Trending Photography News and Reviews

A Guide to Black and White Photography

Understanding when and how to use black and white photography is a crucial skill for any photographer seeking to elevate their work. While color photography often takes center stage, black and white offers a unique way to interpret and present the world, emphasizing form, light, and shadow in ways that color simply cannot replicate.

Beautiful and Powerful: We Review the Nikon Z f

Many have been waiting for it ever since the release of the Z fc. Well, it is finally here and it is not just gorgeous, but surprisingly well-built using high-quality materials and impressive tech. The Nikon Z f is partially a Z6 II, a Z8, and a beautiful FM2 and yet it’s its own unique thing.

Will Canon's Next Major Camera Have a Global Shutter?

With Sony unveiling a new flagship a9 III model featuring a global shutter sensor, speculation instantly swirled whether Canon would follow suit for its next generation of mirrorless cameras.

Focus Stacking and Lighting Techniques for Stunning Macro Photos

Macro photography offers a unique perspective, revealing intricate details and hidden worlds often unseen by the naked eye. However, achieving sharp focus throughout the entire image can be challenging due to the inherently shallow depth of field. This is where focus stacking, a technique that merges multiple images with different focus points, becomes invaluable.

How to Use the Modern Frequency Separation Method in Photoshop

For those who have been editing portraits in Adobe Photoshop for a while, frequency separation is likely something you'll be aware of. If you haven't, it is a technique used for skin retouching. The most modern way of performing this technique is better and easier than ever.
Going Solar With the BLUETTI Solar Generator EB55 Kit With PV200 Solar Panel

As a photographer who often camps or goes on adventure assignments, adding portable power stations to my kit has given me the ability to charge and work in even some of the most remote locations. While this kind of accessory is useful for any type of outdoor photography, it is also great for a studio where you don’t have an outlet or to have a strong power source in case of emergency. Let’s talk about the next level in portable power stations: solar generator kits.

Simply Undefeated: We Review the Datacolor Spyder X2 Elite

If you haven't calibrated your monitor recently — or perhaps ever — you may not realize the impact it can have. It is a rather dry topic and you might want to allocate those dollars toward a new lens, which I understand, but a color-calibrating tool is an essential piece of kit and Datacolor are the best in the game.
Using Adobe Photoshop's Generative Fill on Video

Adobe Photoshop's generative fill allows AI to recreate or remove parts of an image, blowing many minds in the process. Now, what if you could use this new tool on your videos? Well, it's possible, and here's how.
85mm Versus 135mm Lens Comparison for Portraiture

Two of the most popular focal lengths for portraiture are 85mm and 135mm. If you want to upgrade your nifty-fifty for something a bit longer, which should you choose? Well, it depends on a number of factors.
How to Use the Depth of Field Scale on Manual Lenses

If you've ever owned a fixed focal length wide-angle lens, you've probably noticed the numbers located between the focus ring and the aperture ring. This is the depth of field scale, and it's a valuable tool that helps you check the depth of field for different apertures and focus distances.

How to Transform Your Landscape Images in Lightroom

Capturing the perfect landscape shot often requires a lot of careful and intentional work. A truly impactful image involves understanding how to manipulate perspective and draw the viewer's eye to the most compelling elements of the scene. This is where post-processing tools can help.

The Best Landscape Camera Ever Made

Bold claims for a title indeed, but as photographers, we've all had the opportunity to try different brands to see which one best meets our individual needs. So, when it comes to forking out your hard-earned cash for something like this, you want to be sure you are making the right decision. I would also like to say at the start, although this is a very positive review of the camera, I wasn't expecting it to be just as good as it is.

Power Station for Photographers: We Review the Bluetti AC60

I have been searching for a portable power station that can meet my energy needs on the go and power my home office during power outages for some time now. And with the Bluetti AC60, I found a compact solution.

Fstoppers Photographer of the Month (April 2024): Cheryl Lalonde

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 2023, 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.

This Ultra-Cheap f/0.95 Lens Is a Surprise Dream

Wide-aperture 50mm lenses are some of the most popular out there, with their versatility making them at home in a huge range of genres and applications. For APS-C shooters, the Brightin Star 35mm f/0.95 offers that classic combination at an extremely affordable price, and it surprises with some impressive results. This great video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

Why Is This Newly Released Zoom With a Gargantuan Reach Causing a Stir?

Sometimes I am sent lenses to test, and I can’t wait to send them back. Others stay attached to my camera for as long as possible before they are returned. What I chose to do with this 150-600mm lens took me by utter surprise, and there is good reason why it is making a mark.

