Photography nowadays is a competitive business. Your customers judge you based on the quality of the images you produce.

Whether you enjoy photography as a hobby or as a career, it’s pretty important to get a good picture.

To get a high-definition picture you generally require high-end equipment which is expensive as hell in today’s time, hence the hacks.

Using some of the hacks you can save a lot of your money.

You will not require the pieces of equipment to get stunning shots, you can get them using the equipment you have.

Also keeping up with the latest hacks and tricks can help you capture the best pictures. Keeping up can also keep you aware of the latest trends in the market.

These hacks can also improve your photography and can help you see things from a new point of view.

These Photography hacks are more beneficial for beginners rather than for more experienced and established photographers in their field.

There are hacks for almost everything whether it be capturing the image, or manipulating the direction of light to photoshop hacks.

You can also improve your skills by using these photography hacks mentioned.

Photography Hacks You Should Know

here is the list of some best photography hacks to improve your photography skills with NO MONEY !!.

Mobile Reflection Photography
Custom Bokeh Photography
custom MACRO lens
DIY camera filter
Fishtank for the underwater shot
Remove people with photo editing tools
write with sparklers
A Towel As Video Slider
Add Lights With Regular Bulbs
Double exposure
Text Between Objects
DIY softbox for FREE
Homemade devices for Creativity
DIY Fake Bokeh
DIY Tripod For FREE
Through the Lens
Piece of rubber on DSLR strap
Bonus Photography Hacks

Mobile Reflection Photography

This is the first FREE photography hack that I personally like and highly recommended to you.

Tools you need

any flat screen which gives a good/clean reflection.

my favorite is – Mobile Screen or a puddle…

how to do smartphone reflection photography?

to apply this kind of hack you just need to hold your smartphone horizontally in front of your DSLR camera lens.

as you already see the image or holding position of your smartphone screen, I don’t think you need to know more about this position.

you can create your own unique position to capture some awesome unique photographs !!!

using this photography hack you can capture amazing shots like this one !!.

source: mathiasfastphotography

Custom Bokeh Photography

This one is the most common and ‘easy to make‘ type of photography hack available in our list.

this is the most interesting photography hack for me because as a newbie I first learn this trick and I just loved my photographs because they are just amazing.

if you are an entry-level photographer then this tactic may make you more curious to capture more photographs with some different photography hacks.

How to create custom Boken at home?

all you need is just a piece of paper and one sharp scissor to give an amazing shape to that paper.

see this image to know some unique and interesting shapes that you create for this hack. Learn Manual focus to create awesome bokeh.

to capture images, just cut that paper and attach it with your lens using some tap and make your lens blurry that’s it !!!.

Result

See the full video here

Custom MACRO lens

This is another creative photography hack for you.

If you’re an entry-level photographer and don’t have enough money to buy some cool macro lens then don’t worry now you can able to capture some beautiful macro photographs with your primary lens.

I was really surprised when I see this trick for the first time and after doing some experiments with my kit lens I can say that this hack is worth trying.

yes, you can’t able to capture 100% same quality photographs which you capture with a macro lens, but 70% of you can capture the same as a macro lens.

how to create a custom microlens at home?

if you are an experienced and entry-level photographer then you need Nothing.

or if you are just an entry-level photographer then you need some pipe like toilet roll or any tube.

if you have some money then you can buy EXTENSION TUBES to capture a macro photograph, which works the same as a tube & it’s a totally safe way.

( Get Extension Tubes for INDIAN Users/US Users)

(IN SHORT) get any tubes that have a diameter just wider than your camera lens. (your camera lens must fit inside that pipe properly that’s it).

Good Suggestion: use toilet roll as a tube.

for experienced and entry-level photographers

just remove your lens from your DSLR and make some distance between your DSLR camera and lens and switch to display mode so you can see the clear result live in front of your LED screen.

then adjust your lens as a requirement. if the distance between your DSLR camera and lens is more then you capture more clear macro photographs, that’s it.

see this image which I captured using this technique…

Result !!

DIY camera filter

this photography hack is also known as ‘DIY Tilt-Shift Lens’.

if you are an entry-level photographer and have some free time then at that time you can do this kind of hack.

this type of photography hack gives you some unique kind of result which I can’t explain but wait you can see the final result at the end.

How to create a Camera Filter at Home?

so here are some props you need to create a custom and FREE camera filter at home…

some plastic paper and sketch pens !!!.

cut plastic papers in some size so you can attach it with your DSLR camera lens like this.

then paint that plastic paper with your favorite color and attach that paper in front of your camera lens.

remember: don’t take much paper so your camera lens can able to capture other things instead of that colorful paper, we need that paper to give some different kind of art to our photographs.

See the Final Output !!!!

Credit: cooph

Use A Fishtank To Get That Underwater Shot

This is another interesting and unique photography hack available only for you !!!

this photography hack requires NO MONEY !!!, yes that’s totally true.

if you are not using any split dome (Know TOP GoPro Accessories !!!! ) and want to capture some awesome creative photographs underwater then using this method you can do it.

