Mirrorless Isn't All It's Cracked up To Be

Mirrorless cameras have been taking over the photography scene for quite a few years now, and they're widely heralded as the next step in photographic innovation. But there are quite a few reasons why they're not the game-changer we were expecting.

How Often Should You Change the Images in Your Portfolio

The end of the year is always a time to both make one final push to close the business year strongly and to reflect on the current state of affairs. As a photographer, it’s also a good time to look back on where you stand as an artist and where you still want to go.

The Danger of Busy Scenes in Landscape Photography

Composition is by far one of the most deceptively nuanced and difficult to master aspects of landscape photography, and one of the traps photographers frequently fall into is making their frames too busy. This excellent video discusses whether a scene can be too busy and what you can do to correct the issue if it is.

Why Shooting in Raw Is Superior to JPEG

If you are new to photography, you have probably heard over and over the importance of shooting raw over JPEG, but you might not have heard why this advice is repeated so much. This excellent video discusses the advantages of raw over JPEG and shows some illustrative examples to prove the point.

How To Create a Dynamic Split Water Effect in Photoshop

In this video tutorial, watch as Abbey Esparza shows you how to create a dynamic split water effect in Photoshop. This is a really cool effect that I have seen in many composite images. So, if you have always wondered how it is done, watch this tutorial.

Is Nikon Going To Release Two New DSLR Cameras Instead of Just One?

Rumors have been circulating for a while that Nikon plans to upgrade its legendary D850, but the latest speculation claims that the Japanese manufacturer is in fact planning not one but two more DSLR cameras. Is this the right move and what should these cameras be?

Is This a Photoshop World Record?

In this video, Dean Samed attempts to break a very labor-intensive Photoshop World Record: the most complex image ever composited with the Pen Tool. Samed is a UK-based Digital Artist known for his work in the horror-publishing industry, and judging the task at hand here, the horror is very real indeed.

A Review of the Sony Distagon T* FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA Lens

A good wide-aperture 35mm lens is one of the most versatile lenses out there, popular for a wide range of photography and videography applications. This great video review takes a look at one such lens, the Sony Distagon T* FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA.

The Power of Diffused Light for Portraits

Learning how to effectively diffuse light is one of the most powerful skills any photographer can have, as it leads to softer and more flattering portraits. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to use different kinds of diffused light for better portraits.

A Review of the Samyang AF 35mm f/1.8 FE Lens

A good 35mm lens with a wide maximum aperture is one of the most versatile optics a photographer can carry, but these lenses can often reach well above $1,000 in cost. However, there are some great third-party options out there at much more affordable prices, and this great video review takes a look at one such lens, the Samyang AF 35mm f/1.8 FE lens for Sony E mount cameras.

What Is the Best 50mm Lens for Fujifilm Shooters?

With the introduction of the extreme XF 50mm f/1.0 R WR lens, Fujifilm fans now have three different choices at the 50mm focal length, each at varying prices and feature sets. This great video review takes a look at all three, the XF 50mm f/1.0 R WR, XF 50mm f/2 R WR, and the XF 56mm f/1.2 R.

11 Ways to Improve the Sharpness of Your Images (Part 1)

Ever gotten your images off the camera, zoomed in to 100%, and been a little disappointed with the results? Ever had a hard time figuring out what went wrong? In this series, we’ll look at the primary causes of poor clarity and how to address each. With a little practice, you’ll be able to glance at an image and know how to fix it.

Five Things You Didn’t Know About Color Grading in Lightroom

Adobe made a significant update to your ability to tweak colors in the recent version of Lightroom by swapping out Split Toning for Color Grading. Here are five things buried in the interface that you might want to learn about.

The Nik Collection 25th Anniversary Update Has Some Solid Improvements

Has it been 25 years? Amazing. I remember when Nils Kokemohr founded Nik Multimedia in 1995, which later became Nik Software in 2006. The package included plugins for color management and editing, another for enhancing or creating black and white images, sharpening tools, and later HDR software to help photographers increase the dynamic range of their images.

A Look at How to Improve Your Landscape Photography Compositions

No doubt, composition is one of the trickiest and most nuanced aspects of landscape photography, and there are numerous philosophies and techniques for finding success. If that is something you struggle with, this excellent video tutorial discusses some of what works and what does not in landscape composition.

2020 Black Friday Deals for Photographers

Black Friday sales are here and we at Fstoppers want to keep the photography community informed of noteworthy deals. Some of these savings are only available for a very limited timeframe, so if there's something that piques your interest, make sure to act on it now!

Getting More Variety in Your Boudoir Photos

Take a quick look at your boudoir photos. Are you finding that a majority of your images are too similar and you are lacking variety in those shots? If so, here are a few ways you can mix things up in your shoot to add more variety to your work.

Versatile and Affordable: A Review of the Tamron 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3 Di III RXD Lens

A 70-300mm zoom lens can be a quite versatile optic for a wide variety of work ranging from sports to wildlife and more. If you are interested in adding such a lens to your own kit, check out this comprehensive video review of the highly affordable Tamron 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3 Di III RXD for Sony E mount cameras.

