What Is the Difference Between Speedlights, Monolights, and Packs and Heads?

When it comes to lighting, the three main types you can choose from are speedlights, monolights, and packs and heads. These three all have their own merits and drawbacks, and if you are thinking about investing in your own lighting system, it is important to know which is best suited for your work. This excellent video tutorial will show you the ins and outs of all three options and help you decide which to choose.

Kodak Brings Back Beloved Gold 200 Film in 120 Format

Kodak Gold 200 film is a popular choice and one of the most affordable stocks you can get, but the 120 format version was discontinued, much to the disappointment of medium format film photographers. Well, after some well-known folk in film photography — at least insofar as social media — kept asking for it, Kodak decided to deliver.

My DSLR Is Broken. Is It Time to Finally Get a Mirrorless Camera?

It happened again. My DSLR has failed on set. While being used to it and calling in for repairs right away, I caught myself thinking whether the time has come to buy a mirrorless. Here are some points that I brought up while having this debate with myself.

A Review of the Fujifilm XF 33mm f/1.4 R LM WR Lens

A good 50mm lens with a wide aperture is by far one of the most versatile a photographer can own, suitable for everything from portraiture to low-light events work and more. For Fuji shooters, there is the XF 33mm f/1.4 R LM WR, and this great video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

A Look at the Powerful and Rugged New DJI Matrice 30 Enterprise Drone

Most people are familiar with DJI's consumer drones, but beyond those, the company also makes some impressively powerful and specialized enterprise drones. The Matrice 30 Enterprise is the latest at that level, and it offers some impressive new features. This great video takes a first look.

A Friendly Reminder That No One Needs to See Your Photos

No, that title is not meant to insult you. In fact, it is meant to empower you. The vast connectedness of the Internet and social media can be a great thing, but it can also be a highly detrimental thing for creatives. The next time you are preparing to take a photo and wondering what the end product will be, remember that you watched this video and that no one needs to see your photos.

Skip Social Media Advertising and Grow Your Business With These Tips

Growing a business can seem like a nebulous task. It can feel like there are too many ways to do it, with each way being a crap-shoot. Before I made the switch to being a commercial food photographer, I ran a successful marketing agency. Let me share with you some tips to reach your ideal client and grow your business.

3 Straightforward Steps to Improve Your Portrait Lighting

Picking up artificial lighting can be a bit daunting for a lot of photographers, but if you want to take complete technical control of your portraits and expand your creativity, it is something you have to master at one time or another. If you are new to artificial lighting and unsure of how to get started, check out this helpful video tutorial that will show you three steps sure to get you on your way to using flash comfortably.

Tips for Creating Great Videos Quickly and for Free

Video content is more in demand than ever before, both in terms of social media and commercial applications. However, post-processing can be time-consuming and expensive, which puts many photographers off. In this video, Jan Wegener walks you through how to speed up your workflow and use a free editing suite.

The New Standard: Apple Displays

With the release of Apple’s new Studio Display, the new creative standard may be here. Are the specs and price good enough?

Simple Editing Tips for Better Landscape Photos

Landscape photography often relies on rather complex and involved edits that go deep into Photoshop, but you do not have to make deep edits to create a compelling image. In fact, you can often skip Photoshop altogether and rely solely on Lightroom. This excellent video tutorial shares some simple but helpful tips for creating better landscape image edits using Lightroom.

Are You Finding Photographic Inspiration?

You can spend all the time in the world working on your technique behind the camera and in post-processing, but if you are not feeding your creative mindset in tandem with that technical development, you are going to have trouble creating worthwhile images. This excellent video essay will teach you the importance of finding creative inspiration and its impact on your growth as a photographer.

A Deep Dive Into How Kodak Makes Film

With film photography once again becoming popular, photographers who wish to take it up must wonder where the current film stock is coming from. Is it from the remnants of film stock that was made years ago? Well, you'll be happy to know that Kodak still has production lines running at its factory and even happier to watch this deep dive into how they make the film that you shoot today.

NFTs Are Terrible: 6 Reasons Why You Should Avoid Them

Given the number of big name photographers and huge brands jumping on board the NFT bandwagon, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the plethora of problems surrounding the NFT market had evaporated. You’d be wrong. NFTs are a still terrible idea, riddled with problems.

3 Months With the Sony a7 IV Mirrorless Camera

The Sony a7 IV mirrorless camera was probably one of the most anticipated cameras of the last decade, as the a7 III had set a high bar for versatility, quality, and affordability in a hybrid mirrorless camera. The a7 IV brought with it several new features and upgrades when it finally arrived, and this great video review takes a look at how it has held up after three months of usage.

