You may argue whether gear matters or not, but one thing’s for sure: owning fancy gear doesn’t make you a photographer. And this image captured by Detroit-based photographer Holly Romaya is a perfect example that proves this point.
Five innovative ways to isolate the subject in your photos
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I have no idea where I first heard this, but it’s extremely true: “the main difference between painting and photography is that the painters need to work hard to put things into their images, whereas photographers have to work hard to take things out of their images.” Painters start with a blank canvas, and every single thing that ends up in the final piece of art is a result of careful craftsmanship, years of hard-earned skill, and raw intention. The photographer’s canvas, on the other hand, is all of the world’s visual chaos, and he or she must deploy an equivalent amount of craftsmanship, skill, and intention to weed out all the fluff.
Leica and SoftBank invest $121 million in Light
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Light made big news when they announced the L16 back in 2015. A crazy handheld camera that was actually 16 cameras in one. Not much bigger than a smartphone it threatened the end of DSLRs. The sample images looked very impressive, but when it got into peoples hands, they were entirely underwhelmed. It didn’t kill DSLRs.
But people did take notice. People at companies like Leica Camera AG and SoftBank Vision Fund, who have now invested $121 million in the unconventional camera company. It’s an interesting, but not an illogical investment for Leica. The merging of their hardware knowhow and Light’s software expertise could be a perfect combination.
Light might soon announce a smartphone with nine cameras
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Remember Light L16, a weird-looking camera with 16 lenses? The same company has recently revealed that they plan to develop a smartphone with nine cameras. Yup, you read it well – nine cameras. Just like their L16 camera, the smartphone will also stitch multiple photos into a single large one, producing a 64MP image.
This is why you should use soft light for portraits and how to make it
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The choice for shooting hard vs soft light is quite an easy one for many people. But if you don’t understand what the difference is, what difference it makes to your subject, or how to create it, soft light can be a bit of a mystery. Soft light is fantastic for portraits, though. It’s particularly flattering, especially to ladies, and isn’t that difficult to understand.
This video from Caleb Pike at DSLR Video Shooter walks us through how to get it and why we need it. Caleb uses his lights for video, although the principles are exactly the same for photography, too.
What you wear as a portrait photographer matters more than you realise
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Many portrait photographers obsess about the clothes their subjects wear on a shoot. They’re often asked to avoid certain colours, or patterns, or given a colour scheme to try and follow. But what about the photographer’s clothes? And this isn’t a matter of how professional you look in front of your clients. It’s all about the light that reflects off you and back toward your subject.
In this short video from the Koldunov Brothers, we see a practical demonstration of two different scenarios. The first shows the impact of our subject wearing differently coloured clothes and how it reflects off their skin. The second shows how the photographer wearing clothes of varying colour and brightness can present on the subject and affect the final image.
This Moon Terminator Illusion explains why light can appear to bend the wrong way
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And no, the Moon Terminator is nothing to do with Arnold. The “terminator” in this case is the line between the lit and dark sides of the moon. During those times when the moon and the sun are in the sky together, there’s something odd about it. The line defining the lit side of the moon doesn’t line up with the sun, the thing that’s lighting it.
This video from YouTuber Vsauce attempts to explain the phenomenon of the Moon Terminator illusion. A camera is used to explain some of the various principles involved. It’s well worth watching, as it also goes some way towards also explaining some of the issues photographers hit regularly. Understanding the causes of them can help us to resolve them.
Here’s how to use light to convey different emotions in your work
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There are plenty of factors that can convey the emotion want to express through your image. While light is one of the essential components for creating a photo in the first place – it also contributes a lot when it comes to the emotional impact. In this video, Jay P. Morgan shares four aspects of light that help communicate the emotion in your work. He will teach you how to use them and turn light into a powerful tool for conveying emotions in your photos and video.
Group of photographers donate solar lamps to people living without light
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I often mention the issue of whether or not photographers can “change the world”. It’s something we could speculate about, but what I firmly believe is that you can at least change someone’s world, or to put it simply – improve someone’s life. And it’s precisely what a group of photo enthusiasts is trying to do.
Joined through Epic Photo Tours and guided by Herb Leventon, this group changes the world of those who live in darkness. They have donated over 400 solar lights to the people from remote villages who live without any light once the sun sets. And of course, they have documented it in a series of beautiful images from different parts of the globe.
How to build DIY color-changing LED wand light for $30
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Ice lights give nice and soft light for photography and video, but they can cost quite a lot and only come in one color. Their cheaper version called wand light changes colors, but there’s a catch. Out of 360 LEDs on the wand, only 40 of them can change to various colors. So, Jordan Thornsburg from Macroscope Pictures shows you how to bring cheap, versatile and powerful together in this great DIY project.
In this video, you’ll learn how to build your own DIY wand light, which gives out powerful lighting and changes colors as well. You can use it both in photography and video, as a light source or for special effects. I imagine light painting with this would be quite awesome, too. The components cost around $30 altogether, but you can make it extra fancy for 15 more bucks and add a Wi-Fi enabled LED controller so you can control the light with your phone.
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