Being a light source themselves, as well as far away, and sometimes even moving, and only visible at night on top of all that... well, it's understandable why some digital photographers are intimidated at the thought of taking pictures of stars or meteor showers. However, this tutorial shows you some useful techniques to capture the night sky in brilliant detail.
There are four variables a digital photographer must keep in mind when shooting pictures to ensure correct exposure: ambient light, shutter speed, f-stop and ISO. Also, keep all your images crisp and sharp, even if you're shooting in a low-light setting.
There's a technique available for digital SLR cameras that most amateur photographers do not know about, or do not use correctly, and that's using a simple telephoto lens (long lens) to create blurry background, great portraits or awesome up-close macro shots. Without the telephoto lens, you lose a lot of the emphasis on your subject, because the background blends in, whereas telephoto lenses help create a degree of depth, blurring out the background, giving concentration on the foreground. I...
In this video, photographer Mark Wallace shows you how to set up metering and organize your light ratios when taking digital photographs. Mark will give you very detailed instructions on how to set up your lighting, set and subject to ensure you get the clearest photos.
A long exposure setting can create some interesting effects, especially when you're photographing a moving light source at night. This tutorial shows you how to set up your camera and maximize your surroundings so you can take the absolute best and most dramatic photographs possible.
You can replicate the effect of the hand-tinted photographs of the 1920s and 1930s within Photoshop. Start with a grayscale black and white picture, and then use the techniques outlined in this tutorial to get your own hand-colored effect for your digital images.
Timelapse photography is possible with a huge variety of cameras, especially if you're willing to teather them, hook them up to a computer. Connectors, pclix, shutter times, and all sorts of plug-ins will make timelapse pictures relatively simple. Watch this video photography tutorial and learn how to take quality timelapse pictures with you digital SLR camera.
How to take pictures with your digital camera of lightning. What settings must be used on your camera to avoid noise. Also if you have noisy long exposures how to remove the junk in Photoshop.
Meet Aperture 3.1.1, Apple's powerful photo post-production tool with the Amazing Shrinking Price Tag. First released in 2005 for $500, Aperture is now available in the Mac App Store for a measly $79.99—a price reduction of 83.67%! That means a lot of new buyers and, as a result, a lot of new users.
Accidentally stick a time stamp on an image file? Get rid of it with Photoshop's touch-up tools. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular image editing software or simply looking to pick up a few new tips and tricks, you're sure to benefit from this free video tutorial from Tutvid. For more information, and to learn how to get rid of digital photo time stamps yourself, watch this digital photographer's guide.
Get a unique angle and perspective for your digital shots by using a chesty mount. Just like how it sounds, a chesty mount is a setup which will allow a photographer to strap a GoPro digital camera to their chest, and this video shows you how to use it.
For some digital photographers, there is a noted compatibility issue when trying to use a lens which lacks a built-in or internal auto focusing motor. This tutorial shows you a few easy fixes you can use to alleviate this probem for your onw DSLR.
Old camera equipment like flashes and lenses are often praised by modern photographers, but getting them integrated into new digital photography setups can be a challenge. This video will show you some tips for using old flashes with new digital cameras, including a great trick for making your digital camera recognize the flash by covering one specific contact. Don't get a new flash, use an old one with the skills you learn in this video.
Want to take your digital pictures to the next level? This tutorial demonstrates how to use Photoshop's various touch-up tools to do just that. Whether you're new to Adobe's popular image editing software or simply looking to pick up a few new tips and tricks, you're sure to benefit from this free video tutorial. For more information, including step-by-step instructions on how to retouch your own digital photographs for professional-quality images, watch this digital photographer's guide.
A DSLR cage from a professional photographer supply store will cost at least a few hundred dollars, but you can build one yourself for around 50 bucks. This tutorial shows you how to use a few pipes, metal struts and a few pieces of hardware and tools to make your own digital SLR cage for shooting steady videos on your digital camera.
We have no doubt that famed photographer Annie Leibovitz takes perfect photos right at the photo shoot that require minimal retouching. But for the rest of us, as it is for most photographers, the photo editing process is just as important as the photo taking process, if not more important.
Fireworks are beautiful, but they can be extremely difficult to capture on digital cameras. This tutorial for digital photographers shows you how to optimize your DSLR camera's settings and use just the right techniques so you can get the most out of your next fireworks shoot.
A video from Graham River Productions, presented by Shannon Smith, explains how to interpret Histograms on modern Digital Cameras. Just because a captured image looks nice on the camera screen does not mean that it is really good. One of the better checks for quality of a photograph is the histogram display that is available on many modern cameras. Histograms accurately tell whether the full potential of the the camera's optical sensor has been utilized or not; and are the tools of choice for...
Whether you're new to Adobe Photoshop or a seasoned digital photographer after a general overview of CS5's most vital new features, you're sure to be well served by this official video tutorial from the folks at Adobe TV. New Photoshop CS5 helps you achieve the visual and emotional effects you’re after with re-engineered features for reducing and adding grain, performing post-crop vignetting, and sharpening. CS5 reinvents HDR imaging with Exposure Merge, which makes it easy to preserve the fu...
It doesn't matter how great a photographer if you don't have the right tools. Even Annie Liebvitz would get only average shots with a lower grade digital camera because it's very limited in terms of settings that you can control.
