Category / Cool Photo Stuff

by Sonal Magapu

A Chance to Win SHOTKIT Book for FREE!

What is the Shotkit book?
Have you ever wanted to know what camera gear your favorite photographers use? How about wondered why photographers choose camera A over camera B, or lens A over lens B? Everyone knows that a great photo isn’t about great camera gear, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be interested in the tools of the photographers trade!
Shotkit books - tell you what your favorite photographers use Shotkit Book - on Apple Devices
The Shotkit Book features over 30 world class photographers who reveal exactly what camera gear they use on a daily basis. As well as a shot of all their gear neatly laid out (the ‘Shotkit’), each photographer talks in depth about how he or she uses each product, and why each different item has earned a coveted place in their camera bag.
In addition, the Shotkit Book showcases the best work of each of the photographers, all laid out in an interactive gallery, specially formatted for the iPad. (Non Mac users can download a pdf version instead.)
As well as in depth content about camera gear, the Shotkit Book also features over 2 hours of bonus video footage, in the form of actionable tips for you to improve your photography and grow your photography business. You’ll learn 18 tips on improving your wedding photography, mastering photojournalism, and even growing your Instagram fan base.
The Shotkit Book is available for only $15 for a limited time. It’ll be the best $15 you spend on improving your photography this year!
**PHOTOWHOA x SHOTKIT BOOK EXCLUSIVE OFFER**
The first 5 people to use promo code: shotkit_whoa_vip when purchasing a copy of the Shotkit Book via www.shotkitbook.com will receive a FREE copy!
Even if you are not one of the lucky winners, you’ll still receive a 10% DISCOUNT for the rest of the month.
Try it out to win a copy of this book.
by Sonal Magapu

Photowhoa’s 2015 Photography Contest

Got a photo you want the world to see? Want more exposure? We want to see your photos. After interviewing over a hundred photographers in the past three years and seeing so many great photographs, we want to see what our readers can do.

Now it’s your turn. We’re inviting you to send us your best Portrait, Landscape, Glamour, or Street photo in one or all four categories. The top four winners and one runner-up in each category will be featured in an interview and win some really cool prizes.

best photography contest - logomixThe Prizes

The Jurors:

best photography contest - photography contest

This year we’ve invited Matt Kloskowski, James Maher, Frank D, and Dan Hostetler to select their favorite photos. Each juror will decide their 4 winners for their category.

  • Matt Kloskowski Matt is the Vice President of Photography for on1 Inc. and a Tampa-based photographer. He’s a best selling author of over 20 books and teaches Lightroom and Photoshop at seminars and conferences around the world. He will be the Landscape juror.
  • James Maher is street photographer based in New York City. His ebook The Essentials of Street Photography has been a best seller amongst the masses. He will be the Street photography juror.
  • Frank Doorhof is a Fashion/celebrity photographer, best selling author and KelbyOne and PSW instructor based in the Netherlands. He will be the Portrait juror.
  • Dan Hostettler is a Glamour and Nude Photographer. His style of nude photography gets inspired from the worlds of Playboy, Maxim, FHM, Victorias Secret, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle and a lot more. He will be the Glamour and Nude juror.

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by Sonal Magapu

Beauty Photography Lighting Videos

Beauty Photography lighting setups from Michael Zelbel

Beauty Photography Lighting VideosCreate dramatic and beautiful photos by learning Michael Zelbel’s amazing lighting setups. Zelbel’s informative videos make learning both entertaining and simple. No expensive lighting equipment is required. You’ll learn how to replicate his lighting setups with just speedlights (Zelbel’s lighting tool of choice) and inexpensive light modifiers. The four videos included in this package cover boudoir, dramatic beauty, high fashion, and one-stand lighting.

Lighting setups for your boudoir shoot

In the wintertime, I prefer a bedroom above any other location. So let’s discuss a lighting setup for your boudoir photo shoot! The setup will work for you even in tiny bedrooms and you won’t need a lot of gear. Watch the video to understand the setups and then go try it out yourself.

