A Review of the Fujifilm XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR Lens

An f/2.8 wide angle zoom lens is a staple optic in many photographers' kits, offering versatile focal lengths combined with a wide maximum aperture. This great video review takes a look at Fujifilm's offering, the XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR.

A Beginner's Guide to Photoshop on iPad

Photoshop on iPad has continued to grow and now offers a lot of the functionality of the desktop version while on the go. There are some differences in its usage, however, and if you are new to the app, this fantastic video tutorial will show you everything you need to know.

How Does the Sony a7S III Compare to the Canon EOS R5 for Video Work?

The Sony a7S III and Canon EOS R5 are two powerhouses of the video world, and they both have advantages and disadvantages over each other. If you are wondering which is right for your own work, check out this great video comparison review that features lots of test footage for you to examine.

Can AI Turn a Cheap Lens Into a More Expensive One?

Computational photography and AI is one of the most exciting new frontiers in photography, with features ranging from automatic sky replacement to entirely automated portrait processing. This great video takes a look at Topaz Sharpen AI and if it can work enough magic to make a cheap lens look like a more expensive one.

How Consumer Photographers Have Tapped Into the TikTok Market

With every social media boom comes a new wave of photographers navigating its landscape. The TikTok world is completely different from the platforms of the past. On Facebook and Instagram, things are easy enough for photographers: post stills, write captions, engage, engage, engage. On TikTok, however, it’s a whole new ballgame, one that photographers aren’t quite yet prepared for.

A Guide to Buying Used Camera Gear

Are you looking to get some new gear for cheaper prices? Here are some tips that can help you get better and safer deals anywhere.

How One YouTuber Gained 135,000 Followers Last Year

For many creatives, making a living from YouTube or at least establishing a notable presence is a dream, but with a fiercely competitive and highly crowded space, doing so is anything but easy. This excellent video features one YouTuber discussing how he gained 135,000 followers in 2020.

Learn How to Make Your Own Food Photography Backdrops

Can't afford those beautiful but expensive textured backdrops for your food and beverage photography or maybe you just like the idea of making your own unique version? Check out this video for a fun and affordable way to create your own.

The Best of the Year: 2020 Year in Review From a Film Photographer

The year 2020 has been, for a majority of people, an absolutely bizarre year that few (no one?) would want to relive. For this film photographer, here are the best things from 2020: the best expensive gear, cheap gear, inspirations, etc.

Which Is Better Out of the Canon EF and RF 50mm f/1.8 Lenses

With many Canon photographers making the transition from the EF DSLR mount to the RF mirrorless mount, there are questions over whether it's worth adapting your current glass, or selling it and replacing it with the RF versions where possible. So, how do they compare?

How To Add Patterns To Clothes in Photoshop

Was your portrait lacking the interesting wardrobe you wanted it to have? Are you planning a shoot but can't attain the range of garments you're after? Well, here's how you can revolutionize pieces of clothing in post.

Photography Project Ideas for 2021

2020 was quite the year, starting relatively normal and then spiraling quickly out of control as few have seen before. Plans were shredded, and normal daily life was abruptly changed like a cold bucket of water to the face.

Don't Make a New Year's Resolution...

New Year's resolutions have a bad rap — it starts with a well-meaning desire to lose a few pounds in weight, drink less, or quit smoking. Sure enough, a couple of weeks later those "promises to self" lie in tatters and you discard any further well-meaning thoughts. So don't think about making one, instead, go the whole hog and make three!

What New Camera Equipment Can We Expect to See in 2021?

2020 has been a tumultuous year for the industry with some manufacturers struggling while others seem to have all but shrugged off the pandemic and released incredible new cameras and lenses. What does 2021 have in store?

How to Improve Your Engagement Portrait Session

Working with couples, you want to be able to capture the connection they have, especially when it's their engagement or wedding portrait session. Here are a few things you can do to help make their session memorable and deliver amazing photos.

Canon Dominated Gear Rentals in 2020 — Again

Each December, LensRentals releases its list of the year’s most-rented equipment and it’s evident that change might be coming but it is taking its time. Canon dominated 2020 — and so did its DSLRs.

A Comprehensive Guide to Capturing Better Portraits

Capturing technically sound and compelling portraits take the confluence of a variety of skills. If you would like to improve your portraits, check out this fantastic video tutorial that is brimming with a wide variety of helpful tips and techniques.

How to Make Someone Look Younger Using Photoshop

Photoshop is a powerful tool for retouching a person's appearance, and one of the most impressive things it can do is convincingly make someone look younger. This fantastic video tutorial will show you how to adjust all of a person's features to take away years from their appearance.

Madlad Fits All of 'Shrek' Onto a Single Floppy Disk

Remember floppy disks? The little disks that could store a whopping 1.44 MB of data were the ubiquitous choice for portable data storage for decades until faster and (much) higher-capacity options came along. Still, that did not stop a clever and nostalgic tinkerer from managing to compress an entire feature-length film enough to fit it on a single floppy disk.

