There are many viable lighting techniques for film and photography, some cheap and simple, and some complex and costly. Short lighting is one technique that continues to grow more and more popular amongst photographers, but what is short lighting photography? We’ll be defining and breaking down the technique, explaining what it’s used for and why, and taking a look at some short lighting examples. This is everything you need to know about short lighting. Let’s get started with a definition.Continue reading Short Lighting Photography & Lighting Techniques Explained
When shooting a motion picture on physical celluloid, there are different types you can choose from. Each type will be a certain width, which contributes to its quality, size, grain count, and more. When identifying the different types of celluloid used in filmmaking, we refer to these strips by their film gauge, which is often, but not always, recognized by how many perforations it has. But what is film gauge, why does it matter, how else can it be identified, and which one should you choose? Continue reading What is Film Gauge — 8mm, 16mm, 35mm, 65/70mm Explained
When a director has a formidable visual style, you need an equally formidable cinematographer. Perhaps that’s why Denis Villeneuve and Roger Deakins have had such a fruitful collaboration. In this post, we’re going to look at their work in Sicario and how elements like lighting and composition were used to support the themes at play. Watch the video below as the two filmmakers discuss their collaboration before we expand what makes the Sicario cinematography so noteworthy.Continue reading Sicario Cinematography Explained — Lighting & Composition
Have you ever changed the focus of your lens and noticed something… change? Not just the focus, but the image itself reframes and changes size. This is focus breathing. It can be annoying and distract your audience when it occurs in the middle of a shot. What is focus breathing and why does it occur? In this article, we’ll dive into the definition of focus breathing, why it happens, and some tips on how to anticipate or avoid it all together.Continue reading What is Focus Breathing — Camera Lens Techniques Explained
The advent of the internet is arguably the biggest revolution in education since the invention of the printing press. Anything and everything you want to learn about is at the tips of your fingertips including the best cinematography courses. It may be overwhelming to find the best sites and courses online, so we curated a list of the best online cinematography courses that you can start today. Continue reading Best Cinematography Online Courses — Basic & Advanced
What phone has the best camera? We’re going to rank the best camera phones to buy by looking at the two essential aspects of camera phones: the camera and the phone. Nowadays, hardware and software both play a huge role in image optimization – so we’ll keep that note in mind when ranking camera phones here. We’re also going to focus on the rear-camera systems of phones as those are the cameras used to shoot the highest quality photos and videos.The phones on this list were ranked by the following criteria: photo quality, video quality, specs, and price. Now without…
You may have heard about golden hour, that special time before a sunset or just after a sunrise. For many photographers, golden hour is a great time to get a wonderful, warm, and beautiful photograph. But what is magic hour? Surely you must have heard of it, especially if you have also heard of golden hour. These two hours have a lot in common, but they’re not the exact same thing. So let’s dig further into what is magic hour and how it differentiates from the golden.Continue reading What is Magic Hour Photography & Cinematography Explained
There’s little argument that Wes Anderson has one of the most distinct visual styles of any modern director. But Wes Anderson isn’t the only common factor in every live-action Wes Anderson movie: since Bottle Rocket, cinematographer Robert Yeoman has been by his side.How does Yeoman create the style so immediately recognizable and beloved by Anderson fans? We break down four techniques in the director of photography’s toolkit.Continue reading Robert Yeoman Style — Wes Anderson’s DP Techniques
Color space is one of the most difficult artistic concepts to understand – but it plays an important role in photography, videography, and editing. The ability to manipulate the image, especially color, has never been more powerful or exciting. But as the cliche expression goes, "with great power comes great responsibility." So, what is color space? We’re going to answer that question by outlining the color space definition. By the end, you’ll know why it's important and how to get started with it.Continue reading What is Color Space — Mastering Color in Post in Photo & Film
One of the best places to start when learning about photography is learning about the different portrait lighting setups. From these lighting setups, you’ll be able to learn how light position can completely change the effect on a photo. One of the most common portrait lighting setups is broad lighting. What is broad lighting and how is it created? This is a simple, yet distinctive lighting setup that you will want to use or avoid depending on the effects you are trying to create in your photograph. In this article, we’ll discuss those effects and help you add this technique…
