Fstoppers Photographer of the Month (October 2021): Alan Brown

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.

How Good Is the Retro Nikon Z fc Mirrorless Camera?

Nikon's Z fc mirrorless camera sees the company make a throwback to their film cameras of yesteryear, dropping some of their most modern technology in a body that looks like it stepped out of the 1980s. The camera offers a small and lightweight design and affordable price in tandem with its unique design, making it an interesting option for a variety of applications, and this excellent video review takes a look at the image quality and performance you can expect from it.

How to Make a Boring Location Look Cinematic

There will come a time — likely more than one — where you have to shoot in a dull location. While this can be disheartening, it's manageable if you know how to make it look more appealing. In this video, see behind-the-scenes of a shoot and how one cinematographer transforms any space.

Is the Sony a7R IV One of the Best Stills Cameras Available?

The Sony a7R IV is the highest resolution full frame camera ever made, and it brings with it a range of advanced features from Sony's other camera lines, making it a versatile option for everything from portraiture to landscape photography and more. This great video review takes a long-term look at the a7R IVA and how it holds up for photo and video work in a range of scenarios.

The Different Kinds of Light in Landscape Photography

Light is crucial in any form of photography, but unlike most other genres, you do not get control of it in landscape work. Thus, it is crucial to be able to read the scene you are presented with to create photos that the light is conducive to, rather than fighting against it. This fantastic video tutorial will show you the different kinds of light you will encounter and how to use them to create the best possible photos.

How Good Is the New Masking Tool in Adobe Lightroom?

Adobe has rolled out some impressive updates to Photoshop and Lightroom, particularly when it comes to automated tools. The new masking tool in Lightroom allows for automatic selections of skies and subjects, but how good is it?

How One Photographer Grew His Business to Six Figures Per Year

While jobs in the creative arts, like photography, are infamously difficult to make good money in, it is possible. In this video, Evan Ranft walks you through how he turned the income from his photography business from low to six figures in 8 years.

Master Manual Exposure Blending With This Foolproof Photoshop Workflow

With modern HDR-blending algorithms making exposure blending so quick and easy, manual exposure blending may seem like an outdated skill for landscape photographers. However, automated software doesn't always produce the cleanest results. In this article, we'll discuss a foolproof workflow for manual exposure blending that will give you total control over your images and ensure results of the highest quality. The good news is that this workflow doesn't require any third-party panels or difficult luminosity masking!

A Beginner's Guide to Removing Objects in Adobe Photoshop

There are a handful of tools and techniques in Photoshop that are utterly essential in my eyes. One of those is the ability to remove even complex objects from your images, whether they are distractions or unwanted features, you will be surprised how often you need to remove something.

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark in Your Landscape Photo

Many landscape photographers love the use of high dynamic range techniques in their landscape photos. The lightest parts are reduced in brightness, and dark parts are lifted to become near midtones. Perhaps this is not the best choice to edit a landscape photo.

It's Ok to Put the Camera Down Sometimes

We may not like to admit it in the day-to-day, but when major life events bring things into perspective, we see that as much as we may love photography, it is not the most important thing. And it is important to remember that sometimes, it is ok to put the camera down to practice self-care, be with family, and focus on the more important things.

7 Common Mistakes Beginner Landscape Photographers Make

Landscape photography is a popular genre, and it takes the confluence of technical skills behind the camera, creativity, and solid post-processing capabilities. As such, there are a lot of places where things can go awry. This excellent video tutorial features an experienced landscape photographer discussing seven common mistakes beginner landscape photographers make and how to either fix or avoid them.

How I Got the Shot: Lighting Studio Portrait With Photo Backdrop

We are not always fortunate to have the perfect background that matches the total vision of a shoot. The same goes for having a huge budget to build the set, which leaves a few options. Spend the time with compositions or use a printed backdrop to complete the scene. To save time, at least in my case, I opted to go with a printed backdrop for the shoot since there would be multiple images.

Every Focal Length in One Lens: A Review of the Tamron 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD

Superzoom lenses are traditionally not known for their image quality, but in recent years, some serious strides have been made by manufacturers, and certain models can now produce good photos while providing remarkable levels of convenience, allowing you to cover every conceivable focal length with only one device. This great video review takes a look at such a lens, the Tamron 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD.

5 Easy but Creative Video Tricks With the DJI ACTION 2

Action cameras revolutionized videography in many ways, opening up possibilities for shots that would have previously been somewhere between difficult and impossible. In this video, learn five quick and easy video tricks that can result in some beautifully creative shots.

Mistakes That Hurt Your Photography and Your Business

Being a photographer and running a photography business are both complex things with a lot of different parts and places where things can potentially go wrong. This fantastic video tutorial discusses a wide range of mistakes photographers commonly make and how to fix them or avoid them entirely.

Copy Any Color Grade to Your Photo With the New Photoshop Tool

Adobe has released a slew of new features in the recent Photoshop 2022 update, one of which pertains to color grading. With this tool, you can transfer the color palette from one image to another, allowing you to replicate looks from films and other media.

How to Fake a Sunset With Flash Photography Using Gels

You can't control the weather, but you can control what the weather looked like. In this video, go behind the scenes of this shoot with a beautiful Porsche 911 GT3 RS and how one photographer made an overcast day look like an epic sunset.

5 Helpful Tips for Respectful Wildlife Photography

Wildlife photography can be a tremendously rewarding genre that connects you with nature and allows you to capture stunning images of the world around us. However, it takes some special considerations to maintain safety and to treat the animals with respect. This fantastic video tutorial will give you five tips to create wildlife photography in a respectful way.

