The more I see AI churn out headshots and portraits with twisted appendages and those weird, dead eyes, the less I'm sweating about artificial presences taking over the photography world. Why fight AI when you can make it work for you? So, instead of pushing it away, I've started using AI tools in my day-to-day. It's not replacing my job; it's just handling the mundane stuff.
We all have shots we want to capture, and usually, we can orchestrate the image into life. But sometimes, a shot becomes so evasive you get a little obsessed with capturing it. What is yours?
This was another awesome showing for our new weekly photo theme with a number of excellent photos submitted. Instagram does such a good job with their simple interface and chronological search results the stand out shot almost jump off the grid. It is great to see so many people participating. I hope you all love the results for the "color" theme as much as I enjoyed putting the list together.
Every image has a story behind it, and while some can be more obvious than others, a few also provide important insights from which photographers can learn. In this article, which is the first in a series that I’d like to share with the Fstoppers community, I will explore the story behind one of my most recognized images and one of the most basic rules we are taught when we begin our journey into photography. I hope you will enjoy the series and take something away from my experiences.
In this article, you will discover five very compelling reasons why you should be using something like the Osee 17-inch field monitor when you are creating your videos. Because if improving the quality of your work is important to you, then you will want to check out the helpful tips in this article.
Earlier this year, as COVID-19 was growing into the problem it is now, many photography trade shows were either canceled or postponed. This was a huge disappointment for many, including myself. Fortunately, one of the my favorite shows is bringing the experience online and from the looks of it there's lots to look forward to.
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 2019, 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.
Sometimes, you don’t have to stray too far to find what you’re looking for. After traveling the coast and sharing our journey with you, our Pacific Northwest Escape has come to an end with a stop in our own backyard, where Mother Nature’s beauty is on full display.
Like many new photographers, Kelly Robitaille started by taking photos of her children, but she would become well known for a striking visual style that is anything but typical.
Stockpiling makes some people feel secure against unexpected disasters and crises. Which crisis justifies stockpiling photographs? Let’s take a look at how we can reduce our amount of unnecessary data.
Every now and then, I hear words of wisdom worth sharing. Here are the most recent.
I was challenged to photograph an entire portrait shoot using a broken lens. Can a consumer-grade camera and a half-broken, old lens from eBay create anything interesting?
It’s easy to let life get in the way of photography sometimes. Kids happen, bills need to get paid, and plans to take that cross-country trip fall by the wayside just to keep the gears running smoothly.
A popular photo trend we’ve all seen on Instagram is to bring back the vintage look. People’s love of a good nostalgia trip means they go looking for interesting ways to add old and dated character to their images.
You've taken a series of photos and generated a 3D model. That's great, but how do you make that available for other users on the web?
There’s an unspoken rule in the creative industry: follow up, but don’t expect a reply. What used to be a rare frustration has now become the norm—emails left unanswered, proposals ignored, relationships that once felt solid suddenly vanishing into the ether. The rise of ghosting, a term originally coined for dating culture, has now taken hold in the business world, and creatives are feeling the brunt of it.<--break->
A few months ago we released "Where Art Meets Architecture 3" with Mike Kelley, a photography tutorial that covers photographing hotels and resorts as well as the business of high-end architectural photography. For the past few months, we have also been releasing a behind-the-scenes series on the creation of this tutorial. Today we are finally releasing episode 8 which is also the final episode of this series.
Some shots are great without a story, some are great and tell a story, but occasionally, the story couldn't be told in one image. Which shot in your portfolio has the best story behind it, and what's the story?
One of the most used cards in our newfound world of quarantine Bingo is the “clean out the garage” card. After doing my third round of this particular task yesterday afternoon, I found something new.
Think of forensic science and what images are conjured in your mind? Possibly something out of Silent Witness, CSI, or even The Wire. What then is involved in forensic imaging? John Smith explains.
Search the web: hundreds of videos teach you how to get more bookings and nail your marketing efforts. But how do we get our very first booking? I asked a few professional photographers to tell me their stories.
For the last couple of months, Patrick and I have been moving into our new homes in Puerto Rico and building out personal studios in each. Let me show you what I've built.
There is something magical about witnessing a sunrise and watching the land warm as the day begins. Unless of course, you are just still up from the night before. Then the sunrise has a whole different feeling. Luckily all of the great shots submitted this week seemed planned.
In November, some of us have less projects to work on, and it might be smart to not just idle, but make the best of it. Thinking about photography and business is a good idea to be prepared for whatever is coming next.
Are you the type of landscape photographer who visits a location once and then head off to other new locations, never to return? Or are you the type that returns to a location over and over? Revisiting a location presents significant opportunities for the landscape photographer.
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 2019, 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.
A video production technique is any method that you use to capture video. It's often incorporated into a specific style of video production, such as live event video production or staged video production. Here are a few things that you should consider when trying to determine which techniques to use.
Siddharth "Sid" Mantri is a landscape photographer currently based in Spain. His unique voice leads him to find smaller moments of a narrative within large landscapes. He creates images that aren't just swathes of landscape, but rather elements within a landscape that unequivocally act as a subject within a scene.
