Testing the Sigma 65mm f/2 for Portraits
If you're a portrait photographer, you'll know the feeling of getting a new lens and going on your first portrait shoots with it. That feeling was strong for me over a decade ago and it's just as strong now!
If you're a portrait photographer, you'll know the feeling of getting a new lens and going on your first portrait shoots with it. That feeling was strong for me over a decade ago and it's just as strong now!
Fujifilm has established itself as a leader in the photography industry with cameras that have earned devoted fans from all genres. Just like any other company, though, there are good and bad aspects. What are the pros and cons of Fujifilm cameras? This excellent video essay takes a deep look at Fujifilm cameras and how they perform in a competitive world.
It sounds counterintuitive for the once photo-only Instagram to be minimizing photos in favor of video, but it's exactly what's happening, and if you're not on the bandwagon, your photography brand might get left behind.
I have been very vocal about phones never being able to replace cameras for professional work. But, as photographers, we also indulge in casual photography of things that simply look good. I looked for a camera for such work for the past two years now, and now I found one. It is the unlikely star: iPhone 14 Pro.
You've got your subject, you've got your elements, you've got your rule of thirds composition, but you're missing something in the foreground. How do you find the perfect foreground to complement your image and give it that real wow factor?
Panasonic’s latest and greatest cameras will have a much better chance of success.
Would you judge a photography competition? Do you compete with other photographers? Although competition is accepted in photography, it has significant drawbacks that prevent you from succeeding.
The beauty of photography is that there are so many genres, techniques, styles, and philosophies that there is room for just about everyone to find a niche that suits them. If you are new to photography and wondering how to find your place in it all, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you 10 different ways you can explore your creativity with a camera.
Ricoh's GR series of compact cameras have long been considered some of the best options for street photography, as they offer a wide angle lens paired with a large sensor for a compact body, making them discreet but powerful. This excellent video review takes a look at the latest version, the GR IIIx, and how it performs for street photography.
While every portrait photographer should learn how to work with artificial light, available light is still a fantastic tool for a lot of applications and can be the better choice in a range of situations. Available light can be more versatile than you might suspect, and this excellent video tutorial five different scenarios that make for fantastic portraits.
Like it or not, it is going to happen. Even the best photographers in the world have bad days when the creative juices are not flowing, when the shots are not coming together. They do not just pack it in when that happens, though. You can always salvage a tough day if you have the right attitude and the right approach to your work. This great video tutorial follows a photographer when he experiences such a day and shows you what he does to power through it and still come home with worthwhile shots.
I’ve spent a long time trying not to cringe when I announce myself as a professional photographer. I’m not quite sure why this is.
There's been a long-held belief that higher-megapixel cameras produce more noise in low-light situations. Here, different models of Fuji, Canon, and Sony cameras are compared side-by-side to prove that high-megapixel cameras do not produce more noise than lower-megapixel models when lighting conditions are poor.
Topaz Labs' DeNoise AI software does an incredible job of cleaning up images and removing unwanted noise. However, it works differently depending on whether you're using it in Lightroom, Photoshop, or as a standalone platform. Here, we take at look the best way to use it as a Photoshop plugin.
Photography has an air of mystery around it. Not every client understands how photographers work, which leads them to ask silly questions. Perhaps you have heard some of these yourself, perhaps you haven’t. In any case, here are five of my top favorites and how to answer them.
When it comes to landscape photography, we talk a lot about how to make photos "pop," but there is a fine line between a photo that pops and one that is gaudy. This great video tutorial will show you a simple and straightforward technique for adding a bit of pop to a landscape photo in a tasteful but effective manner.
Glyn Dewis takes a look at the Sony A7R V with his usual comedic but incredibly informative style. He compares it to his existing A7R IV and looks at the new updates to the software and hardware on this updated camera model. Now if you managed to catch his earlier video that was recently taken down you'd have seen that the issues he had when using the new Sony A7RV whilst focussing on the subject in the video were less than ideal. This refresh of that video comes as Sony reached out and sorted a few of the issues that plagued the version he was loaned. The changed settings are clearly...
