Trick Photography and Special Effects

Explore long exposure and light painting techniques, using manual mode, ISO 100, f/11, and adjustable shutter speeds, plus light drawing with maglite and lcd lights.

master light painting with mini and larger flashlights, fiber optic adapters, and xenon bulbs, and learn to diffuse light with cloth while writing letters or patterns.

Learn to create physio grams, or spiral graphs, by suspending a light on a string from the ceiling and capturing a 20-second exposure to trace spirals and Y-shaped patterns.

Learn to assemble and power an RGB LED strip with a control box and remote, adjust red, green, blue colors, and use fade and flash settings for dynamic lighting.

Use a backhoe work lights lcd strip device to paint concentric circles around a bonsai scene, with magnet mounts and a spinning hook for precise exposure.

Learn how fairy lights and LCD LEDs power light painting to create hollow orbs or lined orbs, with wiring tricks, color options, and orbital motion around a quarter.

Explore laser pens for textures, light drawings, and dramatic effects. Learn Photoshop stack and blend methods, including load files into stack, lighting, and screen.

Use fiber optics to create color trails, lines, and abstract focus with a moving light source; adjust aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.

Build a do-it-yourself cathode light for light painting using a blue cathode, inverter, battery pack, and switch, with color gels for different hues.

Explore cathode alternatives for trick photography, including a portable fluorescent light, a v 24 coast light stick, and glow sticks, with diffused brightness, color options, and practical light painting tips.

Use an external flash to freeze action and paint with light, then combine manual and digital flashes, gels, and wireless triggers to create colored shadows.

Create light designs with a black cardboard flash stencil placed before the camera, using a pyramid shape and interchangeable designs with low flash power.

Craft a reusable torch with a Kevlar wick, copper wire wrap, and a metal pipe, then fuel it with Coleman fuel or lamp oil for dramatic fire photography.

Learn to create a composite star trails and pentagram fire image by blending three photos in Photoshop, using layer masks, blending modes, and careful alignment for a seamless panorama.

Spin steel wool in a whisk attached to a cable to create sparks for night photography, then shoot on a tripod in manual mode at 30 seconds, ISO 200, f/8.

Discover how to use a portable EL wire kit to create light painting effects, with mode switches, bending and coiling for smoky visuals, and a recommended 5 mm wire.

Learn daytime long exposures to blur motion using the nine-stop Hoya nd 400 filter, extending shutter speeds for smooth water and clouds.

Learn to create star trails by shooting 30-second exposures in continuous mode with a tripod and external shutter release, emphasizing a strong foreground, clear sky, and North Star alignment.

Combine star trail images using free Star Trails software or Photoshop to create longer, seamless star trails; learn stacking, dark frames, blending, panorama alignment, and optional glow effects.

Learn to create light paintings by dropping water on a CD and filming with a tripod, long exposures, and a colored light, exploring patterns, colors, and reflections.

Master forced perspective by aligning objects with the camera to make people appear larger or smaller. Use aperture priority and stop down to f/22 to maximize depth of field.

Create a dramatic heart shadow with a lamp using frosted or clear bulbs, a front-lens filter on the book, and adjustable lamp position; rings or red filter yield red heart.

Learn to create a trick effect by placing an LCD or flashlight behind a frosted light bulb to diffuse light and conceal the source, and adjust the angle and position.

Master a reach-through monitor illusion by capturing two frames with a screen border and a desktop background, then place a hand in the second frame—no photoshop.

Learn to create a transparent laptop screen effect by shooting two pictures, one with the screen open and one with it closed, then blend them in Photoshop using layer masks.

Discover four ways to capture 3D photos, from lens attachments and dual-lens cameras to side-by-side DSLR setups, then post-process and view with blue and red glasses, cross-eyed, or parallel viewing.

Learn to photograph bubbles with an aluminum wire frame wrapped in sponge tape, a glycerin bubble solution, and two flashes with a soft box for even illumination.

Learn high-speed photography by freezing motion with a flash in a dark room, using five-second exposure and timing with a time machine and drip kit for precise splashes.

Capture dramatic smoke portraits using a flash, careful lighting, and a black background; sharpen focus, adjust levels, and creatively colorize and mirror images in post-processing.

