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How to Photograph in a Crowd

This post is by Simon King from PetaPixel


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Whether it’s a wedding, a festival, or a protest, crowds present photographers with some unique challenges. I’ve spent some time working on figuring out the best ways to handle crowded environments in order to produce images that are consistent with my style, while conveying the energy of the crowd in that moment.

Most of my early photography is very minimalistic, closer to illustration or graphic design than the “decisive moment” based work I am now producing. Crowds were always a difficult place to work as I felt my images ended up cluttered and aimless. However, I really enjoy working in

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How to Get Over Early Hurdles in Film Photography

This post is by Simon King from PetaPixel


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Something about the way photographers acclimatize to shooting with film has intrigued me for some time. I think it’s safe to say that film is very much tried and tested — some of the greatest photography pioneers worked with film and were not limited in their ability to create incredible work, which remains relevant.

Photographers looking to get into film now have the entire history of photography and film photography to work with when making their decisions; what film stock to use, how to expose it, how to develop and print it — and yet somehow there is still a

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3 Ways to Use Plexiglass for Creative Portraits

This post is by Ashley Kocinski from PetaPixel


Click here to view on the original site: Original Post



As a portrait photographer, it can often be difficult to keep thing interesting in the studio. Adding a unique element to your images can help them stand out while also allowing you to have little fun. The unique element that I added for my most recent shoot was just a simple piece of plexiglass. Here are three ways you can use a sheet of plexiglass and some simple household supplies to unleash your inner creative.

#1. Foreground Bokeh

Materials

  • Plexiglass
  • Spray bottle
  • Water
  • Glycerin

This technique is an easy way to create foreground bokeh. First, mount your plexiglass in front

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Shooting Water Droplet Refractions for Magical Macro Photos

This post is by Don Komarechka from PetaPixel


Click here to view on the original site: Original Post



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:

All wildflower seeds with any amount of fluff on them are likely to be

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A Guide to Long Exposure Photography

This post is by Geert Van Look from PetaPixel


Click here to view on the original site: Original Post



In the past few years, long exposure photography has become increasingly popular. Images in which the water seems to turn ethereal, the clouds turn into long, wispy streaks, or the lights from cars turn into long lines have an otherworldly quality that can be incredibly appealing. Since I’ve had a few people ask me how I go about shooting my long exposure images, I decided to write a guide.

What Gear Do You Need?

You obviously need a camera with manual exposure controls and manual focus (metering and autofocus won’t work if you’re using stronger ND filters).

The only other

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Here’s a Lesser-Known Photoshop Trick for Zooming Around Inside Photos

This post is by Michael Zhang from PetaPixel


Click here to view on the original site: Original Post



If you’re zoomed into a photo in Photoshop, popular ways to move around include holding the spacebar (and then clicking and dragging) or clicking inside the Navigator panel. But there’s a lesser-known trick that’s just as handy, and the Photoshop Training Channel explains how it works in this 2-minute video.

Basically, you can easily reposition your view within the photo at the same zoom level without having to move your mouse to the Navigator window. Simply hold the ‘H‘ key and then click and hold your left mouse button. This will cause you to temporarily zoom out and

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How to Clean and Mod the Beam Splitter in a Rangefinder Camera

This post is by Pedro Cardoso from PetaPixel


Click here to view on the original site: Original Post



I recently collaborated with Chris from filmismorefun and made a video about how to clean the beam splitter in your rangefinder camera as well as how to improve the rangefinder patch too. This is an advanced tutorial with great results.

Warning: This type of technique can damage your equipment. Proceed with it at your own risk.

As you can see in the 3-minute video above, it’s a very easy procedure, and although we present the Yashica Electro 35 as an example in the tutorial, I already used the same process on my Canon Canonet QL19 with the same excellent

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Concise Photography Advice for Friends and Family

This post is by Dmitri Popov from PetaPixel


Click here to view on the original site: Original Post



“Do you have any advice on how to take good photos?” Because I don’t make a secret of my interest in photography, it’s not uncommon for people around me to assume that I’m the right person to answer this seemingly innocuous question.

It doesn’t really help when I try to explain embarrassingly that I’m just an amateur and most likely the last person to dispense photography-related morsels of wisdom. So I thought I could just as well distill my meager photography experience into a few simple points I can share with people seeking my advice1.

For most people,

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How to Shoot Pro Portraits on a Budget with Just One Flash

This post is by Michael Zhang from PetaPixel


Click here to view on the original site: Original Post



Shooting professional-quality portraits with artificial lighting doesn’t have to weigh heavily on your bank account. Here’s a 22-minute video in which photographer Sean Tucker shares how to shoot great portraits using a single speedlight and a cheap modifier.

“You can absolutely be a natural-light-only photographer and that can be a legitimate creative choice — I know a lot of great natural light photographers,” Tucker says. “But I also there are a lot of photographers out there declaring themselves natural-light-only photographers, and it’s more because of a fear of ever wanting to touch strobes.

“Hopefully when I show you how simple

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How to Shoot Pro Portraits on a Budget with Just One Flash

This post is by Michael Zhang from PetaPixel


Click here to view on the original site: Original Post



Shooting professional-quality portraits with artificial lighting doesn’t have to weigh heavily on your bank account. Here’s a 22-minute video in which photographer Sean Tucker shares how to shoot great portraits using a single speedlight and a cheap modifier.

“You can absolutely be a natural-light-only photographer and that can be a legitimate creative choice — I know a lot of great natural light photographers,” Tucker says. “But I also there are a lot of photographers out there declaring themselves natural-light-only photographers, and it’s more because of a fear of ever wanting to touch strobes.

