Fstoppers Original Articles

If your partner is not involved in the photography or videography industry, you may not have thought about teaching them to become your assistant or second shooter. But what if this could be a great addition to your photography? Let's look at how this could help you build your business!

Just after Christmas can be a great time to grab yourself some photography related bargains. Follow these crucial tips to save thousands of dollars and stay safe online.

“Award-winning photographer.” Now, more than ever, I see the term popping up in a biography. But I wondered, does it hold any merit in 2018? With so many claiming to have received awards — most of which I’ve never heard of — it’s become a pet peeve of mine. Has the prestige of winning a photography award been diminished?

Thanks to apps like Instagram, there are some concepts that we've seen literally thousands of times, and at this point, they all blur into the same bland flavor. 2018 felt like the year of the lone person standing by waterfall, and seriously, we're sick of seeing that same shot over and over again.

With 2018 winding down to a close, it's time to start thinking about what to do with all of those wondrous images we've created. Storing them on a hard drive is difficult, because if the hard drive gets lost — so do your photos. The New Year is a perfect time to re-organize your life, do some cleaning, and keep your photos safe!

New underwater photographers often ask me what my favorite lens is for creating underwater images. And while I have a few different lenses that I shoot with underwater, none get used more than my Tokina AF 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 AT-X 107 AF DX Fisheye Zoom Lens. It is lightweight, great for travel, and has a very short focusing distance, which makes it ideal for close focus wide angle underwater photography.

I've been sitting here for a bit, wondering what the worst gear release by a major manufacturer was in 2018, then I realized the answer was crystal clear.

As far as perks of being a photographer go, traveling the world and documenting everything you see along the way is right up there with the best of them. Luckily for Pep Bonet, he’s been around the globe as Motorhead’s previous resident photographer of 7 years, as well as documenting the impact of war and disease in Africa. Then, he became one of the first in Europe to test out the Nikon Z7 and S-line NIKKOR Z lenses. So how did he find it faired against DSLRs?

The long awaited version 3 of Luminar from Skylum arrived this month. It held the promise of new features, and digital assets management tools (DAM) that would rival Lightroom. That's important, because some percentage of photographers don't like the Adobe subscription model, and while powerful, Lightroom's Library management can be a pain. Of course others love it, and would never switch.

Second shooting is a great way to gain experience and fill out unbooked weekends, but there are a lot of things you can do to maximize your returns.

Most of us tend not to think too much about relative screen brightness and the appearance of our photos across the myriad of devices they may be viewed on. But should we?

High ISO is usually meant to be used when there's not enough light. However, there are cases when you have to take it up from its minimum value even when the sun is bright.

Photographing war has a long history dating back to at least Mathew Brady's photos of the American Civil War. Some images become inextricably linked to the events they portray. So what is it about this image that makes it so powerfully representative of the First World War?

Even if we're not professional photographers, most of us at some point have fancied getting paid full-time to take photos. Weddings? Sports? Fine art? Press? Commercial? How about a medical photographer?

One of the most popular pieces of gear most photographer assume a studio should have is a reflector of some sort, and a v-flat is greatly preferred. Some photographers who look for a DIY option but can't seem to find a source for the large foam boards usually give up and proceed without them. Here's another method you can use to create your own v-flats.

As 2019 approaches, I reflect on the past year and the ways I have grown and the ways I can grow: the most important lesson I learned last year came from the great photographer Layne Murdoch Sr.

Larger images provide a world of options for photographers, but if you're not careful, more pixels could mean more problems. If you're one of the many photographers finding yourself with a new high resolution camera after the holidays, here's a guide to wrangling that newfound resolution.

Loupedeck have released a version of their software that plays (somewhat) nicely with Capture One Pro. Today we’ll take a look at what you can expect and what we think could be improved.

Famed celebrity stylist and creative director Jason Bolden and his team approached photographer Nathalie Gordon with an idea to shoot a campaign for their newly launched sunglasses brand JSN.

You’re scrolling through social media when you see a photograph that looks terribly familiar; it looks so much like one of your photographs that it takes you a minute to realize that it’s some else’s work. What do you do?

A bad second shooter can create many problems for a wedding photographer, so it is important go the extra mile to make sure the second shooter does exactly what you need.

Photographers often have a hard enough time getting the proper credit and payment they deserve for the images they create. And now, Instagram is enabling brands to make money off your images without you ever even knowing it.

We all have our pictures online. But do we have a picture that defines who we are as a professional and what we do? In this competitive world where your digital presence is a business card, what difference does a professional portrait make?

