Fstoppers Original Articles

Back in July of 2016 when my daughter was a mere glimmer in my eye, I read Alex Cooke’s excellent article on shooting drone portraits. I was immediately transfixed by this new (new to me, anyway) concept. Some 12 months after first stumbling upon Alex’s article, I have a seven-week-old at home, and my travel photography has come to a halt (at least for a while). But I can always drone the baby! Here are some tips for getting the most out of your newborn drone portrait session.

I believe that upon our journey in whatever craft you choose, we encounter people who not only inspire, but assist in pushing us to grow more, and photographer Lucas Passmore has been exactly that for me. Initially, from the Midwest, Lucas is a fashion photographer living in Los Angeles. His regards for the history of photography, ability to capture a moment, and willingness to give back to those new to the photography community made him the perfect person to highlight in my first interview.

Continuous LED lights have made a ton of progress in the last few years, and they have become more powerful and versatile than ever, making them a viable alternative to strobes in a lot of situations. In this review, we will take a look at the Broncolor LED F160, a compact, high quality option.

You know that someone somewhere did a great job of marketing when it's late at night and something pops into your head, from who knows where, and you find yourself jumping online to make a small new purchase. No, I'm not talking about an expensive new lens or shiny new piece of gear; I'm talking about what amounts to an inexpensive accessory that tags along on your photo sessions. It adds something fun and tangible all while being almost impossible not to have a good time with. I'm talking about those Poloroid-esque mini cameras that seem to be making a big time comeback these days.

Do you charge for your photography? For the photographers who want to use their passion as a revenue opportunity, you will have to figure out what works best for you.

Nebulous cities, misty forests, and magic sunrays make a perfect subject for photography in the cold winter. Here, I share some tips and ideas for shooting mist and fog.

Recently, as I've begun exploring the realm of film photography, my dad pulled out his father's old camera and passed it down to me. I never knew my grandfather, so this feels like a moment to connect where I was never able to.

What do you do when worst-case scenario hits? When even after doing your best to prepare for it, it cripples you, and you feel like you're stuck in a depressive "Groundhog's Day" of going through the motions?

I shot and edited a narrative film in the last month. It was a first for me. I had this scene in my mind of a person burying a suitcase or bag in the woods, like it’s something he or she wanted to hide or get away from. I had a second idea about a guy walking down a long passage way and knocking on a door with no one opening for him. I decided these two contrasting visual ideas will be my story.

Clean up clutter backdrops in macro photographs by recycling the trash into a beautiful close-up DIY backdrop.

At the time this article was written, roughly 35 million Americans were unemployed. Many of the businesses where they once worked do not expect to be able to fully reopen, even after being given the green light by governmental authorities.

Peter Menzel is an award winning photojournalist whose work has appeared in many national and international publications such as: National Geographic, Time, Wired, Geo, Stern, Paris Match, Life, Le Figaro and Forbes. Today his new project: Waste in Focus. A documentary project that profiles eight families in four different cities with one weeks worth of trash.

From sketch renderings to video surveillance, law enforcement uses many techniques to piece together clues for crime-solving. Details and memory often fail us, but there's one medium that never forgets - photography.

Ah, the Internet. I have a love/hate relationship with the Internet. On one hand, I view it as my own personal world of opportunity providing me with free education, marketing, and entertainment. On the other hand, I view the Internet as a cold dark place full of criticism. But alas, I think of myself as a weenie. As a person, I’m emotionally driven rather than logically driven. It can be one of my greatest weaknesses, and sometimes one of my greatest strengths.

Today, I’ll try to break down the multitude of stages that every photographer is likely to go through over the course of their career.

Having time to get out and shoot can always be a challenge no matter how much you love photography. Luckily, a lunch break is almost always free and a great way to sneak in some time you might otherwise never find.

Creative genius rarely erupts onto the scene full force and in your face. Its entrance into the world is often quiet, gentle, allowing only a few to see it and recognize its brilliance. Such is the case with Portland, Oregon-based Kate Woodman, whose use of color in her work produces an instant halt to the ever scrolling feed of images - causing even the average user to stop and appreciate the story unfolding before them.

