Shooting Portraits Through a Broken Filter
If you managed to break your filter, perhaps give it one last outing before you throw it away; you never know what might be possible.
If you managed to break your filter, perhaps give it one last outing before you throw it away; you never know what might be possible.
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.
Of course, any photographer who enjoys shooting film is just as much a film photographer as anyone else. Processing your own black and white, however, is a rite of passage for film photographers.
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?
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.
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.
The Mamiya RZ67 is hands down one the best medium format cameras ever made.
Catching up with Canon and Fujifilm, Sony users running Windows can now use their cameras as webcams thanks to an update to the Imaging Edge software.
If you shoot film, you probably lean towards Portra or Pro 400H. For two films that are often compared to one another, how do they compare?
These were the two cameras I considered endlessly before finally opting for the Canon EOS R5. Here, we see them both put side by side, taking portrait photos in an identical setting for all intents and purposes. Can you tell the difference between the two?
Rumors are circulating that Sony and Panasonic are not far from announcing new full frame cameras. What are they, and how excited should we be?
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.
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.
Congrats to the two winners. If you would like to be a part of our next critique, you can upload your images that incorporate "blur" at Fstoppers.com/Contests
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.
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?
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?
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.
I never understood the appeal of Macs until I dipped my toe in the water with my first Macbook Air in 2011. I'm still using that laptop today where in the same time period many PC laptops have come and gone, but sadly, that may not be the case for Apple desktops and laptops that you buy today.
Wedding photographers haven’t had it easy over the last six months, but small, short-notice weddings mean that photographers often need to be able to travel light and move fast. What gear would you take as a bare minimum to shoot a wedding?
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.
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.
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.
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.
Does taking a snapshot and taking a photograph means the same thing, or is there a vast degree of skill differentiating between the two? In this piece, I explore the answer.
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.
You can create realistic and interesting, randomized backgrounds in Photoshop using a little known script. Here's how.
Robert Capa, founder of Magnum Photos, once famously said, “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” However, according to the Magnum website right now, these are the words of a street photographer with a reputation for being obnoxiously aggressive.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
Knowing when to buy and when to borrow can make a big difference to the bottom line of your photography business.
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.
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.
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.
Shooting and developing film can be equally rewarding and a major headache. See two photographers develop film for the first time and decide for yourself if you think it's really worth the effort.
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.
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.
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.
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?
Do photographers have any ethical obligations towards wildlife? Drones can cause significant damage to wildlife and should be used with caution, not abandon.
Earlier this year, a photographer and model launched a lawsuit against Volvo, citing copyright infringement, after the car manufacturer used images the pair had taken without permission. Volvo is trying to win the case by claiming all public Instagram posts are fair game and can be taken and used freely.
Photoshop might seem tricky for starters, but once you understand the basics, you can take your editing skills from zero to hero.
Aperture is one of three elements of the exposure triangle. Not only does it control the exposure, but also lets you control creative effects of an image.
The Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Art lens was one of the most highly anticipated lenses in recent years, and Sigma recently released a new version for Sony E and Leica L mirrorless mounts that offers a smaller size and performance improvements while maintaining an affordable price. This excellent video review takes a look at the new version and what you can expect from it.
No doubt, one of the most useful advancements mirrorless cameras have brought is eye autofocus, and in the past couple years, the technology has seen some major improvements. Now that Canon, Nikon, and Sony all have advanced mirrorless cameras, it is time to reevaluate just how good each brand's version is, and this helpful video does just that.
Zeiss lenses are well known for their stunning optical quality, but along with that quality come high price tags. This great video review takes a look at the Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4 lens and the sort of performance you can expect from it in practice.
The next generation of cameras are going to be competing in a market that’s tougher than ever. While the launch of mirrorless camera hardware from Nikon and Canon may have prompted some to upgrade, the next round of camera purchases also needs to offer something new in software. Want to know what needs to be there?