You've likely seen Lee Morris's iPhone fashion shoot by now. One of the common critiques had been the use of expensive lighting. Well here is yet another prime example, by Philippines-based portrait photographer Laya Gerlock, that creative use beats expensive toys. That's not to say an iPad, iPhone or D3 equivalent are inexpensive but you have those already, right?
Corey Rich's work spans both photography and video, often using Nikon DSLRs to capture both. His projects take him to hard to reach places, and being able to manage his gear in both modes quickly, enables him to come away with great images. In this video, Corey explains his choices for gear and shooting style on a climbing trip in Pakistan.
For event videographers, shooting in dimly lit conditions can be big challenge to deal with, and in certain cases an on-camera light is the solution. In this review of the LED Science LS-S6-20, I’ll tell you why this light may or may not be a good choice for you.
To promote C.U.N.T. (aka C U Next Tuesday) Sarah Elizabeth Meyler videos Dublin hipsters under the premise that she was taking a photo. The resulting montage of poses is a good chuckle for all of you who have had a long work week followed by a short weekend of more work. Enjoy.
It's no secret that I love the music phenomenon of EDM or electronic dance music, and it seems I'm not the only one with fans ranging from all ages across the globe its popularity only seems to be spreading. With so much new music and artists coming into the scene it's interesting to see how the music can be visually interpreted into music videos.
Working with a child is a lot like dealing with the weather. It’s unpredictable, temperamental and has the potential to wreck your entire shoot. At the same time, huge risk can mean huge reward. Children add an undeniable “cute” factor that will always have a place in advertising or event videos/photography. Unlike the weather, there are a few steps we can take to increase our chances of success when working with children.
When I first started incorporating DSLR video into my photography business, I quickly realized that having smooth movement was paramount in creating great footage. In our quest to find the perfect DSLR slider, the Fstoppers team was excited with the announcement of the Redrock Micro's One Man Crew. But would this be the end all be all for sliders...we put it to the test.
Stock Photographer Yuri Arcurs definitely went big with this experimental photoshoot, to see if it would be possible to shoot a fast moving fighter jet, and actually light it up with flashes. This behind the scenes video shows us how difficult it was to pull off, but that the end result justifies the elaborate and at times frustrating work.
Michael Belcher is a young New York-based cinematographer who is creating beautiful and compelling work, with a rich and varied visual vocabulary. Come behind the scenes on his latest shoot with this Fstoppers exclusive, and find out what we can all learn from his philosophy, experience and insight.
In this video tutorial, learn how to perform an interesting video shot without expensive rigging or accessories. Stock music website Premuimbeat has an a whole collection of videos on their Vimeo page with information on cinematography, motion graphics, and lighting, all for helping out the budding video shooter or editor.
When a movie or video aims to make the viewer truly feel, it can be a tough mountain to climb. Emotion is difficult to compress into a visual and auditory experience but when it's done right, it can really make viewers think and share in a cohesive moment. This short video about the soul of Leica is one of those short films that excels at that experience, and now I'm going to shut up so you can enjoy it.
There is something magical about having your 2D photos seem like they're actually 3D. It brings them to life in a way none other method can. The depth, the complexity and the subtle movements give your regular 2D photos more meaning and context, and it makes the viewer focus on the image much more than normal. Joe Fellows is a master of the 2.5D (Parallax) Effect and in this short video he shows you everything you need to know to make this effect yourself on your own images.
I’m calling it. This commercial for Volvo Trucks that came out today is the best commercial of 2013. What makes it – or other commercial shoots - so successful? Beautiful, simple ideas, a great concept, seamless execution, a bit of good old nostalgia and a pinch of the unexpected all mix beautifully to give us 70 seconds of pure brilliance. With four eight twelve twenty four thirty million views and counting, let's take a look and see why this ad has been so successful.
In this video Canon Australia challenges singer-songwriter Guy Sebastian and Canon Master photographer Graham Monro to change the story of three different scenes simply by changing between lenses. Specifically the macro Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens, the portrait Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens , the landscape Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens and the sports Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM Lens.