How to Use Foreground to Create Better Photos

A photograph is a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional thing, and as such, part of your job as a photographer is to render the frame in a way that brings depth back to the scene. This requires considering how you layer different parts of the frame, and this excellent video tutorial will show you how to work with one of those parts, the foreground.

Photoshop Power Tips to Take Better Control of Your Images

Photoshop is a deeply powerful and complex program, and it is easy to overlook certain capabilities or inadvertently do things less efficiently than you could. This awesome video tutorial features a seasoned Photoshop educator showing a variety of power tips that are sure to expand your capabilities, make your workflow more efficient, and improve the quality of your images.

New to Photography? Here's How the Exposure Triangle Works

Perhaps no concept is more important in photography than the exposure triangle, as it will have a hand in every photo you ever take, both from a technical and creative standpoint. If you are new to photography, this awesome video tutorial will show you the ins and outs of the exposure triangle to get you up and running in no time.

3 Easy Portrait Lighting Setups for Small Spaces

When you are first starting out, you are not likely to be shooting from a dedicated studio. Most of us start out in a spare room at our home or the like, meaning we are in a tight space. That does not mean you can't take great photos in that small space, though, and this excellent video tutorial will show you three easy portrait lighting setups that work well in close quarters.

Being Bold and the Promise of the Nikon Z 9

Nikon has finally officially announced their new flagship mirrorless camera, the Z 9. The long-rumored specs are now confirmed, and the promise of the system has exceeded expectations.

A Common But Easily Fixed Landscape Photography Mistake

The challenge of composition in landscape photography is that you can't control the location of any of the elements in the frame, only your position relative to them. This leads to some common mistakes, and this great video tutorial highlights one of them and how you can easily fix it.

Our DJI Action 2 Review: Good but Not Great

For the last week, I've been playing with the new DJI's completely reimagined modular action camera system, the Action 2. Aspects of this new system are ingenious, but it is far from perfect.

Traveling 1,000 Miles for a Single Photograph

Scotland is home to some of the most beautiful locations in Europe and too often goes under the radar. In this video, one photographer travels to the far north of the British Isles to see some stunning landscapes.

A Review of the New Nikon Z 9 Mirrorless Camera

Nikon's Z 9 is finally here, and it looks like the competition for most powerful full frame mirrorless camera is a three-horse race again. How does the new camera perform? This great video review takes a look.

5 Mistakes a Photographer and Filmmaker Has Made in His Career

Making a living as a photographer or filmmaker is hard enough even if you do it perfectly, but of course, none of us are perfect, and we all make mistakes along the way. This excellent video features a seasoned photographer and filmmaker discussing five mistakes he has made in his career and how to fix them or avoid them entirely in the first place.

Travel Photography Is Not Dead: Here’s Why

The global pandemic has brought about significant changes to how countless photographers and videographers work. With changing attitudes and shifting restrictions, how feasible is it to continue working as a travel photographer?

5 Portrait Lighting Styles You Can Create With One Light

When you think of high-end portraiture, you might imagine multiple lights and complicated setups. The truth is, you can create a lot with just a single light. In this video, learn five techniques that can be replicated with a single light.

How Two 'Bad' Photos Changed a Photographer's Life

When you think of the landmark photos in your career, those that changed its trajectory, they are probably some of your best work. But for one photographer, two "bad" photos significantly changed his life, and this important video essay tells the stories behind them.

5 Points for Photographers Testing the Waters of Astrophotography

This video from Cuiv, the Lazy Geek, a YouTuber with a popular following in the astrophotography community, brings up some considerations for photographers who are dipping their toes into astrophotography, including broad considerations and commentary on differences and difficulties traditional photographers may find as they explore astrophotography.

What's New in the Latest Versions of Lightroom and Photoshop?

The latest versions of Lightroom and Photoshop are here, and they bring with them some highly impressive new features that will make your workflow easier and more efficient. If you want to make sure you do not miss any of the new features so you can get the most out of both programs, check out this great video overview that will show you everything you need to know.

Do You Need the MacBook Pro M1 Max or M1 Pro for Your Work?

Apple's latest MacBook Pros are here, and while they brought with them a bevy of new features and the return of some that many creatives have missed, the headline features are the newest iterations of Apple's in-house processors, the M1 Max and M1 Pro, which promise top-level performance and remarkably long battery life. Now that you have multiple options for a processor, which is right for your work? This helpful video will give you a first inkling.

Nikon Z 9 Video Leak Reveals Some Potential Dealbreakers for Pros

Nikon India accidentally posted the release video for the Nikon Z 9 flagship just a bit early, and while they were quick to remove it, photographer and YouTuber Tony Northrup was able to get his hands on it and do a deep dive into the uphill battle against Sony and Canon that the camera will face.

Is the DSLR Dead?

As more mirrorless camera lines are announced from the biggest manufacturers in the world, does the DSLR run risk of being put on the sidelines indefinitely?

Booked Your First Wedding? Here's What You Need to Know

Few photographic events put more pressure and stress on the photographer than their first wedding, but we all have to start sometime. If you just booked your first wedding and you want to make sure the big day goes as well as possible (and with as little stress for you as possible), check out this excellent video tutorial that will guide you through what you need to know.

5 of the Best New Features in Adobe Photoshop 2022

Adobe has just released Photoshop 2022, version 23.0.0. As always, it leans more towards evolution than revolution, but with more than two decades of evolving, you know any large changes are going to be useful.