Video takes most of the principles of still photography and then throws them into a bag with time, movement, compatibility, playback, editing, and ridiculous jargon. Then it shakes the bag up and dumps it out all over the table like a low country boil. It's beyond delicious, but there’s a lot going on. You can go as far down the rabbit hole as you like, but to get started in video you only need to grasp a few basic principles. One of those non-negotiable principles is frame rate.
Read MoreChances are, if you’re taking the time and effort to sit in a car or squeeze yourself into a plane for hours on end you’re likely going somewhere interesting (at least we hope). If that’s the case then you’ll probably want to capture, document, and otherwise commemorate the trip. If only there were a way to paint a picture instantly of all the cool things you would see… Cameras! Cameras. Ahem… You’ll probably be taking a camera with you.
Read MoreLike we discussed in the first post, sometimes it can be a good decision to capture some foreground interest in your image of the night sky to turn the image into a landscape. This has the effect of providing depth and perspective to the image. This is a good choice, however because the night sky is so dark there’s likely little light hitting your foreground. A fully blocked up foreground silhouetted against the night sky can be done purposefully and, depending on the silhouette, can be quite pleasing. However, if you’d like to capture information in your foreground you’ll run into issues.
Read MoreThis is the first in an ongoing series of articles featuring lens based image makers we’ve seen come through our doors and rent our gear to do the things they do best.
Read MoreThe night sky is captivating, and has been so since mankind has been able to look up and wonder what all of those little points of light really are. If you’ve ever been camping or taken a cross country road trip, you’ve likely looked up at night and been shocked by how many stars are up there, especially when compared to a city’s night sky.
Read MoreThere’s not much that beats being outdoors with the intention of capturing the natural world. The beauty the earth has to offer certainly is astounding and worth taking the time to capture and appreciate, though often we photograph landscapes just one way.
Read MoreAudio… The archenemy of any beginning (or experienced) video shooter. In all actuality, audio is its own discipline separate from photography and videography. It is equally challenging and requires its own skillset and workflow. Audio is non-negotiable, and can make or break a production.
Read MoreIt can be tricky to get everything you need to be in focus all the time. When all else fails, there is another option: focus stacking.
Instead of expanding depth of field in one image, focus stacking relies on multiple images shot at the lens’s sharpest aperture to be combined later through software into a single image with perfect focus front to back.
Read MoreWe saw a lot of our equipment go out and make some amazing work last year, and we want to recognize some outstanding performances: Oscars style. Don’t worry about long acceptance speeches, though. Gear can’t talk. (Yet).
Read MoreWide or telephoto? Expanded space or compressed space? Once landing on a choice there, you then have to ask yourself if you'll be looking for a particularly shallow depth of field, and therefore a particularly fast lens, or if you'll be stopping down to f/8 or f/11 for more depth of field. There are a lot of factors that go into lens choice, but one decision you'll inevitably have to make is whether to use a zoom, prime, or both.
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