Helpful Tips for Saving Time When Retouching

With the requisite attention to detail and myriad of tasks you often have to perform, retouching can be a very time-consuming process, and as such, it is worth finding any little areas you can to make your workflow more efficient. This excellent video tutorial will give you a variety of tips for saving time while retouching without sacrificing any image quality.

How To Get Started With Flash for Portraiture

Using strobe or flash lighting for the first time can be daunting, but it's easier than you might realize. If you're looking at trying it out, here's a beginner's guide to getting started.

A Beginner's Guide To Photographing Wild Birds

Photographing birds is tremendously tricky and requires as much wildlife know-how as it does knowledge of settings. So, if you're interested in getting started, here is a beginner's guide to push you in the right direction.

Canon's Other Mirrorless Line May Finally Be on Its Way Out

With all the fanfare and excitement surrounding Canon's RF mirrorless line, it can be easy to forget that the company actually has two separate mirrorless lines, with the second being the EOS M. That line's future has been in question since the introduction of the more advanced RF line, and it seems now that Canon may be getting ready to shutter the line.

The Lark 150 Microphone System Reviewed: Effortless Wireless Audio

Getting good audio is essential to creating a quality video. The Lark 150 from Hollyland is positioned as a turnkey solution for easily recording two subjects without the need for a tangle of wires. Whether you’re just getting started with video or are looking for a competent wireless option, you’ve got to hear what this piece of kit can do!

Fstoppers Photographer of the Month (December 2020): Danijel Turnšek

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 2020, 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.

Comparing the iPhone 12 Mini to the Google Pixel 3a, the 'Photographer's Phone'

I’ve waffled and flip-flopped on Apple’s computational imaging claims in its new iPhone 12 series, and so, to finally put my curiosity to rest, I decided to pit what’s (to me) the most compelling iPhone, the iPhone 12 Mini, against my previous favorite phone photography standard-bearer, the Google Pixel 3a.

How I Created This Neon Synthwave Design in Photoshop

In this video walkthrough, I will show you all the steps it took to create this neon homage to Synthwave in Photoshop. Synthwave is a genre of music that has striking conceptual imagery to accompany the albums.

Faking the Anamorphic Look With a $35 Vintage Lens

The anamorphic look is attractive and loved by many videographers and filmmakers. The problem is, it costs a lot to achieve, and prices itself out of reach for most videographers. But what if you could effectively fake it?

ACDSee Photo Studio's Color Wheels Are Great for Refining Color in Travel Photos

In my look at the new features of ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2021, I was excited to see the inclusion of color wheels and tone wheels. I first started using this style of editor in video production; it’s a big part of what gives stylized video like Mad Max its distinctive look. When editing photos, however, it’s a great, intuitive way of working with the luminosity and color ranges in your image.

Is an 8K Sony a9 III Going to Be the Canon R5 Killer?

It’s little more than a year since Sony announced the launch of the Sony a9 II, but despite that, we could see its successor unveiled within a matter of weeks. Rumors suggest that the a9 III is on its way, so what does the Japanese manufacturer have lined up?

Is the XF 50mm f/1.0 R WR the Must-Have Portrait Lens for Fuji Photographers?

The XF 56mm f/1.2 R has long been known as the superlative portrait lens for Fujifilm shooters, but the company recently released the XF 50mm f/1.0 R WR, which pushes the boundaries of lens design all the more. This great video review takes a look at the lens and if its performance holds up to its impressive design.

Top Three Hacks for Cutting Out Hair in Photoshop

In this video tutorial, watch as Dean Samed shows you how the top three hacks for cutting out hair in Photoshop. Each one is a great way to get those tricky hair cutouts mastered.

How to Dodge and Burn Dark Skin Tones

Dodging and burning is both a fantastic way to shape the light in an image and to retouch blemishes; in fact, it is the technique preferred by a lot of high-end retouchers over other more common methods. When working with subjects with dark skin tones, you will want to take note of a few differences in technique compared to working with subjects with lighter skin tones, and this excellent video tutorial will show you everything you need to know.

The Importance of Patience and Split-Second Timing in Landscape Photography

You might not think of landscape photography as a genre that relies on split-second timing, but when you are dealing with dynamic scenes, just a moment's difference can create separate images and tell entirely different stories. This fantastic video discusses why you should consider the timing of your shots and how you can get multiple images from the same scene simply by varying it.

The Difference Between Vibrance and Saturation

At first glance, the vibrance and saturation sliders might seem like they do the same thing, and while they do operate in similar manners, they are fundamentally different in their functions. This excellent video tutorial will show you the difference between the two so you can take better control of the color in your images.

Insights Into Hollywood's Favorite Lenses

As Gray Kotzé points out, there are bushels of reviews for entry-level cinema lenses on the web, lenses you might look to pick up on sale maybe. However, most feature films are shot on prohibitively expensive lenses that were always intended to be rented out over their multi-decade lifespans. The cost for these lenses puts them out of reach for most filmmakers who aspire towards ownership, but, if you have a budget and you're looking to shoot feature/cinema quality films, it's important to understand what's available for rent.