Fstoppers Original Articles

Exclusive articles and expert opinions written by Fstoppers’ talented team of creative professionals. Here we cover everything from the latest photographic techniques to advice on running a successful photography business, to first hand accounts of working in the photography industry.

Capture One Tips: Moving a Lightroom Catalog to Capture One Is Easy: Here's How

Making the switch to Capture One from Lightroom is easier and quicker than you think. There’s this perception that given the two pieces of software are from different companies, moving your Lightroom catalogs to Capture One is some arduous and protracted process, that you’ll have to start from scratch with all your images, re-edit, re-rate, and create whole new folder structures. But that perception is not reality.

The Biggest Threat to Working Photographers is a Lack of Insurance

It isn't fearmongering to say that one mistake, and not even necessarily your own, can bankrupt your photography business if you're uninsured. So Fstoppers have teamed up with Insurance Canopy who have created Full Frame Photography Insurance to go over the issue and offer some insight.

Would You Pay for a Firmware Upgrade?

Firmware is the magical sauce that turns the manual operation of your camera in to a fully digital supercomputer, controlling the high precision mechanical instrumentation, making it a thing of artistry. More amazingly, this fundamental component of your camera is fully replaceable. Would you pay for an upgrade?

What Gear Companies Do You Invest In?

I'm not talking about gear you buy. I'm talking about investing on the stock market. Many of the companies we as photographers use are public companies. For me, it's become a time to consider investing. What would you buy?

Roadtripping with the Fuji GFX 50S

A full tank of gas, a Fujifilm GFX 50S, and a partner in crime make for a perfect day to remember what happiness is all about.

A Look at Lisa Folino's Fine Art Series Arrow of Time

For many of us, the tragic event at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris served as a stark reminder of how fragile and delicate the remnants of our human past can be. Whether globally historic or personally sentimental, we are all connected to the past. It helps give meaning to the present, and invariably helps to shape the future. With this in mind, I feel it timely to introduce fine art photographer Lisa Folino.

Photographers: Protect Your Vision With These Five Habits

Browsing a dusty used book store on the north side of Chicago in 2008, a familiar name caught my eye: Aldous Huxley. The Huxley book I saw there, published in 1942, had an intriguing title: The Art of Seeing.

Sold: The Most Expensive Photography Books

Do you know what the most expensive photography book ever sold was? What would your guess be? How about the most expensive photography books on retail shelves? The rarest or most sought after? Take a few guesses, write them down, and then compare when you get to the end.

Is This the End of the Canon EOS 7D Series of Cameras?

Canon’s flagship APS-C DSLR, the 7D Mark II, is long overdue for an overhaul, and all of the speculation for 2019 was that its successor, the 7D Mark III, would soon be announced. Rumors now suggest that it will be merged with the 80D, with an EOS R in the pipeline to take its place.

Printing Muted or Subtle Colors On a Matte Paper That Really Stands Apart

As we've been discovering over the past few months, there are many options and choices when it's time to print your artwork. Today's paper is a rock star when it comes to unique yet subtle texture and really works wonders with your muted color palettes, so let's check it out.

How to Organize and Digitize Old Photos

We live in a digital photo era but that doesn't mean that your old photos and negatives boxed up in the attic should be forgotten. The first step in preserving these is to get them organized. Next, you need to digitize old photos so they can be easily viewed and shared with others.

Three Hilarious Life Truths About Becoming a Professional Photographer

In the song Sunscreen, Baz Luhrmann teaches certain “inalienable” truths about life: you’re not as fat as you imagine, politicians will philander, and you too, will get old. So I’ve compiled a short list of some funny yet brutal life-truths about becoming a professional photographer.

How I Turned My Bathtub into a Magical Forest Pond

Sometimes shooting on location, or even finding the ideal location, can be so difficult that a photographer has to rely on their own ingenuity to bring their vision to life. Here is how I turned my tiny bathtub into a forest pond for a magical shoot, with some tips on how you can do the same thing.

Five Tips for Better Macro Photography

The world of macro photography can look complicated to a beginner but it’s really not and in these five tips for better macro photography I’ll show you how you can improve your macro photography.

Image Stabilization, Vibration Reduction, and In Body Image Stabilization Is Overrated

When it is time to buy a camera, image stabilization can be something that is on the bucket list of must haves. Image stabilization makes it possible to shoot with longer shutter times than normal, preventing the use of a tripod. There are many different implementations of image stabilization, but it is not the Holy Grail. You could say image stabilization is overrated.

Instagram: The Death of Original Perception and Photographs

I recently read an insightful Instagram post, made by Outside magazine. In this post, creative director Emma Sheffer spoke of a loss of originality and the current saturation of homogeneity in Instagram feeds. With her comments, I couldn't agree more.

Tested: Premiere Pro 2019 is Significantly Smoother

I ran some tests over the weekend with different versions of Premiere Pro, and realized that the latest version is able to scrub through footage far faster. It’s definitely worth the upgrade.

