Is This the Best Value Portrait Lens?

Wide aperture portrait lenses are some of the most popular out there, but they are rarely cheap. However, in the last few years, we have seen an influx of third-party lenses that are significantly cheaper than first-party options. This excellent video review takes a look at one such lens, the Samyang AF 85mm f/1.4.

A Look at the Best Portrait Lenses Out There

The most classically chosen portrait focal length is 85mm, which represents an excellent balance of all the characteristics sought after by photographers. However, portrait photographers will frequently employ a wide range of focal lengths depending on the look they are going for. This great video compares some of the best lenses at 85mm, 105mm, 135mm, and 200mm.

New Photo Book Documents the Fascinating Heyday of Punk Rock

­Michael Grecco’s brand new book, "Punk, Post Punk, New Wave: Onstage, Backstage, In Your Face, 1978–1991" features more than 160 previously unseen photos from the heyday of the explosive punk rock movement in the United States. Working for the Associated Press in Boston as a photojournalist at the time, Grecco freelanced for local cultural media outlets, including the legendary radio station WBCN-FM. He had a unique opportunity to be embedded inside this unprecedented scene from the beginning.

Tips on How to Edit a Promo Video

Producing a promotional video is one of the tougher kinds of content to produce as a videographer. These types of videos tend not to be super long; however, the impact they're required to make is what put them in that challenging category. In a recent video, we offer up some valuable tips to help you edit your promos more effectively.

19 Photography Terms Every Beginner Needs to Know

Photography is full of complex terminology, and a lot of it refers to some tricky concepts. This useful short video runs you through 19 fundamentals that every beginner should add to their vocabulary.

How to Create Special FX Lighting in Photoshop

In this video tutorial, watch as Redouane Naouri shows you how to create special FX lighting in Photoshop. FX light effects are very effective on fantasy images, and the way Naouri creates this effect is different from any other way I have seen before.

7 Fantastic Tips and Tricks for a More Powerful Lightroom Experience

Lightroom is a deceptively powerful program, and you can accomplish a great deal in it without having to turn to Photoshop or some other application. This fantastic video tutorial gives seven great tricks and techniques for taking more control of your Lightroom experience and creating better images.

6 Artists Who Can Improve Your Architectural Photography

Though photography may be a relatively new medium, visual representations of our world most certainly are not. Here are some artists that are worth studying if you want to improve your architectural photography, particularly in black and white.

How Good Is Canon's First RF Mount Cinema Camera?

The Canon Cinema line took a major step forward recently with the introduction of the EOS C70, the company's first RF mount cinema camera, allowing filmmakers to take advantage of Canon's stellar mirrorless lenses. This excellent video takes a first look at the camera and how it holds up in practice.

Fstoppers Reviews the Viltrox 56mm f/1.4 APS-C: The Perfect X-Mount Portrait Lens?

A portrait lens is up there as one of the key acquisitions in pretty much every photographer's lens collection. The release of Viltrox's auto-focus 56mm f/1.4 in Fuji X-mount is therefore highly anticipated because it combines AF and a fast aperture all at a highly economical price point. Is it worth the money?

How to Improve as a Photographer Without Spending a Dime

You can easily spend a lot of money quite quickly trying to improve your photography, and often, that new lens of camera body will not do anything to the actual quality of your output. Instead of opening your wallet, it might be a simply change of philosophy that will make the difference.

How to Create a Better Oil Paint Effect in Photoshop

In this video tutorial watch Dean Samed shows us how to create a better oil paint effect in Photoshop. This can be used in your works to get that illustrated painterly feel that so many people love.

How Can Photography Help Your Mental Health?

These are tough times for a lot of us, but creative activities can be a wonderful outlet and way of reinvigorating ourselves. This honest video essay takes a look at mental health and how the act of photography can help us lead happier lives.

The Amazon Photography Review Scam

Scams are nothing new. They come in many forms and are especially popular right now while people are vulnerable. However, this scam is something that has seemingly been going on for a very long time.

What Is the Worst Photography Mistake You Have Made?

I have done some dumb stuff in my life — like really dumb. Ask any of my friends. And photography has been no exception. Here are some of the worst mistakes I have made as a photographer.

3 Common Portrait Photography Mistakes

No doubt, portrait photography takes the confluence of a lot of technical skills and creative ideas to be successful, and there are a lot of common mistakes we all make at one time or another. This excellent video details three common portrait photography mistakes and how you can avoid or fix them.

Who Makes the Best 70-200mm f/2.8 Lens?

