Picfair's Urban Wildlife Photography Awards

Picfair is sponsoring a new Urban Wildlife Photography Awards competition intended to celebrate our growing connection with urban wildlife. Enter here. Hurry, entries close May 31, 2022 at midnight.

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Enter your Best "Dark" or "Low-Key" images

Welcome to the April Critique the Community!  For this contest/critique, we are doing another abstract theme that should allow more photographers to enter. For this month we want to see your most "dark" or "low key" photographs.

A Powerful Way to Change Focus With Photoshop Filters and AI

Have you ever had to shoot a photograph at f/11 while wishing you were shooting f/1.8? If you've ever wanted to change the depth of field of a photograph, you know that creating a depth map isn’t the easiest thing to do. Instead of struggling to create the perfect depth map in Adobe Photoshop, using selections and brushes, this video guides you down a simpler path.

Are Your Photos Not Sharp? Here Are 15 Reasons Why

It's taken me years to figure out the myriad reasons why my photos weren't always as sharp as I expected. You can cut out all of that learning time by watching this one video that sums it all up.

Filmora 11: Unleashing the Power of Video in Your Business

Like it or not, video is the preferred means of communication for most content creators these days. A quick look at Fstoppers itself proves that. Even when it is a photographer who is providing information to other photographers, video is the medium of choice.

Focus Stacking Made Easy With Helicon Focus

A few weeks ago I published an article here on Fstoppers about handheld focus stacking. In this article I share my in-the-field workflow, as well as the automatic stacking option Photoshop offers to put all images together during photo editing. This option has its limitations though and because I lately had to work on some very complex stacks, I had to look for a better solution. And with Helicon Focus I found it.

The Nikon Z9 Is Better Than the Sony a1, Or Is It?

It's no secret that everyone is buzzing about the Sony a1 and the Nikon Z 9. Both are beautiful mirrorless cameras that have a lot of great features to offer. But, which one should you pick?

Are Photos Supposed to Show Reality?

In this video, MIT Associate Professor Ramesh Raskar says that photo-realism is dead. They're discussing machine learning and technologies working to give us evenly exposed night-time images on our mobile phones. If these technologies are not available in professional cameras today, will they ever be, and would you want them as a professional photographer? 

How to Create a High Key Background and Rim Lights Using a Softbox

Creating a high key background and adding rim lights is a fantastic way to add a really professional touch to your images, but doing so can take three or four extra lights on top of whatever you are already using to light your subject, often making it particularly cumbersome. What if you could add the high key background and rim lights using just a single light? This fantastic video tutorial will show you how to do it. 

8 Common Mistakes Beginner Photographers Make

There are a lot of different facets you have to learn and master when you are starting out as a photographer, and as such, things can go wrong due to a variety of reasons. If you are new to photography and looking to improve, check out this excellent video tutorial that details eight common mistakes beginner photographers make and how to fix them or avoid them entirely in the first place. 

100 Photoshoot Ideas in 6 Minutes

Are you feeling a bit stuck creatively lately and unsure of how to break out of the rut? This fantastic video tutorial will show you 100 interesting and creative photoshoot ideas in just six minutes, and it is sure to help you find the inspiration you need. 

Can You Tell the Difference Between the 24-70mm EF and RF Lenses? Look For Yourself and Prepare to Be Shocked

I upgraded my camera to the Canon EOS R5 last year and have since been shooting with my adapter ring and the EF lenses. If this sounds like jargon to you: let me catch you up to speed. Canon launched its first mirrorless camera in 2018, and the mount on the mirrorless cameras is different than the ones of the previous DSLRs. As a workaround, you can use an adapter ring to shoot with your older EF lenses on the new mirrorless cameras. 

Fstoppers Photographer of the Month (March 2022): Hajnalka Beren

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 2021, 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.

Does Color Accuracy Make a Big Difference in Professional Photography?

When starting out in photography, we get busy trying to understand the basics: shutter speed, aperture, composition, etc. As we progress, we start to care about much subtler things, such as color reproduction, sharpness, and, of course, color accuracy. But is color accuracy just a myth? Let’s find out. 

How Color Theory Can Help You Improve Your Photos

When it comes to often-neglected topics that deserve a lot more attention than they get, color theory has to be near the top of the list. Understanding how different colors interact and how you use them to complement, balance, or play off each other is a fantastic way to start making more creative, harmonious, and compelling photos. This fantastic video tutorial shows how to use the power of color theory to make eye-catching portraits. 

A First Look at the New Nikon NIKKOR Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S Lens

With Nikon and Canon starting to push quite hard in the professional mirrorless realm in the last few years, we have seen a resurgence of the development of professional supertelephoto lenses. Most such lenses have long been near the top of image quality and autofocus performance, so a lot of the focus has been on reducing weight and size while maintaining that performance and image quality. The Nikon NIKKOR Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens is the latest in that trend, and this great video takes a first look at what we can expect from it. 

3 Common Landscape Photography Mistakes That Can Derail Your Images

Landscape photography is a tough genre that requires a lot of factors to all come together in order to produce a successful image, ranging from technical aptitude to creative vision and even a little luck with the conditions. As such, it is important to be aware of common mistakes that can derail you in your pursuits. This helpful video tutorial features an experienced landscape photographer discussing three such mistakes and what you can do to fix or avoid them in the first place. 

We Review the Westcott Optical Spot by Lindsay Adler

The Westcott Optical Spot by Lindsay Adler is a modifier that can be used to create a variety of in-studio effects including shapes, patterns, hues, and selective shadowing of a subject or background. If you are a portrait photographer, this device can open up a myriad of creative options for you and your clients.

5 Tips for Backing Up Your Files and Protecting Your Photos and Videos

Joe DiGiovanna is creating an incredible 30-year time-lapse of New York City; so, if there is anyone to ask about proper file backup strategy, my money would be on him. In this helpful video tutorial, he shares five great tips to ensure you are backing up your files properly and effectively, just in case disaster strikes.

A Messier Road Trip Through the Sky

March brings the Spring equinox, hope for improved weather, and the possibility of a marathon road trip through the sky via the Messier list of astronomical objects. Note: it’s not supposed to be a “messy” list.

A Review of the Affordable But Impressive Nikon NIKKOR Z 28mm f/2.8 Lens

A small, affordable prime lens with a relatively wide focal length can be tremendously useful (as long as it has the image quality to back it up), and at just $256 and 5.5 oz (155 g), the Nikon NIKKOR Z 28mm f/2.8 lens certainly fits the bill. This great video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of sharpness and performance you can expect from it in real-world usage.