2012 is fast coming to a close, so I thought that now would be a good time to reflect on my 50 favourite photography posts from the year, covering tutorials, tips, news, videos, photos, inspiration, and more.
I tried my best to order them by content, rather than quality, but to be honest with you, I gave up. When you browse through the very vast array of content, I think you’ll agree that it would be near impossible to rank them by quality. Like apples and oranges.
Also, with 50 tutorials to browse through, the last thing you want to do is read more from me (I’ll be surprised if you’re even reading this), so I’ve tried to keep my summaries short and sweet.
Without any further adieu, here’s my top 50 photography posts from 2012…
15 Photography Mistakes I Made All the Time As A Beginner
I’m a big believer in learning from other people’s mistakes, rather than my own. So when a post like this comes along, I’m always interested in seeing if there’s anything I can learn. Fun little post.
50 Quick Photography Tips
This is from Kai at DigitalRev, where he lists 50 Quick Photography Tips in less than 15 minutes. Quite amusing as always, and good content too.
RAW vs JPEG (JPG) – The Ultimate Visual Guide
Shooting RAW vs JPEG is a question that every photographer faces at some point. This is basically everything you need to know about making the choice. Hint: you want to shoot RAW.
Common photographic mistakes by beginners, amateurs and pros – and how to avoid them
Beginners: Ever wonder why your photos don’t look ‘professional?’ Amateurs: ever wonder why you lack consistency? Pros: Ever wonder why you lose your edge or drive? Wonder no longer.
10 Ways To Improve as a Photographer
This post comes from by Jim Goldstein, a very well known landscape, nature and travel photographer, and he offers up some really useful insight into what he believes it takes to improve as a photographer.
Posing Guide: 21 Sample Poses to Get You Started with Glamour Photography
I’ve seen a lot of posing guides this year, and this one in particular seems to be quite popular, as glamour and fashion photography is on the rise.
This Great Summary of Exposure
Understanding Exposure – ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed Explained. When you think of the craft or art of photography, you must immediately think of exposure. Exposure is a critical element that determines what is actually recorded on film or the image sensor.
The Ultimate Beginner’s Introduction to Exposure
This is a very long post, so be warned. But it’s one of the best guides that I’ve come across as it covers everything you need to know, and there’s good diagrams too.
99 Common Photography Problems (and how to solve them)
These are 99 of the most common photography problems and offered solutions to get round them, so you never have to be in doubt ever again! They’ve offered a mix of camera tips, explanations, definitions and more to help answer your questions.
The Simplified Guide to Getting Started in Photoshop
When photographer Devon Mikale was in high school, he created this lengthy manual for his newspaper class to help others learn how to get started in Photoshop. Here he’s shared it online for free. It’s great.
39 BS-Free Tips To Change Your Photography Forever
Is it a faux pas to include my own website in here? Possibly. But it’s the best post that I’ve written this year, and I wanted to share it with you. It’s something I wrote on a bit of a rant, and it came out great.
How Lens Focal Length Shapes the Face & Controls Perspective: A Lighting Tutorial
The lens or focal length of the lens you choose has a profound impact on the image. It effects the perspective, background and features of the subject. This is an important lesson.
A Behind-the-Scenes Glimpse of Matthew Albanese’s Magical Miniature Worlds
These amazing images appear to show beautiful outdoor scenes, but were actually shot on a tabletop in his studio. He creates extremely detailed dioramas that take months to complete, and then uses various photographic techniques to make the scene look like the real world.
BeetleCam vs the Lions of the Masai Mara
These guys basically strapped a Canon 550D and a Canon 1Ds MK III to a couple remote controlled cars, and got up close and personal with some lions in the wild. Some really cool shots, definitely worth checking out.
It’s all about the Jaw
Peter Hurley explains how he accentuates the jawline of his clients with a few simple tips that you’ll want to add to your repertoire for quick use whenever you have a human being in front of your camera.