Navigating the Early Years of a Photography Career

Building a successful career in photography requires more than just technical skills and artistic vision. It demands resilience, adaptability, and a keen understanding of both the creative and business aspects of the industry. For young photographers, especially those in their 20s and 30s, navigating this path can be particularly challenging.

Essential Tips for Lightroom Classic

Lightroom is an indispensable tool for photographers of all skill levels, offering a comprehensive suite of features to enhance and manage your images. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting out, optimizing your workflow and understanding the nuances of the software can significantly elevate your editing process.

The New M3 MacBook Pro: One Photographer's View After 3 Days

The 2023 MacBook Pro is the latest evolution of Apple's iconic pro laptop lineup. The 2023 redesign brings some major changes, including the new M3 family of Apple silicon chips, a refined design now available in Space Black, and an upgraded display, camera, and connectivity. In this review, we take a deep dive into the latest model and its powerful features.

Are Old Lenses Any Good on Modern Cameras?

One of the greatest aspects of mirrorless cameras is that you can adapt just about any SLR lens to them, making it easy to take full advantage of decades worth of lenses to explore your creativity or find an often much more affordable alternative to modern lenses. Are they worth the cost and effort, though? This great video discusses the issue.

A Comprehensive Guide for Starting to Print Your Photos

Printing your photographs is a magical experience that elevates your work from digital files to tangible pieces of art. It allows you to experience your images in their full glory, appreciating details and colors as intended, much like viewing a painting in a gallery or listening to music at a concert.

Mastering Mobile Photography: Top Smartphone Cameras of 2023

Photography has become an everyday part of our lives, moving from the realm of professionals to the hands of amateurs and enthusiasts. With the continual evolution of smartphone technology, mobile photography has significantly transformed, delivering professional-level results that rival traditional DSLRs. This year, 2023, showcases some extraordinary smartphone cameras, pushing the boundaries of what mobile devices can achieve in photography.

Mastering Composition: Balancing Rules and Intuition

Composition is a fundamental aspect of photography, impacting how viewers perceive and connect with your images. It's the arrangement of elements within the frame, guiding the eye and creating a sense of balance, harmony, or dynamism. However, navigating composition can be challenging, often leading to frustration.

My Favorite Headphones Ever: Bose QuietComfort (2023)

The all-new Bose QuietComfort Headphones really aren't that new at all. They are almost Identical to the QC35 headphones that came out in 2016. They are boring — perfectly boring — and that's why they are my favorite headphones ever.

Macro Gone Mobile: We Review SANDMARC Macro 100mm for iPhone

If you've wanted to try macro photography but didn't want to outlay on all the special equipment necessary, you're in luck. If you're an iPhone user, SANDMARC has a 100mm Macro lens you can screw onto your phone, and I put it through its paces.

Will AI Be Taking Over Your Photography?

Did artificial intelligence technology take over photography? No, it hasn’t, and it probably never will. But here is how AI might have been helping you behind the scenes all along.

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is perhaps the biggest buzzword in the world of photography and tech for 2023, and it continues to be a widely discussed topic in 2024. This stems from the fact that the industry has had mixed reactions about the emergence of AI tools for photography and raised the question of whether this kind of technology puts photographers' jobs at risk. However, much of...

Thriving, Not Just Surviving: Essential Tips for Photographers*

The life of a professional photographer is often romanticized, but the reality is that it can be a demanding and stressful career path. From the pressure to constantly create to the financial instability that often comes with freelance work, there are many challenges that photographers face. However, there are also ways to find happiness and success in this field.

We Review the Pentax K3 III Monochrome DSLR

When I was sent a Pentax K3 Mark III Monochrome for review, I must admit that I didn’t know what to expect. Releasing an APS-C DLSR in 2023 – one that only captures monochrome images – is quite a bold move, and the K3 Mark III Monochrome is in fact the only camera in existence that can claim these unique specifications. After using the camera for a few weeks, however, I have found a lot to love about the K3 III Monochrome, and it doesn’t begin or end with the monochrome sensor.

Demystifying Three-Point Lighting: A Practical Guide for Photographers

Understanding and effectively utilizing light is fundamental to creating compelling and impactful portraits. This is where the concept of three-point lighting comes into play, offering a versatile and powerful technique for achieving professional-looking results.

A Decade of Evolution: Cameras Now Versus Cameras From 10 Years Ago

Over the past decade, the realm of photography has witnessed a rapid transformation driven by rapid technological advancements. Cameras today stand as marvels of innovation, vastly different from their counterparts from just 10 years ago. In this article, let's delve into the technological differences between cameras now and those from the past decade, exploring whether these advancements translate into significantly better image quality and examining how technology has reshaped the landscape of photography.