In only ten years, GoPro has earned itself a 2+ billion dollar valuation and a product that has revolutionized the way we view our lives. It’s no wonder others are scrabbling to tap into the lucrative business of personalized video. The latest product that looks like it may hold more than a passing interest is the Bublcam, a camera that shoots a seamless 360 degree view. It might sound like a gimmick, but think about Google Street View, how immersive it feels. When Google integrates more fully the ability to provide internal views, we'll really begin to start to see possibilities of 360 degree vision.
With the November 22nd anticipated release of the newest installment of "The Hunger Games" series upon us; Lionsgate has just released a brand new four minute behind the scenes b-roll video that shows a small glimpse of what we can be expecting this Thanksgiving season in theaters. I always find these b-roll videos to be especially interesting and seeing how much effort goes into creating these blockbuster films.
Be it with a camera or with a gun, a girl who shoots is unquestionably sexy. So what's that make talented commercial fashion photographer Dixie Dixon as she takes on the role of Director of photography for Magpul's 2014 Calendar? Hot, no doubt, but more importantly she adds professionalism and class to a genre that is traditionaly little more than string bikinis and thongs. Dixie's sophistication and style is a refreshing departure from a genre typically shot far too often through the male lens.
What does it take to be innovative? What can happen when you put your work out there and others see as innovative, or inspiring? Matthew Vandeputte, a photographer and film editor based in Sydney helps answer some of these questions. Yesterday he put out a fantastically well shot and edited motion lapse piece that I think raises the bar, and with 250,000 300,000 views in less than a day, also suggests others feel similarly. What does over 100,000 images look like over the course of 90 seconds? How did he put the piece together? Read on and find out with this exclusive Fstoppers interview.
UPDATED Post:
Moments after posting our fly by the pants video of the Nikon Df a reader pointed us towards another video by Chris Niccolls of TheCameraStoreTV, which frankly covers it all and generally kicks ass. So I decided to scoot our video to the bottom and share his exception hands-on with you instead.
An LED light kit for video is something I've always wanted to own. After years of using hot ARRI and Lowel lights, and renting LitePanels when the budget allowed, I discovered a company called Zabolight that was making LED panels and other fixtures at a much cheaper price. I purchased a kit of these, and did some testing to see how they compared to other more expensive brands.
A few days ago Creative Live posted this video of Benjamin Von Wong explaining the importance of creating meaningful behind the scenes videos and how they can help shape your career. It's no secret that I do post Ben's videos to the site often. His videos are not only educational, but fun to watch, as well. You too can go on to create your own informative and noticeable BTS videos with these tips.
In my filmmaking career, I’ve had the opportunity to film some pretty unique events. While shooting I often come across other event shooters and realize that we’re a unique breed. Essentially, we're people willing to sacrifice food, rest and comfort to tell an amazing story. Even though we accept the stresses that comes with event shooting, there are a number of ways we can plan ahead and minimize headaches.
November 5: will the day live in glory or infamy? We're going to find out, as that looks to be the day Nikon will release their new retro compact full frame. Rumors are everywhere, so we'll just try and stick to what we know. There are five videos, giving you five chances to sneak a peak at this new camera.
PBS Digital Studios has just released a brilliant video focused on unwrapping the creative process. Throughout the video, an author, a cognitive psychologist, a filmmaker and a computer scientist come together to share their incredibly diverse theories of how to hone your creativity in a multitude of ways.
The team at Red Giant Films, working with special effects guru Stu Maschwitz, have yet again released another compelling short video. Unlike other shorts such as Spy vs. Guy and Plot Device, this is actually a pitch trailer for a film based on a video game that they hope to create. Check the full post for the behind the scenes video too!
All this weekend, we're giving you exclusive coverage of PhotoPlus Expo in New York City, where all brands meet, announce and show of their latest products and innovations. Yesterday, we were able to give you an inside look at the Sony A7R, TriggerTrap RedSnap, DEFY Gimbal system and others. Today, we're able to show you an inside look into Samsung, Manfrotto, and more.
