Fstoppers Photographer of the Month (July 2021): John Kimwell Laluma

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.

We Interview the 'Greatest Photographer in the World'

I met the self-styled “greatest photographer in the world,” Harry Schidtshlinger, last week. He was sporting a bloody nose, trying his best to stem the flow with his lens cloth. I offered to postpone, but he was determined to be interviewed, and I wanted to hear his story.

How Does the Kandao Obsidian Pro Stack Up in the Pro 360 Camera Space?

The year’s been pretty quiet for 360 cameras, which is why the launch of the Kandao Obsidian Pro, a 12K 360 camera made up of 8 APS-C sized sensors, is pretty much an extinction-level event this year as far as 360 cameras are concerned. The specs put it easily above other all-in-one 360 solutions, but how does it stack up in the real world?

How Your Phone Will Make You a Better Photographer

Phone photography has come a long way since its flip phone origins. Today, you might not even be able to tell the difference between a photo taken by a phone and a dedicated camera.

This Crazy Camera Shoots Between 24mm and 600mm

Most of us would love a lens that could literally cover every focal length we would ever need, and the Sony RX10 series actually offers that, with a range of 24-600mm. This neat video shows you its versatility and creative potential shooting street photography.

How To Automatically Blur Backgrounds in Adobe Photoshop With Neural Filters

If you're somebody who hates heavy-handed post-production, you might want to keep scrolling. For those of you who are happy to do whatever they can to get the image they want, here is an example of Adobe Photoshop's new beta Neural Filters in which the background of an image can be blurred.

How To Prepare for Your First Paid Photoshoot

Running your first paid photoshoot can be a daunting process, with organization, planning other people and products, and timing to get right, there's a lot more to juggle than just camera settings. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to prepare for your first paid gig.

How To Get the Most Out of the iPhone Camera App

Apple's iPhones have some fantastic built-in cameras that can handle a wide variety of situations with ease, making them a great option for a camera that is always in your pocket. While the stock camera app is designed to provide a simple process that ensures you always get a great shot, there are more powerful options hiding within that interface, and this great video tutorial will show you how to get the most out of them.

How To Practice Cinematography at Home

The beauty of cinematography is that a lot of the requisite skills are practicable in your own home. In this video, watch as a professional cinematographer creates a high-end shot in his own house, walking you through every step.

How To Paint Vinyl Backgrounds for Food and Product Photography

Food and product photography backgrounds can be incredibly difficult to come by in certain parts of the world. There are lots of tutorials out there about how to create your own textured backgrounds and wood backgrounds. But vinyl backgrounds are the bomb when it comes to portability and saving space. Creating them isn’t too difficult either.

Behind the Scenes of a 04:30 am Shoot in London

When most people think of London, they think of skyscrapers and old pubs, which there are admittedly rather a lot of. But, London also has some fantastic areas of natural beauty, and the location for this early morning shoot is arguably the greatest of them all.

Pacific Northwest Escape Mission 3: Natural Bridges in Oregon

The pandemic has forced many of us to stay home. But that doesn’t mean we can’t experience the wonder of our own backyard. And in the Pacific Northwest, there’s so much to explore. The last year or so has provided us with an opportunity to be inspired by Mother Nature and inspire other budding photographers by showing them the magic of America through our lens.

What Are Red Flags You Have Noticed in Other Photographers?

Whether you're looking to hire a photographer yourself, are looking to work with another photographer, or are being given advice or criticism from another photographer, what are some red flags that put you on high alert?

How to Retouch Beauty Images in Capture One and Photoshop

Conceiving of, lighting, and shooting a beauty image is a ton of work, but it is only half of what it takes to finish things off. Strong post-processing skills are needed to create a fully polished beauty image, and this excellent video tutorial will show you what you need to know to process a natural light beauty shot.

Photographers, Don’t Delete Your Bad Photos, You Might Be Surprised To Learn Why!

Do you often return from a photography session or trip to upload your photos and immediately delete the bad photos from the set? While getting rid of the obvious blurry image can save you disk space, I find that deleting can sometimes do more harm than good. Had I culled my images right away I never would have created this photograph.

10 Mistakes Beginner Photographers Make

No doubt, when you are first starting out as a photographer, it can be overwhelming trying to learn and master a huge range of things, including lighting, cameras settings, composition, creative style, post-processing, and more. As such, it can be easy to make mistakes in a lot of different places. This great video tutorial discusses 10 common mistakes newer photographers make and how to fix them or avoid them entirely.

The Best Images From GuruShots 'Minimalist Shots' Challenge

GuruShots is a website that hosts "The World’s Greatest Photo Game,” and it's latest challenge has drawn some attention. Participants were invited to submit their best images of "Minimalist Shots." Thousands of people entered and millions of votes were cast for their favorites. Check out the three winners of the challenge as well as hundreds of top rated images below.

How Lightroom's Range Mask Can Improve Your Photo Edits

One of Lightroom's lesser-known but highly useful features is the range mask, which can make your editing both easier and much more efficient. If you have not used it before, this awesome video tutorial will show you how to use range masks in Lightroom.

4 Reasons Food Photographers Should Shoot Fine Art Food Photography

An important part of growing as a photographer is shooting personal projects. If you are a food photographer, it can be extremely easy to get stuck in a rut because you are shooting the same modern images over and over. An easy and important way to combat this is to shoot food as fine art.

Hilarious Music Video Shows Nikon Is the Potato Camera That Everyone Should Hate

Nikon has been in the photography industry for a long time, but what have they actually done? I mean, sure, they've made plenty of great and extremely popular cameras, but anyone can do that. When have you ever seen Nikon try to be cool and attract a younger crowd? I guess there was the Nikon Df. However, what has Nikon done since then?