We Review the GFX100 II Medium Format Mirrorless Camera: Fuji’s Marvel

With the amount of technological advancements that we’ve come to expect, or in some cases demand, from camera manufacturers, where can they go without simply making a camera that does everything for you? All manufacturers, of any worth, are continually enhancing the features of their cameras. Fujifilm is one of these manufacturers, with one of the highest pixel count APS-C sensors, and their range of affordable medium format cameras puts pressure on other manufacturers to keep up in some aspects

Picking 360 Video Editing Software in 2023

It's still a bit of the wild west for 360 video editors in 2023, but that said, many of the major brands and smaller competitors have made great strides in catching up with their software to cater to this specific niche. If that's you, you'll want to read about these four video editing tools.

How Good Is the Canon RF 28-70mm f/2L USM Lens?

The Canon RF 28-70mm f/2L USM is one of the craziest lenses to come along in quite some time, offering an unheard-of zoom range and aperture combination for a full frame lens, making it a unique option for photographers. Nonetheless, it is neither cheap nor small. Is it worth the price and size? This excellent video review takes a look at if its performance and image quality can stand up to two demanding sensors.

Don’t Waste Your Time Posting on Social Media, Do This Instead

A few months ago, I wrote an article about how to get your website to the top of Google. I talked about the importance of search engine optimization, content strategies, keyword research, and search intent. If you put your SEO foundation in place following that article, you are ready to create content that will rank on Google.

Lessons From a New York Times Photographer

Capturing the essence of a city during a momentous occasion presents a unique challenge for photographers. You need to go beyond the obvious celebratory visuals and find images that tell a deeper story, conveying the emotions and atmosphere of the event. This is especially true when documenting a significant historical milestone, like the 1,000-year anniversary of Hanoi, Vietnam.

Filmmakers Robbed at Gunpoint: Running The Entire Length of Africa

Over 100 days ago, Russ Cook (aka The Hardest Geezer), who aims to become the first person ever to run the entire length of Africa, set off on this epic 15,000-kilometer journey. Join me in this article as I interview the filmmakers behind this epic adventure and find out what has happened.

Review of the Canon RF 200-800mm f/6.3-9 IS USM

If you're looking for a long telephoto lens for the mirrorless R system, Canon has some great options available. The RF 200-800mm f/6.3-9 IS USM is the most recent one, and I predict it will become a very popular lens. And it's with good reason.

An Odd Release in 2023: We Review the Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome

Don’t get me wrong, Pentax has made some incredible cameras in the past, many of which are still brilliant to this day. One of my favorite SLRs to this day is the KM released in 1975. But technology is advancing, and this “new” camera feels a little out of place, even though it produces great files.

ON1 Photo Raw 2024 Is a Doozy and Gets Another Interim Update

On1 Photo Raw is a comprehensive image processing tool designed for photographers. It includes asset management, image development, and editing, plus a host of AI-driven tools, including noise reduction and deblurring. The latest update improves the performance of these tools.

Embracing the Challenge of Nude Photo Shoots

Nude photo shoots can be intimidating for both the model and the photographer. Here's how I embraced the challenge, overcame intimidation, and found my creative flow.

We Review The Thypoch Simera 35mm f/1.4 Lens

For the last few weeks, I've been carrying around the new Thypoch Simera 35mm f/1.4 M mount lens. When I test new gear, I try to incorporate it into my everyday carry kit and use it on actual assignments and stories to see how it performs under real-world conditions. Sometimes, a piece of kit that looks great or has fantastic specs underperforms in the field; other times, you get something that exceeds expectations.

A Review of the Laowa 90mm f/2.8 APO 2x Lens

Venus Optics, recognized for creating distinct and unusual lenses with remarkable capabilities at budget-friendly prices, has long been respected for the unique offerings. The Laowa 90mm f/2.8 APO 2x is one such lens, standing out by providing double the magnification of standard macro lenses without a hefty price tag and being compatible with all major full frame mirrorless camera mounts. In this insightful video review, the lens is thoroughly examined, highlighting the performance and image quality it offers in real-world use.

Review of the Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS

A 300mm lens with an aperture of f/2.8 is a wonderful lens. But it’s often large and heavy, or so it used to be. Although the diameter of the lens is unchanged, Sony managed to keep the weight within acceptable limits. It makes the FE 300mm GM OSS a great tool to work with.

A Nostalgic Look at an Early Digital Camera

Early digital cameras, despite their limitations, were a marvel of their time, offering a glimpse into the future of image capture and paving the way for the advanced technology we enjoy today. This fun video takes a look back at one such camera.

Breaking Free From the Photo Business Rollercoaster

Why are you a photographer? You probably didn’t get into this thing assuming it was a get rich quick scheme or for status and power. More likely than not, you love taking photos, being around people, and the excitement of running your own business.