What Does the Future Hold for Canon APS-C DSLR Shooters?

Following a recent interview with one of Canon’s senior executives, we’re getting more of an insight into what the Japanese giant has in mind for its vast range of cameras: EOS M is the most likely future of APS-C mirrorless, with no suggestion that there will ever be mirrorless versions of the large array of crop-sensor DSLRs.

Using Templates to Learn Composition

Rules of composition seem to get a lot of flak. Really though, they are simply commonly appreciated methods of composition and certainly have a place in our repertoire. This is especially true while we learn the ropes.

The Downside to Pursuing Your Passion: Dreamer's Guilt

I love what I do and pursue my passions fervently and in all directions. While you're starting out and not achieving much, you feel a wealth of support, but with success comes a type of guilt I've labeled, Dreamer's Guilt.

Five Reasons Why You’ll Never Earn Good Money as a Photographer

The annual income of the typical photographer in the U.S. is 20 percent less than the national average. There are both good and bad reasons why photographers don't earn a decent wage and you might want to give these five reasons some thought if you want to survive as a creative image-maker in the modern world.

Should Your Next Upgrade Be to a Seven Year Old Camera?

You have a daily workhorse camera that gets used for all your run-of-the-mill jobs. Like most businesses you go with a five year replacement cycle, so why would you replace it with a seven year old camera?

Are You Ready for the Summer Milky Way?

It has been gone since fall, but the galactic core of the Milky Way is back and rising up in the early morning. Spring is a great time to learn how to photograph the Milky Way in the Northern hemisphere, so you can have your process perfected and be ready when the galactic core reaches peak altitude in July and August.

The Simplest Tip to Improve Your Macro Photography

Macro photography can be useful to many disciplines, but mastering the craft can require some heavy duty gear, and some in-depth knowledge. However, one mistake I see a lot of macro photographers make is also the easiest to fix.

Ten Regrets I Have as a Professional Photographer

If you had your time again, would you change anything about your photography career? Here are 10 regrets I have accumulated while practicing as a professional photographer for the last decade.

Do We Need to Know Where Our Photography Is Going?

When it comes to being creative and personal photography, how do you approach your shoots? Do you prepare a well-researched mood board and vehemently stick to it, or do you let your creative juices flow and see where the shoot takes you? Is there a right way?

If Canon Is Planning an Even Cheaper Full Frame Mirrorless Camera, What Will It Be?

During a fascinating interview given by one of the company's senior executives, Canon dropped a few bombshells, including the plan for a full frame mirrorless camera that is even cheaper than the recently launched EOS RP. When you consider how affordable (and limited) the RP is, you have to wonder what Canon has in mind.

What Equipment Do Commercial Photographers Use?

Making the move to being pro is fraught with the anxieties of not having the right equipment. So what equipment do commercial photographers use? Being a commercial photographer is pretty much as vague a job description as being an administrative assistant.

Three Photographers, Three Different Specialties, One Location

I recently heard about three Puerto Rican photographers who would go out and shoot casually as friends. But, what made them unique was that these three photographers specialized in three completely different genres of photography.

The Top 10 Things You Should Know About Capture One

Capture One is multi-faceted image processing and asset management software. As a raw processor, it is considered the gold standard, supporting over 500+ cameras, and with it comes a uniquely powerful toolset for developing, color grading, and tethering. But that is just the tip of the technological iceberg that is Capture One. With a focus on user experience, its mountain of capability and complexity is hidden under a veneer of simplicity so as to make working with your images fast, focused, and easy.

I'm Falling Out of Love with Adobe and the Creative Cloud: Part 2

Late last month I did a post on my ongoing problems with Adobe and the Creative Cloud software and apps. I sometimes find Photoshop unreliable, as well as Bridge. I've also had numerous crashes with the Creative Cloud app too. There were a lot of good comments on my piece, and I also attracted some of the good folks at Adobe who were anxious to weigh in on my experience, which I welcomed.

How to Easily Install Seamless Paper in Your Home Photo Studio

Building a shooting space in your home can be difficult to say the least. For most photographers, a home studio is never large enough and every inch of space becomes a commodity. In this video we show you perhaps the easiest and cleanest way to hang seamless paper in your studio space.

How Much Depth of Field Do You Need?

Depth of Field, or a lack thereof, has become a buzzword of sorts in photography circles. Many times the term is used as a blanket nomenclature to cover anything to do with how much or little of a subject is in focus. What we often fail to consider is why. Why are we choosing to use as much or as little depth as we do? It's time to look past aesthetics and really think about depth of field in relation to our subjects.

Can You Re-Edit a Photo and Get a Better Result?

A few weeks ago, I beat Lee Morris in our Puerto Rico Landscape Challenge. With that victory, many of our readers said my edit in Photoshop was simply too over the top. Today, I try to re-edit my photo to see if I can create something a bit more realistic.