Tips & Tricks
10 Camera Hacks in Less Than 100 Seconds
Photography TalkI know it sounds impossible to cover 10 awesome camera hacks in just 100 seconds, but trust me, it can be done!
Hayden Pedersen proves as much in the video below.
Even better, each of these hacks is extremely simple to pull of using items that you probably already have just lying around the house.
Have a look at the video to see what you can do to help your camera take even more compelling photos.
Below, I've given a quick summary of a few of my favorite hacks from Hayden.
Enjoy!
Fish Wire Flare
YouTube Screenshot/Hayden Pedersen
It's a simple hack, but an effective one...
If you want a subtle lens flare in your photos, all you need is fishing wire!
YouTube Screenshot/Hayden Pedersen
Cut a short piece to length, ensuring that it's long enough to cover your lens with additional length for you to hang onto on either side of the lens.
Then compose the shot, and voila - lens flare!
Ethereal Ziploc Bag
YouTube Screenshot/Hayden Pedersen
If it's color effects that you're going for in your images, just grab a Ziploc bag and a few markers.
Color the edges of the bag with whatever or however many colors you want, then slide it over your lens.
YouTube Screenshot/Hayden Pedersen
Compose your shot with the subject in the middle of the frame, and the colored portions of the Ziploc will frame the subject with a magical coloration.
Judging from the results in the image above, I don't think anyone would ever guess that the effect was achieved with a plastic bag and a marker!
Vaseline Love Filter
YouTube Screenshot/Hayden Pedersen
Getting a shot with a soft focus around the subject is easy as pie...
Just grab a little vaseline, wipe it around the edges of the lens glass, and frame up the shot.
YouTube Screenshot/Hayden Pedersen
As you can see in the screenshot above, it adds a nice effect to the image and helps bring more attention to the subject.
I'd recommend adding a cheap UV filter to your lens and wiping the vaseline all over it, rather than applying it to your expensive lens!
Surface Reflection
YouTube Screenshot/Hayden Pedersen
Adding a reflection to your images is a fun way to make them more unique and eye-catching.
And all you need to do that is to grab your mobile phone...
YouTube Screenshot/Hayden Pedersen
Just place your phone (screen up) right underneath your lens to get the effect shown above.
Talk about an easy, yet impactful camera hack!
Detached Lens Dream
YouTube Screenshot/Hayden Pedersen
This one is a little tricky, but can definitely be worth the effort.
By detaching your lens and holding it freehand in front of your camera, you can create a blurry, dreamy image.
YouTube Screenshot/Hayden Pedersen
The trick is to get the distance between the camera and the detached lens just right so that you can get a shot that has the blurriness you want but is still enough in focus to see what the subject is.
It takes some practice, for sure, but once you master it, you can create some awesomely creative shots!
And there you have it - a few fun camera hacks that you can do at home.
Give these a try and see if you can get results that are as good as what Hayden pulled off in his video!