Photographing the Nuclear Disaster in Fukushima
VICE accompanies photographer Donald Weber to the buffer zone at Fukushima, Japan, where the eerie silence mirrors that at Chernobyl, and follow him as he attempts to document the unfolding nuclear crisis. Gotta love VICE magazine.
Get Some Perspective
It’s good to have a little perspective—to know where you stand and just how big (or small) your world and the things in it are. Most pictures we see include something we recognize—a person, a house, a car, or something else that we already know the size of.
102 Things I Have Learned About Street Photography
Eric Kim has been doing street photography for five years, and he’s learned a lot through trial and error during that time. Here’s a list of 102 of those lessons. You can read my interview with him here.
Kite Aerial Photography 101
In this post you will be shown how to build a quick and easy rig to get your camera flying (without any magic wands and jumping from nukem driven airplanes).
6 Portrait Lighting Patterns Every Photographer Should Know
In classical portraiture there are several things you need to control and think about to make a flattering portrait of your subjects, including: lighting ratio, lighting pattern, facial view, and angle of view. This is one of your first steps.
Give Yourself an Honest Portfolio Review
Portfolio reviews are incredibly important because it allows you to see your work through someone else’s eyes who are seeing your work for the first time. This will help you to see where you can improve.
Behind the scenes at a McDonald’s photo shoot
Isabel M from Toronto asked “Why does your food look different in the advertising than what is in the store?” The answer? An exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of a McDonald’s Canada photo shoot.
Futuristic Family Reunions with Skype
In Singapore, it is a common practice for entire families to gather on special occasions for a formal picture, often at a studio, with the resulting image framed and prominently displayed at home. The growing tendency of younger family members to take jobs abroad, however, has left many modern portraits missing a relation or two. So the Singaporean photographer John Clang devised a solution, piggybacking on the video-calling technology that already helps ease the dislocation of separated family members: Skype.
How To: Photograph a Stranger, by Jimmy Hickey
This video goes over the process of taking photographs of strangers while traveling the world, or walking to the local convenience store. The idea, the approach, creation, and closing are the four main points presented here.
How To Shoot A Liquid Flow
If you like waterdrop photography, then you’re going to love this. It’s creative, colourful, and very impressive photography, which you can do at home by yourself.
How to Manually Create an HDR Photo in Photoshop
Here’s a tutorial on how to do non-automated HDR for real estate photography using Photoshop CS5. I hate HDR which looks like a clown has thrown up on it. This is much better.
The Photographers You Idolize Are No Better Than You
Think you’re rubbish, and you don’t know what you’re doing? Don’t worry, you’re certainly not alone. Pros are just pretending anyway- fake it til you make it!
12 Things You Didn’t Know Your DSLR Could Do
Your digital SLR is a picture-making powerhouse. It likely has additional capabilities you may not know about—features that can improve your photos and make for a more enjoyable shooting experience. You may be surprised at the clever elves lurking in your camera body.
Famous Photographers: 225 tips to inspire you
Here are some insightful words of advice from more than 50 DCW interviews. Famous photographers from a wide range of disciplines offer their top tips and photo ideas, as well as provide insight into the best practices that helped make them famous.
An Expert Guide to Matting and Framing a Photo
Photos live in the print, and this is a really tremendous guide about how to matt and frame them yourself, with lots of photos to guide you. Sure, you can pay someone else to do it for you, but I enjoy this sort of thing.
Almost (I’ll make ya) Famous
This is probably a photo you’ve all seen before. Read the story about how the photo was taken, and the response the photographer has had since he first published it.
Inspirational Photos by Neil Armstrong
As the primary photographer of that first successful manned lunar mission in 1969, Neil Armstrong, was responsible for some of the most iconic images of the modern age. Come have a look at some of them.
