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Here are Five product photography tips and tricks to get those creative juices flowing

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Product photography is a lot of fun to experiment with, even if you’re not a product photographer. It can teach us things about composition, light and how different surfaces react to that light which we might not otherwise have discovered. But once you’ve gone past the basics, how do you push yourself to go that bit further?

In this video, the folks at COOPH offer up five great tips for creative product photography that you might not have thought of. Some will challenge your technical abilities while others are just to get those inspirational juices flowing.

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This is what a gaffer does and why you need one on a film set

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Gaffer is one of those titles that unless you actually become part of the photo or film industry, you’re not really sure what it is. It’s just one of those jobs that scrolls up the titles at the end of a movie along with countless others. But they play a vital role on a film set. They’re the guys who make the light look the way the director or DP wants it while still making it look natural.

In this video from Vanity Fair, gaffer Andy Day, who’s worked on movies such as Creed II, The Bourne Legacy and Salt, shows us what happens when you shoot a scene without having a gaffer on set. And while the video is geared specifically towards the movies, the same holds true of photography.

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Medium format Kodak Ektachrome 120 rolls to start trials next month

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Introduced last year, Kodak Ektachrome 35mm is based on the old Kodak Ektachrome E100G E6 slide film that was made up until 2012. A lot of people were eager to check out the newly produced rolls, and when it was announced at the beginning of this year that it would be coming in 120 roll medium format, as well, a lot of people got very excited.

Now, Kodak has posted a status update via Instagram saying that they will be running a “coating trial” of the medium format version in “late July”.

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The North Face called out over “unethical” product photo placement on Wikipedia

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Brands want to be seen by as many people as possible. They’re businesses. They need to make money. It’s their only reason for existing. But there are right ways to get your products out there and there are definitely wrong ways.

Outdoor clothing company, The North Face recently hired ad agency Leo Burnett Tailor Made for a campaign which manipulated Wikipedia content to put The North Face products in photos that illustrate the content on the site. They even showed off how and why they did it in a video.

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How to efficiently swap lenses on location to keep your sensor clean

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Even if we’re out shooting with multiple bodies, most of us will find ourselves having to change out a lens on location at some point. Changing lenses seems like such a simple thing, but are you doing it in the best way possible for your camera’s sensor?

Many people will just pull the lens off, put it in the bag, and then grab the lens they want to use and put it on the camera. But out on location, especially in bad weather, this can cause a lot of dust and crap to get on your sensor. In this video, Michael Brietung shows his efficient method for swapping lenses on location to minimise this risk.

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How to make real beams of light stream through your shot with flash

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If there’s one thing in photography that never gets old, it’s light beams. Especially for interiors. You have the sun streaming through a window, lighting up the haze in the atmosphere and you get that nice beam of light that just seems to wrap everything in its warmth. But they’re difficult, if not impossible, to predict. In this video, Gavin Hoey shows us how we can make our own, any time we like, using flash.

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Lithophanes – How to 3D print your photographs

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When I was first told “Hey, you should 3D print some of your photos” a couple of years, I thought they were mad. 3D print a photo? Then I did a little digging and found out that you can actually 3D print photographs. Sort of.

They’re called lithophanes, a pretty old technique that’s been around since the early 1800s. Of course, they didn’t have 3D printers back then, they made them out of porcelain. These days, though, we do, which makes them much easier to create. So, I finally got around to making some.

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“Old photos are not worth anything”

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Dear writer of the Forbes Magazine article, “Your Top 10 Objects Your Kids Don’t Want,”

I just read your article. In it, you outline the objects in your home that you feel one’s children will not want passed on to them. You state the list was inspired by conversations with your 30-year old son and boomer clients and their millennial heirs. I must admit, I was a little dubious going in, as I know that millennials, for all their love of tiny homes and Marie Kondo lifestyles, are also responsible for the resurgence of vinyl records and shooting with film cameras. Pretty sure Leica gives a beanie away with every camera purchase. If they don’t, they should.

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What happens when photography gives you anxiety?

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If you suffer from anxiety, making art is one of the things that help to keep it under control. Many photographers use this medium to beat anxiety, and I am one of them. But, what happens when photography doesn’t reduce your anxiety, but triggers it instead? Manny Ortiz has this issue, despite being a professional photographer for years. He shares his experience in this video, so if you have the same problem, this is something you’ll want to watch.

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