Folding reflectors, softboxes and backgrounds are awesome. There’s no two ways about it. They pack down really small for transport or storage, they pop up quickly when you need them, and they’re really lightweight. As a location shooter, they’re perfect for me. Even my white balance card folds away like a reflector. Whatever helps pack the gear down into the smallest and lightest space possible is welcome. But once they start getting to a certain size, they can become quite troublesome....

Learning filmmaking by yourself is, in many respects, a lot like learning photography. There’s some technical to figure out, sure, but there’s also a lot of observing the work of others and then doing. And many of the tips contained in this video from Darious Britt also apply to photography. At least, for the first few days. Darious makes it clear in the beginning that he’s not saying film school is a bad thing....

As photographers quite often the addiction we have to capturing that next special moment becomes one of the most dominant things in our lives. And while photography is generally a “healthy” addiction in comparison to many of the things we could be doing with our time and money, sometimes we can also be blinded by what is truly important in life and forget about those around us. While we are off chasing that magical sunrise or sunset in some faraway place, our partners in life may be left behind wondering when we are coming home, or where exactly we may be....

Motorised smartphone gimbals have gotten pretty inexpensive over the last couple of years. Something like the Zhiyun Smooth 4 only costs $120, and you can find ones that are even cheaper if you shop around. But there’s something to be said for the humble gravity stabiliser, especially when you can make one yourself. In this video, the guys from COOPH show us how we can make a DIY smartphone stabiliser using just a mop head, a paint roller and a few tin cans....

A grid snoot is a great light shaper for photographers who want to throw a little light into a tight spot or highlight a select part of a scene, or cast a beam across a surface. It is a favourite of DIYers and can be hacked together using card, tape and a bundle of drinking straws. In the past I have made snoots using off-cuts of Nomex. For photographers with access to a 3D printer there is an elegant way to produce a grid snoot that uses the process of slicing a 3D model for printing, to automatically produce the gridded part of the snoot....

Photographing fireworks is challenging no matter which kind of camera you use. Last week I went to Linz, Austria, to shoot a firework at a local funfair, called “Urfahraner Markt.” The firework happens right near the Danube and is best watched (and photographed) from a nearby bridge called “Nibelungenbrücke.” So, first, here are a few sample shot of the fireworks I took with the iPhone. Here are the apps and gear I used to photograph this firework with iPhone:...

Do you ever feel sick of photography? I know I do, and it recently came as far as thinking about selling all my gear. I was feeling uninspired, I didn’t have the need of taking photos at all, and I just felt… kinda like a fraud when someone referred to me as a photographer. Does it sound familiar? Have you had those thoughts too? If this video from Mark Denney is just what you need to watch today....

I’ve had a job that I’ve done for the last few years in Sydney. Whilst it’s challenging and full-on, it’s a lot of fun and pushes me and my team to be better. We have to shoot, edit and deliver 6 videos in a single day. What we needed The client is a retail industry award called the Joe Berry Award. People under 35 who work in the retail industry in Australia are given a task....

There are countless ways of setting up and lighting a white background for stills or video, but sometimes you just need to get it done quick and maybe you’re working with limited space. This short video from Rob & Jonas’ Filmmaking Tips shows us how to get set up easily and relatively painlessly for filming on a white background in a small space. Rob, aided by his small co-host, August, talks about several options to create a white background and how to light it, explaining each step as he goes....

If you’ve listened to Depeche Mode, U2, or Joy Division, chances are that you’re also a fan of Anton Corbijn. Dutch photographer, film, and music video director is among the most popular music photographers of today. I personally am a big fan of his unique style, and if you are too, this video is perfect for you. Alex Kilbee of The Photographic Eye guides you through Anton Corbijn’s career highlights but also breaks down his photographic style to give you a better insight into what makes it so special....

So without further ado, lets play God, and turn day to night! But before we start here is a speed edit of the whole image!Advertisements So here is my image straight out of camera. As you can see by the empty beer glasses, it looks like it was a busy night. My first task is to mask out the sky. To do this I used the pen tool along the building edges, stopping before the trees....

Over July and August, comet NEOWISE became the “Holy Grail” of many photographers out there. I also had my own attempts to capture it before it goes away for another 6,800 years. It was uncertain whether or not the comet will survive its Sun flyby and return for our descendant to observe. But according to a recent image made with Hubble telescope, NEOWISE has survived and will be here for our children’s children’s children’s… children to observe....

When photographers think of my country they think of windmills, Amsterdam and tulips. These are generally the most photographed subjects in the Netherlands. What they don’t know is that my country turns purple in August. It usually starts mid or early Augusts and ends till the end of August. It turns a lot of areas completely purple. What am I talking about? The heather plants. Compare it to the France Lavender fields that start a couple of weeks earlier in July....

Renowned nature photographer Paul Nicklen has won a copyright lawsuit against the Sinclair Broadcast Group. He posted a video on his Instagram, which Sinclair embedded on its website along with a screenshot without asking for permission first. Nicklen sued and won the case that could have implications for all photographers and videographers. As JD Supra writes, Nicklen shared a video of a starving polar bear on his Instagram and Facebook, warning his followers of the impact of global warming....

The competition is, obviously, to celebrate the photographers submitting, but also to highlight the capabilities of the iPhone camera. But as well as proving that you don’t always need the highest-end mirrorless camera to take a decent photo, you don’t even need the latest iPhone to win the iPhone competition. The overall winner this year is Hungary-based Istvan Kerekes for his photo of Transilvanian Shepherds, shot on an iPhone 7....

Is Instagram dying? Here is a quote a fellow photographer shared with me. “Although I feel Instagram offers a really beautiful opportunity to connect with others, share art and reach people on a large scale on topics that deserve recognition and attention, I’m finding that it’s becoming harder and harder to feel excited, stimulated or inspired scrolling through my feed.” You might concur with this statement as well as myself....

Just let that sink in for a minute. One-in-seven of the 1,000 people questioned in the survey (carried out on behalf of the Blue Cross by OnePoll*) said that they would choose a specific breed of dog or cat based on an assumed arbitrary approval rating casually meted out by a gaggle of people, most of whom are likely strangers. That’s not the pet which, practically, best suits your living circumstances, activity levels, or family circumstances, or the pet that, emotionally, you are going to let into your home and your heart and will love you unconditionally in return, but the one whose photos are going to prove most popular on social media....

Photographer Steve Kazemir has shared some of his amazing work with us before. He often takes water or paint splash photos, and even builds automatic setups for them. Once again, he has created a stunning image using a simple setup, some Home Depot items, and a lot of time and patience. After 500 photos and around 70 hours, Steve created this fun “Paint Splatter Factory.” And this series of videos, he shares the entire process with you....

As you probably already know, NASA makes their photo library publicly available. Thanks to this, from time to time there are devoted artists and space geeks who turn the images from NASA into something new and beautiful. This time, photographer Sean Doran took still photos of Jupiter and turned them into a mesmerizing animation. The photos taken by Juno spacecraft are awe-inspiring on their own, but the video adds a totally new dimension....

A few months ago, wedding photographer Chelsey Nelson filed a lawsuit against her city of Louisville, Kentucky claiming that its law “forced” her to photograph same-sex weddings. According to her, this prohibited her from staying true to her Christian beliefs, and the Department of Justice has recently supported her in this legal battle. In a piece she wrote for USA Today, Chelsey claims that “as a Christian, [she] shouldn’t be forced to work same-sex weddings....