Photography Tutorials — Tips and Tricks

Imagine having a vivid dream where you’re floating in a sea of vibrant colors. Now imagine the Herculean task of capturing that dream within the frame of a real-world photograph. When Samsung asked photographer Chase Jarvis to put their Series 9 monitors to the ultimate color calibration test, he had just the image in mind:

Aerial photographs offer a rogue view of the world that we don’t often see. You could get fine aerial shots by using a ladder, bedroom window or riding in a hot air-balloon. But for Jason Hawkes, noted Aerial Photographer, the only way to go is in a helicopter:

Looking for something fresh and new in photography? Well look no further than Eric Paré’s latest art photography experiment, LightSpin. This project combines the bullet time photography technique with light painting and contemporary dance.

There aren’t many things that Nature can cook up that will deter the determination and daring of human beings, but volcanoes certainly come close. Not often do we see close-ups of liquid red rock bubbling through the planet’s fractured surface, but that is exactly what landscape photographer Miles Morgan has created.

Hand-held light meters may seem like old technology compared to our modern-day DSLRs, but they are still widely used by many photographers and most cinematographers. Light meters give an accurate reading of the surrounding light so that you can properly exposure your scene.

Hadouken photography is a case of life imitating art – it’s named after the “Street Fighter” video game series and aims to portray larger-than-life battling with a virtual aesthetic. Hadouken photography is shot using the levitation technique.

You see them everywhere: flowers in full bloom. They are colorful and so easy to photograph. You can use them as art prints, backgrounds for images, Facebook cover images, or just for the joy of capturing the beauty of a flower. There are some tricks that can elevate your images beyond snapshot level, into images that really express a flower’s magic.

When shooting without flash, you try to use the light in your environment that works best. When shooting with flash, you often shoot inside and focus on altering the lights pointed at your subject. But often we forget that you can use the environment to help create a natural look with artificial light.

Are you happy with the photographs you took last time you went to your favorite zoo? Photographing animals at the zoo affords the photographer many unique experiences to get up close and personal with a variety of animals, but, as with any type of photography, it’s not as easy as just aiming your camera and shooting.

Food photography is a growing area of interest among photographers and as a result more and more information is popping up on how to go about doing it correctly. In the two part series below, David Loftus shares a few tips on lighting for food photography, including a couple low cost alternatives to expensive light modifiers.