In conversation with Platon, we spoke about finding the best image, competing with other photographers, and what photography is all about. His answers were among the most moving ones I could imagine.
Landscape photography can be a mentally taxing thing at times, with a variety of different things to keep track of, all while trying to be creative as well. Sometimes, the answer is to try some simple things to reinvigorate your work, and this fun video will give you a few ideas.
If you haven’t already heard, Instagram has recently shed some light on how to use hashtags appropriately on the platform, and what you should avoid to get the most out of adding them to your content.
When it comes to landscape photography, tripods are normally the tool of choice, but there are plenty of situations in which you might be without a tripod or when using one is too much work. That does not mean you can't get sharp photos, though, and this helpful video tutorial will give you a range of tips to show you how.
Canon's announcement of their newest RF lens has pricked up a lot of ears in curiosity. Is this new lens going to be brilliant, or is it too niche to succeed?
Are you even a photographer if you’ve never taken a Polaroid? If you’ve yet to experience the magic of instant photography, or if you’ve been away from the game for a while, there’s good news. The film being produced by Polaroid over the last couple of years is more consistent than it has been for a long time.
In certain situations, you may be stuck behind a fence shooting your subject, which can lead to a very distracting grid across your final image. Such a situation is certainly annoying, but luckily, it is something you can fix in post, and this great video tutorial will show you how to get rid of the fence using Photoshop.
When you are shooting wildlife or birds, you do not always get to choose what is behind your subject, and what is otherwise a compelling shot can be brought down by something distracting in the background. If you find yourself in that situation, this great video tutorial will show how to quickly and easily fix a distracting background using Photoshop.
If you are new to photography, it can seem a bit counterintuitive when you see photographers using flash outside when there is plenty of available natural light. However, there is a good reason for this, and this excellent video tutorial will show you both why and how to do it.
It might seem like innocuous, vague advice at first, but it's not. Photography is a difficult craft to stand out in, partially through the depth of the subject, but more down to the sheer number of people taking photographs. This advice can help you on that front.
I feel like boudoir portraits, for the most part, fall within two different types when it comes to lighting and atmosphere: light and airy or dark and moody. If you are looking to step out of your comfort zone of light and airy and try taking some dark and moody portraits, here are three simple tips to help you start.
Nearly everyone today knows about the effectiveness of Google Maps for finding locations anywhere in the world and even perhaps saving them for reference later. There have been countless articles, written even here on Fstoppers, which exhibit its usefulness. However, many fundamental deficiencies arise upon using Google Maps when you take away the one thing it needs to be functional: an internet connection.
Supply chain issues have been plaguing electronics manufacturers for several months now, and camera companies are not immune to the problems caused by an inability to obtain adequate quantities of needed components. It seems as if Canon is the latest to be affected by the shortages, with several product canceled and slated to be "refreshed" at a later date.
If you can create convincing composites in post-productions, the range of final images you can create from a single shoot increases exponentially. In this tutorial, find out how to put your subject on a background and have it look realistic.
Bird photography is a popular genre that can be undertaken in a variety of different ways, with each style presenting its own challenges. Nonetheless, there are common elements in what makes a successful bird photo, and this excellent video features two seasoned pros discussing seven important aspects of every compelling image.
Landscape photography takes the confluence of technical skill, creative vision, the ability to plan, and often, just a bit of luck. And while we can spend a ton of time both at the computer and behind the camera improving our skills, one of the qualities that can help you make better images has nothing to do with either of those. This great video discusses how it can improve your work.
Professional photography has never been more affordable to get into as a profession as it is today. Digital is now old hat, so your money goes a lot farther than it did 10 years ago. But how cheap can you really go as a commercial pro?
The Wiral LITE is a portable cable cam kit. It’s small, lightweight, versatile, affordable, and strong enough to carry my mirrorless camera and pro lens. This may be a videographer’s dream.
If you're interested in becoming a commercial product photographer but you don't have access to a large studio, powerful strobes, or innumerable backgrounds; don't be dismayed. There are plenty of lighting and compositing tricks you can learn in order to build that killer portfolio that will land you better-paying gigs.
Last week I wrote about the importance of the test shoot for the budding photographer, and even the established photographer. It's a way of proving your talents and style, something new clients are always looking for.
I received a Sony ZV-E10 for review. It’s an interchangeable lens camera for content creators, featuring a nice APS-C sensor. Instead of looking just at the specs and the pros and cons of this camera, perhaps it’s better to look at it from another perspective.
The Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM was one of the most respected lenses in its DSLR line, offering top image quality, impressive image stabilization, and no-fuss autofocus, all at a very reasonable price that made it a top pick for wedding, macro, and portrait photographers. The new RF version promises a range of improvements and new features, and this excellent video review takes a look at if they are worth the price.
Trying to create the most unique photograph of a landscape is hard to do, especially if it's a well-known photo hotspot like Iceland. But these two local photographers revisited the same spot over and over to produce wildly different and stunning images.
Panasonic's latest camera, the Lumix BS1H, is here, and it brings with it impressive capabilities in about as small a body as you could possibly imagine. Who is it for and how does it perform? This excellent video takes a look at what you can expect.
Being a photographer (professional or amateur) can be a wonderful thing; after all, it is a dream of many people to devote their lives (or a significant portion of them) to a creative pursuit. Like anything in life, though, it has its drawbacks as well. This great video essay features a seasoned photographer discussing what is good and what is bad about being a photographer.
