Feeds: Our Picks

Have you ever seen an interesting photo of a clear globe and wondered how to create such an image? This article will give you a few tips on how to take crystal ball photos. You can use a crystal ball to get a fisheye effect without the expense of buying a fisheye lens. One of The post Photography fun with a crystal ball appeared first on DIY Photography. ... READ MORE

As a beginner photographer, I still remember experimenting with random photo-shoots of colorful fruits, leave,s and flowers. Believe it or not, capturing the inanimate has always been one of our favorite pass time activities as photographers. But, not anymore! With so much demand for lively product shoots in magazines and websites, still life photography is a million dollar business today.Capturing the still life is a very unique photographic experience. With your subject being inanimate, you get enough time to play with all the creative controls... READ MORE

There is no shortage of waterfalls and cascades in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. So when the days were dull, foggy and rainy on my recent trip to the U.P we photographed waterfalls and nearby cascades. Not only did I come home with lots of images, but new insights on how to improve my images. Every waterfall…This Post Sponsored By:Perfectly Clear for Photoshop or Lightroom is all about saving you time so you can focus on doing what you love best. Get a free trial of the award... READ MORE

The chances are as a photographer that you pay close attention to light and colour, even if you don’t have a camera in your hand. It’s possible then that you might have noticed how your colour perception changes as the light fades. It’s self-evident that we have no colour vision in the dark. You only The post Have you ever noticed the Purkinje Shift? appeared first on DIY Photography. ... READ MORE

There's a difference between speed and acceleration. This is hard for novice physics students to grasp. Velocity (speed) is how fast you're going. Acceleration is a measure of how quickly you're getting faster.Brands today are built on relationships, and relationships of all kinds work solely because of expectation. That thing we're confidently hoping we're going to get from that next encounter.The shift we're facing is that expectation isn't the speed (the quality, the value, the repeatability of an interaction), it's now become more like the acceleration of it, the change in... READ MORE

Keeping children engaged during a photo session is hard. What's worse is that many sources would have you believe the opposite and give some questionable advice. In this article, I'll explain some techniques that work for me as well as some challenges you'll face photographing families.... READ MORE

The advent of smartphones and the rise of Instagram have changed how a whole generation views photography and videography. Before you could simply snap an image and swipe between filters, the art of creating different cinematic looks required in-camera modifications rather than a post-production process. Filters let you change the look of an image instantly, but some of the most striking and unique looks come from physical camera modifications. Here are five DIY camera hacks to alter how images are recorded through your lenses.1. Kaleidoscope FilterImage by freakoftheweek via... READ MORE

Red Bull Photography recently joined our community with a verified brand profile of their own. This partnership isn’t just about amazing photography — it’s also about amazing stories. Behind every shot on Red Bull Photography is a talented photographer, a wild story, and a few lessons learned. We’ll be telling those stories every week here on 500px ISO and the Red Bull Photography website. Over the next four weeks, we’re going to be featuring epic action shots that capture the planet’s Four Elements—Water, Wind, Earth,... READ MORE

It's tempting to believe that left to our own devices, we'll all maximize our health, make smart investment decisions and generally follow our instincts on the road to happiness.But it turns out that cigarettes are addictive, that financial distress causes people to make short-term decisions that are damaging, and that we even have trouble doing smart and easy things with a 401(k). Culture is powerful. Marketing is makes it more powerful. Financial interests are powerful, too.If peer pressure and short-term urgencies set us up to do things... READ MORE

My buddy Terry White came across this awesome FREE plug-in that lets you post right from Lightroom straight up to Instagram, and it works really well. Here’s a short video where Terry shows you how it all works:….or, if you prefer to read about it, here’s the link to the article on Terry’s Tech Blog.OK, on Monday I’m off to Iceland….In the meantime, just wanted to mention that this would be a great weekend to watch my “7 Photoshop Techniques Every Lightroom User Needs to Know”... READ MORE

While people rush to buy the latest cameras with the highest dynamic ranges and the latest software that’ll allow simulation of the highest dynamic range possible, and there’s nothing necessarily wrong with that, it helps to remember that every limitation can also be a beautiful creative constraint.On the beach in Moeraki recently, and disappointed by the bright sunlight and apparent lack of mood I took advantage of the fact that my sensor can’t capture all the light that’s there. Not remembering to take a reference... READ MORE

Color Grading in Photoshop using Adobe Color Themes //www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCxLYrFsl8g One of my favorite tools in Photoshop is  Adobe Color Themes.  It is a neat little extension that helps you build color palettes around a central color that you have in mind.  It can be very helpful in any sort of design work (which I usually […]The post How to Use Adobe Color Themes appeared first on f64 Academy.... READ MORE

What can you do when you are faced with kids who won’t look at the camera? Maybe they are too shy or nervous or perhaps they are just extremely excitable!It’s important at times like these that you have some strategies and ‘go-to’ shots to try.Here are 7 ideas to get you started…Let me know in the comments if you have any more to add!   TRANSCRIPTIONNot that long ago, child photography was all about taking the kids to a photographic studio and asking them to stay still and... READ MORE

