Your Next Camera Might Be a Subscription: Here's Why

Even before the economic disaster of COVID, the camera industry was contracting. The software industry has adopted SaaS pricing, with Adobe Creative Cloud being the most recognizable example. That pricing model, or one like it, might be the next big change coming to camera hardware.

How to Take Your Webcam Presence to the Next Level

Whether you’re working remotely or recording videos for YouTube, producing a high-quality video can require some smart gear decisions. Your Macbook’s built-in webcam and mic are fine, but spending just a small amount can translate to a huge improvement in quality. Here are the essentials, along with recommendations at a variety of price points, to set up your perfect streaming and recording setup.

Consider Using a Flat Picture Profile When Shooting in Raw

I think it is always wise to shoot in raw. The raw file format will store the maximum amount of image information. This can even be optimized when shooting with exposure to the right to make full use of the dynamic range of the camera. Although intended for JPEG photographers, a flat picture profile can have a benefit or raw shooters also.

A Map Tracking Live Global Creative Production Status

We all want out. We want to get working. Our clients are calling, and we want to get back at it. Genero, a global agency connecting creatives with projects has launched a map to help you plan when and where you could start working.

A Guide to Focusing in Landscape Photography

There surely is nothing worse than coming home from a shoot and seeing you have missed focus or you have parts of your photo out of focus when you intended for it to be in focus.

A Review of the Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S Lens

The fast 50mm lens is a staple optic for a wide variety of photographers and videographers, with a useful, neutral focal length and wide maximum aperture, making it great for anything from portraits to events work. This great video review takes a look at the Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S lens for the Z mount and what you can expect from it in practice.

A Beginner's Guide to Aperture in Photography

Aperture is one of the most fundamental and crucial parameters in photography, and having a complete mastery of it will give you greater technical and creative control of your images. This excellent video will introduce you to aperture, what it does, how it works, and how you can use it to make better photos.

The Photographer's Pixel Problem

Have you ever gotten asked if your photos are high resolution or if your photos are a specific DPI? What do you say when you get a request that doesn't make sense?

Supermodel Naomi Campbell Shoots Her Own Magazine Cover With Her Phone

A major magazine cover shoot is normally something that takes a ton of people coordinating together, but with the current situation, that just is not possible. That did not stop supermodel Naomi Campbell, however, who shot her own cover photo by herself on her phone.

A Look at Replacing a Sky in Luminar Versus Photoshop

Replacing a sky used to be a tedious (though still often worthwhile) procedure, but in recent years, advancements in selection technology and even AI sky replacement tools have surfaced, making the job quite a bit easier. This great video will show you how to replace a sky using both Photoshop and Luminar 4.

Thinking of Doing Some Front Porch Photoshoots? Try This Instead

Photographing people on their porches and front doorsteps has proven a controversial topic, raising money for charity and keeping families entertained while creating questions about whether such practices qualify as “essential.” By contrast, one photographer undertook a different doorstep photoshoot that feels much more viable as a lockdown-inspired project.

Creative Ideas for Mounting an Action Camera

Action cameras are a fantastic option for getting unique shots in places or situations in which you would not or could not place a normal camera. This great video will show you a range of creative ways you can mount your action camera to get shots from interesting perspectives that can really invigorate your work.

Why Color Grading Is so Important to Your Work

Color grading is one of the most important techniques for giving any video a professional touch and developing your own personal style. This helpful video tutorial features a cinematographer and colorist discussing a wide range of color grading techniques, theories, and examples and how you can apply them to your own work.

Three Lightroom Tricks You Might Not Have Seen Before

Lightroom is an intricate program with a wide variety of functions, and it can be easy to overlook some of its features. This fantastic video will show you three lesser-known Lightroom tricks that are really useful in a variety of scenarios.

How to Enhance a Landscape Image Using Luminar 4

Luminar 4 is a great alternative for editing landscape photos and particularly for exploring your creativity. This informative video will show you how you can use the program to enhance a landscape image.

Half Price, Full Performance? Comparing the Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD to the Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens

Tamron's new 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD lens completes the company's holy trinity of f/2.8 zoom lenses, following in the footsteps of the wildly popular 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD and 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD lenses. Can it keep up with the Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS? This fantastic video review compares the two to tell you if you can afford to skip the more expensive option.

How Feathering Light Can Improve Your Images

Feathering a light source is one of the most fundamental techniques any photographer working with artificial light should know, as it is highly useful and versatile. This excellent video will show you how to use feathering to create better lighting for your portraiture work.