“Hopefully when I show you how simple

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Wide Angle Lens Fundamentals: The Good and The Bad

This post is by Spencer Cox from PetaPixel


Click here to view on the original site: Original Post



Wide angle lenses aren’t as easy to use as a lot of photographers think. They shrink the background and give the foreground strange proportions. They include all sorts of distractions from the scene in front of you, plus a lot of negative space. And yet… used right, wide angle lenses are incredible tools. This 7.5-minute video and article explain the ins and outs of using your wide angle for maximum effect.

Negative Space

One of the most important things about wide angle lenses is their potential for extreme negative space in your photo.

The sky, fields, oceans, and so

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How to Make a DIY Prism Lens Filter for Less Than $20

This post is by Michael Zhang from PetaPixel


Click here to view on the original site: Original Post



PrismLensFX unveiled a set of Variable Prism Filters back in March that lets photographers achieve prism effects using specially-designed lens filters. Upon seeing the prism filters, landscape photographer Christian Mögnum Möhrle decided to try his hand at making his own do-it-yourself version.

PrismLensFX’s Prism filter is a clear glass filter that features prism shards on the front for “stunning” flare and bokeh.

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Shooting Double-Exposure Photos with a Tilt-Shift Lens

This post is by Michael Zhang from PetaPixel


Click here to view on the original site: Original Post



Photographer Eric Floberg made this 10-minute video showing how he creates in-camera double-exposure photos using a tilt-shift lens, a technique he calls his “creative bread and butter.”

“A lot of people do double exposures with a typical lens, but I like doing it with a tilt-shift lens because it kind of distorts reality,” Floberg says.

Here are some photos he has captured using a double-exposure and tilt-shift combination:

You can find more of Floberg’s work on his website and YouTube channel.

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How to Shoot Light, Airy, High-Key, Minimalist Newborn Photos

This post is by Randy Klein from PetaPixel


Click here to view on the original site: Original Post



That title is a mouthful, but I didn’t know how to better describe the style. Over the years, I’ve been refining and perfecting my newborn photo technique to get the specific light and airy high-key look I want. While every home I visit is different, and some are more challenging than others, these strategies have given me the best and most consistent results.

Note: It’s important to know that I specialize in in-home lifestyle newborn photography, so my technique below is specific to that.

Declutter

While this might seem obvious, it’s easy to skip the step because you are

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Lightroom CC Gets Built-In Interactive Tutorials and Defringe

This post is by Michael Zhang from PetaPixel


Click here to view on the original site: Original Post



Adobe has announced the May 2019 release of Lightroom CC, and two of the more notable additions to the app are built-in interactive tutorials and a new Defringe tool.

Tutorials

Lightroom CC for iOS and Android (and soon the desktop app on Mac and Windows) has new interactive tutorials that provide instruction direction from inside the app. And photos that are used in the tutorial are available for you to edit as you learn techniques hands-on, step-by-step.

In other words, you can do the same edits and use the same tools as the instructors as you’re going through the tutorial.

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How to Pose Men Who Are Not Models

This post is by Michael Zhang from PetaPixel


Click here to view on the original site: Original Post



Australian fashion, portrait, and lifestyle photographer Julia Trotti made this helpful 11.5-minute video that provides tips and tricks for photographing men who don’t have any experience with posing and modeling.

One example pose covered by Trotti is having her subject lean against a wall in various ways.

“Sometimes when taking standing photos of males, photos can look a little too straight and kind of square,” Trotti says. Leaning up against walls “can cause a really nice shape to the body that’s not quite straight.”

“These posing tips are great for general portrait sessions, groom portraits at a wedding,

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How to Pose Men Who Are Not Models

This post is by Michael Zhang from PetaPixel


Click here to view on the original site: Original Post



Australian fashion, portrait, and lifestyle photographer Julia Trotti made this helpful 11.5-minute video that provides tips and tricks for photographing men who don’t have any experience with posing and modeling.

One example pose covered by Trotti is having her subject lean against a wall in various ways.

“Sometimes when taking standing photos of males, photos can look a little too straight and kind of square,” Trotti says. Leaning up against walls “can cause a really nice shape to the body that’s not quite straight.”

“These posing tips are great for general portrait sessions, groom portraits at a wedding,

Continue reading “How to Pose Men Who Are Not Models”

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7 More Composition Tips to Improve Your Landscape Photos

This post is by Nigel Danson from PetaPixel


Click here to view on the original site: Original Post



Composition is so important in creating an image and it’s a cornerstone of the four key elements that make up a photo: subject, light, timing, and composition. However, one of the hardest things to learn in landscape photography is seeing that image and putting the elements together in the most pleasing arrangement.

I am always looking at ways to more easily see photos and improve my photography. Above is a followup to my popular video last year on composition. In this new video, I share 7 more tips that can be used when you are next out in the field.

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How to Search Multiple Lightroom Catalogs at Once with SQL Tools

This post is by André Costa from PetaPixel


Click here to view on the original site: Original Post



It is a well-known fact that Lightroom catalogs are nothing more than SQLite files. In this article, we’ll take a look at how to search multiple LR catalogs at once.

Catalog Management Conundrum

Ever since I first started using Lightroom quite a few years ago, I’ve pondered on how to organize my catalogs. Should I set up multiple catalogs? Multiple folders inside the same catalog? How should I structure the folders? In the beginning, I made the decision to keep everything inside the same catalog and create separate folders for years, and within each year, folders for each month with

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