The post How to Remove People From Vacation Photos in Photoshop appeared first on Phlearn.How to Remove People from Vacation Photos in PhotoshopYou just got back from a wonderful vacation and can’t wait to post your photos online, but there are a bunch of people in the background distracting from the gorgeous scenery. Learn how to remove people from the background of your photos in today’s episode. Photoshop Tools for Removing PeopleWhen it comes to removing people from photos, there are several tools that will... READ MORE

For the majority of new photographers, one of the biggest hurdles to overcome is fear. This often leads to people missing a perfect photo opportunity or even, over time, falling out of the practice of actually taking photos. But it’s perfectly normal to have fears when starting anything new, especially in an industry that is so subjective and fast moving. Here are six common fears newbie photographers experience, and tip to help overcome them.#1 – Technophobia The first thing people often fear about photography is the... READ MORE

You have spent a lot of time studying photography and how to use your camera. You feel confident that you’re starting to figure things out. You understand camera settings like: shutter speed, aperture, ISO, and exposure compensation.Brooklyn Weeds, New YorkCan you relate to this?Then you go on a trip or walk out the door with your camera, see an amazing moment, and you freeze. “What do I do? What settings will be best for this situation?” You return home to find too many of your shots are... READ MORE

Back again, the two of us will take questions and come up with answers on an X-Rite webinar on Thursday September 15th at 12 noon (ET). The title is “COPYRIGHT: You Ask The Questions, We’ve Got The Answers Part II” These are always great sessions as we have no idea what questions come up and […]... READ MORE

Working on both sides of the creative industry, Natta Summerky is a content editor at 500px and a professional photographer. Read on as she reveals some helpful insights and advice for improving your photography and workflow.A question we get asked a lot is how to get more followers and attract healthy interactions to your profile on 500px. So today, I will share some tips and hacks to professionally showcase the best of what you’ve got, get people to remember and follow your work, and start... READ MORE

Have you even taken a portrait of someone, and when they see their image on screen, they say “Wow, that doesn’t look like me”. If they did, it’s probably because that actually isn’t how they see themselves day in and day out when they look in the mirror. They see a “mirror image” of themselves in the mirror, but in photo you just took of them, they look different from what they’re used to seeing.Enter: Mirror Image Mode (found under the View menu at the very bottom... READ MORE

Stuff's going to break.Then what?Air conditioners, for example, gradually lose their charge. When they do, icing can occur. When that happens, the drain pans overflow and water seeps away.The smart builder, then, anticipates all this and has the pan connected to some sort of drain, as opposed to having it rot the beams or collapse a ceiling. Most failures aren't shocking surprises. The law of large numbers is too strong for that. Instead, they are predictable events that smart designers plan for, instead of wishing them away... READ MORE

One of the most confusing features of Adobe Lightroom for many users, is how to get your final results out of the software, to show them to friends or to send to customers. Different from other programs, there is only one way to “save” thing out of Lightroom – that is to an Export Images. This article will walk you through some of the options to help you demystify this often confusing function, so you can post your images on Facebook, and get them printed,... READ MORE

Creating an image- or video-heavy website makes for a beautiful design, but giant image files can seriously slow down load times and negatively impact the user experience. Last year, the New York Times released an infographic detailing how many seconds (as well as dollars for data usage) certain publications’ advertising and editorial content takes to load on mobile devices. While advertising content adds lag time to any website, it’s photo-dense websites like the New York Post that take the longest to load.But this issue isn’t... READ MORE

So many of you have posted about this in the facebook community – how to get sharp group photos!More specifically, how to ensure you have enough depth of field so that everyone in the group is in focus.Not just that – but where in the group should you focus?!  This is a common struggle – but one you will no longer have after watching today’s video…Let me know if you have any questions!   TRANSCRIPTION Rebecca is the latest in a long line of our community members who’ve posted... READ MORE

The hardest part of a 365 project is the first week. Actually, maybe it’s the first two-three weeks. It’s the period between introducing something new into your life and then making that thing a habit.This is how I’ve witnessed it through others taking on a ‘one-photo-a-day’ projects. Posts go up every 24 hours without fail for a couple of weeks but then, you notice, ‘Hey, I haven’t seen a shot from ***** in a while? Maybe Facebook’s just not showing it.’ When you investigate, you... READ MORE

Here’s a quick how-to that will probably come in handy sometime down the road for every portrait photographer. Have you ever shot a portrait where one of your subject’s eyes was partially closed and it made everything look strange and uneven? Scott Kelby shows you how to fix it in Photoshop.Sometimes this is simply a feature of someone’s face—it’s actually one of the traits you can use to find someone’s “good side” for portraits—but if you want to “fix” it or simply make a portrait... READ MORE