Fstoppers Original Articles

What is the key to growth as a photographer? Is it buying the best gear you can possibly afford? Nope. Or is it strategically curating your Instagram feed? Probably not.

I know it's easy to get bogged down in all the different aspects of this industry. When is the last time that you took your camera and just shot some things with little-to-no plan just because you could?

Gear is expensive, and saving a couple hundred dollars on brand new gear might be tempting, but sometimes, it costs more than you expect.

Everybody will someday ask for the famous C&C (critique and/or comments), or has seen it when navigating the Internet on photography-related groups.

Looking for an easy way to collect and share photographs with others? Whether you're centralizing image assets for an organization, a public event, a family reunion, or a social gathering among friends, check out this quick how-to using a built-in and highly underrated feature of SmugMug.

When shooting the night sky, we are looking at points of light that don’t always resolve well with the lenses we have in our bag. Whether the lens is a top-of-the-line “L” from Canon or a third-party lens that cost 1/10th the price, they may both have issues with coma and astigmatism. Here's what you can do to fix these issues and not be stuck with an underperforming piece of glass.

In an earlier article I bemoaned the state of Android camera apps and in particular, how they lacked the features that even moderately specced cameras have. Find out what one developer has to say about the prospect of Android camera apps.

One thing that we love about the YouTube community is that people always show up to help the beginners. There are countless threads from YouTube newcomers who are unsure of how to start out, but plenty of creators with more experience are willing to lend a hand.

In a genre composed of so many different disciplines, there are a couple truths that cross all boundaries.

In this week's lighting breakdown, I'll show you the setup I used for this editorial beauty shoot that let me create an angelic mood and make the most of the model's fantastic skin.

Looking for a photo-editing alternative to Adobe's Lightroom CC that won't break the bank? Today, I test-drive Alien Skin's new Exposure X4 editing suite for the first time.

I’m here at Google’s launch event for the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL in New York. Have they got a world-leading smartphone camera again?

When shooting football or other field sports, oftentimes, you are looking downfield with your long glass such as a 400mm f/2.8, and suddenly, the play happens right in front of you. The solution is a Hail Mary camera.

Don't have any time for roaming streets with your camera? Well, put it aside for your personal development, because it can make you a better wedding photographer!

We’re in the depths of a format war, and I’m a little uneasy picking the winner so early.

Have you had cases when someone looks at a photo at 100 percent and says it looks bad, but when you check it yourself, it's just fine? Is it possible that both are correct?

There are various reasons why the golden hours are the best times of day to shoot. But to just dismiss regular daylight hours out of hand is just silly. Because daylight can be beautiful too.

Attempts to network with fellow photographers often fall short. Many of us act as professional “gatekeepers," defensively sharing little or no information.

We all wish we could make money doing photography, but one macro specialist found a way to have his photography made into money. Twenty Canadian dollars, to be exact.

Out of the over 1 billion Instagram users on the platform in 2018, it's important to stand out. Check out my top 10 favorite female portrait photographers on Instagram and go give them a follow! Be ready to be blown away!

Have you ever felt so uninterested and indifferent towards photography that you could barely look at your camera, let alone pick it up and go out shooting? I have, but I found a few things I'd like to share with you today that really helped me rediscover my passion.

Hair photography can be a pain to shoot. Having a good hair stylist is incredibly important to make sure you don’t end up spending more time than you should behind the desk for the retouching. When it comes to hair, you’ll already have to spend more time than you’ll like.

It all started when I lost my camera. I needed a smartphone with a decent camera for just such occasions. So why on earth aren't there any good camera apps on Android?

This past weekend in Colorado I decided to give my full frame mirrorless camera a break and shoot some portraits using the much smaller Sony RX100V. I was curious to see if a small, pocket-sized camera could give me the kind of results that I would be happy with. Here are my experience and recommendations if you choose to do the same!

I don’t think there’s a more polarizing social media platform than Instagram. From photographers who sing its praises to those who loathe the day it was invented, there’s no denying that Instagram evokes strong feelings.

This is your chance to participate in the Flashlight challenge, prove you can make an amazing photograph with any light source, and have your photograph featured in an Fstoppers article all about you!

There are a lot of reasons for people starting in photography or trying to become a photographer. Be it as a hobby, to make some extra money, to make it a main source of income, or whatever the reason might be, it takes careful thought when purchasing a camera.

