Technique

Our friend Jared Polin, otherwise known as the Fro behind FroKnowsPhotos, has just launched a comprehensive six-hour video guide to producing DSLR video. Aimed at both beginners and advanced photographers, the guide offers an introduction to basic concepts like selecting frame rate and shutter speed, and includes how-tos for shooting a variety of video types. Read more

Nature photographer Erez Marom shares the story of his image 'Spot the Shark', taken at Breiðamerkursandur - 'the ice beach' in Iceland. In this article he explains how he set up and took the picture, and the post-processing steps required to get to the final result. Click through for the full story.

High-key lighting is a classic look for portraits or product photography that minimizes shadows and produces a bright, vibrant look. Although typically shot in the studio with lots of high-powered lights, it's possible to produce a similar look at home using some fairly basic kit. In this article we'll talk you through a simple backyard setup and some easy post-processing that will serve as a great introduction to high-key portraiture. Learn more

Nature photographer Erez Marom had cold feet - literally - when he created this image. Standing (with thermal boots on) in the freezing waters of a glacier lagoon in Iceland, he saw an opportunity to capture a unique ice formation in the foreground, distant snow-capped mountains and the Aurora Borealis above it all. In this article he explains how he used focus stacking to get the look he wanted for his final image, 'Flames of the North'. Learn more

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is making materials from 12 of its photography-related courses available free online under a Creative Commons license. Selected reference materials, syllabus structure and lesson plan guidance is published and free to download via the institute’s Open Course Ware (OCW) program, to alllow motivated individuals to teach themselves. Click through for more details.

Jeremy Floto and Cassandra Warner are the husband-and-wife duo behind Floto+Warner, a New York-based photo studio. Their aptly titled 'Colourant' series features Western and Midwestern US landscapes with - literally - a splash of color. Fast shutter speeds freeze the action and give them the appearance of sculptures, suspended in time for only a moment. They answered some questions about the series - see more of their work and find out how it came together. See gallery

John Keys is a UK-based photographer who captures the streets of England's north-east with a 19th Century camera using the wet plate collodion process. Although long since abandoned by most professional and enthusiast photographers, collodion has come back into fashion in recent years for its unique look. click through for a look at John's work and to learn more about how - and why - he chooses to work with a Victorian photographic medium.

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is already home to some of the most impressive aviation and astronomical technology in the modern wold, but it has also become the home of one of the most impressive photographs ever taken as well. On display now is a 107 feet wide 'camera-obscura' image of a decommissioned Marine Corps air station. Learn more

Engagement photo sessions are not only an additional source of income for photographers but, as New York City-based wedding photographer Ryan Brenizer explains, these shoots provide the perfect opportunity to establish a relationship with the couple and learn how to make them feel comfortable in front of the camera before the big day. See video

Nikon's latest in a series of behind the scenes videos features photographer Joe McNally. An off-camera lighting wizard, McNally shares some useful tips from three different flash scenarios. No diffusion panel? No worries, McNally explains you can get the same results by placing a bed sheet between the flash and the subject. And as natural light began flowing through his studio, like any good photographer, McNally moved his model to make some pictures — without flash, this time. See video

British photographer Richard Heeks has made a project of taking something ordinary - soap bubbles - and making them extraordinary. Some of his images capture the exact moment when a bubble bursts, while others reflect the environment around with interesting color. One of his bubbles even looks like the 'Death Star' from the Star Wars trilogy. To get the photos, he took thousands of shots, gradually learning how light, weather, aperture and shutter speeds affect the final image. See gallery

In part 2 of our Benjamin Von Wong interview, we go deeper into the fire photographs, but also explore what inspired Von Wong to take on photography full time.

ETTR, Exposure to the Right, results in an exposure that maximizes captured signal-to-noise and provides the best information from which to base a final image. This can be achieved in several ways. ETTR images of scenes with low-DR and high-DR require very different processing steps.

Our friend Jared Polin over at Fro Knows Photo is running a holiday season promotion on his latest video guide, FroKnowsPhoto Flash Guide. Until the end of the year you'll be able to buy the instant digital download version for just $57. Not bad for three hours of practical advice on flash photography delivered in the Fro's inimitable style.

