Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
I met Sarah and her mom earlier on Facebook. They responded to a previous casting call.
We had worked together on a real fun shoot and Sarah, her mom and me were talking about some ideas that would be fun to work on next. Christmas time was coming, so we thought a winter theme would be fun.
Black and white are the default background colors for many of my photos. There are several background systems (paper, fabric, roller blinds, etc.) and I wanted to have something that is easily changeable, portable and inexpensive for those two colors.
The result is a background wall on wheels. Both sides are papered with background-wallpaper and so they are easily repaintable. By default I have one of the sides painted white and the other painted black.
Size-wise the wall is 2m high and 1.8m wide, so I have enough space for portraits and full body images. The wall stands safely on its attached furniture castors and is still very mobile in space.
Being photographers we are accustomed to pay attention to composition, lighting, depth of field, colors, focal length and many other factors that comprise the final frame.
Photographers entering the world of video have the advantage of already mastering all these aspects, but one of the most important aspects in video gets ignored way too often – audio.
Audio recording is not something that automatically comes to mind for a stills photographer, in many cases leading to sloppy sound that ruins the video, but luckily Jay P. Morgan from The Slanted Lens is here to help.
Watch the video for five options for recording audio in your home studio. Jay explains the advantages, disadvantages and price of these solutions, ranging from free to $1,000.
Honestly, I cannot believe this went under the radar for me. Photographer Dani Diamond just broke our ring light record, not by making it any bigger, but by adding a clever inner ring making it the first double-ringed DIY light I’ve seen.
The outer diameter is 4 feet and it features 12 bulbs in the inside ring and another 15 (actually 14) bulbs on the outside, making it a 27 bulbs monster. The only bulb that is missing, making it a 26-bulber is the topmost bulb that Dani uses as a clever mounting point, booming it rather that mounting it on a light stand.
If you spend a lot of time at your desk editing photos you know how crucial a comfortable desk is. No cable clutter… easy storage… and it definitely has to look nice. Photographer Tom Barnes (who build this on location workstation too), made a table to fit his needs not only as a photographer, but as a tall photographer too.
Aside for having the precise height for Tom, the table also had to feature a shelf for hard drives, storage space and be 99% cable free. It also needed a dual monitor mount sunk into the desk. Here is what Tom got with a little bit of google sketch up and some scaffold parts.
For most of us, the hardest part about committing to a portrait project is coming up with new and creative photos day in and day out, but that doesn’t seem to be the case for pro photographer, Amanda Chapman. Since 2012, Chapman has been partaking in a 31 Days Of Halloween project where she dresses up in different makeup and costume every day for the month of October. Once learning her husband had been diagnosed with cancer in August of 2012, Chapman desperately needed an outlet and a project to ease the mind’s of her and her family. As October of the same year rolled around, she started doing different makeup every day and posting the photos to her facebook page.
Though she had no formal training in makeup, in fact, she had only done it a couple times in the past for Halloween costumes, her Tim Burton inspired looks grabbed the attention of her fans while simultaneously giving her family something fun to look forward to each day. [Read More…]
We have stated this over and over again, Creativity Trumps Gear. Every time. Of course lacking certain pieces of gear may stop you from doing certain types photo art. But you can create good art with almost as little gear as you have.
See this project from Morgan Spence, AKA Morgspenny Productions, he re-enacted 60 of the all time favorite films in Lego bricks and stop motion. It does take much gear to do this. Just a lot of time and a lot of love. To top it off Morgan is only 15 years old. How’s that for dedication?
Gear is not that fancy either. Morgan uses a Canon 60D, a few desk lamps, and builds the sets on his desk.
Let’s face it: the thought of taking an existing space and converting it into a studio can be daunting to say the least! As a newborn photographer, a studio is an absolute necessity. But creating the studio without spending a fortune (I’m talking gagillions of dollars here…gagillions) led me on a path that had very little instruction, so I had to blaze my own trail, getting creative along the way!
When I started photography I was very interested in learning everything I can about studio photography. Obviously, I didn’t have a studio back then, so I needed to work with what I had to create photographs that looked just as good as their studio-taken counterparts.
Here are three different backdrops I used to create a high-end feeling to my photos. You can find them all in your house. Plus an additional cool background you can use which is made out of tarpaulin.[Read More…]
Having your own portable background is seems like a great idea. If I had a big van taking a colourama might be an one solution but then it also involves stands and some set up time and the logistics to move it about.
I like to travel light, but have all the comforts of a studio, so the idea of a fold-able background that I can stuff into a bag and peg up on location with some string and just start shooting is genius to me. Inspired by the cloth backgrounds Tim Walker, Mario Testino and a whole other bunch of amazing photographers have shot with, I set about finding a nice shooting solution.[Read More…]
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
