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How to Use Paper as a Photo Backdrop to Keep Costs Down

As a product photographer, I use paper in various different ways as a background for still-life photos to keep costs down for creative shooting. In this article, I'll show you how I do it and how you can do it too. [Read More]

How to Shoot Fashion Photos With Minimal Budget and Gear

Fashion photography is expensive. Even a small test shoot has some costs associated with it. What is more expensive is good fashion photography. Cameras, lights, modifiers, crew, retouching, locations all add up to some ghastly sums.

How to Build a Low Budget Photography Set

For my latest project, “we are the dead,” I decided to build a room in which to shoot my pictures. I had absolutely no idea how to do this, but there were some facts I needed to consider.

How to Light a ‘Big Budget’ Photo with $5 Lights

I have a client who builds amazing luxury apartment complexes all over California, and I’m their pool guy. I know it sounds funny, but they call me whenever they need exterior images and pool images (they call another photog to do the interiors of the model apartments). This is one of the delivered photos of […]

How to Make a DIY Mottled Backdrop for Just $30

For those of us born in the 1970s and 80s, this new phenomenon of mottled, cloudy backdrops appearing in modern portraits is an odd one. You see, back when we were kids, we had horrendously cheesy family and school portraits taken in front of these bizarrely arranged patterns, so to us, it’s pretty weird to […]

The Best Camera Kit You Can Get with a $500 Budget

Finding a $500 camera setup that can deliver stunning portraits as well as a wide range of other types of photography was a challenge, to say the least! First and foremost I had to put together some bare minimum requirements/standards.

The Pine Cone: Nature’s Memory Card Holder and Display

Every year, a pine tree close to our house produces the most perfect cones, and I often pick up a handful of them on my way home. The cones are undeniably beautiful, but not of much practical use. Or so I thought, until one day it hit me that a cone would make a rather […]

The $10 Backdrop: Cheap vs Expensive Seamless for Portraits

Photography. It’s expensive. And who really has the money to buy all the name brand photo gear? I certainly don’t. With that said, expensive equipment does NOT make the photograph — the photographer does, which is why I am exploring various non-photography-specific gear and using it for my photography. Let’s take seamless background paper for […]

How to Turn House Lights Into Cheap DIY Light Modifiers

There is an almost endless supply of lighting modifiers available on the market right now, some are cheap and some of the better ones are certainly a lot more expensive. But does cost directly relate to quality? Well, a lot of the time yes it does if you’re referring to build quality. In general, the […]

The Kamlan 50mm f/1.1 Lens is a Bokeh Beast That Costs Just $170

The Sainsonic Kamlan 50mm f/1. 1 is a lens you can buy for just $170 for mirrorless cameras (Sony E, Canon EOS-M, Micro Four Thirds, and Fujifilm X) that delivers some beautiful bokeh. Here’s a 10-minute video by Kai Wong that shows what this lens can do.

How to Create a DIY Car Camera Rig on the Cheap

Action shots of cars in movement are often taken with a ‘car rig’ – basically a long pole that is attached to the car, with a camera mounted on the end. A professional car rig can cost in the thousands, but this 13 minute video from Practical Photography will teach you to make your own for […]

How an $80 1000mm Lens Performs on a $1,400 Sony a6500 Camera

Let’s say you spent pretty much all of your camera budget on a shiny new $1,400 Sony a6500 mirrorless camera, yet you want a super telephoto lens for getting way up close to subjects. Here’s a thrifty option you could consider: buy a cheapo 500mm lens, Sony adapter, and 2x teleconverter for just $80. That’s […]

How to Shoot Pro Portraits in Everyday Places

My name is Nick Fancher and I’m a portrait and commercial photographer who specializes in lighting, specifically with the use of small flash in unconventional locations. I’ve written a few books on the subject, the latest of which is Studio Anywhere 2.

Лучшее

This Photographer Uses Clever Tricks to Shoot Striking Portraits

If you want ideas for getting creative with portrait photography while on a shoestring budget, check out the work of the Mexican photographer Omahi. In addition to sharing his imaginative work, Omahi also shows behind-the-scenes photos of how they’re made.

Jeremy Cowart Drew and Printed a DIY Photo Backdrop in 30 Minutes

High-end photo backdrops can cost over $1,000 apiece. When photographer Jeremy Cowart couldn’t find a backdrop he needed a few days ago, he had an idea: Cowart drew his own backdrop on an iPad Pro and printed it out at 40×80 inches on a $4,000 professional Canon printer.

Актуальное

The Best Cheap Film Cameras for Beginners in 2023

Film is not making a comeback, it has come back. Photography students I teach are always so excited to start their journey in shooting, developing, and enlarging film, until they start. [Read More]

Dollar Tree to Stop Selling Things for $1

If you’re a photographer who often turns to Dollar Tree for cheap photo props or do-it-yourself materials, get ready to pay (a bit) more. After 35 years of selling most products for exactly $1, the retail chain announced today that it is hiking its price to $1.25. Founded in 1986 with the name Only $1.00, […]

How I Shoot High-End Portraits with Low-End Budgets

Over my past 7 years as a professional photographer, I have received many questions from startups and amateurs who are worried about the considerable investment they thought they had to make on cutting-edge equipment.

A Shoestring Photography Hardware and Software Setup

Camera and lenses aren’t the only photographic essentials that cost money. A decent machine with plenty of RAM and fast storage (preferably SSD) and rather expensive serious photography software are must-haves, too.

A $60 DIY Photo Ceiling Rail Lighting System

What started off as a quick lighting test in my garage has turned into a full investigation and installation of my own DIY photography ceiling rail system. My shooting space measures 7×10 feet (2x3m) — not a great space for shooting portraits.

5 Basic Tips for Starting a Fashion Portfolio

When you’re just starting out, building a fashion photography portfolio can be quite a daunting task. Having to organize and prepare shoots can be difficult, especially if you have no budget. These are my tips for shooting on a shoestring when you’re just starting: #1.

How to Take Macro Photos on a Budget

Want to get started in macro photography but don’t have much to spend? There are ways to jump into the niche using mostly the gear you already have (assuming you don’t have a dedicated macro lens).

Amazon Has $14 AmazonBasics Canon and Nikon Camera Batteries

Did you know that you can buy AmazonBasics-branded batteries for certain Canon and Nikon cameras on Amazon? They’re significantly cheaper than their Canon and Nikon-branded counterparts. AmazonBasics is Amazon’s private-label product line — you can find all kinds of electronics accessories at great prices.