Does Luminar AI or Photoshop Produce Better Fake Bokeh?

No doubt, a few years ago, any sort of bokeh added in post was noticeably fake. However, software has come a long way in the last few years, especially with the proliferation of things like artificial intelligence and neural network capabilities. Luminar AI and Photoshop are leading the pack at the moment, and this great video comparison takes a look at their bokeh-generating capabilities.

One Very Good Reason You Should Make Your Photographs Beautiful

Are your photos beautiful? Consequently, do they attract lots of likes online? If you are serious about your photography, then there are arguments to shun beauty and embrace less appealing aesthetics. But those arguments are flawed. Here's why.

5 Great Ways To Take Your Photo Editing To the Next Level

Improving your editing doesn’t necessarily mean getting your head around the Tone Curve or finding new ways to use the Color Grading panel. Check out these five practical tips to help you be more thoughtful in your editing and discover how to create your own style.

10 Ways You Can Make $100,000 per Year With Your Camera

This industry is infamous for having a low average wage, particularly if you're a self-employed photographer or videographer. However, there are plenty of people earning a good wage, and here are 10 ways you can too, with examples of videographers who are already doing it.

How Lifestyle Family Photography Creates More Meaningful Images

When we think of family portraits, we often picture the traditional looks: everyone lined up, smiling, and well dressed. Family lifestyle photography, on the other hand, shines a new light on family portraiture. Rather than posing everybody perfectly, lifestyle captures the personality and dynamics of the family. The spontaneity is a great addition to a complete family album. Let's begin by seeing how the two styles differ.

This video is a sneak peek into SLR Lounge Premium Library with a chapter from our new course, Family Photography 101. This is a complete course on capturing memorable and unique family portraits. In this video, I had Shivani with me as we compared family lifestyle photography with traditional portraits.

Should the Images From Camera Reviews Be Edited or Not?

Recently I got a friendly comment about the images of a camera review I did. It was all about how the results should be presented. Straight out of the camera, or edited? I want to have a closer look at this question and what could be the answer.

The Canon EOS R3 Will Be 24 Megapixels According To EXIF Data

Despite confirming a ton of specs, Canon has held back revealing the resolution of its forthcoming speed beast. However, EXIF data from images shot using a prototype R3 at the Olympics show that the camera has a 24-megapixel sensor.

Is Sony's Xperia 1 III the Ultimate Phone for Photographers?

Phone cameras have become remarkably competent and versatile in recent years, to the point that they can deliver professional-level results in certain situations, particularly when the light is good and you do not need extreme focal lengths. The Sony Xperia 1 III offers some of the most impressive capabilities yet, and this great video review takes a look at how it performs.

Build Your Dream CRM Using Automate, Notion, and Mailerlite

There are endless apps and web services available for small business owners to build a CRM database. For those not familiar with CRM, it stands for Customer Relationship Management. Basically, it's where you store, categorize, and update your customer’s information.

When and How to Shoot Black and White Photographs

Perhaps no post-processing choice more fundamentally alters the perception of a photo than converting it to black and white. When should you actually shoot in black and white, however? This excellent video discusses the how and why of black and white photography to help you expand both your creative techniques and palette.

How to Annoy a Photographer

Photographers have to deal with a lot of annoying things, whether from clients, other photographers, online trolls, or others. What is it that annoys you? If you need a bit of catharsis, this video should do you a bit of good.

Incredible Photography Into the Heart of an Active Volcano

There are occasions where you know, without a shadow of a doubt, that you're taking images that are some of the best you may ever take. This video shows us behind the scenes as Nigel Danson photographs an active volcano, and I can safely say, this will be one of those moments for him.

How Does the Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Compare to the Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM?

Both Sony and Canon make some highly respected supertelephoto zoom lenses that offer versatile focal length ranges and impressive image quality, making them ideal for tackling a wide range of scenarios across multiple genres. This excellent video comparison pits the Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS against the Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM, taking a deep look at what you can expect from both lenses.

The Canon EOS R3's Likely Sensor Resolution Emerges

The Canon EOS R3 is likely in use at the Olympics as we speak, and we can expect it to be fully announced at some point later this year. While Canon has dropped a few impressive specs about the camera (like a 30 fps continuous burst rate and eye-controlled autofocus), one important specification has been noticeably absent: sensor resolution.

Don't Waste Your Money by Falling for These Misleading Camera Specs

There are a few key specs that camera manufacturers and users gravitate toward and that capture headlines when new products are released. However, some of these specs can be misleading, and it is important that you understand what you are really purchasing before you pull out your credit card. Here are four specs to research a bit further before you buy that shiny new camera.

Flattering Poses for Boudoir Photography and More

No doubt, posing is something a lot of photographers struggle with, and given its more subjective and unquantifiable nature, it can be difficult to improve at it. This fantastic video tutorial will show you a wide range of flattering poses for any body type and offer some helpful tips that will be sure to quickly improve your work.

Seven Ways of Giving Your Images Meaning

Every technical and compositional skill you have in your toolbox cannot give your images meaning. Of all the considerations, putting meaning into an image is probably the hardest to achieve. It’s an esoteric thing, but it can help lift your photographs from the mundane to extraordinary.

A Beginners Guide to Editing with Capture One for Portraits

Looking to give Capture One a try but just find it confusing? It can be a bit difficult when you first open it up, especially if you are accustomed to another image-processing program. Change can be tricky at first, and here's a video to help you get started.