Last weekend I attended the world's largest military air show at MCAS Miramar in San Diego, California. Also in attendance with me was a Sony a9 and the new FE 400mm f/2.8 GM lens. Here's how it went down.

There are many, many different trends that have gained a significant amount of traction on the immensely popular social media platform. Some of these trends die out and some of them stay, and so far, it seems that centered compositions are here to stay.

Creating a custom email signature is easy if all you want is plain text. It’s worth it to create your own HTML signature to stand out with something fresh. And it’s not nearly as scary as it sounds.

So, you’re thinking of becoming a street photographer? What are the most important things to get you started? Find out!

Hyperfocal distances are an arcane, over-technical art for some photographers and just another tool to whip out at the necessary moment for others. So, how do you put those hyperfocal blues to bed?

It's that time of year again when masses of photographers and videographers from all over the East coast make their way to NYC and the Jacob Javits Center for PDN's PhotoPlus Expo 2018.

The Mavic 2 Pro can record video in 10-bit, but this mode suffers from significant barrel distortion on the edge of the frame. DJI acknowledged the issue and created presets and values to correct this problem in Premiere Pro, Final Cu, and DaVinci Resolve.

Rewind back to 2013. Mirrorless cameras are in full swing, gobbling up the low and prosumer ends of the market, and amidst all the fuss, Canon puts out its prosumer offering, a seemingly tepid update to the 60D, the 70D.

Photographers can be greedy when it comes to knowledge, hoarding techniques, shoot locations, and general valuable information on our craft. While we photographers need to be competitive, we also need to share our knowledge.

Some people thrive in the social media arena. However, others find it a battle not worth fighting.

The Fstoppers community is brimming with creative vision and talent. Every day, we comb through your work, looking for images to feature as the Photo of the Day or simply to admire your creativity and technical prowess. In 2018, we're featuring a new photographer every month, whose portfolio represents both stellar photographic achievement and a high level of involvement within the Fstoppers community.

A lot can be said for the power of social media. In fact, many of today’s most successful photographers owe a lot to the beasts that we lovingly refer to as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. But are these platforms that we all invest so much of our time into the final nails in the coffin of a professional photograph industry that was built less on savvy social media skill and the latest filter packs and more on actual relationships, constancy, and hard work?

As photographers, we need to put our best foot forward, especially if we're hoping to get clients to hire us or even simply aim for a quick dopamine hit on Instagram. However, one of the most beneficial exercises I have done is to look at the process of getting to my own favorite images and the process others follow to get to theirs.

"Say cheese" might be one of the most common things you think of when it comes to standard portrait photography. In the days of mall studios or even class pictures, this phrase is something we can all attest to hearing at least once in our lives. With more modern day photography, there has become less and less forced smiles and bribery in order to get that perfect image.

If your bookings are on a downward trend, you are not alone. With many photographers claiming a significant decrease in clients, let’s take a look at what is causing the sudden dip.

Gear cannot make you a better photographer. This statement is said over and over and I actually really believe it. But despite believing this statement to be true, I also believe that switching to mirrorless has made me a better photographer.

Artists are undoubtedly perfectionists and are their harshest critics. Learn why getting your next project done and releasing it to the world is better than waiting for it to be perfect.

In the past few weeks, Nikon and Canon have released their new mirrorless offerings, the Z7 and R, to much fanfare. Despite the great specs and form factor, I won't buy either for one simple reason: neither one has dual card slots. I never shoot anything without dual card slots, and neither should you.

Providing a service to clients as a small business comes with risks. At some point during the course of photographing a wedding, every photographer will run into an unforeseen circumstance. Are you prepared to face the unexpected?

With his hand wedged firmly in a crack of the sheer granite face of El Capitan, Alex Honnold looks up and scans his route as he doggedly continues his death-defying ascent of the iconic rock formation with no safety ropes to save him in case of calamity.

One of the most difficult aspects of professional photography is dealing with business. This will help.

The list of motivating landscape photographers who regularly vlog keeps growing. And if you’re interested in vlogging yourself, there just might be a solid option for weight-conscious landscape photographers.

As creatives, most of us know the value of a strong internet presence and what that can do to boost brand recognition and our business bottom-line, but we don’t always know how to make the best of that presence. I spoke with a successful web builder and graphic designer to get a glimpse of the most important aspects of boosting web potential for photographers.