It's true that a high quality digital SLR can take pictures 1000X better than any digital camera can without any previous experience from the photographer, but by understanding some digital SLR camera basics you can improve the quality of your photos greatly, and even take professional-looking ones.
Now that you've got your Nikon SB-900 professional-grade speedlight, make sure that you get the most out of it with this free photographer's guide, which will walk you through the flash unit's basic features and functionalities.
Red eye can be a pervasive and annoying problem for photographers. You can edit it out during retouching, but it's always better to not need it. You can use the red eye reducer on your camera if it has that function, but here are some other tips to reduce red eye when shooting pictures at night.
Timelapse photography needn't be complicated, for advanced photographers only. This video photography tutorial helps explain how to take a timelapse picture, even if you're a complete beginner. Learn the process of taking a timelapse photo with a web, video, and digital camera. Watch, learn, and start practicing your shutter skills.
This video tutorial takes front and side reference images in Adobe Photoshop and prepares them for use as reference plates in your 3D modeling package of choice, like Autodesk's 3D Studio Max. Distortions introduced by the lens, camera, and photographer are removed and key features are lined up for easy digital modeling in 3ds Max 8.
Pixel Perfect is the "perfect" show to help you with your Photoshop skills. Be amazed and learn as master digital artist Bert Monroy takes a stylus and a digital pad and treats it as Monet and Picasso do with oil and canvas. Learn the tips and tricks you need to whip those digital pictures into shape with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. In this episode, Ben shows you how to apply light sources to 3D projects in Photoshop.
Interested in taking professional-caliber portraits but haven't time (or money) for a bulky light rig? Great results can be had by taking advantage of the available light from windows. This photographer's guide offers a number of pointers for you shooters out there. For more information, and to get started taking your own beautifully lit photos, take a look.
In this Ovation TV original special, acclaimed photographer Gregory Crewdson shares with us his insight into his photographic techniques. Like a film, he uses a lot of production, a lot of lighting, a lot of set design. He is an American photographer best known for elaborately staged, surreal scenes of American homes and neighborhoods. Learn how to take pictures like this master artist.
Not every photograph you take will come out perfect. The best digital cameras can't keep a photo from being too dark in certain areas, but that's why God invented Photoshop. Okay… "That's why 'Adobe' invented Photoshop".
New to photography and looking to learn the fundamentals in a flash? This free photographer's guide, which discusses flash photography and its terminology, will help you to accomplish just that. To get started learning the flash/strobe/speedlight basics (as well as to get a basic handle on the jargon), watch this free video tutorial.
Dirty filters ruining your shots? Glass filters, as useful as they may be for protecting your SLR or DSLR lenses from external damage, can grow dirty over time, reducing image quality. Learn how to properly clean your single-reflex camera's glass lens filters with this free photographer's guide.
As any SLR or DSLR owner knows all too well, the price of lenses can often approach or even exceed the cost of your camera. As such, it's important that you take the necessary precautions to protect them. With this free photographer's guide, you'll learn about using UV (that is, ultra-violet) filters to protect your single lens-reflex camera lenses from sun damage.
Interested in taking professional-caliber portraits but aren't sure what sort of backgorunds to buy? When choosing a background, your biggest consideration should, of course, be the backdrop's primary application: browns and blues, for example, are great colors for standard portraits. For more information on selecting your first photo backdrops, watch this free photographer's guide.
Want a way to reduce or increase the exposure of your camera's sensor without actually having to adjust ambient light levels? Apart from changing the aperture of your lens, you can adjust your camera's ISO setting, which will increase or decrease your sensor's sensitivity to light. To learn more about ISO, and to get started using custom ISO settings on your own DSLR, watch this free photographer's guide.
A great photographer is more than a technician, but all great portraits begin with a photographer’s mastery of equipment and technical requirements. Set yourself on the road to greatness by learning the basic components of photographic portraiture. You will need a camera, a telephoto lens, and a subject. Props are optional. Compose your subject by using the rule of thirds, where your subject is either in the left or right third, not the direct middle, for the most intresting pictures.
When setting the shutter speed and aperture of a camera, use a light meter to take a reading, then set the aperture or shutter speed, depending on which is more important for the photograph. Set the shutter speed and aperture of a camera with the tips in this free instructional video on photography tips from a professional photographer. For novice photographers, setting the shutter speed and aperture is an important first step in mastering the art of photography.
Here are some tips about the Holga camera. The Holga is a plastic camera that takes unique, distorted pictures. This instructional photography video is good for people who just got their Holga camera and want to learn some photographer's tricks.
Watch this instructional photography video that shows how to build a useful, inexpensive tripod for the amateur photographer on a budget. This tripod will be more useful than most commercial tripods with only a plastic bag full of beans. The result is a stable, useful extension with minimal photographic inhibitions that works on any surface. A great how to video for the amatuer photographer.
Ben and Paul show how easy and effective it is to cook up some great vomit effects using a strip of blue photographer's paper and a tin of pumpkin. Oh, and Adobe After Effects.
You can take high resolution photos with just about any digital SLR, but whether these high resolution photos turn out impressive depends on setting, lighting, and the compliance of your subjects to pose. While photographing your friends and family in everyday life has these aforementioned conditions already set for you, if you take photos in the studio many factors can be adjusted to your liking.
