A cheap, vintage-looking lens that you can make at home sounds too good to be true, right? Thankfully, for us, a new camera lens is just a few easy steps away.
Having been a freelancer for the majority of my professional life, there is rarely one part of my operation where I am not bootstrapped for cash. Yet, it’s been the most beneficial because it shows the power of creativity no matter how cruel the rig. In the end, the shot does the talking.
Have you been wanting to achieve that trendy dreamy look in your photos and videos but hesitant to spend money on the filters to do so? This quick tutorial just might help you be able to try it out.
A $150 DIY camera that is capable of capturing 489-megapixel images sounds too good to be true, right? Let's take a look at how this thing is built and the pictures you can expect to get from it.
Light leaks in your camera can spoil the pictures you make. For just a few dollars and a little bit of time, you can easily replace the seals yourself at home.
The past few years, Venus Optics has been making great strides in affordable, niche lenses. In this video, photographer Markus Hofstätter shares his experience with the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro lens.
Thanks to the popularity of mini touchscreen monitors, these little screens are more available and affordable than ever. For this reason, now might be a good time for photographers to add one to their existing setup.
Optical snoots are great ways to get creative images with crisp edges, but you are limited by the horrible gobo collections. Here's how I found a way to make your own for about $11.
Having seen many beautiful images of newborns in the past, when I recently became a father for the first time I was keen to get some images of my newborn daughter. Unfortunately, the photographers I wanted to use had no availability, so I thought I'd try it myself. It was an interesting experience.
One of the most difficult aspects of wildlife and bird photography is finding your subjects and having the patience to wait for them to come into position in frame. So, what if you could make your own spot that you knew would attract wildlife? This photographer and filmmaker designed and built his own pond for bird and wildlife photography, and this awesome video shows the location and the beautiful footage he gets there.
Thinking outside of the box can often result in interesting creations being made. Here's what happens when you repurpose an old iPhone for a glitchy photoshoot.
Photography can be an expensive pursuit, with cameras, lenses, and lights setting you back thousands and thousands of dollars. While that is true, the operative part is "can be". There are lots of ways to create amazing images on a modest budget.
Creating an eye-catching and successful food photo is about more than simply lighting and arranging the food in a compelling way; you need to be able to create a set that complements the food and enhances the overall mood of the image. This helpful video tutorial features an experienced food photographer discussing some ways you can go about doing that.
If you already own an interchangeable lens camera, you can make a pinhole lens in five minutes.
Custom-made, hand-painted backdrops were all the rage a few years back. I personally could never justify the price of one, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t wanted to try it out.
Over the last three years, I have built out four new photography studios, and each time, I find better and better ways to streamline my spaces. In this video, I want to share with you one of the coolest ways to mount your seamless paper or Gravity backdrops.
There are a couple of things you can do to get sharper photos with your long lens. But what if we want to go even further? This lens hack might be a bit crazy, but it is the best I have ever seen because it really works, and it is feasible on location. Find out how to get sharper telephoto shots.
With every camera comes a nice strap, often mentioning the name of the brand. Although the strap works nicely, there are much better solutions. In the last decade, I have found a solution that suits my own needs. Since I often get questions about it, I decided to write an article about it.
Once in a while, a creation comes along that is equal parts crazy and genius. While some of you may laugh at the idea of a portable Mac Mini, I think many photographers could really benefit from owning one.
Let's face it: as photographers, we are crazy about saving our files. I have terabytes of images and videos spanning multiple hard drives in different arrays in my studio, and it drives me nuts that it's in disarray. Maybe you’re in the same boat, looking for a better way to safely store all your important images in one place.
What essential tools have you always wanted to mount onto your camera setup?
One thing we sometimes forget in the process of trying to improve our photos is the impact a simple prop can have, especially when you are trying to break through a creative block. If you want an affordable but effective way to invigorate your creative process and add more visual interest to your images, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you 16 simple prop ideas, all for under $50.
Are you a fan of the 4:3 aspect ratio? There's definitely something nostalgic about the nearly square framing that instantly transports me back to my childhood in the late 1980s. Aside from that, I’m overjoyed that it’s no longer in widespread use.
The arsenal of equipment modern-day photographers and videographers have is large, with gadgets left and right. This does create some difficulties, however, and one irritant is the need to charge everything pre-shoot. Here is how to build a DIY charging station.