DIY Your Way Into Product Photography

While most of us are sitting at home as non-essential personnel, many have come up with ways to keep the creativity flowing. Some are learning how to photograph wildlife, some leaning on their new love for macro, and some even testing out product photography for the first time. One photographer decided to test out some DIY options for products saving herself some money while she had the time on her hands.

The Monitor That Made Me Say Wow: A Review of BenQ’s 4K PD3200U

In the last few years, monitor technology has gone in a number of new and unique directions, with technology like ultra-wide aspect ratios, HDR support, and 8K resolution. Each of those features appeals to a particular user, but it almost seems like content creators have been left out.

Telephoto Photos
Critique the Community

Telephoto Photos

Submit Your Best Telephoto Photos

For the next critique, we want to see your best telephoto images. Many photographers consider anything 85mm and beyond (on 35mm) to be telephoto but for the sake of this critique, we only want to see images taken at 200mm and beyond. Each user can submit up to 3 images.

This contest has ended.
Watch Our First Ever Live Photo Critique Now

We've started the new Youtube Channel "Fstoppers Live" and our first video is being filmed live today at 1pm eastern time. Please join us and don't forget to subscribe to our new channel.

Instagram's Missing Piece for Photographers?

Crazy click-bait title or truly the missing piece? It could very well be the missing piece for your photography account because ultimately it comes down to making Zuckerberg and the Instagram/Facebook empire happier.

Testing the Dynamic Range Limits for Medium Format Film: Kodak Ektachrome E100

Current digital medium format cameras offer some of the best in image quality. One of the big advantages that these large sensor cameras have is dynamic range. Most currently medium format cameras offer around 15 stops worth of dynamic range when shooting raw. How does medium format film compare to that?

Joe Biden's Home Studio: Excessive or Necessary?

Like the rest of the country, even presidential candidates find themselves sheltering in place during this global pandemic. Unlike the rest of the country, those candidates still need a way to get their message out. Enter Joe Biden’s fascinating home studio setup.

Is a 70-135mm f/2L Zoom Lens on the Way From Canon?

Canon's RF 28-70mm f/2L lens has been lauded for its great image quality and for pushing the boundaries of optical design. It seems the company may not be done with such lenses, as rumors of an RF 70-135mm f/2L have emerged.

The Challenge of Taking a Photo of the Stars at 2,000mm

Astrophotography is certainly a challenging genre that requires a good bit of effort, but capturing images of ultra-distant and beautiful objects can be an amazing experience. This awesome video follows the process of using a 2,000mm telescope to image an object 22,000 light-years away.

Balancing Flash and Natural Light for Your Best Shots

We often talk about how to kill the ambient light in a shot so you can fully control the lighting with flash, but sometimes, you actually want to use both natural and artificial light in a shot. This great video will show you how to balance both flash and ambient light for a balanced result.

Should You Consider the Cheapest MacBook Air for Your Work?

Despite coming in at under $1,000, the cheapest 2020 MacBook Air still offers some advanced features that can make it a great option for photographers on the go who want a portable work laptop without lots of bulk. This great video takes a look at the laptop and what you can expect from it.

5 Fun Macro Projects You Can Try at Home

With most of us stuck at home without our normal shoots to keep us busy, you might be looking for projects that can keep your technical skills sharp and the creative juices flowing. Macro photography is a fantastic genre to dive into right now, and this excellent video will show you five different projects you can try while you are at home.

A Real-World Review of the Canon 1D X Mark III

The Canon 1D series is the company's flagship line, and it brings with it state of the art technology in an ultra-durable package that can step into any photographic scenario and excel. This fantastic video review takes a look at the camera in the real world and the kind of performance you can expect.

Why Photographers Should (Still) Care About Instagram

If you haven’t been keeping up with your photography Instagram marketing, now’s the time to revisit. Instagram marketing can be incredibly fruitful for photography businesses. To make it work for yours, you must understand how to use Instagram productively. Let’s start off with some statistics…

How I Spent My COVID-19 Vacation

Like most of you, I'm cooped up at home other than occasional forage for groceries. As a landscape photographer in Arizona, there's plenty of landscape, but I'm doing my best to abide by the stay at home rules. So basically, the landscapes are in one place, I'm looking at 4 walls.

10 Things a Motorsports Photographer Couldn't Live Without

This week I spoke with professional motorsports photographer Drew Gibson to find out what 10 things he couldn't live without in his camera bag. With clients such as Aston Martin and Top Gear, Drew certainly knows his way around motorsports photography.