What Can You Do With the Strange Laowa 24mm T14 2x PeriProbe Lens?

The Venus Optics Laowa 24mm f/14 Probe lens captured the photography world's attention by being one of the most unique lenses we have ever seen and allowing photographers and filmmakers to get shots that simply would not be possible otherwise. The new Laowa 24mm T14 2x PeriProbe ups the ante over the original, and this neat video takes a look at what you can do with it.

Grand Prize Winner Withdraws From 'Outdoor Photographer' Competition

Outdoor Photographer awarded the grand prize of their "Great Outdoors 2021" to a composite image that violates the rules of the competition as stated on the official website. This controversy gives rise to an ethical question regarding photography competitions that fail to enforce their own rules.

A Review of the Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II Lens

24-70mm f/2.8 lenses are the workhorses of choice for a wide variety of photographers and filmmakers, suitable for anything from weddings to landscape work and much more. Sony recently released the second iteration of their version, the FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II, and this great video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

The Fundamentals of Lighting Portraits

When it comes to portrait photography, learning to work with artificial lighting will make you far more versatile and enable creative opportunities that simply would not be possible otherwise. If that is something you would like to start diving into, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you the fundamentals and have you ready to tackle your first shoot.

6 Reasons Your Photos Aren't as Sharp as You Want

Sharp images are the desire of every photographer, but there are many factors that can derail that pursuit and leave you with frustratingly soft photos. If you are struggling to get crisp shots, check out this helpful video tutorial that discusses six reasons your photos are not as sharp as you would like them to be and what you can do to fix those issues.

Creating Photographers, Not Consumers: Canon's Creator Lab and Student Advantage Program

Canon Canada just launched Canon Creator Lab as part of what I'm calling its new community-building mandate. A lot of corporations these days talk about building community, about creating a space to encourage growth. Most of it seems to be lip service at best. Here, however, we're seeing Canon Canada invest time and money into a free hub designed to help photographers get better while actually connecting with each other. Being a Canadian, I'm proud that Canon's Canadian operation is looking to lead the global photography community into this space.

Why You Should Consider a Telephoto Zoom Lens for Landscape Photography

When you think of landscape photography, you probably think of using a lens with a wider focal length range, such as a 16-35mm. Of course, there is a reason such lenses are so widely used, but they are not the only option. In fact, much longer focal lengths can create equally compelling photos. This excellent video tutorial will show why a telephoto zoom lens can help you create eye-catching landscape photos.

5 Powerful Tips for Editing Photos in Lightroom

Almost every landscape photo requires some degree of editing to create a finished product. Lightroom is far more powerful than it used to be and offers some impressively capable and efficient tools for editing your images. This excellent video tutorial will show you five tips that will make your Lightroom landscape image editing both easier and better.

Learn How to Light and Photograph This Cinematic Portrait

Lighting portraits is about more than simply creating a technically correct exposure and rendering your subject in a flattering way. It is your chance to create a certain atmosphere and develop a recognizable personal style. This helpful video tutorial will show you how to use hard lighting to create a cinematic portrait.

10 of the Best Sony Lenses

Sony has expanded their lens lineup quite a bit in the past few years, and they now offer a wide range of focal length options for many applications and budgets. If you are wondering which lenses are right for your work, check out this great video that features an experienced photographer discussing his 10 favorite Sony lenses.

A Beginner's Mistake in Photography That Can Last a Career

I have likely made a great many mistakes over the course of my photography career, but one could well still be impacting me today. The question is, are you making it, and if you are, should you do anything to change?

Skills and Secrets of Shooting Stunning Seascapes

Seascape photography is so different from shooting landscapes. Its dynamic nature makes it one of our most exciting and challenging subjects. The distinct difficulties of capturing the ocean require a different set of skills and learning some of the secrets of the sea.

How to Straighten a Tilted Photo in Photoshop Without Cropping

We've all done it: you've taken an image you like but the horizon isn't quite straight and you didn't give yourself enough room to crop without sacrificing your composition. Here is how you can easily straighten a tilted photograph without cropping by using Adobe Photoshop.