If you couldn't make it to the Photo Plus Expo in New York (PPE) which kicks off today, you don't have to miss out on everything. Not only will our own Zach Sutton be reporting from the show floor, but Sigma is providing a live stream from their booth that they are calling "Sigma Safari," featuring hands-on shooting experiences starring professional models transformed into safari animals.
You may already be familiar with Dustin Farrell. If you're not, you should be. His time-lapses are incredible. Dustin's shoots all over the world, but some of his most epic are from the American West. In this video, we get to follow Dustin on location in Utah and the step-by-step process that follows.
Photo Plus Expo is upon us, and I'm here to give you an exclusive look at what all that happened yesterday. If you're in New York, you're highly encouraged to check out all that is happening. If you're not able to check it out, I am here to show you the new products, exclusive interviews and all the events and news going on in New York this week.
Kelly McGarry is a freeride mountain biker who strapped a GoPro to his helmet and rode away down a narrow ridge. On either side, he would have been met with a steep fall. As if this wasn't amazing enough, he proceeds to do a backflip over a 72-foot canyon gap along the way! He only came up with second place, even with such a great run.
I just quit my full time job of six years as a video producer at a local college. A decent salary, good benefits, and the security that came with it… all gone. I'm now focusing on my dream project called Ascending India (our film trailer is what’s featured) and I might go broke trying to make it. Read on and I’ll tell you why I couldn’t be more excited, and why you might want to consider trying to make your dream project happen too.
As filmmakers, we often find ourselves in less-than-perfect circumstances; we may be losing sunlight at the end of a shoot or trying to capture a fleeting moment before it disappears. Often times you’ll find that you've captured great moments with an undesirable camera shake. I've found myself in this situation countless times and I want to share something that has changed the way I deal with shaky footage.
If you are fortunate enough to be in London right now Lukas Renlund and Anders Lönnfeldt are wrapping up their third and last day of "Steal My Photograph! London" (ending 4pm London time). This series is one of my favorite photo exhibit concepts to date. In case you missed them, here is the 1st and 2nd installment of the series. I'll bring you the results of the London exhibit as soon as the boys get it off the cutting room floor.
Whether you’re a photographer or you focus on video, this article highlights the high octane visual set piece created by Slaughterhouse Pictures, who successfully combined principles of both stills and motion work to create high impact visual media with zero budget and very limited resources. Read the exclusive FStoppers article and watch the BTS video to get some simple and highly effective little tips that you will be able to apply to all aspects of your own work.
Today marks the release of the remake of 1976's supernatural thriller "Carrie". In these three behind the scenes videos you get a sneak peek at how the movie was filmed. What I find interesting about these b-roll movie clips is all of the practical lighting equipment they use and how it's utilized including the ever resourceful human light stands. No matter how the movie does at the box-office this weekend, it's nice to see the inner workings of a big-budget Hollywood film. Will you be watching "Carrie" this weekend?
I don't speak Russian, but to understand what is going on in this video, you don't have to. It's amazing what can be done in post, but to be honest, I wasn't even aware the extent this could be done in video. You can see the "cloud" following her hair on the right, so I'm guessing they did some retouching on a still frame, and then motion-tracked those layers with her eyes. Perhaps? I don't know. It's pretty amazing stuff.
If you’re curious about learning how to shoot video with your DSLR, or wanting to improve the video you shoot, this might be right up your alley. New York fashion and portrait photographers and videographers, Lindsay Adler and Jeff Rojas, are about to kick off a 3 day workshop called ‘Keep It Simple – Video for Photographers’ on Creative Live focused on helping photographers make the jump into shooting great video simply and efficiently.
There's nothing more inspirational for me than someone taking a medium and using it outside of it's usual purpose. This creative collaboration between film team "Oh Yeah Wow" and musical group "The Paper Kites" shows how photography can become a killer music video.
