Fstoppers Original Articles

As the old year rolls into the new, it’s that time again to make a few photographic resolutions.

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 2021, 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.

If you love photography, there’s no doubt that you want to know the best ways to improve your photography. There are countless blogs and articles on this subject alone; what I’m going to do is drop five ideas that might help you become better at photography.

As we near the end of another difficult year, we look forward to new beginnings. What will you be doing to ensure that you grow and improve as a photographer in 2022? Here are five ways you can guarantee you are moving in the right direction.

If you knew for certain that you would succeed, what move would you make in 2022?

The Sony a7S series of cameras is strange. They're described as stills cameras; however, most customers seem to use them for their video features. At best, they're an odd compromise that doesn't fit anywhere properly. For this reason, I'd like to discuss why Sony should get rid of this line completely or at the least, revamp the series.

They hold you down in landscape photography, they bring you to make wrong decisions out in the field, they make you blind for finding compositions, and they even kill your creativity. Knowing about them and avoiding them makes you a better photographer.

As photographers, we are always looking for ways to improve our craft and stay ahead of the curve. With new technology emerging every day, it can be difficult to know what is worth investing in and what will become obsolete in a few months. In this short article, we will explore the potential of AI technology and how it could benefit photographers in the future.

Learning photography and trying to create better photographs can be a daunting task when you're just starting. Here are some guidelines I've taught in my workshops to help new photographers create stronger images.

Some photographers have skills that blow us away. Embedding emotions into images sets some photographers apart, so I knew instantly I had to share Tianna Williams’ work with our readers.

Until recently, the last time I shot an entire roll of film was on a Canon EOS 5, sometime in the mid-2000s. Last month, I put a roll of black-and-white film through my mother’s old Olympus Trip 35, and the results sparked some strong emotions.

Clint Bentley’s new film, Jockey, is an intense character study that contrasts the ending of a veteran jockey’s career with the ascendance of a younger jockey. Under the watchful eye of director of photographer Adolpho Veloso, the filmmakers use some exciting photography and lighting techniques to complement the strong script and award-winning acting.

Sony users tend not to struggle when it comes to choosing lenses thanks to a ton of third parties complementing a large offering from the Japanese manufacturer. However, one lens now forms a bizarre gap in the lens lineup and, amazingly, companies are not trying to fill it.

At the end of the year, when the nights are long, and the days dark and weary, photographing can become less interesting. Some may even lose inspiration during these days. I have some ideas for you to get through the dark winter months in the Northern hemisphere.

For Northern Hemisphere astrophotographers wanting to try getting into the deep sky (outside our solar system) targets, here are three suggestions to start the Winter season, with the bonus that a stock (unmodified) DSLR or mirrorless camera can be used.

Prefer traveling with a smartphone only but still want to take perfect shots? With the latest imaging system co-engineered with ZEISS, the vivo X70 Pro+ shoots high-quality videos and fits inside your pocket, so you can easily take pictures of any moment.

The Fujifilm X-Pro1 has become something of a cult classic. Released in March of 2012, the camera was an immediate hit with photographers due to its aesthetics and outstanding image quality. I picked one up used a few years ago, and it quickly became my favorite take-along camera. As it nears one decade on the market, here are 10 reasons to love the X-Pro1 — 10 years later.

It has arrived! I've got my hands on a production unit of the new Nikon Z 9 flagship mirrorless camera, and here are my initial thoughts.

It’s a device that can get your hands off the keyboard and mouse. It switches between every application automatically and has presets that you can modify to set you up exactly for how you use your software.

Leica has always tried to maintain a balance between their reverence for the past and their willingness to embrace the future through innovative camera releases that shoot black and white only or cameras that don’t have a rear LCD. I believe their next flagship release, expected to be unveiled on January 13, 2022, will take the bold step of removing all buttons, dials, and switches from the back of the camera in favor of a touchscreen-only interface.

A brief story to round out the year and launch us into the next.

Astrophotography has become more popular than ever, in no small part due to the global pandemic, but also due to the availability of inexpensive portable tracking mounts.

Adobe released version 11 of Lightroom a little over a month ago and with it came a lot of new features. In this part of the guide, we'll go over the new sky selection tool, how to apply color or luminance masks, and how to use intersections.

To people unfamiliar with the term, negative space might seem like something bad. On the contrary, using negative space can greatly enhance your compositions and make your subject stand out. Here's what it is and how to use it.

Nikon’s recent lens announcement, the Z 28-75 f/2.8, came as a bit of surprise. Notably absent from the roadmap, with few rumors or speculation in the run-up to its appearance, this lens is an odd duck in more ways than one. Is this a promising development for the Z system or a missed opportunity?

Writing can be a powerful tool, even in regards to your photography. Self-critique in the form of written content is a great way to reflect and grow, helping to improve your images.