The Sandmarc Motion Pro Variable filter can be used for both filming and photography. For me, it excels at one more than the other, not because of quality, but because of ease of use.

After a monster week of F, it's time to get back to some semblance of normality (although the title sounds like a Harry Potter novel!). Coming at you straight from Photography 101 and the chapter on "Composition" is the Golden Triangle, followed from left-field by Nan Goldin.

This week Apple announced their new 14” & 16” MacBook Pro laptops which feature their new M1 Pro and M1 Max processors. What’s new? Should you get one?

GuruShots is a website that hosts "The World’s Greatest Photo Game,” and it's latest challenge has drawn some attention. Participants were invited to submit their best images of "Minimalist Shots." Thousands of people entered and millions of votes were cast for their favorites. Check out the three winners of the challenge as well as hundreds of top rated images below.

The power of visual storytelling to create an impact in the real world is plentiful. Of late, there is this new format of social short films that are catching up and seeding change in its own ways. How strong is the impact that these short social documentary films make?

Hiring your friends or involving them in your business can be a mutually beneficial arrangement, but equally, there are a few things you should consider before you start mixing friendships and business.

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.

With this installment we revisit the whole sub-genre of panoramic photography. Literally(!) a wide subject, discover the history behind it, the software to create it, and the competitions to enter. Once you've scrambled your way through the panoramas, discover one of the most beautiful photos in the universe. Read on.

The traditional workflow to edit a portrait from start to finish usually requires a few different apps. But why complicate things and not just try and rely on one single software to get to the final result? Last month I reviewed ACDSee Ultimate 10 and thought it’d be a good idea to follow up with a tutorial showing how far you can go by using exclusively this photo editing solution to retouch a portrait. Discover all my steps and see how this alternative could perhaps suits your workflow better than your current one.

Loupedeck have released a version of their software that plays (somewhat) nicely with Capture One Pro. Today we’ll take a look at what you can expect and what we think could be improved.

Polaroid recently launched its “next generation portable printer” designed to work wirelessly with smartphones, producing prints that offer decent quality and won’t fade. How good is it, and does it merit $100 for the printer and up to $0.85 per print?

In a small town in West Texas, one photographer has established a thriving business that rivals big city photography studios. “We’re in podunk Texas,” Kaleigh Horelica says with a spirited, self-deprecating laugh. Although Abilene isn’t an affluent market, it has been the perfect place for Kaleigh to grow a successful studio that earns over six figures in annual revenue.

A lot of new photographers view weddings as an easy way to break into professional photography while making a lot of money with minimal time, effort, and gear. As a professional wedding and portrait photographer, I can tell you part of that is true.

Backing up is easy, right? You import your photos from a memory card, then everything is safe and sound on your hard drive. Wrong. Norwegian startup — Piql — believes the answer is to back up your files to film.

Once a year over a million people head to the tidal basin area of Washington D.C. in hopes of catching a glimpse of the thousands of beautiful cherry blossoms lining the streets. This year you may need to adjust your schedule to catch the peak bloom.

After changing careers from 12 years in the scientific field into the photography industry, I often wondered about merging the two together; science and art. I started shooting underwater photography a few years back in hopes of bringing a new light on the waters with my background. So when I came across the work of Christine Beggs and Brett Stanley I was intrigued to learn about their collaborations. They have created a way to bring critical issues of the oceans to light with their underwater art work.

In the world of film and commercial video work, there are so many working components that need to come together in order to have a successful production. So when it comes to bringing all those components together, you want it to be as smooth and simple as possible to minimize stress and streamline efficiency so that production does not fall behind schedule. One of those components that is insanely critical for a finished product is the coloring — not an area you want to skip on.

I was completely blown away when I came across Diane Villadsen's project “Old Friends,” a high-fashion, conceptual take on aging. To celebrate the process all of us will go through eventually, why not do it in a unique way through photography and fashion? I got in touch with Villadsen to find out more about her inspiration for the shoot.