Learn to create fake smoke using a long eight second exposure and a moving light, with a mag light, tungsten white balance, and a black background, with no photoshop required.

Learn to create bokeh by keeping a sharp subject with a blurred background, using a 200mm or 50mm lens and apertures from f/6.3 to f/1.8, with soft lighting.

Print two copies of shape designs on transparencies, tape them together, and place them in front of a 50mm f/1.8 lens; use text backwards and expect a hazy bokeh.

Explore multiple exposures to blend images for ghostly invisibility, silhouettes, and psychedelic effects by controlling exposure, focus, auto gain, and camera motion.

Explore the photoelasticity effect by using two polarizing filters—linear behind the plastic and circular in front—and cross them to reveal stress patterns.

Master high dynamic range photography by bracketing nine exposures, stabilizing with a tripod, and merging in Photoshop or Photomatix Pro with tone mapping and ghosting control.

Learn near infrared photography (700–900 nm), using either infrared blocking filter removal or a filter like Hoya R72, with white balance and RAW workflows for blue skies and bright vegetation.

Master 360 degree panoramas and 360x180 panoramas by shooting ground to sky, overlapping frames, and stitching with manual settings, handheld capture, or a panoramic tripod head.

Learn to create seamless 360 by 180 panoramas with a panoramic tripod head, find the no parallax point, shoot with the widest angle and manual focus, then stitch and refine.

Learn to create 360x180 panoramas, building tunnel and donut-hole planets, clean shadows with clone stamp and content-aware fill, and mirror layers for seamless 360 effects.

Learn to create fake 360x180 panoramas in Photoshop by turning a single photo into a circular planet using offset, polar coordinates, and the clone stamp and dodge tools.

Explore time displacement photography using a flatbed scanner by moving your subject as the scan line travels, producing anamorphic, distorted faces and objects.

Learn how to create a layer mask, paint with black and white to hide or reveal layers, use selections and keyboard shortcuts, and explore blending modes and opacity.

Explore creating a head-in-a-pot composite with a realistic steam effect using Photoshop masks, pen tool selections, gaussian blur, and careful layer alignment and blending.

Exploit shadows with layer masks to create multiple, surreal shadows using a tripod and self timer; erase with a black brush to sculpt isolated figures.

Create a photo composite by placing a person in a room window using selections, layer masks, and free transform, then adjust color and contrast to black-and-white or infrared styles.

Create a composite by using layer masks in Photoshop to fuse two photos, making one eye look left and the other look right, with precise brush control and repositioning.

Set up a dark headshot with a 45-degree umbrella light and backdrop. Capture with a timer, convert to black and white, refine with masks.

Master multiplicity by capturing yourself or objects in multiple positions with interval meter and manual exposure, then combine frames to create clones in Photoshop using layer masks and sky replacement.

Learn how to create levitation photography by combining two photos in Photoshop, removing the stool, masking the subject, and painting in soft shadows to sell the illusion.

Master floating fruit photography by shooting two frames—banana on a skewer and an empty plate—with manual settings and umbrella flash, then composite in Photoshop using layer masks.

Master creating an invisible man shot by shooting in manual mode, then align frames in Photoshop with layer masks and pen tool selections, finishing with HDR toning.

Learn to create an invisible man photo by shooting two identical frames on a tripod with the same aperture and white balance, then blend using layer masks and dodge/burn.

Learn to create surreal portraits by manipulating faces and bodies in Photoshop, using layer masks, blending, and content aware scaling to build faceless heads and oversized features.

Explore the Harris shutter effect by combining red, green, and blue channel photos captured separately, and learn to assemble them in Photoshop to create color trails from moving elements.

Create a fake tilt-shift effect to turn aerial photos into miniature cities. Use a layer mask with a reflective gradient and lens blur to control focus.

Learn to create the Droste effect by repeating an image inside a circle or rectangle, using Photoshop or Math Map, and adjust center shift and spiral options.

Learn to create a floating grass image by shooting on a tripod in manual mode with two pictures, then composite in Photoshop using layer masks and shadow work.

Bonus outro wraps up video series and invites viewers to visit photo streams dot com for free tutorials, subscribe to mailing list, and follow on Facebook and YouTube for updates.