Fstoppers Photographer of the Month (June 2022): Creigh McIntyre

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 2022, 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.

10 Mistakes This Full Time YouTuber Made That You Can Avoid

It is the dream of many to become a full-time YouTuber or content creator, particularly in photography. It is, however, an arduous pursuit with a low success rate. This full-time YouTuber goes through his top 10 mistakes and how you can avoid them.

Open: Applications For Canon Canada’s FUTURES Program (Year Two)

Canon Canada has opened applications for the second installment of its groundbreaking FUTURES program, geared to developing emerging photographers between 18 and 24. How often do we see major corporations make a point of nurturing, not just sharing five-minute videos, but actually committed to nurturing?

A Review of the Panasonic GH6 Mirrorless Camera

The GH6 is the latest entry in Panasonic's popular line of mirrorless micro four thirds cameras, and it brings with it a wide variety of improved capabilities and new features. This great video review takes a look at the camera and the sort of image quality and performance you can expect from it in practice.

9 Techniques Every New Photographer Should Learn to Create More Powerful Photo Edits

Knowing how to compose a frame and choose the right camera settings is only half of what it takes to create a good photo. The other half is knowing how to edit the file into a polished final image. If you are new to photography, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you nine effective techniques for creating more compelling and eye-catching images.

A Review of the Unique Samyang AF 75mm f/1.8 FE Lens

The Samyang AF 75mm f/1.8 FE offers a unique focal length in a lens that is quite lightweight and compact in addition to being very affordable, making it an interesting option for portrait photographers. This great video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

The Best Retouching Tools for Photographers

Fstoppers has teamed up with Infinite Tools to bring you the best retouching plugins online. These tools are relevant for every type of photographer and will dramatically speed up and improve any retouching workflow. We are offering them at 20% off in the Fstoppers Store through July 5th.

The Two Major Distractions Stopping You From Becoming a Great Photographer

We all want to improve our photography and get recognition for our work. However, there are two big distractions that we need to push aside to achieve success in our art. The first obstacle is the largest. Usually hailed as the key to photographic success, it has more disadvantages than helpful attributes.

f/0.95 for $218: How Good Is the TTArtisan 50mm f/0.95 Lens?

A 50mm lens with a very wide maximum aperture can tackle a wide variety of scenarios and needs ranging from portraiture to events coverage. Nonetheless, such lenses can easily run north of $2,000, which makes the $218 price tag on the TTArtisan 50mm f/0.95 lens particularly eye-catching. Can it offer much at that price point, though? This great video review takes a look at its image quality and price to answer that question.

CreativeLive Expands Online Portfolio With Wildist.co Acquisition

CreativeLive, the online learning platform for creatives, founded by photographer Chase Jarvis and now a Fiverr company, has announced its acquisition of the full catalog and website of Wildist.co, a popular online resource for outdoor and adventure photographers.

Landscape Photography and Self-Expression

What urges you to travel, hike, and camp out for landscape photography? How do your emotions affect what you shoot and how the output turns out?

5 Tips for Shooting Backlit Portraits

Backlit portraits can be a fantastic way to add drama and visual interest to a photo, but they also require some special considerations to get the effect you want and to maintain the best possible image quality. If you would like to improve your backlit portraits, check out this great video tutorial that features five excellent tips to help you get your photos just right.

Common Portrait Photography Composition Mistakes

Creating a successful portrait photograph takes knowledge of lighting, posing, proper camera settings, and a lot more. A good composition brings it all together, though with a person as the main focus, you have to make some special considerations. This helpful video tutorial discusses seven common mistakes photographers make when composing portrait images and how to fix them or avoid them entirely in the first place.

Your Images are Making Me Fall Asleep

It's time to be honest with yourself. It's time to ask some hard questions about your work and answer them straightforwardly, even if you hurt your own feelings. Grab a pen and paper, drop your ego, and tackle these questions.

