We can all agree that 2020 has been anything but ordinary. In the midst of the pandemic, racial tensions, and upcoming US elections, Instagram has made some changes to the platform. Among other things, the process of getting a verification badge has been changed, and it might become easier for some of us. Perhaps you have already tried to have your account verified before. Anyone can apply for it through the app as long as their account is “authentic, unique, complete and notable....

Zhiyun has launched two new smartphone gimbals today. The Zhiyun Smooth 5 and the Zhiyun Smooth X2. The Smooth X2 is the follow-up to the popular Smooth X (review here), a 2-axis gimbal with a built-in selfie stick aimed at social media shooters and consumers who generally want smoother videos from their smartphones. The Smooth 5, on the other hand, is targeted towards more serious smartphone filmmakers, offering a number of features found in Zhiyun’s higher-end range, like a multi-function focus wheel, exposure control, and various different shooting modes, including the “GO” (Sport) and Vortex modes....

After their first set of tips for making your food photos more awesome, Mango Street are back with another quick, but great tutorial on this topic. These are the tips you can use for a variety of purposes – from making your food snapshots on Instagram more appealing, to improving your food photography if you want to get more serious about it. Also, these are techniques you can apply to other types of photography as well, if you’re not really into taking pictures of food....

A 50mm lens is probably the first lens most of us bought after we got the camera. They are generally affordable, especially if you go for a f/1.8. But if you’re on a really tight budget, or just want to satisfy your gear acquisition syndrome without guilt: Kai Wong has a video for you. In this video, he suggests five great 50mm lenses that cost well under $100. So if you’re looking for your first or for another 50mm lens, check out Kai’s suggestions....

Gimbals are probably the single coolest development in filmmaking tech in the last few years. Catering to everything from phones & action cameras to big DSLR & dedicated video camera rigs. They’ve become extremely popular, but they do take a little getting used to. There are ways to get the best out of them and results that you’re really happy with. I have three gimbals myself. My most recent is the Zhiyun Crane 2 (review coming soon) which I’m planning to use for a shoot this weekend....

Some might have you believe that neutral density and polarising filters aren’t required in today’s modern era of digital photography. That you can replicate their effects in post. No problem, just a couple of clicks, right? Well, no. While many filters aren’t really required any more (unless you just want to save yourself some time in post), neutral density and polariser filters both offer effects that can’t be accurately recreated in post....

It’s only just been announced, but The School of Photography was lucky enough to be the first to get their hands on the new Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III in the UK, so they’ve posted a review video. In it, they put the camera through its paces, testing the camera for both its photography and video abilities, exploring the new features on a model shoot. After going through the key features and differences over the previous version before going into the tests, starting with video....

If it isn’t on Instagram, it’s like it didn’t happen. When you travel, you gotta make the photos perfect, avoid clichés, and show everyone how much fun you’re having. I mean, the struggle is real, guys! To help you relax and enjoy the vacation, Ibis hotels in Switzerland offers “Social Media Sitter” who will take the pressure off of you and post to Instagram on your behalf. On a dedicated website, Ibis advertises the Social Media Sitter as someone who’ll take care of your Instagram profile so you can explore the city in peace and enjoy your trip without digital stress....

Designed for mobile creators, Premiere Rush (formerly “Project Rush“) is designed to allow you to quickly edit videos for social media without all the hassle and fuss of a full-blown editing application. It’s been available on iOS, Windows and Mac for a while now, but today, Adobe has today announced that Premiere Rush has come to Android devices. Although, it hasn’t come to all Android devices. It’s only available for devices running Android 9....

If I had to describe 2020 in a single word, it would probably be a swear word. However, it’s always good to go through tough periods with some humor, and Adobe recently showed us how it’s done. 2020 is coming to an end and it’s time to sum things up. So, Twitter asked its users to describe 2020 in one word. Adobe wrote “Masking” as a reply, and it cracked me up!...

As we go through this unprecedented time together, our team at PhotoShelter is committed to providing resources, advice and inspiration for the photography community. Follow us on Twitter @PhotoShelter for the latest updates. On March 12, 2020, the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) held a webinar with General Counsel Thomas Maddrey entitled “Potential Business Ramifications of Coronavirus (COVID-19).” Maddrey covered a variety of topics, including cancellation clauses in photographer contracts....

Photo colarization is a thing. We want to look at color photos, but we only had black and white film a few decades ago, so there is a gap to fulfill. I guess our kids will want to hologrimize our colored photos when they grow up, but this is another story). Up till now, colorizing has been an intense and laborious process taking hours of work from skilled artists. A new algorithm from Algorithmia wants to change that....

The emergence of NFT (Non-Fungible Tokens) brings a new type of technology for establishing digital copyright of original content. This can help creatives, like photographers and artists, to create authentic claims that can be verified on a decentralized database called a blockchain. A blockchain permanently records the information which cannot be modified or deleted, since it is stored on many different computers. The computers are located throughout the world and operated by users who are incentivized to maintain the blockchain network to verify transactions....

Around two weeks ago, I saw an epic photo Jason D. Page posted to Facebook, crediting Tim Gamble for the idea. Both of them made their photos with aluminum foil (tin foil) and some lights, and I knew I wanted to try the technique immediately! I reached out to them and they kindly shared the process with me. It turned out to be pretty simple, so I even skipped a Saturday night out to stay at home and take photos....

Due to a lack of availability, we will not be able to obtain the following item(s) from your order: “Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR Super-Telephoto Lens” We’ve canceled the item(s) and apologize for the inconvenience. If you see a charge for the canceled item, we will refund you within 1-2 business days. If you are still interested in purchasing this item, it may be available from other sellers....

Dear Canon, You and I have had a very, very long friendship which has lasted many years and many, many generations of cameras. Ever since my first camera purchase, you have been my brand of choice. I still have my original Canon IXUS 40 and multiple generations of full frame and APS-C SLRs going back as far as the 450D which was released in March 2008. I own more Canon lenses than I know what to do with including many “L” series lenses which I firmly believe are the best lenses on the market....

Apple has announced that it’s about to increase its efforts to improve child safety. Starting from iOS 15, watchOS 8 and macOS Monterey, the company will scan your messages, Siri, searches, and photos in search for content that can be connected with child sexual abuse. The company has published a post explaining what you can expect and how everything will work. The new features are aimed at educating and warning both children and parents of sexual abuse....

Massive wildfires are currently raging in the US West Coast. The skies have been colored orange and red, but you might not be able to accurately capture it with your phone camera. Many people have noticed that auto white balance on phone cameras is severely affecting orange and red hues. This makes this whole tragedy look way less dramatic and alarming than it is. Some Twitter users shared photos and videos from Oregon and California that show what the skies really look like....

Flash can be a difficult topic to figure out for a new photographer. You know you need more light but which one do you get? Do you even need only one or should you get several? What type of photography flash should you get? How much power do you need? What are modifiers? Which one do I need? Do I really need to spend all that money on one or will the cheap ones do the job?...

A bridesmaid shared the story of how her friend demoted her at the last second before the wedding ceremony and demanded that she become her unpaid photographer instead. The woman, called Aila (presumably not her real name) posted on the popular Reddit forum AITA to ask if she was correct to walk out on the wedding and her so-called friend at the request. Allegedly, the professional wedding photographer had taken ill and had to leave while the wedding party was getting ready....