Create a Cinematic Orange and Teal Color Grade in Lightroom

For the past decade modern cinema has opted for the orange and teal color grade to provide a wonderfully cinematic feel, and thanks to the new tools in Lightroom you can turn your shots into cinematic masterpieces, too.

The Best Tiny FPV Drones for Filming in Tight Spaces

Drones have improved at a rate of knots in the last decade or so, and now you are able to film usable HD footage with a tiny, agile drone. This has lead to a revolution of creative videography. In this video, one videographer and drone-lover goes through his top picks for this niche type of drone.

How I Got a Photography Agent

If like me, you have always wanted to be a commercial photographer, then having a good agent is a really important part of this. However, there are far more photographers than there are agents, so how do you get one?

How Polaroid Made Billions, Lost Billions, and Has Risen Again From the Ashes

The story of Polaroid offers a fascinating insight into the evolution of camera technology. Once a titan of the photographic industry, Polaroid failure to innovate and anticipate the shift to digital led to its bankruptcy, but a return to analog processes has breathed new life into this former giant.

Photographing Strangers on Film

Photography as a job and as a hobby are two very different things. For professional photographers, this distinction means consistently working at their practice, rather than at certain points or only if inspiration strikes.

What Is This Famous Camera Like 20 Years Later?

The original Canon 1D came out almost 20 years ago, in November of 2001, and it represented the company's arrival on the professional digital camera market. Since then, the 1D series has become well known for its high-level capabilities and almost unbreakable build, becoming a favorite of countless pros around the world. What was the original model like, though? This neat video takes a look at the shooting experience and image quality. Spoiler alert: the colors are beautiful.

7 Helpful Ideas to Break Out of a Creative Rut

Creative ruts are something we all go through at one time or another, and they can be frustrating if you are a hobbyist and downright dangerous if you are a professional whose income relies upon your ability to come up with interesting and effective ideas and content. So, what can you do when the creative juices stop flowing? This excellent video tutorial will give you seven ideas to help you get back on track.

Is the DJI Phantom 5 Finally on Its Way? Or Is It the Osmo Mobile 5 Next?

It has been over three years since any update to DJI's Phantom series, and given how quickly the line used to see updates and how the Mavic models have progressed, it would not be unreasonable to assume the Phantom series has been put out to pasture. That might not be the case, however, as DJI's latest event invite seems to point at a new model.

How to Pick the Right Wedding Photographer: 7 Tips You Should Know

If you're looking into hiring a wedding photographer, you may not have much experience with the profession. Although you can pick photographers you like, there is more to the story than just that. So, how can you make sure you're hiring the right photographer? Here are seven tips that can help ensure you aren't disappointed.

6 Tips For Getting Started In Street Photography

Street photography is perhaps one of the most celebrated and ubiquitous forms of the art of photography. Names like Henri Cartier-Bresson, Vivian Maier, and William Eggleston pervade any list of "greatest photographers of all time," so if you also want to try your hand at it, what is the best way way to approach it?

Essential Skills Every Photographer Needs

No doubt, it is a lot of fun to nerd out over cameras and lenses, but becoming a successful photographer takes a variety of essential skills that have nothing to do with the latest and greatest equipment. This excellent video discusses three of those important skills and how they will make you a better photographer.

What Should You Do When You Find Your Photos Have Been Stolen?

It is one of the most upsetting things that can happen to a photographer, and it is frustratingly common: you discover your images have been stolen and used without permission. What can you do in this situation? What can you do the prevent it in the future? This excellent video essay features a seasoned photographer discussing the issue and offering a lot of helpful advice.

How to Break the Photography Rules

There are a lot of "rules" in photography, meant to codify what makes a good image and how to create one yourself. But for every rule there is out there, there are 100 notable exceptions to it. So, how do you break the rules in a way that produces compelling photos? This excellent video discusses three different ways to go about it.

Fstoppers Photographer of the Month (August 2021): Kim Silver

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.