Perhaps no lens is more commonly relied on by professionals in challenging environments than the 70-200mm f/2.8. So, which company makes the best version? This great video review compares the respective 70-200mm f/2.8 options from Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Panasonic to see which one is best.

How a Kicker Light Can Improve Your Portraits

Lighting is one of the most fundamental aspects of a successful portrait, and while we most often focus on getting the key light just right, the accessory lights can be what take a portrait from good to great. This excellent video will show you how simply adding a kicker light can make your portraits better.

A Guide to Posing Maternity Portraits

During such a brief and important period of a person's life, maternity shoots have grown in popularity, but they're far from straightforward. This video will guide you through some posing ideas, as well as foundational elements to pregnancy shoots.

How I Got The Shot: Tafari Anthony Album Cover

I love doing photoshoots for musicians. I get to be creative, think outside the box, and make something that will be seen by an audience outside of my bubble. So, when Toronto singer Tafari Anthony approached me to shoot his EP cover, I was all in.

Second-Hand Photography Gear: Where to Make a Good Bargain

Not all that doesn’t glitter isn’t gold. For non-professionals and professionals alike, a second-hand camera or lens is often a cheap way to upgrade one’s own photographic toolbox. Here, you find some tips for making a good bargain.

5 Helpful Tips for New Drone Users

Drones are more capable, portable, and affordable than ever, and they are a fantastic photography and filmmaking tool and simply a ton of fun to fly. Nonetheless, they take a different approach than using a normal camera. This helpful video will give you five tips for working with a drone for the first time.

What Would You Change About Sony Cameras?

Sony cameras have done a lot to move forward the industry, but just like any other system, there are things that can be improved. Here are eight things one photographer would change about the Sony cameras he uses.

5 Things You Don't Need as a Beginner Portrait Photographer

When you are a new photographer, it can be easy to be tempted by a wide variety of products that promise quick shortcuts to better or more memorable images. But a lot of these products will not do you any good or could even cause harm to your work. This excellent video discusses five things you do not actually need as a new portrait photographer.

The Canon EOS R6 and RF 28-70mm f/2L: A Versatile Combination

Canon's new mirrorless cameras and lenses have hit the market in a fury, offering superlative features and groundbreaking designs. If you are looking for a great combination for portraiture work, check out this fantastic video featuring the Canon EOS R6 and RF 28-70mm f/2L on a portrait shoot.

Is the 200mm f/2 the Ultimate Portrait Lens?

The 200mm f/2 lens is normally thought of for things like sports photography, but it has found a second home in the hands of portrait photographers. Are the magical images it creates worth the price? Check out this great comparison video to find out.

Seven Steps to Master Forest Photography

Forest photography can seem overwhelming, chaotic, and hard, but if you follow these seven steps, you ought to improve a significant amount.

Pro Panel for Photoshop Can Save You Time and Effort

Photoshop has a lot of power, but for many editors, some of the features are arcane, involve multiple steps, or are too complicated to bother with. That's where Photoshop Extensions come in. It's an architecture that Adobe provides that falls between a plug-in and a Photoshop Action. As a result, some experienced Photoshop users with programming skills have created some really useful extensions that are useful to both beginner editors and pros.

Could Apple Silicon Make Final Cut Pro X Cool Again?

Despite the headline, I’ve always thought that Final Cut Pro X was cool. It still is, and it’s still my favorite non-linear video editor. That said, industry inertia has always pushed me to use Adobe’s bloated Premiere Pro, but Apple’s new Macs using their own silicon in the form of the M1 processor may have just given the industry to come back to an old favorite.

How to Create Depth of Field in Photoshop

In this video tutorial, watch as I show you how to create depth in your photo manipulations in Photoshop. I see lots of composites and photo manipulations that fail at creating depth, so I hope this helps.

Should Nikon Release Another Flaghip DSLR Camera?

Nikon dropped the price of its legendary D850 by almost 15 percent last week, and retailers have rapidly run out of stock as a result. Given the demand for a DSLR that’s more than three years old, is the idea of a D850 successor looking like a smart move for the Japanese manufacturer?

8 Common Beginner Landscape Photography Mistakes

Landscape photography is a tricky genre that takes the mastery of many technical and creative skills to find success. If you are newer to the genre, this great video will show you eight common mistakes made by beginner landscape photographers and how to fix them.

How to Photograph in Bad Weather

Bad weather can be a pain to work in, but it can also yield powerful and unique images. Before you head out, though, there are a few things worth considering to make sure you can protect your equipment from the elements. This great video discusses both why you should consider photographing in bad weather and how to do it.