Is This 50mm Lens Worth Its Modest Price?

Probably no lens runs a wider price range than the 50mm. You can pick up a new wide-aperture 50mm prime for anywhere from under $100 to well over $2,000 and just about everywhere in between. The most affordable options tend to have some serious limitations, though. The Viltrox AF 50mm f/1.8 offers an upgrade over those cheap models without breaking the bank, and this great video review takes a look at the image quality and performance you can expect from it.

Can the New OM System OM-1 Mirrorless Camera Keep Up With the Canon EOS R3?

The OM System OM-1 is here, and with its impressive upgrades and new capabilities, it challenges the paradigm of full frame or even APS-C cameras ruling the sports genre, at least on paper. Can it really keep up with top-level professional cameras, though? This great video review pits the OM-1 against the highly respected Canon EOS R3 to find out.

Which of These 50mm f/0.95 Lenses Is Best?

50mm f/0.95 lens options have exploded in the last few years, all offering an ultra-wide aperture at a versatile focal length in an affordable manual focus design. So, which of the options is best? This excellent video comparison takes a look at four of them: the Mitakon Zhongyi Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 III, TTArtisan 50mm f/0.95, Brightin Star 50mm f/0.95, and the Venus Optics Laowa Argus 45mm f/0.95.

A Buying Guide for Canon Full Frame Mirrorless Cameras and Lenses

Canon took a bit of time to really hit the gas when it came to professional mirrorless cameras and lenses, but once the EOS R5 and RF 28-70mm f/2 L USM hit the market, the company started running and has not looked back since. Now that the company (and third parties) have a wide variety of cameras and lenses available, knowing what is right for you can be a little tricky. This great video buying guide will help you navigate the world of Canon mirrorless gear to find the best choices for your work.

Perfect Your Photography Using the Seven Elements of Art

Photography is an art, and like all art forms, seven basic elements comprise our images. Although, I challenge that number, I think there are eight. Understanding these elements helps us to take our creativity to the next level.

Which of These Two Impressive Fuji Portrait Lenses Is Better?

Fujifilm's XF 56mm f/1.2 lens has long been one of the most popular portrait lenses out there. However, Sigma lenses recently arrived for XF shooters, creating a new option for X Series shooters, including the 56mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary. So, how do the two options compare? This excellent video comparison takes a look at both to help you choose the right one for you.

Should You Use a Human Element in a Landscape Photo or Not?

If you search the internet, you will find a lot of landscape photos that include a human element. Often, a person will be in the frame, sometimes the photographer themselves. In this article, I want to take a closer look at the reason why you should sometimes use a human element in your landscape photo.

8 Helpful Tips for Natural Light Swimsuit Photography

When it comes to swimsuit photography, Joey Wright is one of the best in the world, and he is a fantastic teacher on top of that. If you would like to improve your work, check out this fantastic video tutorial in which Joey shares eight excellent tips for shooting natural light beach photos.

Things To Think About if You Are Starting a Wedding Photography Business

Starting a wedding photo business in 2022 is vastly different than it was in 2002 or even 2012, and as such, it is helpful to know what unique considerations and steps you should take to position yourself for success. This helpful video tutorial features a seasoned wedding pro discussing five things she would do if she were starting a wedding photography business this year.

How to Get Your Landscape Photos in Focus

Landscape photography is just like any other genre in that you can do everything right, but if you miss focus, the resulting image will be a throwaway. So, what can you do to ensure that your photos are perfectly in focus every time you press the shutter? This helpful video tutorial will show you one professional landscape photographer's secret.

How to Retouch Headshots Using Frequency Separation: A Step-by-Step Guide

Retouching photos is as much an art as a skill, and portrait photographers must understand the proper way to retouch images, even if they prefer to have a retoucher do this work for them. Although there are a variety of ways to retouch an image, using frequency separation is the most common method and is considered one of the best. In this article and the accompanying video, I detail the process I use to retouch my headshots and portrait work.

We Interview Lindsay Adler

Lindsay Adler has long been a staple in the photography industry. So, when I got the opportunity to sit down and catch up with what she has been up to, I jumped at It.

How to Find the Best Landscape Photography Locations

Part of becoming a successful landscape photographer is knowing how to find worthwhile locations to take your camera to. And while learning settings and editing are pretty well codified, location scouting can be a bit more difficult to master. This great video tutorial will show you a professional landscape photographer's thought process in choosing locations and how you can find those golden spots for compelling images.

How Big Does Your Photography Studio Need to Be?

When it comes to choosing a space for studio photography, it is often a tradeoff between having enough room for all your equipment and for whatever creative ideas you envision versus the cost of renting said space. If you are wondering how much room you need for full-length portraits, check out this excellent video that will show you everything you need to know.

