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Lizzy Gadd’s photography truly shows the difference between a “selfie” and a self-portrait

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Selfies are probably the most common photographs created today. Most of us shoot them, but how many of us shoot them the way Lizzy Gadd does? Lizzy photographs herself in the various landscapes of the world and her work truly illustrates the difference between a simple “selfie” and a “self-portrait”.

Lizzy’s also the subject of SmugMug’s latest film, which sees her exploring Scotland’s beautiful Isle of Skye looking for new worlds in which to place herself. She talks about her motivation and technique, and it’s fascinating to listen to her insights and thought process.

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This music video was shot in a single take. Backwards

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We’ve featured quite a few creative music videos here on DIYP, and the latest one that grabbed our attention was shot for a song There’s a Weight by Lake and Lyndale. Other than being filmed at a single take, the whole video was also shot in reverse. The singer Channing Marie had to learn the lyrics backwards, and the result is a trippy, fun video with perfect lip-synching.

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I imagined what an “Organ Trade Market” might look like and made a photo of it

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A surgeon at a meat market. An absolutely ridiculous and simple idea, so it had to be done for real! I am very lucky to have so many great friends with massive storages of strange stuff that they are willing to lend. I remembered that one of my friends had a stretcher so I only needed meat counter with innards and a couple of models.

As I was talking about this project to another friend of mine, he then figured out how to get models, meat counter and innards at once. One call and all was set, photoshoot next week. What a great feeling to have these kinds of contacts and people around me!

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This photo project empowers you to “rock your ugly” and beat your body insecurities [mildly NSFW]

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I don’t think there’s a person who’s completely free of body insecurities. However, many people get so occupied by their “flaws” that it becomes a real struggle. These can, in turn, lead to eating disorders and all sorts of mental health problems.

UAE-based photographer Waleed Shah wanted to explore other people’s body insecurities and hear their stories, as well as share his. From this idea, an amazing project was born. It’s called Rock Your Ugly, and it shows real people and shares their stories. They talk about their insecurities and how they’ve faced them and beaten them. And of course, all this is followed by beautiful black and white portraits.

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Photographers, manage your ego if you want to grow as artists

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Artists are often known for having a “big ego.” But is it necessarily a bad thing? In this fantastic video, Sean Tucker discusses what it actually means to have an ego and how it can be essential for us as artists. He talks about ego’s positive and negative sides, and how important it is to balance them.

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This animation was made from 1,012 individually light painted long exposures

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Shooting stop motion animations or even timelapse can be difficult enough without adding something as already complex as light painting into the mix. Light painting just on its own can be something of a challenge when you’re trying to draw something for the camera over the course of a long exposure.

But for photographer Darren Pearson, it’s no bother at all. He excels at creating light painting animations, and we’ve featured him a couple of times before. She Lights the Night slipped by us when it was posted to YouTube a few months ago, but now we’ve seen it and we’re sharing it with you because it’s awesome. It was created using 1,012 individually light painted long exposures.

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This is what happens when you ask a photographer to cat-sit for you

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I love photographing animals in the studio, and I’m obviously not the only one. When actor and photographer Josell Mariano was asked to look after his friend’s cat, Jade, for whom an Instagram account has now been created, Mariano decided to go a little… “extra”.

With a full-on photo shoot, Mariano recreated a cheesy 80s style portrait session. Yes, with a cat. And the results are both hilarious and amazing.

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Why constantly learning new things will make you a better photographer

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Every form of art requires constant improving and learning new things, and photography is no exception. But improving as a photographer doesn’t only mean learning about this field. As a matter of fact, it often has nothing to do with photography.

In this inspirational video, Sean Tucker discusses why lifelong learning will make you a better photographer. What’s more, he gives some advice on how to constantly learn and suggests many fantastic resources you will surely find useful, both as a photographer and as someone who’s hungry for knowledge.

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Shooting water droplet refractions for magical macro photos

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Like tiny crystal balls, water droplets can add a magical element to macro photographs. There are a number of moving parts to consider, but the basic concept is simple: a spherical droplet can act like a lens, refracting light from whatever is behind it.

Getting good droplets can be problematic, as most surfaces will cause water to spread out rather than to bead up nicely. Using just plain water (no glycerine or other additives), one of the easiest foreground objects to use is a dandelion seed:

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Eight essential tips to improve your filmmaking on a budget

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If filmmaking is how you express your creativity, there are some components you need to include in your videos to make them amazing. But they may require expensive gear, and not all of us have the budget for it. Luckily, there are plenty of budget-friendly ways to improve your filmmaking. The guys from Mahalo my Dude share eight essential elements every great video needs to have. They make it short and sweet, yet they give you a ton of useful tips to follow if your budget is tight.

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