50 Incredible Photography

Techniques and Tutorials

By Vitaly Friedman

April 22nd, 2009

GimpPhotographyTechniques
145 Comments
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Over the recent months weve been presenting various

showcases ofphotography while many readers hated
the showcases, most readers found them inspirational and
perfect for a lousy workdays morning. However, what we
should have done in the inspirational posts is not just provide
you with some inspiration for your work, but also
present useful photographic techniques which can
help you to achieve optimal pictures for your designs. And as
requested by many of you, now its time to correct our
mistake.
In this post we present useful photographic techniques,
tutorials and resources for various kinds of photography. Youll

learn how to set up the perfect environment and what techniques,

principles and rules of thumbs you should consider when shooting
your next perfect photo. This round-up isnt supposed to be the
ultimate one please feel free to suggest more useful articles in
the comments to this post.
Among other things, we cover high-speed photography, tilt-shift
photography, black and white photography, motion blur, infrared,
night, smoke photography, macro photography, HDR, panoramic
photography, RAW processing and others. Hopefully, youll find
many of the listed tutorials and how-tos useful for your regular
work.

1. High Speed Photography

Celebration Of High-Speed Photography
This post is supposed to provide you with some inspiration of
what can be done with high-speed photography. It also showcases
some truly stunning slow-motion videos.

Home-Made High Speed Photography (PDF)

Pictures of high-speed events such as popping balloons, breaking
glass, and splashing liquids reveal interesting structures not
visible to the naked eye. With this guide you can take your own
high-speed photos to captures these ephemeral events. A very
detailed tutorial.

Quick guide to Simple High Speed Macro Photography

This is a quick tutorial to get you started with high speed
photography. There are tons of other resources on the web, but
most of them are advanced and require special equipment. This
one is simple and basic.

2. Tilt-Shift Photography
Tilt-shift photography refers to the use of camera movements on
small- and medium-format cameras; it usually requires the use of
special lenses.
Tilt-shift actually encompasses two different types of
movements: rotation of the lens relative to the image plane,
called tilt, and movement of the lens parallel to the image plane,
called shift. Tilt is used to control the orientation of the plane of
focus (PoF), and hence the part of an image that appears sharp; it
makes use of the Scheimpflug principle. Shift is used to change
the line of sight while avoiding the convergence of parallel lines,
as when photographing tall buildings.
Another, less cost-intensive technique called tilt-shift miniature
faking is a process in which a photograph of a life-sized location
or object is manipulated so that it looks like a photograph of a
miniature-scale model.
50 Beautiful Examples Of Tilt-Shift Photography

Tilt-Shift Photography Photoshop Tutorial

This tutorial was produced using Photoshop CS2 on a PC.

Receding Hairline
With very little effort, you can take existing photographs of
everyday scenes and make them look like miniature models.

Free Auto Tilt-Shift Photoshop Action

Plug-and-play solution for preparing your photos.

3. Black and White Photography

Beautiful Black and White Photography
One of the most beautiful inspirational posts on Smashing
Magazine, featuring over 50 brilliant works from photographers
across the globe.

5 Black and White Photography Tips

A short, but useful article by by Darren Rowse, featuring shoot in
RAW, low ISO and other techniques. You may also consider
reading the articlesKey Ingredients for Black and White Images

Black and White Photography Guide

Black and white photography starts before the shot is even taken.
In this article youll find some quick tips on what to look for to
ensure the perfect black and white landscape e.g. camera

settings for black and white photography and what filters are
good for black and white landscapes.

Digital Black and White

This site features professional photography articles written by
Keith Cooper. It covers black/white-photography-techniques,
image manipulation techniques, tools, articles and camera
reviews.
The Top 5 Black & White Photography Tips
Five handy tips to get you going in the right direction: practice,
focus on contrast, focus on texture, use color filters and more. If
you want to learn more about the actual black and white
conversion process in Photoshop, see the article 12 Ways to Make
a Black & White Photo as well.

4. Motion Blur Photography

45 Beautiful Motion Blur Photos
A showcase of motion blur photos. Motion blur is frequently used
to show a sense of speed. You can artificially achieve this effect in
a usual scene using cameras with a slow shutter speed. Also
Adobe Photoshop can be used for this purpose, though sometimes
images may look unnatural and unprofessional.