Over the last two years, I have been traveling quite a few times for a personal project involving the last remaining tribal-tattooed faces of Asia. The results of that project are finding a home at Tattoos of Asia. I still have five or six more trips to make before I can consider the project complete, and I wanted to share my experience so far with finding help for a project like this. Finding the right guide or fixer for your project isn't easy, and can be a lot like hiring a new employee. Let's go through my process for finding and hiring the right person for the job.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, "Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort." It's no secret that many of my clients belong to the LGBTQ community. I've worked hard to build a following in a demographic that should consider me an outsider; there is a real fear of being judged by anyone who doesn't routinely walk in their shoes. However, my client base hasn't always looked like this, and the road to building trust has been interesting to say the least. Why go through trouble? The simple answer is, “Because I love doing it!”

As we bid farewell to another year and welcome the possibilities of a new chapter, photographers around the world are gearing up for fresh challenges and adventures. In this article, we'll explore six New Year's resolutions tailored for photographers seeking to elevate their practice in 2023.

Everyone has projects they dream of and clients they would like to work with. Dream projects don't put food on the table alone. They have to be paid for, right? How do you manage to get both and be satisfied with the results?

One photography technique I've always been interested in learning is how to photograph ink in water. The resulting images are beautiful on their own, but having a library of ink clouds and paint explosions for use in composite work is also super valuable. In this video tutorial, I'll show you some of the best tips and tricks I've learned capturing ink in my own studio.

This coming week will be busy for me as I travel across Virginia to several VPPA guilds and talk about a huge passion of mine with astrophotography. I will also tell them what made me a photographer and who made me a photographer is them. It’s one of the very first things I state when I start my talks and it needs to be said. Other photographers are the reason I’m a photographer today.

Have you ever had a brilliant photography idea but didn’t know where to start? Planning a photography project isn’t just about taking great pictures—it’s about crafting a vision, telling a story, and making your work unforgettable. If you’re ready to turn your creative spark into a masterpiece, this guide will show you how to bring it together with these eleven steps.

The benefits of having your own blog are myriad, and for all intents and purposes, there is an unlimited amount of information on why. However, the main obstacle isn't "why," but "how".

Nasty comments get posted in the online photographic communities, so I researched the driving forces behind the trolls and what we should do about them. Who they are and their motivations are not as obvious as you may think.

Antti Karppinen is a digital artist, photographer, retoucher, and instructor from Finland with a unique eye for visual storytelling through photography. His work relies on traditional photography skills combined with an active imagination and complex Photoshop editing work to create fantastical images. He spoke with me about his work, process, and the inspiration behind a couple of his most popular composites.

I’ve been fortunate present photography workshops over the past 15 years. My focus is usually on lighting for beauty, but I’ve presented on other topics as well including how to pose a subject so they look natural on camera. I’ve also attended many workshops from both well-known photographers and lesser-known names as well. From being on both sides of the lectern, I’ve developed a good understanding of what makes a good photography workshop. Here are 3 tips you might consider should you find yourself tasked with presenting a photography workshop.

Pratik Naik is one of the more recognizable people in the photography industry, with tutorials across numerous educational platforms. But what most people don't know about Pratik Naik is that he was never supposed to be a retoucher.

“I want to work with my dream wedding photographer as an assistant, learn the craft, and start up on my own sooner. What is your advice to me?” This question was posed to me at a recent photography meet up. In a way, this reflects the aspirations of many new-generation photographers who are raring to get started with wedding photography. One logical step many think about is to join as an assistant, master the skills, and startup. That's what I did six years ago. But there are mistakes that I made and hopefully the new-gen wedding photographers don't make too.

As the season of goodwill, giving, and receiving rapidly approaches, what do you buy an established photographer if you want to spend more? Here are some big presents for those photographers nearest to us, or ideas your loved ones might consider for you.

Welcome back to the weekly Fstoppers photo theme. Remember anyone can join in for a chance to be featured. After having a rather specific theme week one with “Leading Lines,” we came back with a less literal prompt of “Bold” for week two. This opened up the spectrum of entries and I think you will like the results. A bold photo can be achieved a number of ways using color, sharpness, light, or just the subject and placement in the shot. Let's see how these 10 photographers interpreted bold.