Every couple of months, it seems that there’s another manual focus lens from a tiny manufacturer that offers an insanely wide maximum aperture. This short video puts two newcomers head to head: the Laowa 35mm f/0.95 versus the TTArtisan 90mm f/1.25.
It's a favorite focal length for portraits. So, how does it cope with landscapes?
In the age of social media, we often only ever get to see the best version of things: the best-looking meal images, our best-looking selves in selfies, the best this, the best that. For photographers, this too can mean that we only ever get to see the best images from other photographers.
Adobe Lightroom is a deep and powerful piece of software with many techniques available for use. Some of the more well-known tools can be overlooked and one photographer believes that is the Radial filter tool is a prime example.
Besides focus, exposure, and composition, there are three other interlinking elements that we need to consider when taking photos. Sometimes, we overlook one of these, concentrating, maybe too much, on the other two.
Landscape photography is a wildly popular genre. Hop on Instagram, and you can quickly find thousands upon thousands of jaw-dropping images. But what is it that separates a really good image from a truly world-class photo? This excellent video essay examines the topic.
Wedding photography is a very competitive business, and with so many options, many couples will make initial decisions based on what they find on your website. So, should you include your pricing on your website, or is it better to save that for a phone call or in-person consultation? This excellent video discusses the topic.
It looked like 2021 was going to be somewhat of a dry year for virtual reality content creators, and then out of nowhere, Canon drops the RF 5.2mm f/2.8 L Dual Fisheye lens aimed squarely at creators of 180 VR content. It's now possible to more easily shoot this kind of content in 8K, but beyond that, what other new features does it bring to the table? Expert VR content creator Hugh Hou explains.
Tamron’s latest lens for Sony APS-C cameras is a superzoom: with a range of 18-300mm, it offers a huge amount of flexibility and might easily replace four or five lenses in your bag. How well does it perform, and what about Tamron’s other new lens, the 11-20mm f/2.8?
Landscape photography requires a fair share of specialized gear, and knowing when to upgrade or what to splurge on can make a big difference in both your image quality and the ease and enjoyment of the experience. This excellent video features an experienced landscape photographer discussing six such pieces of gear that improved his landscape photography.
Cameras just aren't good enough at processing photos — witness the inexorable rise of the smartphone which leverages adequate hardware and clever software to produce images that look as good as those from a high-flying $2,000 camera. What can manufacturers do to remain relevant in today's market?
The best thing about starting my film photography podcast, Matt Loves Cameras, three years ago is the connection it’s brought me to the film community. I’ve appeared as a guest on other film photography podcasts, I’ve run competitions, and I’ve produced community photo zines.
To celebrate the company’s 60th anniversary, Sigma is offering eight prizes of $7,500 to four photographers and four filmmakers. Entry — which is free — is open to any resident of the U.S. who is enrolled in a photography or film course.
I've been impressed with PureRaw since it first launched in April of this year. It is meant to be a starting place as you enter your raw workflow. It uses an extensive database of camera and lens profiles and corrects distortion, lack of sharpness, and reduces noise.
A good 50mm lens with a wide aperture is one of the most useful a photographer or filmmaker can own, suitable for everything from portraits to low-light work. At $299, Samyang's AF 45mm f/1.8 FE is an affordable option, 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.
The workhorse lens of choice for a huge range of photographers is the 24-70mm f/2.8, and while it is an extremely useful optic, there might be better choices for certain genres and photographers. For landscape work, an interesting alternative is a 24-105mm f/4 lens, and this great video discusses why it might be the essential lens for such imagery.
Normally in portraiture, you get a high level of control over the lighting, but in some scenarios (weddings, for example), you will have to think, light, and shoot on your feet. This excellent video tutorial will show you several ways to shoot nighttime portraits with a variety of different techniques and for a range of different creative looks.
Apple's latest iPhones have arrived, and they come with a wide variety of improvements on the photography front. With everything from Cinematic mode to macro capabilities, they promise to be versatile and powerful tools for photographers and filmmakers, and this great video review takes a look at the sort of photo capabilities and image quality you can expect.
Ocean drones have been around for a while, but unlike their aerial siblings, they don't see quite as much use. They are, however, conducting important work and one has recently achieved a world first by filming inside a hurricane at sea.
Frequency separation and dodge and burn are powerful techniques for retouching photographs. But which one is better?
A good 24-70mm f/2.8 lens is the workhorse of choice for a huge range of photographers and filmmakers, offering a versatile focal length range and a wide aperture suitable for a lot of uses and applications, though they are not always cheap. Sigma's 28-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary lens offers impressive image quality and performance in a small package and at quite an affordable price, and this great video review takes a look at just what you can expect from it.
Few lenses are more versatile and useful than a tilt-shift lens, offering high levels of sharpness, the ability to control depth of field independently of aperture, correction of verticals, and more. For Nikon shooters, there is the PC NIKKOR 19mm f/4E ED tilt-shift lens, and this excellent video review takes a look at the sort of image quality and performance you can expect from it in practice.
Canon has just unveiled the latest lens for its R-series cameras: the 5.2mm f/2.8 L Dual Fisheye that projects two image circles in order to create 180-degree stereoscopic footage for 3D virtual reality capture. It’s ingenious and bizarre.
There are lessons that you only learn from constant practice and making mistakes. These are some lessons that can widen your scope and fuel your learning as a landscape photographer.
Wildlife photographers deploy a range of tactics when attempting to capture birds, and those which are very easily scared and move incredibly quickly offer a particular challenge. This video shows you some tactics to deploy in order to get some fantastic photos.