How to Capture Motion Blur in Photography

Capturing movement in images is something that many
photographers only need to do when photographing sports or
other fast-moving events.

Professional-Looking Motion-Blur Effect for Your Images

In this tutorial were going to show you how to create a very
popular motion blur effect used in many magazine and various
other professionally crafted images.

Photoshop Tutorials: Create Silky Smooth Waterfalls

In this Adobe Photoshop tutorial, were going to look at how
to give waterfalls a silky smooth appearance, as if the photo were
taken with a longer exposure, which would normally require the
use of a neutral density filter.

Long Exposure Photos

Long exposure can be used to create very interesting

photographs. It can be used, for example, to create a bright photo

in low-light conditions or to create motion blur for moving
elements in a photograph

5. Infrared Photography
40 Incredible Near-Infrared Photos
A showcase of near-infrared photography. Near-infrared images
straight out of the camera do not always look good and are
usually not as dramatic and beautiful as normally captured
images. Hence, a lot of post-processing is done to enhance these
images.

Infrared Photography with a Digital Camera

Thanks to digital photography, we can take infrared pictures
whenever we please, mix them with normal ones and see the
results on the spot, tweaking the settings to our hearts desire.

InfraRed photography
A specialized IR portal, with gallery and forum.

Beyond Visible
Website about IR, UV and luminescence photography. Here you
can found plenty of theory and useful information about IR

adaptors for flashlights. Among the resources is a huge collection

of links related to invisible light photography.
Infrared (IR)
A gallery with a number of amazing IR photos.

Infrared photography
Huge article with a number of useful links. Nearly complete list of
IR filters and digital cameras that can be updated for IR shooting.

6. Night Photography
60 Beautiful Examples Of Night Photography
60 amazing examples of night photography, created by some
hard-working and dedicated photographers. Take a look at their
websites and portfolios.

The Nocturnes
The Nocturnes is an organization dedicated to night photography.
Founded by Tim Baskerville in San Francisco in 1991, it has grown
to become the premier source of information and education on
night photography, as well as an international community for
night photographers.

Lost America night photography

Wandering the deserted backroads of the American Southwest,
Troy Paiva has explored the abandoned underbelly of America
since the 1970s. Since 1989 hes been taking pictures of it at
night, by the light of the full moon.

Long Exposure Night Photography

This article shows you how to take pictures of night scenes with
no moving objects.

Night Photography by David Baldwin

Night photography of landscapes and architecture.
MalekTips (removed due to errors)
Some solutions for avoiding typical problems with night
photography.
Learn Night Photography
Quick and dirty guide to defining exposure time for typical night
subjects.

Night Landscape Photography

Capture stunning landscape images during the black of night.

7. Smoke Art Photography

Smoke Photography and Smoke Art
A round-up of some of the best examples of photos and artworks
where smoke dominates.

Smoke Art Photography An Introduction

This articles features smoke art photography tips from Stoffel De
Roover; it describes the typical setup, important techniques and
necessary adjustments for a perfect smoke art photo.
Smoke photography video tutorial
Video tutorial on smoke photography.
Make: How-To Smoke Photography
Learn how to create and shoot sculptures made with smoke and
how to paint with smoke.

8. Macro Photography

25 Beautiful Macro Photography Shots

A round-up of some truly revealing and inspiring macro
photographs which are sure to have you marveling at the world
around you.

Macro Photography
How to take close-up pictures of small things, by Philip Greenspun
Introduction to Macro Photography
Set-up and camera settings for macro photography (8-minute
video).
Reversing Lenses for Macro Photography
A guide to building a lens for extreme macro shooting.

Woven Shadows
Digital photography video tutorial (48 MB).
Macro photography
A round-up of gadgets that will help you move really close to your
subject.
Captains European Butterfly Guide
Engaging guide for this special kind of hunting (of course, you can
use it outside of Europe, too).
Macro Photography Tips for Point and Shoot Digital Cameras
Most of the articles here are geared to DSLR owners. But they are
also useful for macro photography with compact cameras, too.
Macrophoto Journal on deviantART
A number of excellent photos, forums and technical articles.

