Fstoppers Original Articles

Every couple weeks we release a new episode of Critique the Community where Fstoppers members can submit their best images to a genre specific contest for a chance to receive feedback and win a free Fstoppers original tutorial. This week, we changed things up and selected only 5 star images to discuss.

Knock on wood, but I walked outside this morning following the Halloween holiday and there were no smashed eggs, no toilet paper covering my trees, and about a hundred notifications on my phone from community members who had already downloaded the Halloween portraits I had taken for them.

Ten years ago, I attended my first PhotoPlus Expo at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. No other event each year brings as much opportunity to learn, check out new gear, speak with other photographers, editors, manufacturers, meeting folks outside of the matrix of social media. Here's a brief round-up of the 2018 PhotoPlus Expo from a different take than simply the latest gear.

While Beto O'Rourke and Ted Cruz face off for Texas' Senate seat in one of the fiercest battles of the midterm elections, one man has been able to photograph Rep. O'Rourke throughout the campaign.

As a street photographer, how far do you go to engage with strangers? Crash Taylor, currently a UK based photographer, not only asks strangers to pose for a portrait but also asks to reveal their deepest wish. Find out how he does it!

With a show of hands, how many of you have practiced long exposure photography using your camera and some neutral density (ND) filters? Whoa, that's a lot! Now, how many of you have practiced this type of photography with your mobile phone?

What are the differences between a traditional SSD and a NVMe drive? Should I upgrade to NVMe? Which model should I pick? What are the main specifications? What about the new Intel Optane? Here is a detailed explanation to understand the advantages, weaknesses, and differences of these storage technologies.

Lament a lowlife that lurches and lurks the local lanes, and I'll let loose a listless laugh. But tell me tales of a memory card formatting itself in the middle of a wedding and I'll hide behind the proverbial sofa, toes curled in fright.

We've been working on "Photographing The World 4 with Elia Locardi" for a year and a half, and it's finally complete. I'm excited to say that the tutorial is now available, and the first episode of the behind the scenes series is live as well.

This year, my kids have plans for Halloween that don’t require me to be there. Instead of sitting by my front door, passing out tooth decay and diabetes wrapped in a pretty package (candy), I’m going to give my community portraits instead.

Hiring a professional makeup artist for your studio can be a daunting task, but one that can be rewarding when it comes to client satisfaction. In the second half of this two-part interview, we will delve a little more into what we, as photographers, should be looking for when we set out to hire a makeup artist for our own studios.

Today, we are excited to announce the newest adventure in Elia Locardi's Photographing the World series. Welcome to Photographing the World 4!

If you’re anything like me, you spend half your time fighting for new business and the other half fighting your urge to spend the money you make from new business on gear. So, for a bit of fun, today I thought I’d share my own personal, self-directed pep talk whenever I feel the urge to splurge.

Photographers, artists, and Instagrammers. A common theme unites all: the use of a camera. But there's also a significant mindset and philosophy, in my opinion, that separates the three.

Living in the Southwest, I'm always out with my camera, looking for that great new vista just beyond the next curve in the road. For years, I didn't pay much attention to photo apps, because I was seeing stupid apps that put hats on people or distorted their faces, or worse.

Squarespace is a popular platform for artists, photographers, entrepreneurs, and more. While it’s very easy to make a nice-looking website, I’ve noticed that really make a site scream: “I made this on Squarespace!” Having your website seem more bespoke than it actually is will always seem more professional.

We all know the dangerous jobs out there: law enforcement, firefighting, the list goes on. But have you ever stopped to think about the risks that come with our profession?

I've bemoaned the state of current Android camera apps and so, in the first of this two-parter, I interviewed Martin Johnson, the programmer behind the well respected Snap Camera HDR. As a follow-on, this article interviews Mark Harman, developer of Open Camera.

Here is the why and how I recommend you photograph the sky.

Abstract truths and concrete reality are where John Dykstra strives to create photographs. At first, people may confuse Dykstra’s work as images and not photographs, but they would be wrong.

Three years ago, I suddenly became obsessed with the colorization of old photographs. It soon led to me creating a time-lapse of the largest colorization job I'd had, which took over 14 hours to complete.

Photographer Oat Vaiyaboon from Hangingpixels Photo Art has found a way to harness the new Facebook 3D Photo feature with his existing DSLR and drone photos using depth maps. You really have to see them in action to appreciate the coolness of the effect.

Storage management is a common issue shared by many photographers due to the constant increase of the megapixel counts in our cameras. Here is a detailed guide about the storage options and how to make the right choice based on your photo-video needs.