An Interview With Jordan Blake: Vulnerability and Strength Through Self-Portraiture

Jordan Blake is a black artist originally from Nigeria. He has lived in Baltimore, USA for several years. After finishing college, he made the move to New York to better figure out and explore who he is and what type of images he wants to create. Of course, it doesn’t go unnoticed that New York also offers greater opportunities for collaboration and sharing of work.

A Behind the Scenes Guide to Short and Broad Lighting

Portraiture is one of the most versatile genres of photography, housing many sub-genres within it. One of the most impactful skillsets you can acquire for the craft is lighting and so it is important to know the basic setups and what different lighting styles achieve.

From Photographer to Director

Photographers who want to dabble with video and have some apprehension will learn from this post. While video and photography are not identical, they have great overlap in concepts and it's likely that you know more than you think.

What It’s Like to Photograph the 2022 Winter Olympic Games

Covering the world’s greatest athletes at the Olympic Games is nothing more than a dream for many photographers. For Getty Images’ Bruce Bennett, photographing the Olympics is just another day at the office. I spoke with Bruce about his experience covering hockey at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.

Fstoppers Reviews the Powerful New Apple Mac Studio

Apple's new Mac Studio has created an entirely new class of desktop computers for the company, offering some insanely powerful capabilities that should be able to tackle anything even the most demanding photographers and filmmakers can throw at them, all at a price that starts significantly below the Mac Pro line, making it an impressive value. In this review, we take a look at the new computer and just how much power it houses.

Call for Entry: The Mkapa African Wildlife Photography Awards

Following the success of its inaugural competition last year, the African Wildlife Foundation and Nature's Best Photography have launched the second annual Mkapa African Wildlife Photo Awards. Get your entries in before the June 1, 2022 deadline.

A Guide to Shooting With Premium Sony Cameras and Lenses

Sony creates some of the most advanced cameras and lenses in the world, and if money is no object, you can put together a kit that can tackle just about any photo or video situation you could possibly throw at it. There are a lot of options out there, though, so if you are wondering where to start, check out this helpful video guide that will show you some of the best choices in the Sony full frame system.

7 Helpful Tips for Beginner Street Photographers

If you are new to street photography, it can be quite the intimidating genre, but with a little practice, it can quickly develop your photographic eye and improve your work in many other genres as well. If you are interested in street photography but wondering how to get started, check out this helpful video tutorial that features seven tips sure to set beginners on the right path.

A Review of the Venus Optics Laowa Argus 45mm f/0.95 FF Lens

Normal focal length lenses with wide maximum apertures are some of the most popular options out there, suitable for everything from portraiture to low-light events coverage and astrophotography. The Venus Optics Laowa Argus 45mm f/0.95 FF lens offers that sort of package at a fairly affordable price, and this excellent video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of image quality and performance you can expect from it in practice.

Why There Is Nothing Wrong With Chimping!

"Chimping" is a term used by some photographers to describe the habit of other photographers who they deem to be looking at their rear LCD screen on the camera too much. But the information on the back of your camera can be really useful, especially if you are someone just starting. Here is my argument for chimping and some ways you can use your LCD screen effectively.

Zhiyun Announces the Crane-M2 S: A Mirrorless Capable Gimbal at a Lower Price

Looking for a gimbal that's capable of stabilizing your mirrorless camera, phone, or action camera, all without taking up too much space in your bag? Zhiyun's newly announced Crane-M2 S brings the unique features of the larger M3, including a fill light, USB-C fast charge, and a built-in display, to the more compact form-factor of the Crane-M2. Want to see what makes this gimbal such a powerhouse?

DxO PureRAW 2 Can Work From Within Lightroom, Increases Speed, and Adds New Cameras and Lenses

DxO PureRAW is a permanent part of my photographic workflow. Before anything else, I take my raw files from my mirrorless camera and my drone through PureRAW first. It checks my camera and lens data and outputs a raw file with corrections that eliminate lens distortions, vignetting, noise, and a host of other issues specific to my hardware. Here's my review of what was a must-have the last time around.

Would You Buy a Digital Xpan?

The Xpan was one of the most innovative cameras ever produced. Launched in 1998, it was a joint venture between two giants: Hasselblad and Fujifilm. Its unique design brought panorama images to 35mm, with the ability to switch between standard and panorama images on the fly.

How Good Is the New OM System OM-1 Mirrorless Camera?

The OM System OM-1 is here, and it brings with it some mightily impressive improvements and upgrades along with a range of new features that help to modernize the system and make it competitive with APS-C and full frame options again. This great video review takes a look at the new camera and the kind of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.