Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
I have a two DIY ring-flashes. My first one was made out of illustration board, and the second one was made of out of a bucket of fried chicken from our local restaurant. Here is my step by step tutorial on how to make your own DIY ring flash using the leftovers of a KFC dinner. (of course you can but a DIY ring flash kit or a totally pro solution as well, but then the KFC leftovers will be thrown away rather than recycled).
It takes about two hours to make one.
Our favorite maker, Chad Bredahl (previously featured here and here), just released a quickie on how to build a camera Pistol Grip.
A pistol grip is not an expensive item per-se (the great handle from P&C, for example, is about $19), but I love the idea behind it and I think a similar mechanism can definitely be used for other builds as well. And besides, who can resist the chance to dissect a lil girl jump rope.
If you ever tried to shoot video with a DSLR, you’ve probably noticed how quickly your wrist starts to heart. This happen because camera grips were not designed for video. A camera pistol grip changes your hand orientation while holding the camera to a more natural position do it does not get soar after a while. (Kinda similar to how you hold a pistol, hence the name).[Read More…]
By now, we are kinda used to the fact that RAW images can be pulled or pushed to recover details in what were once lost photos.
It seems though that with “cheap” camera that produce RAW footage like the Blackmagic Cinema Camera (or a Magic Lantern loaded Canon), pulling overexposed movies is becoming a viable option for amateurs / advance amateurs videographers too. (It was always an option for the pros).
Swedish videographer Mattias Burling did a short test showing how much burnt data you can recover when shooting RAW with a Blackmagic camera.[Read More…]
It was not that long ago when Lytro stunned to world with a camera that can re-focus in post production. This was quite a revolution as till then, the focus point was at the time when the shutter opened, was the focus pint and that was it. Millions of photos ruined by being almost in focus but not quite and Lytro aimed to change that. The hype, however, did not convert into a fed.
Now researchers in Saarland University in Saarbrücken, Germany extend the idea of Lytro to enable post production control of almost any possible aspect of photography including: exposure, light-temperature, focus and polarization. (and even a bit of spatial control) They call it The KaleidoCam. This video explains how it works.[Read More…]
They say a picture is worth a thousand words and a movie is worth a thousand pictures. But sometimes you want something in between, something that is as still as an image, yet conveys action like a film. This is an action sequence shot.
Sometimes the best way to achieve an effect is to do it in post. So this post will not involve any gear hacking (although I can think of some elaborate ways to make this with no post at all), but some good old post processing method.
An action sequence shot as a still image that is made from several frames. In the following tutorial Kaan Kiran demonstrates one method of making such action shot.
Nearly two months ago, we dove into the Nikon Z7 and showed you what was happing inside all the way down to the sensor. Today, we did the same with the Z7’s standard resolution counterpart, the Nikon Z6. At 25 megapixels and just under $2000 MSRP, the Z6 is encroaching on the Sony A7 III’s turf. The A7 III has proven itself to be a high-performing, tuned down version of the A7R III, “the basic model”, delivering beyond what the market is accustomed to at that price point. So, does the Z6 meet this new standard for the $2000 camera body? The specs certainly check out, but what about the build? Is the Z6 as well built as the Z7, or did Nikon cut corners to meet the lower price point?
In this chapter of the Lighting Series, we are looking at a simple low-key portrait. Here, the skill lies in precise lighting and the posing of your model.
Art has arguably been around almost as long as humans have. The moment we learned to mark something for others to see and interpret, the moment art was born. Thankfully for us photographers, we needn’t go quite that far back to begin learning from the history of art, in fact we only need go as far as the ‘Old Masters’.
The Rule of Thirds is the first composition rule most of us have learned when we started doing photography. There are times when it works, of course – but sometimes, centering your subject is a much better choice, yet many photographers tend to avoid it. In this video, Haze Kware of Hk Visuals discusses when centering your subjects is a better option and how it can improve your photography.
Not all of us are seeing snow just yet, and some of us won’t see it at all this year, but in a number of places it’s already started to show up in the environment. This video from landscape photographer Andy Mumford brings us 7 tips for shooting beautiful wintery landscapes
You can find out more about John on his website and follow his adventures on YouTube and Facebook.
can change a lens mid-rappel, swap a memory card while treading water, or use a camel as a light stand.
To see more of his work please visit his studio website blurMEDIAphotography, or follow him on Twitter, 500px, Google Plus or YouTube.
JP’s photography is available for licensing at Stocksy United.
Find my work on My website or follow me on Facebook or My page