Michael Paul Smith's photos look like snapshots of classic cars. In reality, they're clever creations that use forced perspective to combine miniatures and real-world backdrops in an utterly convincing final product. His miniatures live in a fictional U.S. town called Elgin Park, a place populated with vintage cars and the trappings of everyday life in the 1950's and 1960's. See gallery

An Explanation of why and how to use Av + Auto-ISO

The folks behind CreativeLive, an online resource for photographers co-founded by Chase Jarvis, have kicked off Photo Week: six days of educational workshops streamed live online for free. Workshops will be broadcast over three channels with topics including wedding, family and portrait photography. It begins today - click through for more details.

Grey skies, rain and high winds are no reason not to go out with the camera. This article explains how to get good shots even in the worst of weather.

Think ants are only interested in crashing your summer picnic? When they're not after our stray watermelon slices, it seems they're busy in engaging in ant-to-ant combat. Alex Wild's macro photography reveals the warring nature (and surprisingly frightening jaws) of these seemingly unassuming insects. His photos reveal fights over territory, conflicts between colonies and brutal take-downs that rival UFC brawls - all going on otherwise unnoticed at our feet.

A good summer photo project doesn't necessarily require a lot of expensive equipment, just a camera, an idea and the persistence to see it through. Chances are you've already got everything you need to kick off a photo series of your own. At DPReview we're always looking for new and interesting photos on the web and lately we've noticed a lot of inspired projects. Some are fairly laborious, while others take a simple idea and run with it. Check out these projects and why not get started on your own?

With summer finals out of the way, 17-year-old photographer Ian Komac has devoted his newfound free time to a photo project. Called 60 Days of Summer, the Belgian teen's manipulated photos give landscapes and everyday objects a whimsical twist. Click to see more of his photos and gain a little inspiration for your own summer photo project.

Sigma has posted an informative article on its blog by photographer Jack Howard, sharing tips on how to photograph fireworks. The article comes just in time for the 4th of July celebrations in the USA, but is equally relevant to various festivals, year-wide, all over the world. Tips include obvious pointers like making sure you have a good, sturdy tripod, but also more detailed advice about how to set up your camera's exposure and focus modes, as well as how to trigger exposures. Click through for a link to the article at blog.sigmaphoto.com.

In a 'Master Series' video posted by lighting maker Profoto USA, celebrated photographer Greg Heisler shares a behind the scenes tale of how he created a unique on-location portrait of then-NBA star Alonzo Mourning. In explaining a lighting setup that even most other pros would struggle to pull off, Heisler breaks down his lighting diagram for a shot that he conceived, 'just because I think it looks cool'. (via Strobist)

As a database-driven app, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom requires you to import images before you can edit or organize them. Lightroom expert Martin evening explains the benefits of this approach.

Pro photographer and Lightroom expert Martin Evening gives an overview of best practices when importing images into Lightroom 4. Learn how to make image management and organization more efficient and productive.

The new Blur Gallery in Photoshop CS6 provides a powerful yet easy to use interface to create selective focus and tilt lens effects. See these tools in action and learn how to successfully apply them to your own images.

The Photoshop CS6 Public Beta introduces a host of new functionality along with a completely redesigned interface. Learn which changes and new features are relevant to photographers and image editing.

Highlight Alert-Expose To The Right (HA-ETTR) is a variation on ETTR that gives the photographer an easier way to determine the correct exposure for the best quality image.

Even though lo-fi photographic styles have all come from the analog world of film, these techniques are finding their way in to the digital realm. Retro filters included in newer cameras and social photo sharing applications are most likely the catalyst for lo-fi's recent popularity.

It's easy to create and add textures to images, creating a more painterly look that adds depth and dimension. Learn how painting with pixels can help you create some striking imagery.

There are a variety of image editing tools to increase the appearance of detail in your image. Understanding how they work will allow you to choose the right tool for the job at hand.

Both digital graduated neutral density filters and single image HDR Toning, as well as multi image HDR processing, can effectively even out the exposure within images that have areas that are far too light or too dark. Certain situations may lend themselves more to one approach than the other.

An in-depth discussion about Auto-ISO, we explore the way Auto-ISO functions, the rationale behind its use, and its advantages.