The ability to make precise selections in photo editing can transform an ordinary image into something extraordinary. While masking tools have evolved significantly, understanding how to combine them strategically is key to achieving professional-grade results.
Removing objects in Photoshop has come a long way. What once required careful cloning and manual blending is now faster and cleaner, thanks to AI-driven tools that handle even complex removals with minimal effort.
The Fstoppers community is brimming with creative vision and talent. Every day, we comb through your work, looking for images to feature as the Photo of the Day or simply to admire your creativity and technical prowess. In 2025, we're featuring a new photographer every month, whose portfolio represents both stellar photographic achievement and a high level of involvement within the Fstoppers community.
I’ve always been curious about what the "Q" in the Leica Q stands for. After some use, I’ve come to a conclusion: it stands for "Questionable."
When done well, A LONG EXPOSURE transforms ordinary scenes into something surreal. Smooth water, softened clouds, and simplified compositions give images a fine art feel. But dialing in the right exposure, balancing filters, and choosing the right settings require patience and experimentation.
As Super Bowl LIX approaches, Sony is set to play a major role in capturing the spectacle with an extensive array of cameras and technology.
Iconic locations pull you in. They’re breathtaking, instantly recognizable, and packed with possibilities. But they also come with a challenge—how do you make something that feels like your own when millions of others have stood in the same spot with the same intent?
Making money with photography isn’t as simple as social media makes it seem. The reality is, whether you’re just starting or already running a business, turning creativity into income takes strategy. Finding ways to optimize how you earn—without relying on luck—can help you stay sustainable.
Winter photography presents unique challenges. The cold can drain batteries, make gear difficult to handle, and test your endurance. But the reward is stunning landscapes, crisp light, and serene conditions that transform familiar locations.
The Fujifilm XF 35mm f/1.4 R lens, introduced in 2012, has established itself as a classic in the realm of photography. Despite the advent of newer lenses with advanced features, this lens continues to captivate me with its unique character, exceptional image quality, and timeless design. Even today, it holds a special place in the hearts of many Fujifilm shooters who value artistic expression over technical perfection, myself included.
Dusk is a short but powerful window of time for photos. Right after sunset, the sky turns deep blue, and city lights start to glow. It’s an ideal moment to capture dramatic scenes, but getting the editing right is key.
Losing inspiration happens to everyone, and it can make photography feel like a chore rather than a passion. It’s easy to get stuck in a cycle of feeling uninspired, especially when shooting familiar locations. Instead of forcing creativity, sometimes the best approach is to embrace the break and ease back into it when the right moment comes.
Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw give you plenty of powerful tools to enhance your images, but some adjustments can do more harm than good if used incorrectly. Over-processing is easy to spot—crushed shadows, unnatural contrast, and an artificial look that takes away from the image instead of improving it. Three sliders in particular tend to cause the most damage when misused.
If you are reading articles on Fstoppers, it’s a sure sign that you want to improve your photography. You have the potential to become fabulous, and there are proven steps you can take to help you on that journey.
Winter scenes often look stunning in person but can appear flat and unremarkable in post-processing. Snow creates a high-key, low-contrast effect that lacks depth and dimension. Adding atmosphere and subtle contrast can make the image more engaging without overprocessing it.
You might feel like everything has already been photographed, leaving little room for originality. That feeling can be frustrating, making it seem impossible to create something fresh when so many great images already exist. The key isn't to chase originality but to change how you think about creativity and inspiration.
Studio photography gives you complete control over every element of an image, from the background to the lighting to the focal point. That control means you’re responsible for every decision, and small choices can make a big difference in the final result. Understanding how to shape light, adjust focus, and create a balanced composition can elevate your images beyond simple snapshots.
Photographers often obsess over gear, debating the best cameras, lenses, and accessories. It’s easy to get caught up in the endless choices, but overcomplicating things can get in the way of actually taking pictures. The right gear isn’t about what’s newest or most expensive—it’s about what works for you in the simplest way possible.
When starting with photography, you'll find many tips and techniques to understand, from the basics of shutter speed, aperture, and ISO to composition and lighting. However, today, we will focus on five techniques worth checking out when you embark on your first landscape photography trip.
Mixed lighting and uneven exposures are challenges you’re bound to face, especially in event photography where lighting conditions are unpredictable. Here's how to fix them in Lightroom.
The photography industry has changed dramatically over the past decade, and 2025 has brought new challenges that many are struggling to overcome. With trends shifting, technology advancing, and the market becoming more competitive, it’s crucial to adapt to the evolving landscape if you want to stay ahead.
Understanding how light interacts with shadow can transform your landscape images. The ability to recognize and capture high-contrast scenes gives your images depth, drama, and visual impact.
Under the umbrella of wedding photography stands an approach to documenting weddings known as wedding photojournalism. While part of the wedding genre, wedding photojournalism leans more into its photojournalism roots, offering a more "hands-off" approach to capturing the moments of the wedding day.
When it comes to improving your portrait photography, having the right tools can make all the difference. The right gear can elevate the quality of your images, improve your workflow, and help you experiment with techniques that refine your craft and creativity.
Running a successful wedding photography business requires constant evolution and reflection. Staying competitive means revisiting your work, refining your approach, and understanding your clients better.