What do you need !!!?

all you need is one transparent square box. ( height and width must be bigger than your DSLR camera ). clean the box first so can’t get any spots while capturing photos.

then insert your DSLR camera inside that box, sink that transparent box (half) into water then capture photographs.

source: dpreview

yeah, that’s really awkward position to capture some great shots (you can use All IN ONE wireless camera remote | For Canon & For Nikon) but believe me, the final result must be awesome !!!.

Do you Wanna Know More Interesting Stuff Related to Photography ?? Check out my Pinterest Board and Follow Me To Make your Photography skill to the next level.

see these photographs which one is captured using this way… The final result may look like this one…

source:pickpik

Remove people with photo editing tools

sometimes when I travel alone and I found some awesome historic place like step wall, mountains or etc then it’s too hard to capture only the step wall or that particular place.

Do you know why !!?? because other people are also trying to capture the same picture or just watching that step wall.

so it’s too hard for lots of photographers to capture what they need !!

if you are one of them then this photography hack is the golden key for you.

How to remove people from the image?

download the application called adobe photoshop to fix it (available for both Android and IOS ).

open the app and use the feature called Healing and then just remove what you don’t want in your photograph, that’s it.

you can even use lightroom and some more alternative apps to use healing tools.

Bonus for you

know some CRAZY and FREE photo editing applications

See these before-after photographs

I found this photograph on the internet, but this app gives you results like this. still have some confusion then read another article on My Top 7 Photo Editing Apps (which contains examples related to this topic IN DEPTH).

write with sparklers

this is another good photography hack for a Creative Photographer.

if you like to capture photographs at night then this hack helps you to make your night photography to the next level.

if you are an entry-level photographer then I hope you’re familiar with shutter speed.

and if you don’t know then just learn the basics about shutter speed.

take one flashlight or for more fun take some other coloring LED lights with you and one tripod.

Find some CHEAP tripods with Great quality on AMAZON for a beginner.

How to write your name with Long Exposure?

set your camera at one steady position and set the shutter speed to 30 sec, then turn on the flashlight in front of your Camera lens and do some artwork

like writing your name or just making unique designs with different colored LED lights !!

do all these things within 30 sec or the amount of shutter speed you set.

more amount shutter speed gives you more sharp and long lights so make sure you apply this trick and also reduce ISO so your camera sensors sense less brightness.

Learn Everything About your DSLR Camera | Under the Hood

see the final result

Learn Night Photography from Scratch

A Towel As Video Slider

This is the cheapest and most unique videography hack for you.

How to Create a DIY Video Slider

A Towel and your DSLR camera.

just put your camera on the towel and that’s it.

ha-ha yeah, that’s it when you do videography just drag your towel slowly to create some Dramatic video scene.

be sure the surface which you use for videography must be slippery!!, so you get a better result at the end.

LED lights ( Add Lights With Regular Bulbs )

this is another good photography hack to capture a unique photograph.

How to do a photoshoot with LED lights?

some LED lights and one person who gives awesome poses & don’t have scoptophobia (Google it !!).

Results…

Learn To Add Custom Lights to your Images without Photoshop

Double exposure

for this time you don’t need to do many things with your DSLR camera.

first, just capture some beautiful photographs and then edit your photograph using this technique.

what is double exposure !!???

Mr. Google says that the repeated exposure of a photographic plate or film to light often produces ghost images.

in our simple language: double exposure is the way to combine two photographs into one single image using some software or application.

if you don’t want to spend some money then use Snapseed !!! basic photography application available on Android and ISO.

if you want to learn future hacks then please read these articles…

Text Between Objects

This is Another photo editing hack for you, to make our photograph more unique and interesting with some photo editing applications.

How to set text between objects?

you need to use some free photo-editing application like Snapseed.

and learn double exposure stuff to get creative with this idea.

DIY softbox for FREE

First of all, I never tried this hack but I like it so I describe these photography hacks on our list.

it may help you a lot if you’re using flash frequently.

How to create DIY Softbox at home for FREE?

here are some important/required props to create a softbox at home.

one plastic bag and a DSLR camera.

fill the air inside the plastic bag and then when you capture photographs with built-in flash then cover your flash with these plastic bags.

and then see the difference.

Credit: toopanda

see this youtube video to know more interesting photography hacks which you can do with your DSLR camera using one single plastic bag !!.

Homemade devices for Creativity

We use lots of interesting and homemade products in our 17 photography hacks.

now this one is the best device available in your home which you never use for photography purposes. that one device is the Tea Strainer.