100 Things I Have Learned About Photography
This is similar to the other post listed by Eric Kim above, only it is much more broad, covering photography as a whole. My favourite point is: Travel and photography are the perfect pair.
20 Things I Wish I Knew About Camera Lenses
People often think that the 18-270mm lens is a really great choice, because it does so much. False. It sucks. This post will teach you plenty about camera lenses.
10 DIY Photography Projects to Save You Money
Whoopsies, here I am again. The post I listed previously was my best post of the year, this is the post that’s received the most visitors, so I figure it’s only fair to include it. Plus finding 50 different posts is harrrrd. It links to 10 different posts, so don’t go giving me the credit.
50 Great Photographers You Should Know (With Portfolios)
Being a good photographer is not easy, let alone getting to that professional level. Here are some of the greatest photographers around the globe and their awesome portfolios. Hopefully you’ll be able to get some sort of inspiration from their work.
How to See If Your Photos Are Being Used On Another Site
People steal photos all the time, because they’re selfish, or they’re tight, or they just don’t get that it’s stealing. Using this technique, you will be able to see for yourself if anyone has taken your photos.
Rules for Perfect Lighting: Understanding The Inverse-Square Law
This is a rather technical post, all about lighting, and the inverse-square law. You may find it a little heavy if you have no experience with lighting, but I assure you it’s worth the read.
Scanning Film Negatives with a DSLR
I don’t know if this is something you’ll be able to crack on your first try, but it’s certainly a good way to scan your film negatives, you that you can maximise the resolution, and get the results you want.
14 Ways To Significantly Improve Your Photography Today
Here is a collection of tips you can go out and try today to improve your photography and creative eye. Pay no attention to the order, they are all completely random and spontaneous.
Ian Ruhter - self-taught tintype photographer making the largest wet plate print ever
Ian has created some truly amazing photos using a tintype camera, which he’s made in the back of a van. This interview and video discusses how he did it, and the amazing results he’s produced.
Dirk Dallas Shares His Favorite Phoneography Apps, Tips & More!
The majority of us carry a camera with us everywhere we go. And the best camera we have is the one we have on us. The one on our phone. Learn how to improve your phoneography.
The world’s 25 most beautiful travel destinations
Photography and travel go hand in hand, and if you’re looking for inspiration, and beautiful places to take photos, then this blog post covers a really cool selection of locations.
lebron, wade, and i
I love seeing behind the scenes photos like these, especially when they’re this good. The style is really candid, and expressive, and they capture the atmosphere of a professional athlete. Well worth a look if you haven’t seen them already.
10 Tips for Improving Your Wildlife Photography
More and more people have become photography enthusiasts, and more and more photography enthusiasts have started venturing into a genre previously reserved for only a select few…Wildlife Photography.
Tips From The Pros: Follow Three Photographs From Shutter Press to Finished Images
In fine-art, advertising, fashion, even landscape photography, the distance between a single press of the shutter button and the final image has never been greater. Here’s an inside look at what some master manipulators do to create their work.
Seven Things I Wish I’d Have Known When I First Became A Photographer
Scott Bourne wants to tell you seven things he wishes he’d known before becoming a photographer. Why would you not read this? My favourite point is number 4.
28 Resolutions from 28 Seasoned Photographers
Lots of outstanding insights, commitments and lessons can be found in their goals for 2012. And one thing is clear – regardless of their niche, these photographers are determined to get serious about marketing.
Online Hue Recognition Test
How good is your hue recognition? It’s important to know, because 1 out of 255 women and 1 out of 12 men have some form of color vision deficiency.
Best photos of the year 2012
The conflict in Syria escalated as the pressure to oust President Bashar al-Assad intensified. Hurricane Sandy struck the U.S. Northeast leaving heavy destruction a week before the country re-elected Barack Obama as President. In this showcase, the photographers offer a behind the scenes account of the images that helped define the year.
How do you think I did then? What have I missed? Leave me a comment and let me know. Thanks – Josh.
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