Adapting lenses to different camera mounts isn't something that is new to photographers. This photographer shares some specific DIY steps to adapt cheap projector lenses to a mirrorless camera. The result? Beautiful f/1.2 swirly, bokeh-filled images.
One of the hardest parts of wildlife and bird photography is simply finding and waiting for your subjects. This wildlife photographer made a way for them to come to him, however, by designing and digging his own pond for bird photography, and this neat series of videos show the ideas that went into the design, the construction process, and the impressive results that came from the project.
How can you turn a corner of your home into a pleasant video background? Here are the basics of creating a better background and lighting setup for your videos, vlogs, and calls.
This affordable DIY rig is perfect for sweeping food or product videography and while nothing can quite replicate the probe lens, this is a good alternative and arguably more widely usable.
You don't have to spend a fortune to have great-looking lighting in your images and videos, you just need to know what sort of light you want and how to create it. In this video, learn how to put together a DIY overhead light, perfect for dramatic scenes.
The additional steps and costs involved with shooting on film often put many photographers off. What if you could have the best of both worlds and use digital in your older film cameras?
If you want to buy some items for your photography, prices are often high. It feels like the manufacturer has increased the price just because it is for photography. Sometimes, it is possible to make that item yourself. But is the DIY solution just as good?
Look at any photography discussion board or Facebook page, and you’ll quickly run into members obsessed with bokeh, or the quality of out-of-focus elements in a photograph. If you are in the bokeh-obsessed stage of photography, then large format wet plate photography is absolutely for you.
Is having old or entry-level gear a limitation to taking good quality images? Just how good can you make portraits with basic gear and what does it prohibit?
Food and product photography backgrounds can be incredibly difficult to come by in certain parts of the world. There are lots of tutorials out there about how to create your own textured backgrounds and wood backgrounds. But vinyl backgrounds are the bomb when it comes to portability and saving space. Creating them isn’t too difficult either.
A photographer has built his own DIY ultra-large format digital camera from scratch. The rig uses a 600mm f/9 lens and has a projection area of one meter, making for some crazy images.
Hand-painted canvas backdrops are a thing of beauty, it is another form of art in itself. With that, there are many canvas backdrops out there that are not very budget-friendly. If you have the time and space, here's how you can make your own.
A great way to add variety to the poses during a session is to add a prop. Having an assortment of props can be very beneficial, and some good ones to have are apple boxes. They seem to be a very popular choice in portraits, especially more editorial-styled ones. These are a must-have for any photography studio, at least in my opinion.
With the rise in photographers choosing film over digital, large format film cameras are becoming more sought after. But can this look be recreated with a digital camera? Here’s how one photographer did it.
Without a power supply, most modern-day photographers will run into problems pretty quickly. If you regularly shoot on location or find yourself off-grid for long periods, this video is for you.
Cyanotypes are a type of printmaking process invented in the 1800s by Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet KH FRS. What a name!
Thrift stores aside, this is probably the cheapest way to dip a toe into the world of film photography: a build-your-own camera for $35. What could possibly go wrong?
Marc Klaus is one artist who has a voice uniquely his own. He has used visuals and storytelling to create a meta-narrative; the video has no words but acts as a deeply insightful look into Klaus's process through clever camera work, in-camera collage, and performance art.
Photography can sometimes become a bit of a gear measuring contest. Who’s got the biggest lens? Which body has the most megapixels?
The show Stranger Things created a stunning way of representing the inner mind of the character Eleven, showing her in an endless black void and standing upon a reflective layer of water. How is this achieved, and how do you avoid electrocuting your cast in the process?
Clean up clutter backdrops in macro photographs by recycling the trash into a beautiful close-up DIY backdrop.
Are we sometimes a little too obsessed with the quality of bokeh in our photography? Yes. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't have a little fun with it.
There are lots of great options from pre-made to digitally printed backdrops available, but a lot of them are not cheap, and if you want to have a wide variety, it adds up quickly. That is why I supplement my collection with my own homemade DIY backdrops.
Can't afford those beautiful but expensive textured backdrops for your food and beverage photography or maybe you just like the idea of making your own unique version? Check out this video for a fun and affordable way to create your own.
Sometimes you need to ensure that you set your shots apart from the norm, which is easier said than done. Well, this is one example that really achieved what it set out to do!