Behind the Scenes of a Shoot for a Commercial Using Only Natural Light

Shooting a commercial is a difficult task at the best of times, but to do so only utilizing natural light, is even trickier. In this video, go behind the scenes of the shoot as Eric Floberg walks you through settings, equipment, and considerations to get to the professional final result.

A Common Editing Mistake Landscape Photographers Make

The vast majority of landscape photos are only half done once the shutter has been pressed; a lot of the image is created in the edit, both from a technical standpoint and in adding your personal style. As such, it is important to be aware of where things can go wrong, and this excellent video tutorial details one of the most common mistakes and what you can do to avoid it.

The Unique Lens That Had Autofocus Over 40 Years Ago

Canon introduced the EF mount in 1987, and it brought with it a number of innovations while ushering in the autofocus era for the company. Before that, though, was the FD mount, and while it had almost exclusively manual focus lenses, one special lens, the FD 35-70mm f/4 AF, actually had a very strange and unique autofocus system, and this neat video shows what it was like to shoot with.

Is TSA PreCheck a Must-Have for Creatives Traveling With Gear?

No one enjoys the hassle of going through airport security, but for photographers and filmmakers, it can be especially frustrating and tedious to deal with having all of our gear unpacked, inspected, and repacked, and it can be a serious delay. TSA PreCheck has the potential to alleviate a lot of that, though. Is it worth the $85 fee for five years? This great video essay discusses the topic.

Are Godox Lights for Professionals?

There are two types of opinionated photographers: those who love Godox lights and those who feel Godox lights are not for professional use. Here are some considerations for whether the Godox system is for you.

5 Tips for Making YouTube Videos Faster

Creating video content can be so time-consuming that it is off-putting for people starting out on platforms like YouTube. In this video, and experienced videographer and YouTuber, Sidney Diongzon, goes through five tips to help speed up and smooth out your workflow.

One Truth of Photography That Catches Beginners Out

Some of photography is intuitive, some of it requires some understanding, and then there are quirks of the craft that can catch you out completely. This particular truth of photography is counter-intuitive and can be frustrating too.

Drone Photography: 6 Things to Know Before Flying A Drone 

If you're new to flying a drone, there is a lot to learn. I wanted to share my practical advice that can save you time and money. This is the advice I would give myself if I were to go back in time. I would hopefully have helped prevent some frustration and improved my ability to create!

What It Looks Like to Shoot an Entire Short Film 100 Feet Underwater

The process from concept to actually shooting a short film can have a lot of moving parts that quickly balloon the overall size of a project. Unforeseen problems will inevitably arise, budgets, schedules, and resources, all putting stress on the crew. Now, imagine choosing to shoot the entire film underwater and at times at a depth of 100 feet. This is exactly what Josiah Gordan envisioned for his film "Angelita."

Useful Tips for Shooting Natural Light Portraits

Shooting portraits using natural light means paying careful attention to how that light is behaving and how it falls upon your subject. This insightful video gives you a series of tips on how to make the most of a wide variety of shooting conditions.

Universal Music Group Seemingly Thinks It Owns the Copyright for the Moon

Universal Music Group has bizarrely started to copyright strike videos that contain the Moon. You know, the huge celestial object that sits in the sky and is visible to almost anyone — that moon. Copyright strikes from UMG have essentially become a meme in the last decades; however, this one definitely takes the cake.

To High Speed Sync or Not to High Speed Sync? Maybe an ND Filter Is Best

There's a feature with flashes that if you're in the know, is a lifesaver. High speed sync is something that allows you to shoot beyond what's considered the maximum sync speed of your camera, and to shoot wide open with flash in bright light, it's often a necessity to balance the exposure.

Six Things That Successful Photographers Don’t Do

It’s not unusual to hear lists of things that successful people do, but what about some patterns that are destined to hold you back? Here’s a list of six habits that you should do your best to avoid as you progress your career as a creator.