How can you take HOURS of footage from completely different projects, and edit together a montage that's only a few minutes? Here is the second part of the Making A Better Demo Reel article where I'll share a few techniques on reducing the number of clips you have, selecting music, and more.
A couple of months ago, I created a video tutorial to show how camera movement can affect your story. The take away from the video and article was that filmmaking should be about the sexiest camera movement, but instead the focus should be on camera movement that fits your story. Learning how to put my story first was something repeatedly drilled into my head while attending a workshop by filmmakers “Stillmotion” last year. Stillmotion's story-first approach has been the key to their success and has helped them land huge contracts shooting the Superbowl, Callaway Golf and Canon just to name a few.
While looking for something to share with you all, I did a search for "the world's greatest sports photographer" and the first return I got was this: 100 Greatest Sports Photos of All Time. Now if I counted correctly, a staggering 16% of those 100 frames came from iconic sport photographer Neil Leifer
Alexandr Kravtsov has put together what may be on my top 3 list for best timelapses. This kind of video work isn't exactly uncommon either so that placement is saying quite a bit. What's even more impressive is what Alexandr went through to make this piece. In his words it took "a broken camera, lost flash drive, near 100 subway rides, 24 000 photos, endless hours of post production and rendering and
For those of you who shoot video, want to get better at shooting video, edit your own video, or edit video shot by others, this article is all about you wonderful guys and gals. As someone who is editing a lot, I thought this short video was fantastic. The great hints and tips provided here are totally free, you don’t have to buy anything to get something out of this article, and if you aren’t doing this stuff already, this is guaranteed to make you both a stronger video shooter, and a producer of stronger edits.
At least once a week I enjoy watching something that totally blows my mind. I love challenging my brain and my perspective, and this video featuring Ray-Ban Clubmaster sunglasses does just that. Not really sure what it's supposed to teach me about sunglasses, but it sure as heck is sweet to watch.
At an altitude of nearly 14,000 ft., the observatories atop of Mauna Kea, Hawaii give a crystal clear view of space through the night sky. The contrast of satellites and lasers against the daunting view of space really makes us feel connected to something bigger. This was a recent Vimeo staff pick and definitely worth a watch, especially in full screen view.
It's been 7 years since Google spent a whopping $1.65 billion on the video sharing website YouTube. Although many questioned the potential of the popular video sharing site, Google’s decision has proven to be a good one. YouTube now hosts an impressive 450,000,000 monthly visitors. To put this into perspective, Vimeo is the 8th biggest video hosting site with just under 17 million unique visitors per month. With companies like YouTube controlling the market, it’s hard to imagine much optimism for a small startup company hoping to compete with these video giants.
Back in March, Fstoppers writer Zach Sutton featured Fabian Oefner's "Black Hole" series, high shutter speed images of paint being spun and flung quickly to produce some amazing art pieces. In this TEDxWarwick 2013 presentation, Fabian shows his passion for bringing art and science together to create his surreal and colorful work, and explains the process behind it all.
Urban Hippie is an award winning fashion-short film that is also a Vimeo staff pick. I was immediately engaged by the visuals that depict a girl's journey into her imagination. There is so much energy and life in the video that it's a must watch. The way each moment was shot was meticulous and every frame could be a photograph of its own. It recent won the the best experimental film at the LA Cinema Festival and the best visual effects award at the La Jolla Fashion Film Festival.
Ever worry that the way you hold your strap makes you look like a tourist? Well, worry no more. Portland based photographer, Jimmy Hickey joins us with his slightly tongue-in-cheek video to teach all photographers how to take great photos and look like a pro while doing it.
I recently came across this beautiful "IR" time-lapse of an empty Philadelphia city and was instantly mesmerized by the lack of moving things like people or cars. Upon further investigation on the technique, I was surprised on how easy this was to actually do myself in FCP X, which adds considerable value to your time-lapse videos. I followed the comments of this video to Ross Ching, a filmmaker that inspired the creating of this video. I've posted a link to the original website below.
