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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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.

Photographer Faces Backlash for Voyeuristic Images of Strangers' Text Communications

Telephoto lenses are arguably the most powerful and versatile tool in a photographer's bag. These sophisticated glass instruments make it possible to photograph wildlife, war, and natural disasters from a (relatively) safe distance. But like other powerful technological tools, a zoom lens can be used for questionable or unethical purposes, including voyeurism or other invasions of privacy.

A Review of the Sony ZV-1 Compact Camera

Sony makes some of the best compact cameras out there, and the ZV-1 is one of their latest and most unique models, with a wide variety of features designed especially for vloggers. This excellent video review takes a look at the ZV-1 and the sort of performance you can expect from it in real-world usage.

Should You Use an HSS Flash or an ND Filter?

If you want to shoot outdoor portraits with a shallow depth of field using artificial lighting, you are going to run into issues of overexposure due to the limitation imposed by the sync speed of your camera. There are two solutions to this: high-speed sync or using an ND filter, and this great video shows you the workflow using each as well as their respective pros and cons.

Use This Camera Hack to Make Soap Bubbles Look Like Planets

With just a few simple ingredients and a couple of camera hacks, you can make these otherworldly photos at home on a budget. From the comfort of your own living room, you'll be able to capture images reminiscent of those famous iPhone wallpapers.

How Not to Photograph Sex Workers

Two recent photographic projects focusing on sex workers stand in stark contrast to one another. One exploits them as a commodity, the other seeks to give them a voice. Why does the art world seem to value one so much more than the other?

A Comprehensive Guide to Canon FD and K35 Lenses

Modern lenses are technological marvels that can often offer spectacular image quality, but they are also very expensive. With the advent of mirrorless cameras and the usage of manual focus by filmmakers, vintage lenses have seen a resurgence in popularity. This fantastically comprehensive video will show you everything you need to know about Canon's FD and K35 lenses.

Cheap and Versatile: A Review of the Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 IS Macro STM Lens

Canon's RF mirrorless lenses have been widely lauded for their stunning optical quality, but they are also quite expensive, and some photographers may not want to pay top dollar for them. Thankfully, as the RF lens library continues to fill out, more affordable options are starting to appear, and this great video review takes a look at one such option, the RF 35mm f/1.8 IS Macro STM.

How Ansel Adams Changed Photography

Though Ansel Adams may have died in 1984, his work and his impact on photography reverberates through the craft to this day. This video essay will explain how and why, in under ten minutes.

Are You Making Time for Photography?

Whether you are an amateur or a professional (surprisingly), it can be difficult to actually find time to just photograph things for yourself. If that is something you struggle with, this great video will help you get on the right track to get more time behind the camera.

Learn How to Blend Exposures in Lightroom

Learning how to properly and convincingly blend exposures will enable you to have much more versatility in your process, particularly when you are dealing with scenes with a high amount of dynamic range. This great video will show you how to use Lightroom for exposure blending and how to ensure your edits are smooth and convincing.

Why Magnum Took Its Archive Offline and Why Its Statement Falls Short: We Need Answers

In the early hours of Friday morning U.K. time, Magnum took its entire archive offline. Later that day, it released a statement explaining that it was reviewing its practices following revelations about some of its photographs. Difficult questions still need to be answered and the sequence of events shows how, despite Magnum’s crisis management, they’re not going away.

What Are the Worst Lies Photographers Tell Themselves?

Photographers are often a varied and diverse bunch, as there are so many different genres and attractions to the medium. But there are some lies we all tell ourselves from time to time. Which is the worst?