozy.
Snapping a self-portrait of oneself in a mirror is something every photographer has probably done before, but have you ever created one in which there isn't a camera in the shot? The images look impossible, but they're not too difficult to create using some careful planning and clever Photoshop trickery. Basically, all you need to do is photograph each arm and your head separately and then stitch the photographs together. Joshua Dunlop over at ExpertPhotography has published a tutorial on the …
Looking for a weekend project? Try you hand at creating an anthotype, or an image created using photosensitive material from plants. Grind up some plant matter to harvest the juices, paint the juices onto some paper, place a negative over the paper, and then leave the image out under the sun. When it's done exposing, scan the image to preserve it and place the print in a dark place, since light will slowly cause the image to disappear. Photojojo has a step-by-step tutorial on the process here.
Design Lovefest has a tutorial on how you can make a custom-designed camera strap using 1 1/2-inch natural cotton webbing and acrylic craft paint.
Even if you have a good command of using f-stop numbers and properly exposing photographs, you might not understand the math behind why f-stop numbers are what they are. Here's a simple (albeit math-filled) explanation by Dylan Bennett of what f-stop is, including a simple trick you can use to memorize the f-stop scale.
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.
Vimeo has partnered up with Nikon for a new educational video series titled Do More With Your DSLR. The first video is about "working with available light", and is geared towards beginners who are just starting to figure out how to use their DSLR camera. You can find a more in-depth discussion of the concepts in the video (e.g. exposure, white balance, ISO) in this article.
Here's a tutorial by photographer Joe Edelman that teaches how you can build a studio lighting setup with fluorescent lights for under $200. You can find a detailed parts list over in the description of the video on YouTube.
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.
Here's a helpful video that shows how you can optimize your Canon DSLR for video recording based on Vincent LaForet's recommendations. It's geared towards the 5D Mark II, but is applicable for other video-capable DSLRs as well (e.g. 5D Mark III and 7D). There's also an article over on LaForet's blog that explains the reasoning behind the various settings.
Physics guru David Prutchi recently came across a line of professional grade gyroscopic camera stabilizers by Kenyon Laboratories. They cost thousands of dollars each, but Prutchi noticed that the designs hadn't changed much since they were first patented in the 1950s. He then set out to create his own DIY version using low-cost gyroscopes from Gyroscope.com. His finished device (shown above) actually helps stabilize his DSLR when shooting video or when photographing with non-image-stabilized …
Bart Zoni of Leica Boss made this short video explaining the main differences between DSLR and mirrorless cameras. He discusses flange focal distance and sensor size, and how the cameras' differences in those two things affect image quality.
Want to protect your gear from dings and scratches while customizing its look? Try using some carbon fiber vinyl film -- the kind designed for cars. When you're done with the application, you can also use some acrylic spray to make the "carbon fiber" look nice and shiny.
If you want an extra personal touch at birthday parties, you can turn portraits of the birthday boy or girl into picture perfect party hats! Simply print out a portrait using a special template, turn it into a cone, add some fringe, and you're done. Eden over at Sugar and Charm has the low down.
