Your Camera’s Autofocus is Fine; You’re Just Not Doing This

Moderns cameras have better autofocus than anything that has ever been put forward. 

I’m positive that every photographer has experienced it: you get a new camera and the autofocus system is so incredibly blazing quick. But with time, it starts to not seem so and that shiny new camera looks so much nicer. But the truth is that you’re probably not doing the right maintenance to your camera to ensure that you can keep it up. Seriously, how many of you actually actively maintain your cameras? How many of you have cleaned your sensors? And how many of you have ensured that the autofocus communication is up to par?

I thought so…

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Question: Why Are There Light Leaks on My CineStill Film?

A founder of CineStill weighs in on what’s caused Light Leaks on their film

Tons of photographers absolutely adore CineStill’s films. They give you a look that you simply can’t get at all in digital due to how they’re treated and developed. But one of the biggest problems that has been consistent with CineStill film though is the light leaks that they can give off. And in most cases, one of two things tend to happen.

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Here’s a Creative Way to Think About How Lens Apertures Physically Work

Photographer Nick de Bruijn came up with this really fun way to explain lens apertures to a friend.

When we think about all of the visual graphs in regards to how lens apertures work, there are literal drawings of them. But photographer Nick de Bruijn came up with a special way of explaining how they work simply by using and carefully arranging the lenses themselves. As you can in the image above, the lenses are arranged from top to bottom from 1.2 to f3.5. The way that one is supposed to think about this is the largest aperture is on top (and therefore less closed down) and then smallest is on the bottom. Of course, that all depends on the maximum aperture of the lens–but if you think about the size of this all being in regards to a single lens, then you’ll see how genius this all is.

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A Beginner’s Guide to Astrophotography and The Gear Needed to Succeed

astrophotography

Astrophotography is one of the most rewarding genres of photography, and it’s really not as difficult as you might think.

When we think about astrophotography, we often think about creating a sense of wanderlust and awe that we’re all experiencing when we see the photos. I mean, have you ever wanted to be able to capture stunning pictures of the night sky but weren’t really sure what you needed to do, and didn’t really know what equipment you would need? If so this beginner’s guide to astrophotography is for you. In this guide we will take a look at the basics of astrophotography and will cover things such as camera settings, the 500 rule, how to stack images, and we will take a look at the gear you’ll need to create out of this world Milky Way and night sky images.

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Understand the Basics of Camera Settings With This In-Depth Tutorial

Break away from your camera’s auto mode and learn the basics of manual camera settings to get total control of your photos.

So, you’ve decided to move on from your smartphone camera and get a DSLR or mirrorless camera so you can practice photography more seriously. After figuring out your camera’s controls, you can either start shooting right away on Program or Auto mode, or get full control over how your photos will turn out by learning how to set the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. If the second option sounds interesting to you, we have just the right tutorial to help you get started.

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Learn How to Shoot Stunning Milky Way Photos in Five Minutes

Eager to learn how to shoot breathtaking Milky Way photos? All you need is roughly five minutes of full attention and this basic video tutorial.

If you’re looking for a quick and simple astrophotography tutorial for shooting the Milky Way, then we have just the right stuff for you. In his very basic video tutorial, Mike Perea gives a rundown of all the stuff you need to know to get that beautiful band of stars in your night photos. Whether you don’t have a lot of time to watch lengthy astrophotography tutorials or are looking for a simple one that works, this is definitely one to keep in your bookmarks for future reference.

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When it Comes to Lens Cleaning Don’t Even Think About Using Your Shirt

When it comes to lens cleaning you really want to make sure you use the proper tools for the job.

You’re out on a shoot, you accidentally touch the front element of your lens so you take a closer look. You see that there’s dust and some small, weird dead bug on there too; what do you do? The one action many of us would probably take is wiping the glass with the T-shirt or clothing we’re wearing. It’s quick, gets the job done, and you can go on about your way, but is it really safe? Join us after the break to find out. Continue reading…

How to Not Let Shyness Get in the Way of Your Street Photography

Don’t let shyness keep you from doing street photography and shooting the photos you want.

Street photography is certainly one of the more challenging genres to get into, primarily because you need to adapt a certain mindset for it. Apart from that, you also need to get over your shyness (not introversion, as is the common misconception). You don’t want to miss those precious shots showing a vibrant slice of life in your city. If you think you’re too shy for street photography, Danish photographer Frederik Trovatten believes you’re not — and no one is. He explains this thoughtfully in a quick video.

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Film vs Digital: Can You Guess Which was Shot on Which?

Let’s see if your eyes have been trained to spot which shot was made on film as opposed to that of a mirrorless camera.

Yes, we hear you. We have yet another film vs. digital post, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun with it. When commercial lifestyle photographer Steve Johnston shared this video with us, we found that he’s actually encouraging viewers to play a little game with him: which was was shot in film and which was shot with a mirrorless camera? Let’s find out.

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The Biggest Test of Any Photographer is Picking Their Best Images

Once someone told me that to present yourself as a good photographer, you have to be a great picture editor.

I wish I could tell you a deep anecdote about this person but I can’t remember who it was. What I remember well are the importance of those words especially when building and updating my portfolio. I’ve just gone through the long and painful process of updating my website. It’s a task I tend to do twice a year but the new year is when I do a massive clean-up refresh of all the content in it. Here’s when being a great picture editor comes into practice as I go through most of the final edits I’ve delivered during the past year.

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How to Edit Underexposed Natural Light Portraits on Lightroom and Photoshop

If you’re shooting a lot of natural light portraits, you might want to get some editing tips from this workflow tutorial if you like underexposing to retain details.