 

Dramatic beauty lighting with Speedlights

Here’s a way to achieve a beauty light with some drama in Speedlight photography. You place a shoot through umbrella right above your model. It works wonders – even in small and narrow sets like a group of three models in a regular hotel room.

 

High-fashion photography lighting with speedlights

Here’s an example of high fashion photography lighting with speedlights. The briefing for this photo shoot was to photograph 6 garments with two models in just two hours.

Setup a “one light stand” … in the hotel?

You don’t need 10 lights to take a great photo. In this video, Zelbel demonstrates how you can take a beautiful photo in a small hotel room with just a one-light setup (via greg). Perfect for a dramatic look and also for bodyscapes.

 

If you liked these videos then check out more beauty photography lighting tips at SmokingStrobes.com

by Freddy Martinez

Why Instagram Works + $30 Discount on Nick Saglimbeni’s Newest Video

Mastering Lighting Photography Techniques with Nick Saglimbeni

I’ve spent a lot of time on Instagram recently. I hadn’t planned on doing this. Far from it, actually. Like all great events in my life, I had just found myself there. I didn’t know how, but I was logged in. So I spent the next two hours peeking about.

Eventually, I was doing what everybody does. I would like a few photographs, then a few more, and when I found a photographer I really liked, I double clicked as many as of hers or his as I could. Satisfied with myself, I logged off and went to bed.

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by Freddy Martinez

Quick and Simple DealFuel Memberships Giveaway

Our friends over at DealFuel approached us with a great giveaway. They know you love Photoshop and love getting exclusive deals you can’t find anywhere else. So they said: why don’t we give away 10 of our DealClub memberships — worth over $100 — and bundle them with a free Photoshop texture tutorial (video preview above). For those of you who don’t know DealFuel, they’re a great site that promotes the best tech and web-design products from around the world.

photoshop texture tutorial

So what’s better than free photoshop texture tutorial?

Here’s how you win:

1) Tweet about this page. That’s it. No more, no less.

2) 10 winners will be selected at random.

We’ll update the page with our winners and announce it on our Facebook page!

by Freddy Martinez

If Bruce Gilden Critqued Your Photos, This Is What He Might Say

best street photography - Bruce Gilden Critqued

Nobody likes hearing their s*** stinks. No one. Not one single person. Anything you do you do with your entire ability. But imagine having your photographs critiqued in front of millions by one of the best street photography experts who’s known for speaking his mind. Well, Vice being Vice, they created a web series that does exactly that. It’s called, “Take or Leave It with Bruce Gilden”.

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by Freddy Martinez

Let’s Talk About Leica’s Newest M-System Commercial

outdoor wildlife photography - Leica camera held by Florian Wagner

Leica’s most recent commercial, co-presented by National Geographic, has taken outdoor wildlife photography to the next level. It’s dazzling. No, it’s numbing. Wait, no, it’s entertaining? I don’t know what I just watched, but for some reason I liked it. Camera tilts. Pans. SWOOSHES. And horses, all the pretty horses. If Michael Bay and Paul Revere were forced — for some unholy reason — to make a Leica commercial, this video would be the result.

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by Freddy Martinez

Hey Photographers, Share this Video with All Your Friends

hack atm pin number - Photographers blog

While reading all the photography blogs, I found an interesting post I wanted to share. It’s not about photography. Though, it does touch on that. And it’s not going make you a better photographer. Though, it will make you better person. It’s a video about how hackers hack atm pin number and preventing credit card password hack.

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by Freddy Martinez

Instagram Users: Meet Your New Best Friend

time lapse video app - Instagram Hyperlapse

If creating beautiful timelapses means a lot to you, and you also happen to own an iPhone, then you are about to fall in love with a new time lapse video app. It’s called Hyperlapse. Released yesterday, Hyperlapse allows you shoot timelapses without worrying about how shaky your video’s going to be, or whether you have the thumb dexterity to pull it off. It makes shooting timelapses much easier.

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