'The World at Night': An Astrophotography Book by Babak Tafreshi

The night sky is photographed more today than ever before, and yet, dark sky areas are shrinking at incredible rates. That's something The World at Night (TWAN) program and Babak Tafreshi are trying to educate others on with this new book and the amazing collection of images within.

A Review of the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens for Sony E Cameras

Sigma's Art series is well known for offering high optical quality at affordable prices, and a 50mm lens is one of the most popular for a lot of photographers. If you are looking for a 50mm lens, this great video review takes a look at the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art lens for Sony E cameras.

How to Replicate Natural Light With Flash

For many photographic applications natural light is almost always preferable — the only problem is, oftentimes the quality of that natural light is either too harsh or too diffused. This tutorial discusses the conditions for good natural light, and how you can reproduce it using some inexpensive equipment.

Looking After Your Most Precious Piece of Equipment When Shooting: Your Body and Posture

It's one thing to meticulously look after our photography gear, but if we don't take care of our bodies, there's only so much we'll be able to do in the future if we can't get up from our chair or lift our camera. Take a look at this video which explains how to make your photography more enjoyable and safe for as long as possible.

SnipBack for iOS and Android Gives You a Second Chance at Photos

How often is it that you miss that great selfie expression, kid photo, or sports play because you didn't have your camera running at the right time? It happens to me a lot, but a new app for iOS and very soon coming to Android called SnipBack has some good ideas to fix this issue, and it makes me think that our pro gear could learn a few lessons here.

Learn How Manual Mode Works in Five Minutes

Working in manual mode is a skill every photographer should master to take better creative and technical control of their images. If that is something you struggle with, this great video will get you up and running in just a few minutes.

Is It Worth Photographing Popular or Classic Scenes?

Hop on Instagram and search for any popular location, and you will find thousands upon thousands of very similar photos, so much so that you might wonder if there is ever a point in spending the time, money, and effort it takes to shoot such places. This thought-provoking video discusses whether it is worth photographing the classic scenes or if you should spend your time and energy trying to be more creative in other places.

What Do Professional Photographers Outsource?

Most photographers work alone. Being able to progress usually means letting go of control over certain aspects of our careers. In this video, I look at the key tasks that I have started to outsource over the past few years.

Fstoppers Reviews the Canon EOS 1Dx Mark III: Who Needs a Mirrorless?

I got a chance to review the Canon EOS 1Dx mark III for a few weeks. It is the newest generation of the amazing 1Dx DSLR, made for extreme fast sport and action photography. I took the opportunity to photograph the dogs in the park, to see how it performs.

I'm an F-Mount Boy, Living in a Z-Mount World

Between the Nikon F mount, Nikon Z mount, FTZ adapter, Metabones MFT to Nikon F mount, and Nikon TC-14e II, I have a serious amount of adapters and extenders to choose from depending on what camera I'm shooting on. Here's my $0.02 on dealing with the FTZ adapter on my Z50 and adapting glass to other cameras.

HOWL: An Ethical Photography Convention

Ontario is Canada’s most populous province. It contains 9 of the top 20 urban areas by population size in the country. Where, then, is there room for an annual convention on wildlife photography? Whitney, Ontario, the gateway to Algonquin: meet Howl.

Getty Images Has Removed Photos of Sexually Exploited Children, but It Must Do More

A girl, perhaps barely in her teens, stands alone in a dimly lit room, her hair obscuring her face. She’s naked from the waist up, the front of her torso is visible, and she wears little more than socks from the waist down. The caption labels her a child prostitute and lists her hometown. Until this week, this photo was available to purchase from Getty Images.

How to Remove Noise From Video Audio

Any video needs it accompanying audio to be clean and with good levels to make a successful final product, but unless you are shooting in a controlled environment, you will often have to deal with issues like background noise or static. If you struggle with editing audio, this great video will show you how to take care of common issues like noise for cleaner audio and better overall videos.

What Happens to Your Digital Imagery When You Die?

