Photocritic photography blog

Haunting, surreal, and quite possibly the first major way in which digital photography does something which film photography can’t emulate - or even come near. HDR - or High Dynamic Range - photography is nothing new, but as new tools and techniques make the artform more available, HDR photography is taking off in a big way.

If you’ve never had a go… and especially if you don’t even know what I’m on about - you’re in for a real treat… Read the rest of the article »

Imagine, for a second, that you are a young person with a camera. There are other cameras in the world around you, and there are people who use those cameras, too, but nobody really knows what they are doing, nobody can teach you anything you don’t already know, and the only tool you have in the world is the internet. All hope is lost … Or is it?

I was recently speaking to Elisa Longhitano, who found herself in the same situation. As she was telling me about how she was teaching herself photography, I found myself smiling, and wishing I had access to the internet back when I was learning. Either way, Elisa’s story is a lovely reminder of the fact that all you need to do to learn the dark (well, technically, the perfectly gradient) art of photography, is to be curious, and just that little bit inventive… Read the rest of the article »

Most of us have been unpleasantly surprised (OK, startled) when we’ve looked at photos of ourselves. Everyone says the camera doesn’t lie, but where did that extra chin come from? Why do my arms look so fat? Is my nose really that long? And when did my knees become so… substantial?

It’s enough to make a person terminally camera-shy-which is pretty tricky when another camera may be as near as the closest cell phone, but don’t worry, it’s actually pretty easy to look good on camera - and when you know how to look good, it becomes a lot easier to photograph others so they look good! Read the rest of the article »

Abstract photography is nothing new, and people constantly come up with new — or re-invent old — versions of photography techniques. One of the ones that is going like wild-fire (excuse the pun) around the interwebs at the moment is the art of photographing coloured smoke.

The trend started with the highly talented Graham Jefferey, of Sensitive Light fame, whose phenomenal photographs went around the world via blogs,

We’ve managed to talk to Graham, and find out how he does his smoke photos… Read the rest of the article »

Have you ever thought about why digital compacts with built-in flashes have such an obvious shadow on them? Well, obviously it’s because the camera is too damn small to get some distance between the lens and the flash. Quite apart from the problem with red eyes (which, luckily, is easy to avoid), it means that the shadow thrown on your subjects is annoying. Read the rest of the article »

If you’ve ever taken a photo of a group of people, you’re probably used to the chant of ‘oh no, I blinked’, usually from that obnoxious little blonde that you can’t stand the sight of. But did you know that there is actually some science behind taking photos of people, and whether they blink or not?

Behold - the guide to avoiding people’s half-closed, semi-drugged looks! Read the rest of the article »

The Red Eye phenomenon is something that occurs when you take a picture of someone. If you have a compact camera and you’ve taken a few rolls of pictures, chances are that you have stumbled across the phenomenon, during which the eyes of your subject end up glowing an eerie red glow.

Why does it happen, and how can you avoid it? Read on to find out! Read the rest of the article »

Retro is the new modern. Just look at the new design of this website! Anyway, as far as we can call the 90s retro, there was a distinctive trend in photography that developed rapidly, and has since all but vanished: The ring flash.

Giving an even, smooth light without casting shadows, and giving the funkiest reflections known to man, ring flashes are expensive, but cooler than a penguin’s testicles dipped in liquid nitrogen. The phat bit is that you can make them yourself. You’ll look like a right plonker when you use it, but never you mind - it’s all about the results, isn’t it? Read the rest of the article »

Lomography has been covered at length before, but people keep giving me fantastic tips about lomo photos, so I just can’t help but going back to the topic again and again.

This time, I got a tip about someone who’s made a digital version of the Lomo Coloursplash - essentially a cheap camera with a coloured gel in front of the flashgun.

What a brilliant idea! Read the rest of the article »

Our mate over at Strobist (the newest entry in my “regularly read” photo blogs, btw) has created the Starving Student Off Camera Lighting Kit - or the SSO-CLK. It’s all common sense, but there’s so much of it, and it could save you a great number of dollars, pounds, yen, euros, or whatever you pay for your camera gear with. Read the rest of the article »