Tutorials

Whether you are a beginning photographer or a seasoned professional, there are always new things to learn and more areas to improve in. PetaPixel regularly publishes in-depth tutorials on a wide range of subjects, from Photoshop tips and post-processing techniques to ideas on building your own cameras and do-it-yourself equipment.

How to Make Solid Developer Cubes for Easier Darkroom Film Processing

Over the past year, it seems the whole world has been on hold due to the rampages of COVID-19. In the Facebook groups I’m in, many users were seeing shortages in analog photography supplies. Some online stores stopped shipping Rodinal (a caustic liquid) and other products were just nowhere to be found.

5 One-Light Modifier Setups: Portrait Lighting in 10 Minutes

In this article and video, you’ll get five one-light studio setups, and we’re going to do it in less than 10 minutes. I’m using a Profoto A10 for this setup, but you can use any flash. I’m also going to limit our modifiers to just the basics, so we’ll mainly use an umbrella. For all of our setups, I’ll give you other options, regardless of what I’m using.

Trials of the Amateur Sports Photographer

Let me begin by saying I am in no way a professional sports photographer. I am simply a high school math teacher who loves three things: teaching, mathematics, and photography. As a serious photographer in my school, it often fell upon me to document sporting events for the benefit of the school and the students themselves.

How to Photograph While Conducting an Interview

Conducting an interview and taking pictures at the same time may sound overwhelming but this is a usual practice in social documentary photography. After 8 years of talking while shooting, I now feel as if something is missing when I silently click a shutter button or interview someone without a camera in my hands. However, this type of work is full of challenges and pitfalls. Here is how I navigate this territory.

An Intro to the Rule of Thirds in Photography

Learn photography rules, learn to apply them, learn their advantages and limitations. Finally, learn to bend them, break them and explore beyond them.

A Simple Business Guide for New Photographers

As a professional photographer for quite a few years now, I thought some of you may be interested in some photography business advice and tips through this entry-level straightforward photography business guide.

Photographing Rainbow Eyes By Using Birefringence

One of the many fascinating effects of cross-polarization is called “birefringence”, which is responsible for the psychedelic gradients in the seen here.

Cross Polarization: What It Is and Why It Matters

Cross polarization is a technique that uses two polarizing filters - one on the light source and on e on the camera lens - to get rid of unwanted specular reflections.

Is This Editing Technique Better Than the DeHaze Slider?

If you've ever dealt with atmospheric haze in your images, you know that it can ruin an otherwise great image. Years ago, Adobe developed the Dehaze slider to deal with it, but photographer Andrea Livieri argues it's not the best solution in this 11-minute video.

5 Window Light Portrait Positions

I'm Jay P. Morgan from The Slanted Lens. In this article, we’re going to show you how to set up the five lighting portrait positions using the window and how to control the light.

How to Photograph Your Own Eye

The world of macro photography is full of fascinating subjects, but eyes and irises have got to be among the most mesmerizing ones. As with most captivating subjects, capturing it can be quite a challenge.

How to Make a LIDAR-Driven Motorized Film Carrier

Despite what some people think about LIDAR for cars, in the near future it is foreseeable that this technology will take its rightful place in our daily lives. Not just for cars but with almost anything and everything. We have already seen Apple’s new iPad and iPhone utilizing this technology. I wanted to see if I could use a LIDAR, in its most fundamental function, on a film carrier that is printed on a 3D printer.

How To Make Your Own Pinhole Camera With a Matchbox or ILC

A pinhole camera is a simple image capture device that doesn't use a lens but instead makes images through a tiny aperture. The simplest ones are just a light-proof box with a hole in it, and in this 7-minute video, you'll learn how to make one as well as how to make your digital camera into one.

35+ Rules and Guiding Principles in Photography

A primary question in photography is, “What is composition”? Photo composition governs the manner in which our eyes travel through an image. It defines how objects within an image are placed relative to each other in such a way that generates visual excitement. Used correctly, it transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Making Relative Adjustments to Sets of Photos in Lightroom

Sometimes it may be necessary to make a set of images darker or lighter, more or less contrasty, or otherwise change their appearance but retain their relative appearance. Lightroom has the ability to make relative adjustments on a selected set of images to facilitate that.

How to Make Your Own Photo Paper Developer from Scratch

If you're a film photographer who likes to go the do-it-yourself rather than store-bought route, here's a fun little tutorial for you. In this 3-minute Darkroom Magic episode by the George Eastman Museum, Historic Process Specialist Nick Brandreth shows how you can make your own photo paper developer at home from scratch.