How to Add Artificial Light to a Natural Light Scene

Adding artificial light to your natural light scene is a relatively simple technique that you can use to create an image that depicts the scene more dramatically than it appeared to your eyes when you were there.

Winners: Picfair's Urban Wildlife Contest

Andrew Interisano, a digital advertising specialist and an amateur photographer, has won Picfair's Urban Wildlife Photography Awards. Scroll to see all of the category winners! Of note, all of Picfair's profits on winners print sales will go to global conservation non-profit Re:Wild.

Step Up Your Street Photography by Embracing the Darkness

What a time to be alive for photography! Advances in technology, combined with reduction in pricing and the “gear wars” that brands wage against each other continue to make image-making hardware of the highest quality more and more accessible to the every person. This market process continues to make it possible for us to minimize sacrifices in image quality we once made when shooting in less than optimal conditions.

Why and How Back-button Autofocus Can Improve Your Photography

The default behavior of pretty much every camera is to activate autofocus through a half-press of the shutter button. This works perfectly well for most scenarios, but you can often improve your experience and hit rate by using a different method: back-button autofocus. This helpful video will show you why it is so useful and how to take advantage of it.

5 Questions To Ask on a Discovery Call

You’ve received an enquiry from a potential new client and you’re looking forward to booking them in. Here are five questions to ask on your discovery call to make sure you understand what the client needs and that you can quote for the job accurately.

Helpful Tips for Better Wildflower Photography

Summer is here, and many wildflowers are in full bloom, making it a great time to grab your camera and head out to enjoy the warm weather and photo opportunities. If you want to improve your wildflower images, check out this fantastic video tutorial that offers some helpful tips and also discusses some common mistakes and how to fix or avoid them in the first place.

A Review of the Premium Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM Lens

A 35mm lens with a wide maximum aperture is one of the most versatile a photographer can have in their bag, offering a wide but relatively neutral focal length in tandem with the ability to leverage narrow depth of field or work in low-light situations. For Sony shooters looking for the best of the best, there is the FE 35mm f/1.4 GM, and this great video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it.

How to Edit a Landscape Image in Lightroom

Lightroom is more powerful than ever before, and it is entirely possible to edit a landscape photo from start to finish without having to switch over to Photoshop. If you would like to learn how to do so and pick up some useful tips along the way, check out this great video tutorial that will show you one such edit done entirely within Lightroom.

The Good and Bad of Leica Cameras and Lenses

Perhaps no camera brand generates stronger opinions than Leica, with some photographers absolutely swearing by the equipment and experience and others seeing it as overpriced niche gear. Just like any other brand, there are good and bad aspects of using Leica cameras and lenses. This interesting video essay examines the company's lines as they stand in 2022, what they are doing right, and what could be improved.

How to Find New Photo Spots

While browsing through various photo-sharing platforms, you might get the impression that everything has already been photographed. After all, millions of photos get uploaded each day to Instagram alone. But if you take a closer look, you'll see a lot of repetition. Many photos show the same places, the same compositions, and often similar light and editing. Even today, it's possible to discover new photo spots. In this article, I show you my favorite way to do so.

5 Common Mistakes Beginner Photographers Make

Being new to photography can be a bit daunting, as you have to build a variety of technical and creative skills simultaneously in order to create competent and compelling images. This helpful video tutorial discusses five common mistakes new photographers make and what you can do to fix them or avoid them altogether in the first place.

A Beginner's Guide to Depth of Field

Depth of field is one of the most fundamental and powerful tools a photographer has at their disposal, and as such, mastering it is crucial to taking full technical and creative control of your images. If you are new to photography and wondering about how depth of field works, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you everything you need to know.

Here Comes Another Impressive Canon Lens

Ever since the release of the RF 28-70mm f/2 L USM, Canon has had the pedal to the floor when it comes to lens development, and it seems the company has no intention of slowing down anytime soon. The company is planning the release of another lens later this year that will be an update of one of their hidden gems.