If there is one inevitable in life, it's that at some point, it will end. So, what do you do about all of the digital photos you've shot on different cameras and smartphones, stored on your PC at home, as well as spread out across a host of social media platforms?

How I Reopened My Portrait Studio During COVID-19

Unfortunately for professional photographers, according to most current estimates, COVID-19 looks like it will be sticking around for quite a long time — perhaps years.

Common Mistakes Landscape Photographers Make With Telephoto Lenses

Most landscape photographers turn to wide angle lenses for the majority of their work, but there is an entirely separate world of great images waiting to be made with telephoto lenses. That being said, telephoto lenses come with their own challenges and pitfalls, and this great video will show you some of the most common mistakes landscape photographers make with them and how to correct those errors.

Stop Paying So Much Attention to Other Photographers: The Case for Using Inspiration Sparingly

What do you do when you hit a creative roadblock? What things do you do to promote new, creative ideas when you're fresh out? For a lot of folks, that means heading to Instagram, YouTube, or any of the thousands of repositories for creative works that exist. Look through your favorite photographer's latest book, or find an artist you like and get inspired by someone's travel vlog. I'm here to tell you there is another way, and I think this type of inspiration should be used sparingly.

Make Your Own Smartphone Wallpaper in Photoshop CC

Don't get stuck with the standard wallpapers on your smartphone. Make your own in Photoshop CC using these simple steps and use your very own images to stand out from the crowd.

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Critique the Community

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Show Us Images That Incorporate Blur

For this next critique, we want to see images that use blur to create a mood. This includes blur created from movement or depth of field. 

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Personal Projects: Fstoppers Interviews Bryce Chapman

Whether it’s engaged, emotional portraits, conceptual science fiction, or striking fine art nudes, there’s a special quality to Bryce Chapman’s photography that transcends boundaries. How does he create such cohesive work across multiple genres?

Should You Upgrade To the Canon EOS R5 From the 5D Mark IV?

Canon fans have waited patiently for the Japanese manufacturer to release a solid mirrorless full frame camera that offers an obvious progression from the 5D Mark IV. As a stills shooter, how does the EOS R5 compare, and what changes will you notice most?

Registration for Adobe MAX Is Free This Year

It's going to be virtual, but for all of us based in different places in the world, this is great news. They're showcasing everything new, so you can be an early adopter and work more efficiently and learn something new. Keanu Reeves, Annie Leibovitz, and award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay will be participating too, so it's going to be interesting and entertaining.

Would You Choose the Sony a7S III Over the Canon EOS R5?

Gene Nagata a.k.a. Potato Jet was pretty excited when the Canon EOS R5 was announced but the dramas surrounding recording limits caused by overheating have become a significant factor. Nagata, along with fellow YouTuber Armando Ferreira, has spent some time testing it alongside the new a7S III from Sony and put the two cameras through their paces before coming to a decision as to which one he wants to add to his arsenal.

The Power of V-Flats for Negative Fill

When you work on building a lighting setup for a portrait, you likely think about it from the perspective of adding different lights and modifiers. But as important as adding light is, knowing where and how to take it away is just as crucial to shaping your subject. This great video will show you how to use v-flats to create negative fill and improve the look of your portraits.

Is This Replacement for JPEG Going to Cause Controversy?

The JPEG file format is one of the most ubiquitous formats on the web, but the actual technology that powers the compression is old. A new method, based on machine learning, might change what photography really looks like.

Is Photographic Imitation the Highest Form of Flattery or Just Shady Poaching?

As photographers, we frequently find ourselves shoulder to shoulder with another photographer focusing on the same subject, but what if that subject is the other photographer’s model? Is it ok to stand close enough to take the same or similar shot, or is that cheating, or worse, theft? Just how much photographic imitation is ok? A member of a local photography Facebook group I belong to recently posed this question. A heated discussion inevitably ensued.

A Comparison of the Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM and Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art Lenses

Sony's G Master lenses are the best the company has to offer, but Sigma's Art series often offers comparable performance at more affordable prices. If you are looking for a top-notch portrait lens and wondering which is right for you, check out this helpful video comparison between the Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM and Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art lenses.