What Is the Best 50mm Lens for Canon Shooters?

Canon shooters are not without options when it comes to 50mm lenses, with a huge range of different optics at varying price points and image quality. This excellent video review takes a look at three of the best options out there, the EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, RF 50mm f/1.2L USM, and the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art.

How To Get Professional Results With One Strobe on a Tiny Budget

If, like me, you are pondering asking Santa for some lighting gear for Christmas to start putting together a home studio, check out this short video to show you what can be achieved through a very simple setup that’s very affordable.

Does White Balance Matter for Landscape Photography?

White balance is very important in many areas of photography, but what about landscapes? In this week's article and video, I dive into why you shouldn't worry about white balance out in the field, but I also go over best practices in deciding how to edit your images.

Simple GoPro Mounts That Give You So Many Options

Have you ever wished you had more GoPro mounts, because it was such a time-consuming operation to unscrew it to add to another and then missing the moment because of it? This solves that problem.

How to Add Light Leaks to Your Photoshop Scenes

In this video tutorial, watch as I show you how to add light leaks to your sky in Photoshop. Light leaks are part of the styling process of your photo manipulations and are added towards the end of your workflow.

Which Of These Images Is Best? Vote Now!

Update: The results are in. Patrick and I are once again competing to see who can photograph the same model best. It's up to you to decide.

Nikon Just Teased Its Roadmap of Mirrorless Lenses

Nikon fans, take note: the Japanese manufacturer has just released a teaser of all of the glass that Nikon mirrorless users can expect to see in the near future, bringing the total number of lenses to 27.

What Do All Those Lighting Terms Photographers Use Actually Mean?

Learning artificial lighting can be tricky, particularly given the abundance of unfamiliar terms. Once you get those down, though, you will find studying and working with artificial light a lot easier. This helpful video will get you up and running with the most commonly used terms in no time at all.

Save up to 60% Off on All Fstoppers Original Tutorials

The Holidays are here and we are celebrating with our best sale of the year! Right now, all Fstoppers photography and video tutorials on sale to kick off the season. Every course is automatically 30% off but when you add additional products to your cart, you can get up to 60% off each tutorial.

Fujifilm Instax SQ1 Versus SQ6: Which is the Best Instant Film Camera?

One of my favorite types of cameras are instant and my favorite brand for instant cameras is definitely Fujifilm. The simplicity of Fuji Instax cameras means that instead of messing around with settings and so on, you can simply enjoy the results these cameras produce. Recently, Fuji released a new Instax camera and we compared it to the previous model.

10 Creative Photography Mindsets You Need in Iceland

Known as the land of fire and ice, Iceland is an unforgiving country at the best of times. In this video we learn how two native Icelandic photographers manage to stay full-time in the wintry landscape.

Gear Guide: Every Type of Camera Lens Explained

When it comes to camera gear, the lens is probably one of the most important piece of equipment you can buy. In many cases, upgrading your lens will probably make a far greater difference than upgrading anything else. This is why it's important for photographers and videographers to understand all the different types of lenses that are available.

How Do You Actually Think of Good Ideas?

It is all well and good to put all the time and effort you can into making yourself an apt photographer, but when it comes time to be creative, how do you actually come up with good ideas? This fantastic video tackles a rather nebulous subject to help you become a better photographer.

How Much Money Does One Million Video Views Get You on YouTube?

The dream of many people is to be able to leverage a platform like YouTube as a full-time career, but of course, with such spaces absolutely inundated by many creatives, that is not easy. Nonetheless, if you can make it, what kind of money can you expect? This great video features a YouTube educator discussing his actual revenue on several of his million-views videos.

Fstoppers Reviews the Fujinon XF 50mm f/1 R WR: The Emotional Lens (Part 2)

In the previous section of this review, I looked at the physical qualities and autofocus capabilities of Fujifilm's brand new XF 50mm f/1 R WR. In this second piece, I'll be looking exclusively at its optical characteristics. There's a lot to unpack here as well. So, let's get started with the juicy stuff!

3D Printing Your Own Camera Accessories

I'm a gadget guy. I always appreciate anything that can make my life easier, safer, or more enjoyable. When I recently acquired a Kywoo3D Tycoon 3D printer, I thought it would be an excellent time to make my photography life easier.

Adobe Announces Black Friday Deals

Adobe has announced early Black Friday deals for its Creative Cloud subscriptions packs, including more than 20 creative apps.

Is the New M1 13" MacBook Pro Good for Tough Video Editing?

Apple decided to develop and use its own processors on Macs and released the first 13” MacBook Pro with the new ARM-based Apple M1 chip. But, does it really perform as well as the Intel-powered MacBook Pro?

How to Create Professional Portraits With Just Umbrellas

There are a ton of different lighting modifiers out there, and as a photographer, you can very quickly end up spending a lot of money building a library of different tools for specific looks and purposes. However, you might be surprised by just how much you can accomplish with the humble and affordable umbrella, and this excellent video tutorial will teach you how to get professional results when using them.