Guides

Looking for the best products for photographers? PetaPixel's experts are constantly testing a wide range of cameras, lenses, accessories, computers, services, and more to let you know where your money is best spent. Our Guides are regularly updated, so check back for our most up-to-date recommendations.

How to Contact Facebook Support

Facebook is one of the largest social media networks in the world, with about three billion active users. That equates to a massive demand for Facebook support. Like most prominent internet companies, Facebook tries to handle support with automated systems to reduce the burden on its representatives.

Color Filters for Black-and-White Photography: A Complete Guide

Lens filters are one of the most affordable yet also most versatile accessories you can stow in your lens bag. Some of them, like polarizers and UV filters, are practically ubiquitous in modern-day photography, used both to lend images a unique look as well as to protect your costly gear.

Best Smartphones

The Best Smartphones for Photography in 2023

Almost everyone wields a camera these days because they already have one by default on their smartphones. But not just any phone will capture the best results, and that’s why some stand out for particular reasons.

How to Shoot an Astro Timelapse

Milky Way season is the best time to learn how to plan and shoot an astrophotography timelapse, capturing the majestic galactic core in motion!

How to Delete Your Snapchat Account

Snapchat is a popular social media app that makes it easy to keep in touch with friends and quickly share selfies, photos, and videos. With 382 million daily active users, it's also a great place to get brand exposure.

How and Where to Photograph Moose

What is the animal sighting that tops many visitors’ wishlists in Yellowstone, Canada, or Alaska? You might think the answer is straightforward: grizzly bears. Wolves. Bison. The answer, however, is moose!

Humancentric workflow desk

The Best Desks for Photographers and Editors in 2023

Working photographers may seem like they lead an adventurous life, traveling, and capturing images of people and places worldwide. But the truth is, even with all the adventure, most photographers spend most of their time sitting at a desk.

The Photography Terms Glossary

The world of photography is full of words and phrases that can be confusing for new photographers, so PetaPixel has put together a complete glossary of everything you may want to know the meaning of if you're just getting started.

How to Use a Graduated ND Filter in Landscape Photography

In landscape photography, it is helpful to have three specific lens filters in your camera bag. These are the circular polarizer (CPL) filter, the neutral density (ND) filter, and the graduated neutral density filter (GND).

Caffenol: A Guide to Developing B&W Film with Coffee

One of the greatest things about film photography is its friendliness toward do-it-yourself approaches. Want to hack together a working camera out of discount hardware store supplies? All the power to you! Want to shoot on art paper coated in a home-concocted emulsion, contact-printed using authentic techniques from the 1800s? Why not?

Glossy vs. Matte Photo: Which is Best for Printed Pictures?

Printing your photography is a great way to display it, give it as a gift, and experiment with different ways to present your work. One aspect of printing that will inevitably come up is the type of paper that you want to print on -- should you choose glossy or matte?

How to Build a DIY Camera Trap for Amazing Wildlife Photography

As a wildlife photographer, I'm always looking for ways to capture stunning images of animals in their natural habitats. One technique I've found to be incredibly effective is using a custom-made, DIY, DSLR camera trap, which is a camera setup that is triggered by the movement of an animal.

Grizzly 399: Where to Photograph the World’s Most Famous Bear

When a grizzly bear appears in Wyoming's Grand Teton or Yellowstone National Park, traffic comes to a grinding halt. Hundreds of cars get stuck in a traffic jam that can go on for miles - called a bear jam - and everyone's heart rate goes up in the hopes of spotting this legendary predator. Seeing a wild grizzly is the highlight of many family vacations.

Best UV Filters

The Best Protection Filters for Lenses in 2023

If you want to get a rise from fellow photographers, hop onto any online photography forum and discuss ultraviolet (UV) lens filters. You can say they're excellent or that they're worthless. Either way, you're sure to kickstart a less-than-friendly debate. Like most online debates, there'll be no winners.

Food Photography: A Complete Guide

Food photography is one of the easiest photography disciplines to start out with. You can arrange food however you like. It doesn’t scamper away mid-shoot and doesn’t get tired. It’s also relatively contained and easy to practice.

A Beginner’s Guide to Zone Focusing in Photography

Zone focusing (ZF) is a great way to pre-set your camera's focus and aperture, then use that setting for multiple shots. Street shooters love it. And it's also great for sports, pets, jumpy kids, parties, or any subjects in motion.

How to Pose for Pictures: The Ultimate Guide

Great portrait photography is so much more than just about knowing how to work a camera. You can memorize your camera’s entire manual and still not be confident in a portrait shoot because most portraits require posing. Luckily, this is the right place to learn how to pose and become a better portrait photographer.

PictureThis: The Best Plant Identifier Camera App

PictureThis is the most popular plant identifier app, and it works with the camera on your iPhone or Android phone. While the recognition of PictureThis isn't perfect, it generally proves to be remarkably accurate thanks to its well-trained AI.

Best Waterproof Camera

The Best Waterproof Cameras in 2023

Waterproof cameras are the perfect companion for a sunny beachside vacation, an exciting undersea scuba dive, or even shredding snowy slopes. Waterproof cameras allow photographers to capture unique underwater perspectives and photograph beautiful sea life. They also allow for amazing action shots of watersports.

A Guide to Third-Party Chinese Lens Brands

Lenses are big business: while we have seen the value of camera shipments nose-dive year-on-year, lens value has slowly increased and is now equal to about a third of the camera market. It's for this reason that third-party manufacturers have increased their stake in this market and particularly at the low-cost end where Chinese manufacturers proliferate. Who are these companies and what does their appearance presage in terms of the camera market as a whole?

Leica M3: The 35mm Film Camera That Became a Legend

During the century-or-so that film was the dominant medium in photography, a handful of cameras made a mark deeper than the rest and became legendary for their impact and legacy. One of these was the Leica M3.

What is Focal Length in Photography?

One of the most basic and common terms in the world of photography is the focal length of a lens. In this guide, we will dive down deep into what focal length is and how it works.

How to Scan Photos on iPhone

Physical photographs can be scanned with an iPhone and it's easy to get good results with a little preparation and attention to detail. There are several apps that you can use to speed up and simplify the process, each with a different approach. The app that's best depends on your particular needs.

What is an Intervalometer?

An intervalometer is an important tool for photographers that is useful across a range of photography genres and techniques, including timelapses, focus stacking, and long exposures.

How to Reverse Image Search on iPhone

Reverse image search is an incredibly useful technology, allowing you to locate online photos that are an exact match or similar in some way to your own. It can also be used to search for products and places just by supplying a picture, even if it's an image that you found online. With the right app, it's possible to get a live result from your smartphone's camera.