Often, we think a landscape has to be photographed with a wide angle lens and a large depth of field. Some think it is even better to use extreme wide angles and always in combination with a maximum depth of field. But have you ever thought of photographing a landscape with a minimum depth of field?

I hate being bored, not so much because of the restless sensation, but because I dread wasting time. Boredom just feels wrong, so I maintain a ready backlog of productive tasks. But could boredom be as essential to your creativity as hard work and tenacity?

We all have our favorites, but what do the numbers say?

Have Sigma and Tamron been beating Canon and Nikon? It's been an interesting year.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I know, right? I too would have thought that more people would have common respect and courtesy for others, but apparently, I was wrong.

If you're a photographer from the millennial generation, you're probably fluent in communicating with memes. Here are 17 of my favorite photography memes.

It’s the tradition of suburban parents everywhere: the mall Santa photo. It’s also an excruciating photo day for actual photographers.

In the first article in this series, I discussed themes that would affect freelance photographers most: mixed-message branding, teaming up for video, and the opportunity cost. This second piece focuses on some of the issues that hit us photographers where it hurts most: profitability of video services, client satisfaction, and the sheer embarrassment of moving to the dark side!

Was Santa kind to you? Did he bring you that brand new camera you've been drooling over for months? Before you run out and start shooting with it, here are 10 things you should do.

The holiday season is a time when we put down our tools and use the downtime for important issues, like making wishes for the following year. Not me, though, my wish list hasn't changed since 2009. I keep getting what I don’t need while my seemingly obvious wishes are ignored.

As the turkey lies heavily in your belly, take a moment to sit back, relax, and read some of the best articles published on Fstoppers over the last year that didn’t quite get the attention they deserved.

The business of photography can sometimes be fairly cutthroat, but it can also be a community full of great people who care and support each other. This is precisely the experience that one photographer shares after losing everything to the recent wildfires in California.

Photographing the night sky can be fun, especially when there is a meteor shower. Every year, I try to capture the famous Perseids during my summer holiday in August. But in December, there is the Geminids, which also can be quite spectacular. This year, I had bad luck and a lot of luck at the same time.

The end of the year is a great time to take a look at the backups and file management you’re currently using. This article details some essential practices and habits to adopt for the new year to help keep your images safe.

In midst of a world of darkness, see how one photo ended up changing someone's life and shedding a much needed light on the world.

The winner has been announced. Congratulations to...

Many people have asked me over time why most of my headshots are taken in portrait orientation and so tight? I used to joke around, saying I shot that way because I am a Virgo and my style of shooting is very much “in the box”. I then realized I could simply sum up three main reasons for why I shoot in portrait.

How many times have you snapped a beautiful scene, only to be disappointed when your images don’t adequately represent the reality? Though the camera’s images sometimes fall short, have no fear, because bracketing is here.

Gear. Photographers go crazy over new lenses, lights, cameras, and all the ancillary parts that go with them. Many of us have added to our bags during this holiday season, and a few are holding off for those big purchases still. What if I told you that the prices of lenses, lights, and other equipment may be going up 25 percent or more in only a few months?

In this week's episode of "Photographing The World 4" Behind the Scenes, we move down to Patagonia to film the second half of this landscape photography tutorial.

When you're looking to print something that can really stand out and be unique, you may be wanting something more than a traditional matte or glossy paper. That's where Moenkopi Washi Unryu 55 comes in with a gorgeous texture and feel for your fine art prints.

Fujifilm is known for many things: great cameras at better prices, gorgeous film simulations, and having a lot of very similar but distinct cameras. Sometimes, it can be overwhelming about what is similar or different between models, so I thought I would put together this resource to break it down so you can be sure to get the best camera for your own personal use.

The holidays are fast approaching, and if you're anything like me, it’s time to scramble for those last-minute gifts. Here are seven gifts that would be great for photographers that you can also simply download online.

Every now and then, it's nice to be reminded of how spoiled we are and how much information really lives inside our raw files. Whenever we capture a raw image, we have a plethora of information at our disposal. That's all well and good, but this one example really helps bring it home.

Over the last few years, something has become quite apparent: photographers are becoming reliant on social media. Some have achieved great success across the various social media platforms, but would they or you make it if social media as we know it suddenly ceased to exist?

As photographers, it is often incredibly simple to just stay in your safe lane and stick to photos. I know people that have been photographing for years and never once touched the video function on their DSLR. They are intimidated by it. But adding video to your marketable skills is far simpler than you may think, and with today’s rapidly changing landscape, it’s an incredible tool to add to your repertoire.