As a portrait photographer, you’ve probably considered hiring a professional makeup artist to prep your clients. In this first part of a two-part series, a professional makeup artist tells us everything we need to know about making professional makeup a part of our portrait photography offerings.

Instagram is awash with copycat images, from yellow jackets in front of waterfalls to feet dangling off rooftops. But given that we supposedly value originality so highly, why does mimicry proliferate across social media, and why is it so successful? More importantly, is it killing our capacity for new ideas?

A word of warning from one photography mom to the rest of the photography moms out there: you don't have to be a business person just because you have a camera.

You've spent the time learning your craft, you've built a portfolio, and you've invested in your business, but the clients still aren't rolling in. Here's why how you craft your portfolio can hold you back.

Don't worry this hack won't invalidate the warranty on your phone and takes minimal technical skill to do. The end result is a dramatic change in how you and the camera see the world.

Great shots are often a combination of experience, planning, timing, effort, and of course, luck. A talented newspaper photographer got the shot of a lifetime while photographing an air show in Niagara Falls earlier this year.

As professional artists, at some point in our careers we will feel as if we reach a plateau in our work and are not growing. In this article learn the ways you can continue to grow and reach your greatest potential and work past that creative rut.

The X-T3 is now Fujifilm’s most advanced APS-C camera. It features the best technology that the company has to offer in this space and contains a host of new firmware-based features to take advantage of the new hardware. Let’s take a look at some of those features here.

You've heard that a portrait lens is the one with a focal length of 50mm or above and that wide angle lenses create a distorted image when used for portraits. This article will try to help you understand and overcome that prejudice.

We hear all the time about how it's not about the gear, it's about the photographer using the gear. And we hear about how you shouldn't focus on the latest and greatest camera equipment. I'm here to tell you that's not always the case.

“Exposure doesn’t pay the bills.” As photographers, we’ve all heard this saying, and we’ve all probably even said this at least once. It’s frustrating to be expected to work for free at all as a creative professional. You and your work need to be taken seriously.

DxOMark awarded the Google Pixel 2 the top smartphone stills camera award with a score of 99. Now that's a DSLR beating score. Or is it?

From sketch renderings to video surveillance, law enforcement uses many techniques to piece together clues for crime-solving. Details and memory often fail us, but there's one medium that never forgets - photography.

It's tempting to go from one thing to the next, whether it is a piece of gear or a method of shooting, but have you tried mastering one of them without losing your interest at the first hurdle?

If you’re a vlogger, video producer, or just a fan of posting cat videos to the Internet, you probably had the shock of your life during the great YouTube outage of ‘18. Suddenly, in one moment, all of your content was gone through no fault of your own.

Sometimes all you want to do is shoot some beauty work with some natural light, but it doesn't mean the weather will always cooperate with you. Mother nature has a way of doing whatever she wants on any particular day. Super, right? Here's how I simulated window light in the studio.

Most events uses lasers and fog to create some light effects, and they can really create some interesting photos or videos. Unfortunately, they can also permanently damage your camera.

Wedding slow season is inevitable. Feelings of discouragement can fill the mind of even the most talented photographer during slow season, so here are a few ways to fill that downtime and make this year’s the most productive yet.

Every video surveillance system I've ever used has been horrible. Surprisingly, the cameras, no matter how cheap they are, are actually pretty high quality these days, but the software used to actually record and retrieve the footage is almost unusable.

I use long exposures more often than not in my landscape photography, and I have done so for more than three years. Here, I share some tips on how to do it, but most importantly, why I do it.

Put your camera down. Over there. Immediately. You don't need it if you want to earn more money as a photographer.

Who knew you could get beautifully lit images with nothing but a flashlight? In this week's lighting breakdown, I'm going to show you how I created this series with nothing but a flashlight and a bit of crafting know-how.

Improve your landscape photography this fall with one of my favorite techniques for composing within the photo: the use of leading lines.

Are you a photographer who's self-conscious about trying your hand at doing video? Don't worry, most modern cameras are suitable for video, so let's get started!

Until recently, my experience with Instagram was becoming increasingly lackluster, and I finally decided to take a step to fix that. I actually enjoy using the app again now.

Sometimes, I like to tell brief stories about my adventures in life and photography that have little to do with the technical aspects of creating an image and more to do with making sense of an often hectic profession.

Every photographer today has a digital portfolio of some kind but only a very few have spent the time to create a printed book. In this video, we look into three very differently designed printed portfolios.