Posts by Author: John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
The amusing story of how an off-the-cuff compromise made 24fps the standard “film rate”
Apr 4, 2017
John Aldred
We’ve all heard why 29.97fps and 25fps became the standards for TV & video broadcast. It basically boiled down to technical issues based around the electrical…
You really can’t hear trains until they’re almost right on top of you
Apr 3, 2017
John Aldred
It’s that time of year again. It’s warming up, the sun’s coming back, and people are going outside to shoot more portraits. And as often…
The Crapinon 135mm – A DIY lens built from trash
Apr 3, 2017
John Aldred
They say that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and that’s certainly true for weird lens addict, Mathieu Stern. He regularly finds treasure that…
Five different and easy ways to clean up skin blemishes with Photoshop
Apr 3, 2017
John Aldred
No matter who we are, our skin isn’t perfect. It’s just a fact of life. The odd zit here and there, a little scratch, perhaps…
Shooting portraits with flash vs natural light – 3 setups in 3 minutes
Apr 3, 2017
John Aldred
“Natural light photographers” is a strange term. To some it’s a badge of honour, stating that they either don’t need to use flash to get…
Performance on a budget – see how the Sony 85mm f/1.8 holds up against the $1,600 G Master
Apr 2, 2017
John Aldred
Sony’s new FE 85mm f/1.8 lens comes in at around half the price of the Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8. It’s also a third the price…
How to create glowing text titles in-camera without Photoshop
Apr 1, 2017
John Aldred
Ever since Stranger Things, glowing title text has once again become a popular theme. Much of it now, though, is created in post. It’s fairly…
This year’s April fools’ jokes from around the world photography world
Mar 31, 2017
John Aldred
Although we have ran the occasional pranks in the past for April Fools’ Day, we decided not to do one this year. We wanted to…
Dispelling myths on sensor size, crop factor, and depth of field
Mar 30, 2017
John Aldred
Nikon & Canon crop cameras have been out for over 15 years now. But different sized frames isn’t new to digital. Even back in the…
How to easily create four natural lighting effects with LED studio lights
Mar 30, 2017
John Aldred
Recreating practical lighting effects for video and photography is a fairly straightforward process. You just need to think about how the lights are constructed in…