Capturing portraits of musicians is one of my favorite things to do. As a musician myself, I think that I have a unique perspective that helps me to connect with my musician clients. Working with other creatives always makes for an inspiring portrait session, and finding novel ways to incorporate an instrument into a portrait is a fun challenge. In today’s article and accompanying video, I will give you five tips that have helped me create engaging portraits of musicians.

Landscape photography challenges you to work with conditions you can't control while still employing a range of techniques and bringing your creative vision to fruition. If you would like to improve your images, check out this fantastic video tutorial that discusses three lessons an experienced landscape photographer thinks everyone should learn.

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.

Leica has a rich history in photography and while their cameras are polarizing based purely on price, their pedigree isn't up for dispute. In this video, Mattias Burling discusses why the original Leica M Monochrom is a great purchase in 2022.

I'm going to provide 10 additional tips about using Kodak's popular TMax 100 that I learned from my experience with it. Hopefully, these set you up for success with your Kodak TMax 100 photos.

The Dell XPS (eXtreme Performance System) line has been long respected for its quality and performance, offering Windows users a lot of power and advanced features to tackle the heavy demands of professional photographers and filmmakers. If you are looking for a new computer that can tackle everything you can throw at it, check out this great video review of the latest XPS series.

The last few years have seen a slew of new and impressive cameras. Nikon's newest mirrorless body has been turning heads, so one veteran wildlife photographer takes it into the field to give an honest review.

We have all seen minimalist photos that use just the bare minimum of elements and the interplay between colors and light and shadow to grab our attention and invigorate our imaginations. However, behind those seemingly simple compositions are often tremendously complex mechanisms and thought processes. This great video essay discusses the idea of minimalist photos and how to find success with them.

Before gaining popularity with the highly respected X Series and GFX Series, Fujifilm was quite active in the film industry, making some fantastic cameras that are still popular with enthusiasts today. One of the most interesting cameras they made was the GA645Zi, and this great video takes a look at what it is like to shoot with a medium format point and shoot.

It can be easy to get caught up in the practical side of photography, particularly if you are running a business, and to lose sight of the artistic side of it. However, we all first picked up cameras because we enjoyed the creative process and the ability to express ourselves through the medium. So, how do you find success if you have devoted yourself to being an artist photographer? This insightful video essay explores the topic.

Have you ever seen those bold modern ads that just force you to stop and look? One got me this week. I was driving, and a billboard had a colossal burger, most likely shot with the 16-35mm lens, and a bold, canary yellow background with that primary McDonalds red. "I need that burger! Wait... I'm a gluten-free vegan!" I tipped my hat to the photographer and kept driving.

Creating a compelling and technically sound panoramic photo takes a bit of specialized technique and knowledge in addition to all your normal tools and creative vision, but when you put the time and effort in and get it right, the results can be jaw-dropping. If you would like to dive into creating your own panoramas, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will get you up and running in no time.

Photography can be a powerful tool for good. Photographer Ellie Sedgwick recognized that, and she's using her camera skills for a coffee table book on vulvas and to encourage body positivity, curiosity, and understanding.

Photography as a hobby can be rather expensive, especially when you want a high-quality camera and lenses. You can spend thousands and thousands of dollars without blinking. But you can also rent equipment, and there might be a few good reasons to do so.

An 85mm lens with a wide aperture is one of the most popular choices among photographers, offering the classic focal length for portraits paired with narrow depth of field and a lot of bokeh. Such lenses can run quite high in price, however, sometimes well over $2,000. The Tokina atx-m 85mm f/1.8 FE comes in at a significantly lower price, and this great video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

If you are shooting on a budget, many desirable effects are tantamount to impossible to guarantee, particularly if you want to capture them in camera. Rain is one of the trickiest and with this tool, you can add it in, realistically, in post.

The Fujifilm XF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 R LM OIS WR offers X series shooters quite a bit of reach at a relatively affordable price as far as supertelephoto zooms go. Does it still offer the sort of performance and image quality professionals demand, however? This great video takes a look at the lens to answer that question.

Today, we’ll look at three simple questions you should ask when deciding which images make the cut for your professional portfolio.

There are essentially three types of modern cameras: DSLRs, mirrorless bodies, and rangefinders. There are a few other formats that mostly fell by the wayside, however, as time marched on, such as the zone focus camera and the TLR. This neat video takes a look at using a TLR, including its unique experience and images.

Canon and Nikon, after a slow start, have both been consistently releasing excellent mirrorless bodies. Their respective newest cameras are more or less direct rivals, so how do they compare?

They can change the ordinary to the extraordinary. However, there is a lot more to creating low- and high-key photographs than just under- and over-exposing. Discovering how they work can dramatically improve our photography. It's also the reason why cameras should have one specific feature.

If you hop on the internet and look for tips on how to get better at photography, you’ll be bombarded with ideas. It can get a bit overwhelming if I’m being honest. In this short video, Edward Gilbert speaks to one easily applicable tip to becoming a better photographer.

Natural light portraits are quite popular, particularly among newer photographers who are still learning the ins and outs of lighting, camera settings, posing, etc. They can be deceptively complex, however, which leads to some common mistakes. If you are shooting natural light portraits and want to improve your work, check out this fantastic video tutorial that details some of the most common mistakes photographers make.

You are probably going to fail may not be the advice you want to hear, but it's an important pill to swallow. Take note of what world-renowned photographer Martin Parr has to say in this interview.