In the past few years, Tamron has reinvented themselves as a company that offers both lenses that make smart compromises to be highly affordable and lenses that push the boundaries of design. The 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD falls into the latter category, and it looks like an impressive option, particularly for wedding photographers, and this great video takes you behind the scenes with the lens and shows you just what it can pull off.
TTArtisan makes some of the most affordable lenses currently available, and the 28mm f/5.6 is no exception to that trend, offering a relatively wide angle focal length in a lens that fits in the palm of your hand. Can it offer image quality too? This great video review takes a look at what you can expect.
The Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 DC DN Contemporary Lens is the new addition to the Sigma range for Fuji X Mount to accompany their three existing contemporary f/1.4 prime lenses. So how does this lens fair when it comes to image quality, value for money, and useability? We test it to find out.
Tamron has established itself as a manufacturer of both practical and competitively priced lenses as well as options that push the boundaries of lens design. The 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3 Di III RXD offers Nikon Z mirrorless users a versatile focal length range for an array of applications, and this excellent video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in usage.
Lighting is everything to photographers, but how much thought have you put into the place where you work? Whether you shoot in that space, record videos and vlogs, or just are in there a lot, you can use your professional lighting to improve the space.
Okay, so I know a lot of readers may disagree with me on this and have different opinions. My writing here isn't intended to cause any offense, but more to offer an opinion and start a discussion on the matter. My evidence here is based on having worked in the IT industry for over 30 years and working in the photographic industry with creatives. Hopefully, after reading this you'll come up with an understanding which may help your next (or first) computer storage purchase.
When Fujifilm announced the X-T5 mirrorless camera, they also announced the XF 30mm f/2.8 R LM WR Macro lens, which offers the versatility of a true macro lens and a normal focal length in a lightweight and portable package, making it an intriguing option for everything from detail work to portrait photography. This excellent video review takes a look at the new lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in usage.
24mm lenses are favored for offering a reasonably wide focal length without going so wide as to start running into major issues with distortion, making them great for events, astrophotography, weddings, and more. Viltrox's AF 24mm f/1.8 offers those advantages at a very reasonable price, and this excellent video review looks at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.
Selling your images online can be a hassle, as companies are constantly changing their pricing and payout structures, making it difficult to know where to devote your time and efforts. This excellent video breakdown takes a look at a large number of stock services, how their pay structures and demand have evolved, and where the best place to devote your time and energy is in 2023.
Traveling with photography equipment can be a challenge. Airlines limit the size and weight of cabin bags so much that it's nearly impossible to bring all gear as carry-on. While I've accepted that my tripod has to go into checked luggage, cameras, lenses, filters, and laptop have to stay with me. In this article, I share a little travel hack that helps to get around hand luggage limitations.
The Sony a7 series of cameras really accelerated the photography world's transition into the mirrorless realm, and the company continues to offer highly competitive options that keep other manufacturers on their toes. Are they right for you? This interesting video features one photographer discussing his thoughts after a year using the Sony system.
Have you ever wanted to take photos and videos of the Earth from space? Sony has launched an a7R IV nano-satellite into space, offering a user-controllable space photography service.
I am going to walk you through how these dramatic food shots were created using only one flash and simple light shapers to imitate light coming through a window frame.
Creating a compelling landscape photo takes good technique, knowledge of weather and light, planning, and, often, a lot of time and effort. And after all that, it takes strong understanding of post-processing and good taste to produce a finished product. This excellent video tutorial features an experienced landscape photographer who will take you through how to edit a landscape photo using Lightroom.
A quality 50mm lens is one of the most flexible optics a photographer can have in their kit, with the ability to tackle just about everything from portraits to events, street photography, and much more. Such lenses can cost anywhere from under $100 to well over $2,000, which makes the Viltrox AF 50mm f/1.8, which sits at $379, a nice middle-of-the-road option that offers you higher levels of performance and image quality without breaking into stratospheric price levels. 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.