Over the last few months, we have teamed up with landscape photographer Elia Locardi for a free 8 part video tutorial series on how to improve your landscape photographs using a variety of different NiSi filters. Today we take you behind the scenes on the making of this landscape series and show you some of our favorite gear used in the production. NiSi is also giving away a set of variable ND filters in this week's contest!

Have you ever taken a shot that you were completely stoked to post, and when you released it to the world, you didn’t quite get the engagement you were hoping for? It can be discouraging to be excited about a photo and not get the enthusiastic engagement you expected. These days, stopping the scroll seems harder than ever, but animating a portion of your photo is an easy upgrade that can create a major boost of interest to your image.

Photographing in a winter wonderland offers us so many advantages, as all the distracting elements on the ground get hidden by snow. But then there comes the photographer, who wants to get out the best possible photograph. And exactly this leads to one of the problems.

Like any specialist occupation, photography is an expensive one. There are big savings that can make it affordable for the professional, some of which can help the amateur too.

Photographing a single image each day for a 365 Project sounds easy, but in practice, it requires a tremendous amount of dedication. If you put some thought into this undertaking, however, you can succeed in completing a 365 Project next year.

Minimalism is a word bandied about by some photographers and overlooked by many others. There’s so much more to it than excluding elements from our images, and embracing its wider meaning can transform the way we approach photography.

Not all conferences are created equal. While I am a big fan of the large conferences, sharing a room with hundreds of people isn't always the best way to learn. So, if you still want to learn from big names such as Lindsey Adler and Joe McNally, but in a small hands-on environment, then The Photo Creators may be what you are looking for.

There is a different sort of light and weather needed for these three sub-genres of landscape photography. Photographing them all within a few hours only is possible, but it leads to some big obstacles we have to overcome.

We've been keeping an eye on Luminar NEO, an upcoming raw editor from Skylum. In my last installment, I was given some preview software that showed three of the new features coming, including a relighting control, removal of wires, dust spots, and power lines.

Being a photographer in the digital age is a double-edged sword. On one hand, we have an endless resource of articles, videos, and experts right at our fingertips. It’s truly a golden age for education, and a motivated person can go from an absolute novice to an expert almost completely on their own. But at the same time, we are more exposed than ever before, and as photographers, posting our work online means opening ourselves up to a sea of criticism — both good and bad.

If you think that printing is a thing of the past, think again. More and more photographers are adding printing to their service list. This is particularly popular with event and wedding photographers, but wireless printing is actually for everyone, as every photographer should print their work - or at least the work that’s worth printing.

Cleaning up the haloing when creating selections can take some time, and even when your image is complete and you can still see some remaining it can be quite annoying. In this tutorial, I'm going to show you a seldom-used but effective way of cleaning the masks.

What is the best way to power all your devices on the go? Here’s a quick look at just a handful of the devices that keep my gear energized when I’m on the road.

As the world seems to be moving away from an ownership model in favor of renting, is it time we start asking ourselves what is and isn't acceptable for photographers?

Photography conferences are an incredible way to build your skills, find new inspiration, and network with like-minded people. The Click Away Conference is one great option if you are seeking ways to expand your photographic experience and business acumen.

In today’s market, more and more photography clients are asking for video. Do you have what it takes to shoot quality photo and video work? There is more to it than flipping over to video mode on your camera.

If you are thinking about booking a workshop in the coming year, how do you choose what one to book, and what do you hope to get out of the workshop?

If no one takes notice or takes time to engage more deeply with an image, what does it matter?? Getting control over the viewer’s eyes can be a big game-changer for your fine art photography.

Entry-level cameras are the best option for beginners, right? Plus, that popular brand must be the right choice, mustn’t it? As the song goes, it ain’t necessarily so. Here’s why you should consider choosing something better.

A lot of modern cameras allow you to create multiple exposures. Not many photographers are using this function. At first, I forgot about it, thinking it was just a gimmick. But it turns out to be a very creative tool. Perhaps this article will inspire you to try it out.

In the history of visual art, few figures loom as large as Rembrandt. His influence on photography is so great that “Rembrandt lighting” has become a staple method for portraiture. But Rembrandt Lighting is often a poor choice for photographing women, especially when working with corporate clients.

Recently Adobe released Lightroom version 11 and with it came a completely revamped interface for masking. After a month of real-world use, this guide will help you get up to speed on anything you could possibly want to know about masking in Lightroom for 2022.

Growing your skillset and your career as an artist can be filled with pitfalls. But even though many mistakes are shared amongst nearly all photographers, the good news is that most can be avoided if you only know where to look.

I recently wrote a piece for Bradt Guides' Travel Club offering tips on how to get the most out of a trip to the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. I, for one, am feeling serious withdrawal from travel. If you're planning a trip to Antarctica or love landscapes and wildlife, climb aboard.