Sharpness is important in almost all photography genres, but it takes on particular importance in landscape photography, where the goal is often to have everything in the frame as crisp as possible. If you want to improve the sharpness of your landscape photos, check out this helpful video tutorial that features three different techniques for getting those shots as crisp as possible.

Are you a fan of the 4:3 aspect ratio? There's definitely something nostalgic about the nearly square framing that instantly transports me back to my childhood in the late 1980s. Aside from that, I’m overjoyed that it’s no longer in widespread use.

Many aspiring landscape photographers hit a roadblock when it comes to long exposure and filters. They may seem confusing and too technical, but the following tips should clear the path for you.

The Sony a7 IV, one of the most highly anticipated cameras of recent years, is here, and it brings with it a range of new photo and video features and improvements, making it again one of the most balanced cameras out there, at least on paper. How does it hold up in practice? This excellent video discusses some of the best and worst aspects.

Artificial intelligence has begun to have a real impact in photography via post-processing. This may be a contentious subject, but whichever side of the fence you are, it's interesting to see what it's capable of. In this video by Manny Ortiz, he reworks some images with Luminar's Relight tool.

When you are first starting, landscape photography can seem daunting, especially when you see all of the beautiful images others post online. Here are a few ideas taken from my experience that may help you find more success as a landscape photographer.

Canon started out slowly in the mirrorless space, but they exploded forward with the release of the EOS R5 and RF 28-70mm f/2L USM, showing they could go toe to toe in specs and that they had no intention of relinquishing their crown for creating some of the most extreme and innovative lenses. It looks like the company won't be letting off the gas, with more cameras likely to come later this year.

There are no shortcuts to producing compelling photographs on the street: just practice. However, here are five tips that will help your progression run a little more smoothly.

35mm has always been a popular focal length, offering a wide but still fairly neutral view that is useful for a huge range of applications from astrophotography to portraits and more. There are tons of 35mm lenses to choose from out there, and this excellent video review takes a look at one of the more affordable options, the Viltrox 35mm f/1.8 AF.

A wide angle prime lens that comes with a large aperture can tackle a range of situations, such as astrophotography, weddings, and more. For Sony shooters, there is the FE 20mm f/1.8 G, and this excellent video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

A hiker in Arizona fell to his death this week after trying to take a selfie near the edge of a cliff.

Leica's M11 has hit the market, and it brings with it a variety of improved and entirely new features that help to modernize the company's M series. This great video review takes a look at the new M11 and the kind of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

Wide-aperture 50mm lenses are quite popular for good reason, as they offer a very neutral focal length in tandem with narrow depth of field and low-light performance, making them quite versatile for a wide range of applications. They run a huge gamut of prices, however, from under $100 to well over $2,000. This excellent video review takes a look at a mid-range option that could be the right combination of price and quality for a lot of shooters, the Samyang AF 50mm f/1.4 FE II.

My recent shoot with Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Mitchell S. Jackson turned out great but was not without problems. Join me for a detailed look at how it all went down.

One deterrent that photographers and videographers often encounter can be loosely defined as "situation"; not having enough space, not being in the right location, and not having the right gear. There is almost always a way.

If you are new to landscape photography, it can be easy to feel a bit overwhelmed by all the things you have to master and keep track of to produce a compelling final image, which can sometimes lead to making mistakes. This helpful video tutorial discusses some of the most common mistakes beginner landscape photographers make and how you can correct them or avoid them altogether.

There are a lot of sayings bandied around in photography that sound impressive but are meaningless. However, an image being greater than the sum of its parts is something we should heed as it is the basis of how our minds perceive images. Here are seven ways to achieve this.

Photoshop is a tremendously complicated and intricate application, and for any one task, there are often three or four methods to get the results you want. One of the most fundamental skills you will need is the ability to work with layer masks effectively, and this fantastic video tutorial will show you three ways to use layer mask density to take better control of your editing.

Landscape photography is a challenging genre that takes the confluence of a variety of techniques, creative mindsets, planning, and often, just a bit of luck. It also has a storied history with a long line of master photographers. So, what can we learn from those masters? This great video discusses six tips gleaned from their work.

It figures that right after I write about how quiet 2022 is so far for 360 cameras that less than a week later, Ricoh decides to shatter that notion. The new Ricoh Theta X brings a few things to the table to shake things up in the consumer 360 camera market.

Fujifilm's X series of cameras began a little over a decade ago as quirky, unique bodies, but in the time since, they have evolved into powerful tools used by many professionals while still maintaining those interesting designs that captured the imaginations of many users many years ago. This neat video takes a look at the X-Pro1 and how it holds up a decade later.

The excitement around NFTs is hard to ignore, having established a cult-like following that is gaining an ever-growing foothold in mainstream technology. What if an entire financial system was built around little more than hype backed by a handful of tech millionaires?

I always take a tripod with me in addition to my camera when I'm out on a hiking or scouting trip because there can always be an unexpected photo opportunity. And since I apply focus stacking to nearly all of my photos to ensure optimal sharpness, photographing handheld is not an option. Or is it? In this article, I show you how to use the automatic focus bracketing feature of modern cameras to perform handheld focus stacking.

We ought to always be looking forward to our photography, but it's also important to add some ceremony to our achievements and use the past as a learning tool for the future. So, what is your favorite photograph from 2021, why, and what can you learn from it?

The internet, as well as being a great resource for photographers, is also a black hole for our collective wallet. It seems that almost daily a new camera, lens, computer, or must-have bit of software is launched. So let's look at the biggest gear mistakes we make as beginners.

It is the story that makes a photo special, and it is one of the base requirements for fine art photography. But it is also that area where landscape photographers seem to struggle most.