Whether you’re shooting more natural light portraits by choice or because of equipment constraints, it’s worth learning how to edit your photos from a variety of shooting conditions. Today, we’ve got a workflow video tutorial for you in case you often underexpose your photos to get more detail out of the scene or background.

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Cheap Lighting Options to Develop Your Portrait Photography Style

Still getting the hang of lighting for your portrait photography? Here are some lighting options that don’t break the bank.

We’ve said it time and time again — working with light is one of the first things you have to learn as a photographer, especially when it comes to shooting portraits. Since we can’t stress it enough, we bring you yet another video tutorial with some helpful suggestions for cheap lighting options that you can practice with. Learning how to light your portrait photography projects also often means working with different kinds of lighting in the studio. We understand if you’re still totally new to it and still aren’t comfortable using (or investing in) pro studio lights. In the meantime, you can practice with some cheaper alternatives.

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Cool Photography Tip: Shoot Levitation Photography With This Easy Trick!

Ever wondered how those cool snaps of floating objects were made? We have the answer in this easy levitation photography tip — and it’s probably something you weren’t expecting.

Looking for more novel ways and concepts to make your photography interesting? We got you covered with a neat and easy photography tip. Today, it’s about how to achieve those cool photos of objects seemingly floating. Whether it’s for a unique product shot or a magical concept shoot, we’re sure you’ll find some use for this quick levitation photography trick!

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Portrait Photographers: Here’s an Easy Trick for Posing ANYONE

Still getting the hang of posing your subjects and getting the expressions you want? Here’s a neat trick for you to try when you go shoot portraits today!

Great portraits aren’t just technically sound, but also highlight the most interesting details and personality of the subject. This is why much of it depends on the poses and expressions which in turn depends mostly on you as a photographer. Not everyone can strike a pose like a professional model, but you can certainly get ANYONE to pose for a striking portrait. All you need is this easy trick.

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Editors Explain How to Pitch Your Photography Project to a Publication

For the photographer looking for exposure with their photography project, here are some tips on how to get the attention of editors.

For every photographer, there is a clear designation between paid, commissioned work and work that you need to do for exposure of some sort. If you’re looking to get the word out about a new project or yourself, it’s often a great idea to allow publications to feature you. Ethically speaking, it’s often a bad idea to pitch yourself and then demand payment simply because a story is about you and there is a practice in journalistic integrity to not pay for information. If your images are part of a great piece though, then it makes a whole lot of sense to ask for a licensing fee. With that out of the way, I highly suggest that any time that you have some sort of new project done and ready to use not only the power of social media and email to get the word out, but also publications. Gatekeepers often look at publications to help them find new talent and your work could be right on that list.

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The Noob Photographer’s Introduction to HSL Adjustments

Working with the HSL panel to edit your images is the best way to go about it.

RAW photo editing gives you near limitless possibilities to fine-tune the White Balance, Exposure, HSL (Hue, Saturation, and Lightness/Luminance), as well as a myriad of other values, allowing you to create a final image that matches your unique aesthetic and vision. Most photographers begin by working with just the basic adjustments panel. But in recent years, photographers have been working with the other options that are afforded to them. Ever seen an image that looks like it’s duotone? Well, chances are that the HSL panel helps that happen in some way or another when combined with other tweaks.

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Everything You Need to Know About Smoke Bomb Photography

This is a syndicated blog post from Format magazine. A number of the Phoblographer’s staffers prefer them over others for website building.

Smoke bombs can be a great way to add a blast of color to your next photoshoot. Here are some tips on how to get the most out of your smoke bomb photography.

Smoke bomb photography has exploded in popularity lately. In fact, smoke photography has become so trendy that even wedding photographers are using smoke bombs as a way to spice up their wedding photos.

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A Warming Lens Filter vs a Warm Filter in Photoshop – Which is Better?

A lens filter can help you get images right in camera, but do they work as well as Photoshop filters?

There’s no doubt about the fact that programs like Lightroom, Capture One, and Photoshop have changed the photography world, but are the changes always for the better? The guys over at NegativeFeedback recently started applying a warming filter to their images in Photoshop, and for the most part the effect was liked. After thinking about things, and after doing a little research, a decision was made to buy a warming lens filter to see if the effect from the analog filter would be better than its digital counterpart. Continue reading…

What Do the Markings on Your SD Cards Mean? Let’s Figure This Out.

Those numbers and markings on your SD cards are actually pretty important.

SD cards have really revolutionized the world of photography. Thanks to their small size, and their ever expanding capacities, these little marvels enable us to shoot for hours on end. Once were done shooting they allow us quick, easy access to the hundreds, and sometimes thousands of images that are stored on them without any fuss. However it’s important to know that not all SD cards are created equal. Do you know how to pick the right SD cards for the job at hand? Continue reading…

Things to Keep in Mind When Shooting with Expired Film

Expired film is still workable as long as you know how to work with it and have an idea what to expect with the results. 

They probably don’t know it, but the retro, dreamy look that a lot of people associate with film photography is usually caused by expired film. You can call some of the results as happy accidents, but that doesn’t change the fact that expired film is tricky to shoot with. If you’re drawn to film photography because of this look, we suggest watching this video before you start hoarding expired film.

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Up Your Portrait Game with These Basic Portrait Lighting Techniques

Lighting techniques

Learn how to master basic lighting techniques to really take your portraits to the next level.

Adding artificial lighting into your portrait workflow can really make your images stand out from the crowd. There are many photographers out there who are scared to use speed lights, strobes, and monolights, but there really is no need to feel overwhelmed. After the break we’ll share a video with you from Run N Gun that shows just how simple it can be to add lighting into your portrait photography with simple, easy to use lighting techniques. Continue reading…