Sure, Christmas has come and gone, but that doesn't mean you won't have plenty of other opportunities to get the family together for photos this year. Weddings, birthdays, next Christmas - you name it, there's a perfect occasion for a photo booth all year round. And if you think you have to spend the big bucks to rent one out, that's not the case at all. You can make one yourself in just a few steps! All you need is some inspiration and it goes from there.

Weddings, Christmas, birthdays, graduations, anything goes!

They're a great alternative to the traditional family photo

...You know the ones I'm talking about

They're super easy to make yourself

And really, all you need is a digital camera, a backdrop, and a few props

You can use signs to tell your story

Anything goes!

Imagine waking up each morning to the most breathtaking views you've ever seen. More than likely, you'd grab your iPhone and snap a photo of this once-in-a-lifetime event. That's exactly what Russian photographer Oleg Grigoryev did, only with a professional camera and artful composition. In his photo-series 'Morning Views From The Tent,' he treats us to the incredible views he sees that morning framed by his outstretched legs and the flap of his tent.

These photographs are enough to make you want to head out with your camping supplies and explore the wilderness. Check out these incredible views:

Kulikalon Lake

Fann Mountains

Muddy Lake

Near Mirali Peak

Lake Alaudin

The other day, Julius and I were going through images and submissions the site when we stumbled upon a submission who had a couple of impeccable images that were plagued by one big problem. The pillars of street photography tell you things like “F8 and be there”, “Get closer”, or “Sharpness is a bourgeois concept.” Yes, it’s true, rules are meant to be broken but not when it comes to capturing emotion and intimacy in an image.

But as we kept sifting through the images, we felt the same thing: the photographer wasn’t close enough to their subject. We both feel this often for many photographers we come across.

I’m going to put it into a big perspective here:

– The Objective: Get the shot that makes someone say “Wow” or grabs their attention and elicits an emotion. No questions asked, go get it.

– The plan: Go out there and shoot.

– The gear: You, a 35mm equivalent or 50mm equivalent lens, and a camera. Heck, use your phone; it can do more than good enough of a job.

– How it goes down: You get to the subject, and you get closer, and closer, and then you start to snap away in order to not be seen but still finding a way respect their distance and personal space. You come back and don’t try to get closer because the person gave you a bad look and you got scared and intimidated.

Now answer this question: did you get the shot? No.

But you were scared? Guess what, you still didn’t get the shot.

But you didn’t want to invade their private space? And you still didn’t get the shot.

See where we’re going with this? In the end, absolutely no one cares to hear the story about how you almost got the shot and how you screwed it up except for other photographers who want to troll the hell out of you. We (the people who weren’t there and to whom you are showing your images to) want to see the photo and be captivated by how incredible it is.

What could you have done? Maybe waited to take the photo and gotten closer then snapped the image? Controlled your body language and breathed a bit more to calm yourself down?

In the end, what matters is the result. No photographer ever sold a photograph based on the story alone, they sold it based on how incredible the moment was because that’s all that people care about. It’s your job as a photographer to get closer to your subject and develop a sense of intimacy. This goes double for documentary work where you need to develop a rapport with subjects and not take pictures for a while until they become very comfortable with you.

Photography involving people is about human relationships, and intimacy in a subject captured in such a way that get the viewer to react is what your goal should be.

You just need to think creatively.

It was with a sense of pride that Su Xi Rong revealed her feet to British photographer Jo Farrell.

Her feet, bound from the age of seven, were so small that she had been renowned for their beauty.

The 75-year-old is among the last remaining women in China to bear the effects of foot-binding, a practice first banned in 1912.

Farrell met more than 50 of them over an eight-year period, and says she was surprised to find stories of pride and empowerment. Her book about the women is being launched at the British Council in Hong Kong on Monday.

Foot-binding was believed to create a more beautiful foot and promote obedience.

Not all women had an adult forcing the binding on them.

"I would say about 40% of the women bound their own feet, which I found quite surprising," says Farrell.

"They wanted to be like other girls. Some women said they knew how to do it because they had seen their mothers do it."

Over a period of time, the small bones in the toes would break beneath the weight and the foot arch would lift so that a woman's heel would almost touch the metatarsals.

Jo found those who felt resentful did so because they had had to work in the fields.

"It would have been much easier to do if they hadn't had bound feet," she said.

Wedding photos have always been a very important part of a couple's special day. Recently, people have been getting more and more creative with their photo shoots (like this SWAT photo shoot, or these epicshots), ensuring that the photos will serve as great memories for years to come.

This couple had the same thought process when it came to their wedding. Qin Riyang and Leng Yuting wanted their photos to be unforgettable, so in preparation for their wedding, which will take place next year, they decided to have some pretty epic wedding portraits taken.

2. A three-week-old baby with albinism sleeps comfortably next to his cousin in The Congo.

3. A mother and her child after they were burned by acid thrown on them by the father.

4. Strangers on public transit try to save a woman who attempted suicide by slitting her wrists with a fruit knife.

5. Chinese coal miner taking a smoke break.

6. A young monk and his brother.

7. A mother and daughter who both have heterochromia iridum

8. A two-year-old girl feeds her handicapped mother.

9. An 18-year-old IDF soldier after a run in full gear and paint.

10. A 13-year-old eagle huntress in Mongolia.

11. This little girl survived being in the Siberian forest for 11 days.

12. A young boy rescues his sister from under rubble in Syria.

13. A young and curious Afghan girl holds the hand of an American soldier in awe and admiration.

14. A paramilitary recruit shedding a single tear.

15. Blind albino boys in their boarding room in India.

16. A 14-year-old Yezidi girl carrying a rifle to protect her family from ISIS.