Tips for Shooting Holiday Lights with iPhone

The holidays in New York City are my favorite part of the year. It's such a magical and festive time all throughout the City. You'll find holiday trees, light displays, and the prettiest decorations around every corner.

7 Composition Techniques Seen in The Queen’s Gambit

Now and then, it just so happens that I find a show or movie that visually amazes me. I was blown away by the colors of Grand Hotel Budapest and by the cinematography of Birdman. The hit Netflix series The Queen's Gambit is one of those surprises that I have discovered recently.

How to Use Teleconverters for Macro Photography

Teleconverters are handy lens add-ons that multiply the focal length of the lens they are attached to. They can be mounted in between the camera body and lens (typically a telephoto lens) and increase the focal length of the lens to which they are attached.

Stellar Astrophotography Tips for Upcoming Astronomical Phenomenons

With several astrolnomical events coinciding with the Winter Solstice, including the Jupiter-Saturn Conjunction and the Ursids Meteor Shower, December 21st is poised to be a prime opportunity for practicing nighttime and astrophotography skills.

How to Optimize Lightroom Classic for the Best Performance

One of the consequences of reviewing computers for PetaPixel and running benchmark after benchmark is that you learn a thing or two about working in Lightroom. From weird quirks to the optimal performance settings for import, export, and editing, there are a few key changes you can make to coax a little more speed out of Adobe's Raw editor.

A Water Bell System for High-Speed Photography

Each year I update experiments in the collection of the High-Speed photography lab at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). One of this year’s additions is an air-powered water bell.

How to Fix Sitting Posing Mistakes

We’re going to walk you through common posing mistakes, particularly for sitting poses, and how to fix them. I want to cover this subject from both a masculine and feminine body language standpoint so you can see the differences and know how to fix issues on the spot no matter who you are photographing.

Easy Eye-Catching Macro Photo Ideas You Can Make At Home

Photographers might be struggling with coming up with interesting photography ideas when cooped up at home to stay safe from COVID-19 or because the weather is bad. In this 7.5-minute video, Photographer Spencer Cox shows that great photos can still be made despite these challenges.

Make a DIY Selective Focus Lens with a CV Boot

Iranian photographer and camera tinkerer Alireza Rostami wanted to shoot tilt-shift photos but found the specialized lenses too expensive, so instead he decided to make himself a selective focus lens using a cheap CV boot.

6 Editorial Self-Portraits to Shoot at Home

Lake Tahoe-based photographer Tajreen Hedayet made this short, sweet, and inspiring 2-minute video tutorial on six different editorial self-portraits you can try shooting at home if you're looking for a way to exercise your creative muscles.

Foundation Tips for Maternity Photo Shoot Posing

In this video and article, we’re going to work through some of the nuances of maternity portraits in regards to lighting and posing. If you’re interested in learning more about how to capture maternity portraits, be sure to check out the full workshop over at SLR Lounge.

Five Techniques for Communication and Effortless Photoshoots

This video is for all of you professional and aspiring professional photographers who want to communicate more effectively with your clients as well as feel like you’re having more effortless photo shoots.

5 Clamps and Brackets Every Studio Shooter and Strobist Needs

What even is a ‘studio shooter’ today? Years ago it was a little easier to define, but due to us having tons of heavy, cumbersome lighting and cameras, we were all pretty grounded in the actual home-base of a studio. Today though, the vast majority of my own jobs are not shot in my own space. I shoot wherever I’m needed and whether that be in a home, an office, hair salon or even another hired studio, I’m always on the move.

My Process for Creating Insect Portraits with Macro Photography

Each print that I create is a composite of hundreds (sometimes thousands) of individual photos digitally stitched together. Using a method of macro photography called “photo stacking” it’s possible to create images with an incredible amount of detail, even when printed on a very large scale.

How to Build a Fake Sun That Looks Unbelievably Realistic

Want to shoot indoor "natural light" photos... at night? All you have to do is build yourself an artificial sun. That sounds wild, but it's actually neither too difficult nor too expensive -- this 24-minute tutorial by DIY Perks will teach you exactly how it can be done.

10 Easy Macro Photography Ideas You Can Try at Home

JT from the YouTube channel Run N Gun has put together a quick video that takes you through 10 easy macro photography ideas you can try from the comfort of your own home. If you're looking for some weekend inspiration that won't take you out of the house or wake you up at 4am, this ought to do it.

Tutorial: Make Your Own Hard-Cover Photography Portfolio

When I started freelancing as a professional photographer, I knew I had to put together a printed portfolio. Unfortunately, I found it very hard to find useful resources on the Internet on how to actually do this. As I had some experience in bookbinding I managed to bind my first book by myself, but after three books I realized that in this stage of my career, I needed to have something a little more flexible.