WHAT ???? A Tea Strainer !!?? what can I do with a tea strainer ???, actually when I see these hacks I also get socked !!!, but yes that’s true, let me tell you the hack. Shadow Effects With a Tea Strainer gives you good shadow effects

How to improve portrait photography at Home?

here are some important props required for better portraits…

One flashlight, a tea strainer, one model, and a good background where your model can give some awesome poses.

set your model then set the flashlight and use the Tea Strainer. see the final result !!!

to catch your model’s face with unique shadows then you need a bigger strainer

Create DIY Fake Bokeh

this is one of the funniest but most interesting photography hacks to make other people fool.

using this photography hack you can make any non-living object super sharp with a blurry background.

wait !! this is not the hack, the main thing is that you can make the background blurry as your requirement.

how to create a fake bokeh?

to create fake bokeh, all you need is one LED screen ( recommended – laptop ) and a non-living object.

put your object before the LED screen and capture some amazing shots. example

I Am Groot

Learn Aperture

DIY Tripod For FREE

doesn’t have enough money to buy a tripod, that’s totally fine.

this photography hack helps you to capture some photographs which you can’t able to capture without a tripod.

Items required for custom Tripod

all you need is a bean bag + one cotton bag to create one custom tripod.

fill the beans inside that cotton bag and then close the bag properly, that’s it.

Order the best Beans From Amazon !!!

use this bag on any dusty or not-leveled surface to capture awesome photographs without any tripod.

Through the Lens

This one is a pro-type of photography hack available on our list.

I hope you understand what I am saying in the next 2 Min using the title of this hack.

basically when you capture some photographs then use only one single hand to capture a photograph and on the other side of your hand, hold another object like a flower, mobile phone, etc.

and then use them as a prop, let me tell you how. when you capture any photographs at that time hold those props in front of your DSLR but wait there are lots of things we need to take care of.

1. don’t cover the lens with the prop.

2. the ratio between lens and prop must be 70%-30%.

you can use any props like LED lights, burning matchsticks, etc.

These all props give you a better filter and awesome results.

see this Example !!!

Credit: toopanda

Piece of rubber on DSLR strap

This one is another interesting photography hack for you that you already know but you never use.

that’s the piece of rubber that is available on your DSLR strap. when I was learning photography I am very curious to know the usage of that rubber, because Canon did not give that kind of rubber just for fun, as we all know.

but I am looking for a proper answer and one day I found the answer, and I can’t even imagine that this piece of rubber helps me in that interesting way.

let me tell you why this piece of rubber is attached to your DSLR strap.

basically when you capture any photographs using shutter speed. especially at night then to remove bright light which came from your DSLR camera’s VIEWFINDER, that I never noticed honestly !!.

but just try this thing once, use that piece of rubber and stick it to your DSLR camera’s VIEWFINDER and then see the difference.

let me make it easy for you. see the full video to know how it works and the final After/Before Result…

Bonus Photography Hacks for you !!

Surprise !!!! There are some bonus photography hacks for you.

honestly, I never tried this kind of hack but it looks pretty amazing, may I try all these hacks in the future, and hope you do too.

DIY photography light tent

this is a low-budget photography light tent. you can use the tent for food photography or any other kind of macro photography.

it’s too much interesting to make a photography light tent by yourself and capture some amazing photographs, isn’t it !!!??

see the full video here

Final result

Don’t want to spend time building Light Tent then don’t worry buy an Awesome Light Tent from Amazon !!!

Basic Light Tent for Any type of Photography

2. Top-Down Photo For Your Instagram

This one is totally unique and one of my most interesting photography hack on our list.

if you don’t have anything amazing photographs to post on your Instagram wall or any other social media platform, then this photography hack is what you need !!.

How to capture Top Down Photos using a smartphone?

so you need one smartphone obviously, a sellotape, and one box.

cut the box in the way that it holds your camera horizontally (we are making a phone holder basically).

and that’s it. use sellotape and stick the box on the top wall, like this.

Credit:happygreylucky

The final result looks like this

Photographer:Oliver Sjösrö

and capture photos while you are sleeping in your crib, or even sitting on the sofa or even when you are working, pretty awesome huh!!??.

Final Words

These photography hacks are not only used by beginners but by professional photographers as well.

Using these hacks is better than spending your money on new gear such as cameras and lenses.

Still, after spending a fortune on your gear you can be unsatisfied with your photographs.

So to put it simply you don’t need high-end gear to capture stunning pictures but you need to understand the basics of the gear you are using.

Most photographers don’t know all the features of the camera they have been using for such a long time.

Before spending on new gear just take time to understand all the features of the one you are using.

You will see you don’t need a new one as you have almost every feature present in the one you are currently using.

Sometimes it’s not even about the camera or lenses but just about the contrast, composure or light. You can learn a few hacks to adjust the backdrop.

And as they say, whether you are a budding photographer just starting out, or you’ve been doing it for years, there’s always something new to learn.

Hence if you have new and amazing photography hacks to share please share them with your fellow photographer so that they could also get the ‘wow’ factor in their photographs.

About Author

Manthan

Hi, I'm Manthan I'm a professional photographer and founder of photographywith.com. this site hosts all of my writing on photography stuff like blogs, reviews, editing, and much more. whatever I learn new, I publish here as a blog with some good and easy examples. Cheers, Manthan

photographywithdc@gmail.com

https://www.photographywith.com