A spring clean is a great way to evaluate your photography practice. Decluttering your photography gear can help you focus on what goals lie ahead. This article gives you top tips on what to keep and what to clear out.
There is a ton of information and so many great resources on how to raise money for a project with crowdfunding these days. So I’m going to skip the tips and show you proven strategies to fund your projects no matter what they are.
Recently I got a friendly comment about the images of a camera review I did. It was all about how the results should be presented. Straight out of the camera, or edited? I want to have a closer look at this question and what could be the answer.
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 2019, 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.
Creativity, while seemingly endless for some, is a beast we need to feed in order to have it work for us. We cannot simply expect to be running at 100% all of the time without stopping, reflecting, and spending time to nurture the force we require to make our best work. As some of you may have noticed (I’m hoping someone other than my mother did), I have just taken a one-month break from writing here at Fstoppers. This was a personal month taken to reset and bring my focus back to what’s really important. This is something I feel we all should do from time to time. Let me explain.
Justin Bettman is a portrait and editorial photographer based out of NYC and I first came across his #SetintheStreet project while scrolling through Facebook. I thought it was a fun, creative and unique project that was worth sharing! I love that the art kind of lived on after the shoot itself with him leaving the sets in place for people to engage with. So cool, right!?! With that said, I decided I had to interview him to find out what are his processes in creating these photographs.
You are about to embark on a magnificent afternoon of fishing, under a sun-soaked sky. Do you simply drive around town till you see running water, hastily place the car in park, and cast out, or instead carefully plan out a spot on the water that nets you the greatest chance of success.
The OED defines "diptych" as a pair of thematically linked paintings, photographs, sculptures, etc. For Toni Meneguzzo, in light of his show, Diptych, opening at 29 Arts in Progress Gallery in Milan, the word seems to mean something much broader. Meneguzzo's Diptych is an invitation to engage with his newest work side by side with his growing legacy, perhaps as a challenge for the viewer to consider where art and commerce overlap.
Low budget doesn't have to mean low quality. Here's a handy tip for keeping your backgrounds interesting.
To improve as a photographer, sometimes, it pays to stop worrying about what others are doing, and, instead, focus on what you do best.
You are a professional photographer as soon as you sell a print or get any money for your photography. Excelling at that requires taking on tasks and responsibilities, some of which apply to amateur photographers too. However, there's much more to it than many people imagine.
Fstoppers has created an entire tutorial on the basics of photography, Photography 101. Today, we are releasing a free excerpt from the tutorial that shows the inner workings of a DSLR camera and how it is you actually take a picture with it. In addition to our free excerpt, we are offering a discount on the full tutorial, simply use code "INTRO" at checkout to save $50. This discount will expire on January 22nd.
Artists enjoy calling their work “original.” For good reason too, as artists, we want to stand out and send an authentic message to the world. But, there are hardly any truly original ideas in the art world. Everything has been invented, reinvented, and re-reinvented over again. In this article, we will discuss how to create, reinvent, and stay away from copying.
Explore the national park or national forest for a week or more, maybe get paid? There are tons of artists-in-residence opportunities scattered across the United States. Take a chance, see a new part of the country and create new work inspired by unique landscapes.
In 2019, a photographer from San Francisco designed, built, and launched one of the most innovative and bizarre cameras of its kind: the Idolcam. While GoPro and DJI rely on sensor stablization and digital wizardry to create smooth footage, Idolcam does something completely different.
It’s that time of year again, where your Instagram feed is flooded with everyone’s best nine photos, courtesy of sites like 2017 Best Nine. And while it’s great that there’s an algorithm that can count the likes and spit out the “best” photos, there’s some merit to making a yearly compilation of photos that you like best rather than some software.
It's been a month or so since I started printing in the darkroom, and what a ride it has been! After going through tons of paper and chemicals, making a mountain of bad prints, and generally messing up in every way possible, I've managed to be able to make some decent prints. Here are a few of most important lessons I've learned so far in my darkroom adventure.
In this day and age, more and more people are setting up recording spaces. Whether for simple work meetings, live streaming, or recording content, the need for a good-looking space is in high demand. This is a walkthrough of how I have my space set up and lit.
It wasn't easy to put a man on the moon. Just ask photographer Christopher Sherman, who recently set out to pay homage to one of humanity's greatest feats, the Apollo 11 mission, when Neil Armstrong first set foot onto the moon 50 years ago.
If you’ve done photography professionally for any amount of time, you’ve probably found yourself succumbing to the daily grind of the job, and in turn, it becomes an obligation. If this is you and you’ve found yourself in a creative rut, here are a few ways to climb your way out.
When I watch events, and the cameras swiftly pan by the crowded photographers trying to get the cover shot, I can’t help but scan for women. I do it when the receiver runs full force out-of-bounds and accidentally crashes into the sideline photographers. “Was there a woman in that crew?" Or on CSPAN when the camera pans back to the counsel’s table and you get that quick glimpse of the photographers sitting like sardines on the floor with their cameras. At the Olympics, especially, I’m always eyeing women. I don’t see them as often as I wish.