Macro Photography Tutorial

Short review on insect shooting, and amazing photos by M.
Plonsky, PhD.

9. HDR
If you dont like these kinds of photos, please move along. No
complaints will be accepted.
35 Fantastic HDR Pictures
This post covers 35 beautiful and perfectly executed HDR
pictures. Some of them may look surreal, too colorful, even magic
or fake, but they are not. Keep in mind that theyve all been
developed from normal photos; not a single image is an
illustration.

HDR Tutorial
HDR how-to guide, mostly related to Mac users.

HDR: High Dynamic Range Photography

HDR how-to guide with Photoshop CS2
In-Camera HDR detailed tutorial
YouTube video tutorial
HDR tutorial
Tutorial on HDR with free-of-charge software GIMP and Qtpfsgui

HDR Tutorial
Tutorial on HDR with Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop CS2 and
Photomatix Pro

10. RAW Processing

A raw image file contains minimally processed data from the

image sensor. Raw image files are sometimes called digital
negatives, because they serve the same role as negatives in film
photography. But unlike negatives, these files need much more
processing.
Choosing RAW Image Processing Software
The most expensive multi-function RAW processing software is not
always the best for converting the wide range of current RAW
image file formats.
RAW Processing Workflow Using Phase Ones Capture One 4
Capture One 4 is more than just a rewritten version of Phase
Ones Capture One LE. It offers improved speed and quality of
RAW conversion, and it builds on its strengths as a RAWprocessing workflow tool.
Aperture, Lightroom and Capture One review:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5
A full-range review of three of the most popular and powerful
tools for RAW processing
Lightroom Presets: The Ultimate Free List
The biggest, most updated list of free Adobe Lightroom presets.
Its true you can have too many, but this is the best jumping-off
point for finding new presets. Taste as many as you like, then tell
us your favorites. Note that the presets dont work with RAW
and JPEG files the same.

11. Panoramic Photography

A panorama or panoramic photo is usually made by
stitching several pictures taken with the same camera into one.

How To: Panoramic Photography

Making a panoramic photo really is only taking the pictures,
stitching them together on your computer. The more effort and
attention you put into the first step, the easier the second step
will be and the more realistic your final photo will look.

Taking Panoramic Landscapes The Easy Solution

Panoramas have a reputation for being hard to take. Dedicated
panorama cameras are available, but unless youve got at least
$1000 to spare, you probably cant afford one! But you can take
panoramas with any kind of camera.

Digital Photography Tutorial Panorama Stitching

Many digital cameras, even some budget-priced pocket
compacts, have a feature known as Panorama Stitching mode. If

you havent experimented with it yet, it is designed to help with a

particular type of photograph, or rather series of photographs, in
which successive shots are taken as the camera is panned across
a scene.
Building Panoramic Images in The GIMP
Panoramic landscapes make for some amazing photos. Theres
nothing like the relaxation and tranquility felt when gazing over
the sweeping wilderness, save for the hassle of actually getting
there. Using a digital camera, its possible to stitch photos
together to simulate the expensive effects of a landscape filter.
The easy way is to use Pandora. Pandora is a plug-in for The GIMP
that tries to match the edges of the photos, using a best guess at
where one photo ends and the next begins.

12. Special Issues

Architecture photography, a beginners guide
Insightful tips for photography of stationary subjects by Michael
Jenkins. You may also want to learn how to
shoot bridges, statues, buildings andpiers.

Guide To Architectural Photography

Despite architectures diversity there are a number of simple rules
that apply in most situations, or will at least get you thinking
more deeply about how you can best portray a particular piece of
architecture.

DIY Lighting Hacks for Digital Photographers

Lighting can be the difference between a good shot and a great
one. Walk into most professional photographers studios, and
youll be confronted with truckloads of lighting equipment. To the
average hobby photographer, its enough to make your mind
boggle and make your stomach turn as you think about the
cost of it all.

In this post, Ive found 10 DIY flash and lighting hacks that put
some of these lighting techniques within the grasp of the rest of
us.

10 Top Photography Composition Rules

This post reviews important rules of good photography, such as
Rules of Thirds, balancing elements, leading lines, symmetry and
patterns, viewpoint, background, depth, framing, cropping and
experimentation.

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