We spend a lot of time working on various techniques, thinking about composition, etc., but when you boil it down to its essence, what is it that makes a great photo? Every photo has two important qualities that help it stick in the viewer's memory. This insightful video discusses what they are and shares some examples of how they work together to make compelling images.
Sigma has announced one of their most versatile lenses yet, the 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3 DG DN OS Sports.
Photography is brilliant! It’s an accessible art form adopted by millions of fabulous people. However, there are some things it should have grown out of by now. Here are my bottom six that we should abandon in 2023.
Instagram’s navigation is set to change in February with a new update that sees the Reels button lose its prime position and the Compose (plus icon) will be placed in the middle.
For as long as I've owned Photoshop, I've steadfastly held the belief that post-production skills separate most photographers. Here, we see seven pro landscape photographers given a single raw image to work with, and the final results are not only quite amazing, but incredibly different.
The holy trinity of zoom lenses is traditionally considered an ultra-wide angle zoom (like a 14-24mm f/2.8), a standard zoom (24-70mm f/2.8), and a telephoto zoom (70-200mm f/2.8), so named because they can competently cover the majority of situations a photographer will encounter. However, since that term was coined years ago, the lens and camera market has changed significantly. Is there a new and better holy trinity of zooms? This great video makes a case for one.
I’ve been covering the Coney Island Polar Bear Plunge like clockwork for well over a decade now, and I think it’s fair to say that I’ve picked up a few useful habits along the way. For those unfamiliar with the event, imagine several hundred folks in various stages of near-nudity packed into a corner of the beach. It’s typically rather cold - though some years have been colder than others - and everyone’s working themselves up into a fevered lather. In this excitement, a drum team forms up, creating a corridor from the top of the beach to the ocean. As the sound of those instruments gets louder and faster and more aggressive, the signal is sounded and the mob stampedes towards the Atlantic.
A new year and another Photoshop AI feature to get excited about. This time, we're going to look at how you can take poor, low quality images with tiny file sizes and plenty of ugly artifacts and turn them into images of such quality you could even consider printing them.
The latest generation of Canon mirrorless cameras brings with it a nice array of features for wildlife photography, including fast continuous burst rates and advanced autofocus features. With such advanced systems, it is worth taking the time to customize the camera to your exact needs to ensure you have the best chances of getting those fleeting shots. This excellent video tutorial features an experienced wildlife photographer walking you through how he sets up his Canon camera.
DXO has a significant release today for pro and semi-pro users of their software. The DXO optical correction technology updated today appears in their PureRAW, PhotoLab, FilmPack, and ViewPoint software.
Today, I’ll share a brief story about one of my annual photographic rituals that is crucial to every artist's development.
The wide angle lens is the tool of choice for a lot of landscape photography, but such focal lengths can also be particularly tricky to work with. This excellent video tutorial features an experienced landscape photographer showing you how to create more effective compositions using a wide angle lens.
There was a time when you had a few options when buying a camera of a particular brand. That's rarely the case anymore and you can find yourself lost in a sea of acronyms and initialisms.
The votes are in, and you've helped to choose our Fstoppers Photographer of the Year! We've also randomly selected one reader who voted to receive a free Fstoppers tutorial of their choice!
As much as we might hate to admit it, we all have things that really get under our skin when it comes to other people or groups of people. Landscape photographers are not immune to our petty grumbles, but what's the most annoying thing about them?
DjJI has released a miniature version of their popular RS3 gimbal series, reducing its overall size to fit into a backpack and giving it enough power to handle most mainstream camera setups.
Have you ever looked at a scene and thought it was just a bit too sharp, almost harsh? It can be overwhelming, right? But, at the same time, you don't want to make your shots blurry in an attempt to soften things up. Well, that's where diffusion filters come in.
Starting a freelance career might be one of the most stressful things a human can do to themselves. I am exaggerating, but you get my point. Naturally, your first instinct might be to start chasing every client possible and get as many jobs as possible. Here is why you should stop doing this and focus on something else.