The tone curve in Lightroom is a powerful tool for adjusting the exposure and tonal balance of your photos. Mastering this feature can help you achieve more refined edits, creating a polished, professional look.
Handheld smoke machines have changed the way you can create dramatic, cinematic portraits. They give you the ability to add depth, texture, and atmosphere to your images with ease. It’s a powerful tool to elevate the storytelling in your portraits.
We have all been there as landscape photographers: the alarm goes off, we hear rain or wind blowing against our windows, we glance at the clock, and go back to bed. But by doing so, you may miss out on unique photography opportunities! Don’t let poor weather keep you inside.
Understanding how to manage the business side of your creative career can make the difference between struggling and thriving. From finances to networking, mastering a few key principles can save you years of frustration and help you build a more sustainable career.
Modifiers are essential tools for shaping light, and knowing how to use them can dramatically affect the look and feel of your images. These tools allow you to control the quality, direction, and intensity of light, which is crucial whether you’re shooting portraits, products, or events.
Understanding how key sliders in Lightroom work can transform your approach. Sliders like Texture, Clarity, and Dehaze are powerful tools that shape how details, edges, and light appear in your photos. Learning their nuances helps you make informed decisions when enhancing your images.
To make a great camera bag for photographers on outdoor adventures, this solution from Lowepro is not entirely a camera bag but a hiking backpack with seamless compatibility with modular camera inserts. This new sub-variant of the Lowepro Photosport backpacks is clearly for serious adventurers.
Building a successful creative business is about more than just technical skills. It requires adopting strategies that help you grow, adapt, and build meaningful connections in your field.
Improving your portraits doesn’t always mean investing in expensive gear. Sometimes, a simple tool like a reflector can make a world of difference. Reflectors are versatile, cost-effective, and easy to use.
When it comes to improving your photography, working on targeted projects can be transformative. They help you focus, push your creative boundaries, and refine your personal style.
Light control is one of the most important aspects of photography. Whether you’re lighting a subject or creating mood through shadows, tools like grids can shape how your final image looks. But not all grids are the same, and subtle differences can affect the results in ways you might not expect.
CYME announces that Peakto Search, the Mac-only plugin for Lightroom Classic and Capture One, is back with two new features designed to make creators’ lives easier: Instant Speech Search and Custom Metadata Display.
Wide angle lenses used to be necessarily bigger and more expensive in the past. Yet, this affordable and compact option from Viltrox just makes sense.
Making digital photos look like film is something many people are interested in, but achieving authentic results can be tricky. One area that often gets overlooked is the appearance of grain. Getting it right can significantly enhance your images by mimicking the subtle imperfections that define film.
Old cameras hold more than just film; they carry stories, memories, and connections. This video uses one such camera to explore not only the results of shooting film after decades but also a deeply personal journey. It reminds you how photography, whether old or new, has the power to connect us to the past in unexpected ways.
Whether dealing with snow-covered scenes or foggy mornings, knowing how to make the most of unpredictable conditions can help you create better images and enjoy the process more.
The Mere Exposure Effect is a principle first proposed back in the 1960s. It’s an important consideration for any photographer who wants to produce either popular images or push the boundaries and appeal to a smaller, more discerning audience. Your stylistic choice will impact the broadness of your photos’ appeal.
Star trackers can transform your astrophotography by enabling longer exposures without star trails, allowing you to capture more detail in the night sky. Understanding their intricacies, however, is essential, as they can be finicky and require practice to master. Whether you’re interested in photographing the Milky Way, nebulae, or galaxies, mastering a star tracker will open up new creative possibilities for your work.
Staying motivated in photography can be challenging, especially when you hit a creative slump. Without a clear sense of direction or purpose, it’s easy to feel adrift, and that lack of vision can make even picking up your camera feel like a chore. Vision isn’t about gear or technical skills—it’s about having something to strive for, a destination to guide your creative energy.
Wide angle prime lenses are favorites for their versatility, whether for street photography, environmental portraits, or everyday snapshots. The TTArtisan AF 23mm f/1.8 lens offers a budget-friendly entry into this category, raising questions about how it holds up in terms of build quality, autofocus, and image performance.
Having a versatile lens that adapts to multiple shooting scenarios can make your work simpler and more enjoyable. Whether you're capturing street scenes, portraits, or lifestyle shots, a lens that balances functionality with image quality is invaluable.
We’re no Michelangelo, and I mean, we're photographers, not sculptors. Photographers have a tough job with our medium; we work with a 2D medium. Creating depth in our images can be challenging, but we can create depth with these five tips.
Black-and-white photography has a way of emphasizing the relationship between light and shadow in ways color photography often cannot. Transforming an ordinary photo into a striking black-and-white image requires a blend of technical precision and creative decision-making. This video demonstrates how to use Lightroom Classic to create stunning black-and-white edits, walking you through the process step by step.
The debate over “straight out of camera” photos often stirs strong opinions, but how much control do you really have before the shutter clicks? This video explains why the phrase might not mean what you think and digs into the reality of digital image processing.
No two photographers see the same scene the same way. This video captures the creative process of three photographers with different styles, each interpreting the same model and locations through their own distinct lens.