Environmental Portraits
Critique the Community

Environmental Portraits

Submit Your Best Environmental Portrait

For this critique/contest, we want to see your best photos of environmental portraits. Every image must include a person and ideally they would be photographed in an environment that represents who they are, where they work, what their hobbies are, etc. 

Closed for new submissions. Voting is open.
A Common Mistake That Sinks Landscape Photographers

One of the frustrating parts about landscape photography is that unlike most other genres, you do not have any control over the light. Getting surprised by the light often leads to landscape photographers making a mistake that deprives them of worthwhile images, and this excellent video discusses why and how to avoid it.

5 Helpful Tips for Astrophotography

Astrophotography is a tremendously challenging genre that requires some specialized techniques and knowledge, but when you nail a shot, the results can be jaw-dropping. If you are looking to improve your astro images, this excellent video tutorial will show you five great tips that will help you take better photos of the night sky.

Making a Career out of Landscape Photography

Landscape photography is a popular genre, but the vast majority of those who enjoy it do it as a hobby and not a profession. So, how do those who do it professionally make a career out of it? This insightful video features a professional landscape photographer discussing his long-term approach to his career and some things to be aware of along the way.

Why the Golden Spiral Is Overrated

The golden spiral is often touted as a sort of magical tool for photo composition that automatically creates balanced, compelling images, but it is not without controversy regarding its effectiveness. This interesting video features one photographer examining the concept and discussing why he thinks it is not a good tool for beginners to use in their photography.

5 Helpful Sports Photography Tips to Improve Your Images

Sports photography is a challenging genre that requires fast reactions and solid technique, but it can also be a ton of fun and can yield jaw-dropping action images. If you are looking to improve your sports images, check out this great video tutorial that offers five helpful tips to take better shots.

How Good Is Canon's $12,000 RF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM Lens?

Canon's top-level supertelephoto prime lenses are some of the most impressive in the entire camera world, offering extreme focal lengths and apertures paired with uncompromising image quality and performance. The RF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM brings a sports and wildlife staple to the company's mirrorless line, and this excellent video review takes a look at the sort of image quality and performance you can expect from it in practice.

Learn How to Edit an Environmental Shutter Drag Portrait in Lightroom

Last week, we walked through How to Capture an Environmental Shutter Drag Portrait. A shutter drag portrait is a portrait that captures movement around a subject using slower shutter speeds. Following the steps in the video, we wound up at a final raw image. In this video and article, I'll be walking through the editing process from start to finish in both color as well as black and white to get to our final images!

How to Quickly and Easily Blend Multiple Times of Day in Photoshop

Something landscape photographers often have to deal with is extreme dynamic range and the fact that different parts of the frame look better at different times of day. A common technique is to take multiple exposures and blend them in post, and this awesome video tutorial will show you how to do it quickly and easily using the Lighten blending mode in Photoshop.

How Good Is Canon's Strange RF 600mm f/11 IS STM Lens?

Canon's RF 600mm f/11 IS STM and RF 800mm f/11 IS STM lenses are some of the most unique to come to the market in a while, offering photographers extremely long focal lengths at very affordable prices, albeit with the compromise of a very narrow fixed aperture. Is that compromise reasonable? This great video review takes a deep look at the lens.

Reuters Photojournalist Dies in Afghanistan After Being Left Behind During Retreat

Danish Siddiqui was no stranger to dangerous situations, having captured images of the Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar that garnered a team Pulitzer Prize in 2018. He put himself in harm's way during the tensions between the Hindu majority and Muslim minority in Delhi and again during the pandemic. His images of funeral piers in India were in stark contrast to the government's statements that the COVID response was well in hand.

Learn How to Create Evenly Lit Portraits With Just One Speedlight

Sometimes, we're hampered by malfunctioning gear or we just can't afford to invest in a second speedlight, so it's imperative that we learn how to make do with what we have. Creating an evenly lit, bright, and airy portrait with just one speedlight might seem like too much to ask, but not if you have a few grips and some reflective material at hand.