fbpx

DIY Photography

Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time

Search

Submit A Story

Photographers, make sure you make these mistakes at least once!

by 3 Comments

The ‘Learning by doing’ philosophy first emerged back in the 1930s and is a valid paradigm. In photography, this probably means ‘Learning by mistaking.’ I see daily articles with titles like “four mistakes landscape photographers should avoid”, or “avoid these mistakes to become a better photographer“. As a teacher, I think that this approach is 100% wrong.

Actually, quite the opposite; I would advise photographers to make as many mistakes as they possibly can. And the graver, the better. Always go for the most annoying and bitter mistakes! This is the fastest way to learn. Of course, the idea is to learn from your mistakes and not keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Let’s have a look at some delicious mistakes that will take your photography to the next level.

[Read More…]

Do you want to become a better landscape photographer? Better make The Resolution

by 4 Comments

Is there a secret formula for success? Is it a five-step program? Or perhaps even ten steps? What does it take? Will external motivation alone help you reach your goals? I don’t think so. I firmly believe that internal motivation or inner drive is the key to almost everything.

But, before we move on, what is success? Is it to have millions of followers on Instagram, or is it something different entirely? I will discuss that in more detail at the end of the article.

[Read More…]

7 Critical tips to master forest photography

by 2 Comments

Dag Ole Nordhaug is a Norwegian landscape photographer who shoots outstanding grand landscape images. He is also considered a very talented forest photographer. Dag Ole skillfully combines mood, visual interest, and life to forest scenes. Many years of exploring the woodlands around his hometown of Trondheim, Norway, has honed his skills and provided him with plenty of experience.

Shooting intimate landscapes, forests included calls for thinking outside the box. Though the resulting images are well worth the effort, and you may learn a thing or two about composition. You will also probably improve your technical camera know-how. Forests offer a multitude of compositions that are new and fresh. While it’s hard to innovate with the grand landscapes’ classics, you can still create unique and personal images.

Social media can be lukewarm in its response to intimate landscapes, but they are well suited for printing and can yield stunning and calming prints.

Finding order in a chaotic forest can be very challenging. What should you look for that offers some rest for the eye? How important is light when attempting to photograph trees? Dag Ole will share some of his insights and images with DIYP.

[Read More…]

These are eight big reasons why your photos suck

by 1 Comment

Do you sometimes feel like your photos suck? I sure know I do. Even if they’re objectively good, you may want to make them even better. In this video, Rachel and Daniel from Mango Street cover eight things that could be holding you back and give you some tips on how to overcome them and grow as a photographer.

[Read More…]

Five composition mistakes you should avoid with your photography and how to fix them

by 1 Comment

Composition is one of those things that often gets talked about in photography. After all, it’s one of the fundamental aspects of it. If your composition is bad, it doesn’t matter whether you’ve got the exposure good or if you’ve even got your subject in focus. We all know about the “rule of thirds” and the “golden ratio”, but there’s so much more to composition than that.

In this video, photographer Joris Hermans talks about the five compositional mistakes he sees being made all the time. Mistakes you should avoid, and how to avoid them.

[Read More…]

The issues with winter landscape photography and how to overcome them

by 1 Comment

Although Australia is experiencing a rather warm summer at the moment, for much of the world it’s the dead of winter. That means it freezing cold, and there’s often ice and snow to contend with. This time of year can make for some beautiful photography, although it does not come without its challenges.

This sixteen and a half minute video from Mark Denney takes a look at the issues of shooting in winter and how they can be overcome. He goes over a lot of the problems of shooting in winter including your comfort level, your gear’s comfort level (yup, that’s a thing), camera settings considerations as well as a bit on post-processing the images.

[Read More…]

Here are plenty of fantastic tips from 29 famous photographers

by 3 Comments

Over the years, we’ve featured many great photographers here on DIYP and we’ve heard plenty of great advice from them. At a recent Sony Kando trip, Taylor Jackson met 29 of his (and ours) favorite photographers and YouTubers. In this video, he brought them all together and had each of them share a piece of photography advice. So, he ended up with a valuable collection of tips for both aspiring and experienced photographers.

[Read More…]

The complete guide on photographing in harsh sunlight

by 5 Comments

With a heatwave rolling over America & Europe, photographers are going to be dealing with some pretty direct light. Here are some tips about dealing with harsh shadows and high contrast.

This blog is pretty good timing, as I have just come back from a shoot in the UK. 10 lucky winners in association with Sigma UK and Amateur Photography Magazine, had won the chance to come down to London and photograph two traditional Geisha (Mai Watanabe and Chiyono Watanabe.) I was asked to set up the shoot & help with the lighting as part of the day.

Photographing Geisha’s on a London Rooftop with the direct & bright sun was not ideal. But with some thinking, we worked out a set up that was pretty good. The main objective of the shot was to show the color of the face and keep the flat color tones. I wanted to show the makeup as much as possible. Getting the image as soft as possible while still showing the colors in the silk was another objective. The bright sunlight was very overpowering and creating deep shadows.

[Read More…]

Are these nine photography tips something we should ignore?

by 3 Comments

If you are even remotely interested in photography, I’m sure you’ve heard plenty of tips about how to improve at it. Some of them are truly golden and helpful, but there definitely are some that we should disregard. In this video, James Popsys shares nine of these photography tips he has been given, but which he believes you should ignore. So, have you also been given these tips? And do you follow or ignore them?

[Read More…]

Use these eight tricks to get out of a creative rut in no time

by Leave a Comment

Every once in a while all creatives get stuck in a rut with their work. Photographers and filmmakers are no exception, and I believe we’ve all been there. Overcoming the creative block may seem difficult, even impossible – but it’s not the case. In this great video from This Guy Edits, you’ll see eight fantastic tricks for getting out of the creative rut and getting inspired anew.

[Read More…]

Recent Posts