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How to suspend objects in the air for photos and video

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Levitation is an often visited subject for both stills and video. It’s often done with human subjects using some fancy Photoshop compositing work. But it can be done very simply with every day objects, too with just simple fishing line.

Photographer Jay P. Morgan showed us what he keeps in his tackle box a few weeks ago. In this video, he goes a little more in-depth into how to actually use it all to suspend objects. He talks about various methods of attaching the line to your object, and other things to consider when trying this. Using fishing line is a great method as it’s often invisible, requiring no post work to remove it.

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Nikon announces new 28mm f/1.4E wide lens, 8-15mm full frame Fisheye and budget friendly 10-20mm DX lens

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Three new wide lenses have been announced by Nikon today. Two for full frame, the 28mm f/1.4E ED and 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5E ED Fisheye and one DX lens, the 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR. A useful set of additions to the Nikkor lineup.

The 28mm f/1.4E speaks for itself, extending Nikon’s line of high quality f/1.4 primes, but it certainly doesn’t come cheap. The 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5E ED Fisheye will also be welcome to many hoping to add a fisheye to their kit. But what intrigues me most is the new 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6 VR for DX bodies.

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Dear wedding guests, this is how not to take a photo during the ceremony

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I’ve never been a fan of weddings. I don’t even like going to them, so I shall certainly never be photographing one. But lots of people do enjoy going to them, and they also enjoy getting in the way of the photographer. You know, the guy (or lady) who’s been paid to be there to record the permanent memories of the day for the bride and groom. That’s the couple the whole day’s supposed to be about.

Some guests, though still don’t seem to understand the point of not whipping out their phones or tablets to grab a shot. Even if it’s at the expense the ceremony itself. Shared by Brazilian photography site, Amor Pela Fotografia, Here we see what happens when one guest tries to get a shot of the bride coming down the aisle. Right before she loses her balance and comes crashing into the aisle herself.

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Shoot for the stars – The beginner’s guide to astrophotography

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I’m not really a big astrophotographer, the skies are just too bright around here most of the time. I’ve dabbled with it here and there, but never anything serious. Recently, though, I’ve found myself in possession of the Irix 15mm f/2.4 lens (review coming soon). With a lens this wide (field of view) and this wide (aperture), it was made for astrophotography. So I’ve been experimenting again.

So, this video from YouTuber Josh Katz has come along at just the right time for me. He too, says he’s no expert in photographing the night sky, but he knows enough to explain the basics and get you started. Also like myself, Josh lives in an area where there’s a constant struggle to find a sky dark enough to actually be worth shooting. But he offers a few tips for that, too.

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Google abandons the Nik Collection – Won’t develop it beyond CC 2015

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Google haven’t so much announced as “slipped in” that they’ve ceased development of the Nik Collection via a banner. Google acquired Nik Software, the company behind the Collection, in 2012. It was only just over a year ago that Google announced it was making the Nik Collection a completely free download for all users. Now, it seems, that the new price tag doesn’t justify continued development.

The Nik Collection contains seven applications. Analog Efex Pro, Color Efex Pro, Silver Efex Pro, Viveza, HDR Efex Pro, Sharpener Pro and Dfine. For now it’s still available, compatible with Mac OS X 10.7 through 10.10, Windows Vista, 7 & 8, Adobe Photoshop CS4 through CC2015 and Lightroom 3 through 6/CC. Unofficially, the Nik Collection also seems to run fine on Windows 10, too, for now.

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Turn your Godox AD200 into a continuous video light with the new LED head

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The Godox AD200 flash has proven to be very popular since it was released a couple of months ago. A $299 200Ws flash with a similar form factor to a mid 90s cellphone, and interchangeable heads. Thus far, two different heads have been available for this unit, both of which come supplied. There’s the speedlight-style Fresnel head, and a strobe-like bare bulb, just like the AD360II.

At the moment, you can turn the Fresnel flash head continuous by enabling the modelling light. But now, Adorama have put up a new product for pre-order. A dedicated continuous LED head for the Godox AD200 (or eVOLV 200, as Adorama call it).

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This slow motion footage of F-15 jets is absolutely beautiful

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I’m not a really massive planes or military person, but I was a kid once. And as a kid I used to build a lot of Airfix kits. My parents used to feed me an endless supply, so I figured why not? It was fun, and my folks were happy because it kept me quiet. One plane I built several of, and was my favourite at the time, was the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle.

First brought into service in 1976, it’s just a beautiful plane. Even those plastic model kits just had something special about them over the other aircraft I was building back then. I’ve never seen them look as good as they do in video from Vimeo use 1-300, though. The planes in this video are the Hiko Kyodotai, the Japanese Air Self Defense Force’s Agressor Squadron.

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This Fashion 101 course shows you how to shoot and break into the world of fashion photography

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Fashion Photography 101. Even a basic introduction to fashion photography is fairly in depth. So, renowned photographer Clinton Lubbe decided to split the topic up into a pair of videos. Clinton covers the gear, the fashion genre, finding your style, and techniques for directing your subjects.

Fashion photography isn’t like shooting portraits. You’re not simply shooting to create a flattering photograph of your subject for your subject. There’s a lot more to it than that. One needs to understand the genre, its subcategories, and find one’s style to set them apart from the crowd. So, if you’re interested in shooting fashion, these should help you get started.

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Placing a camera under a running tap creates an awesome in-camera water tunnel effect

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It’s like going through the Stargate, or at least down the water slides at the local pool. This very neat effect was created by YouTuber digi47. He says that he “didn’t realise it would create such a cool effect”. But a cool effect is exactly what it makes.

I wouldn’t recommend trying this with a DSLR unless you have an underwater housing. Even then, though, the lens itself might be too large to really get the full effect, and the larger sensor might not even allow you to focus so closely. But if you have something like a GoPro, or a relatively water resistant phone, then sure, why not?

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This is the full budget and lighting breakdown on shooting an $8,000 commercial

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The world of commercial shooting, whether stills or video, is an attractive one. It can be a tough one to break into, but it can also be a lot of fun. But it’s not like shooting for yourself or for personal clients. There’s often big crews to deal with, time and budget constraints, venue hire, actors, and a whole host of other potential issues to deal with.

On a recent commercial shoot for Nu Skin, filmmaker Parker Walbeck documented what went into making it. He talks about the gear used, as well as how it was used. We learn about the lighting choices and setup used to film the actors. Parker also talks about the budget breakdown for this shoot.

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