Nobody understands depth of field and it’s all Apple’s fault

A shallow depth of field can result in bokeh or soft, circular renderings in the out-of-focus portions of an image. Some lenses have more pleasing bokeh than others. Tang Ming Tung/Getty You’ve likely seen plenty of photos with soft, out-of-focus backgrounds. With the right setting, they can look rather dreamy with brightly colored circles (called… Continue reading Nobody understands depth of field and it’s all Apple’s fault

Freeze! The week’s best reader-submitted still life photos

“A traditional still life of three pears exhibiting the interplay between light and shadow”. David Terao For this week’s reader challenge, we asked you to submit photos of the inanimate. And as always, you delivered. While some folks settled on more unusual subjects to photograph, the vast majority of you stuck with classic still life… Continue reading Freeze! The week’s best reader-submitted still life photos

Photography’s golden rules and when to break them

The fundamentals of photography composition are meant to be broken but first, you must grasp them. Stan Horaczek Photography has a lot of rules that are really just principles. Most of them are useful guidelines worth understanding, not edicts to be followed to the letter. In this photography fundamentals series, we’re going to look at… Continue reading Photography’s golden rules and when to break them

Sports as Art: Photographing Athletes is Different from Sports Photography

Much to the surprise of many, photographing athletes doesn’t always mean you are a sports photographer. Truthfully, I don’t know much about sports at all. [Read More]

How to unlock your smartphone camera’s best hidden features

Jeff Carlson What could be more fundamental to photography today than our smartphone cameras? They’re ever-present, ready in moments, and the technology behind them makes it easy to capture great photos in most situations. And yet, I regularly encounter people who are unaware of many of the core functions of the built-in camera app. Smartphone… Continue reading How to unlock your smartphone camera’s best hidden features

Jamie Beck’s photos from the French countryside look like Renaissance paintings

One of Beck’s self portraits in a Provence lavender field. Jamie Beck Six years ago, photographer Jamie Beck was seemingly living the life. She was running a thriving commercial photography studio in New York City and had all the trappings of success—prestigious clients from Vogue to Nike, a beautiful apartment, designer clothes, a vintage car.… Continue reading Jamie Beck’s photos from the French countryside look like Renaissance paintings

Fruit bowls & floral arrangments: Show us your best still life photos

Abby Ferguson From Cézanne and Van Gogh to the Flemish aces, still life is a genre much studied, quite revered, and difficult to master. Done right, images are rife with symbolism and filled with compositional mastery. So, for this week’s Photo of the Day challenge, we want to see your interpretation of the still life… Continue reading Fruit bowls & floral arrangments: Show us your best still life photos

Ephemeral auroras and playful galaxies: these are the Astronomy Photographer of the Year winners

“Back to the spaceship,” runner-up, People & Space category. © Mihail Minkov An aurora dances, illuminating the night sky. The Milky Way stretches across snowy mountain tops. An abstracted view of the sun and moon. These images and more make up the winning cohort for this year’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year awards, which are… Continue reading Ephemeral auroras and playful galaxies: these are the Astronomy Photographer of the Year winners

Reader-submitted graffiti & street art photos showcase a cacophony of color

Paula Gallagher Brown Graffiti and street art can be found nearly anywhere in the world—from the streets of Tahiti to the train yards of New York City. What was once a frowned upon art form now enjoys a much more popular acceptance and appreciation. And this week’s winning Photos of the Day showcase the kaleidoscopic… Continue reading Reader-submitted graffiti & street art photos showcase a cacophony of color

How to create double exposures on film

Double exposures are easy to experiment with and can often lead to unexpected results. Evan Purney You pick out a roll of film and load it into your camera. You advance by a few frames. You line up your shot and…*CLICK.* The shutter opens for just an instant, light hits the film, and the moment… Continue reading How to create double exposures on film