One of the unique aspects of the Black Lives Matter movement in the last year has been how it has spread to even the smallest of communities. It’s made covering the protests as a minority photographer a wholly different and vastly more frightening experience.
If you ever feel like you're stuck in a creative rut, or having a hard time progressing in your field, know that you're not alone. Any professional photographer will tell you about all of the failures and challenges they had to overcome in order to reach new heights. This video shares a brief look at some of the struggles faced by seven leading photographers, as a trailer for a new season of podcasts from PRO EDU.
Henri Cartier-Bresson is hailed in the pantheon of photographers as one of the leading lights of his time. He is also inextricably linked with Leica. If he were shooting today, what brand would he choose and how would he shoot? It would of course be Panasonic and 6K Burst Mode.
Creating stories is what many photographers are striving to do, whether in video or stills. Pulling on emotional ties with your viewer with something they can relate with gives the storyline a bigger impact. One photographer created a dramatic series on something most of us have been through at some point in our lives: insomnia.
Photography has long been an evolving art form, and the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has introduced a new wave of innovation. As in many fields, AI has begun to shape the landscape of wedding photography, changing how photographers capture, edit, and deliver photos.
Starting a new self-driven project doesn’t typically involve getting on a flight and throwing yourself into documenting a city undergoing violent civil unrest. I spoke to photojournalist David Butow to find out what led to his award-winning work covering protests in Hong Kong and how he operates when the teargas canisters start flying overhead.
If there is anything photographers can agree on, it’s that we are obsessed with quality. This is a good thing when dealing with business, clients, and even personal projects. How many times though has this caused a glitch in documenting your personal life? I can personally say that I’ve let this get the best of me.
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 2016, we'll be featuring a new photographer every month, whose portfolio represents both stellar photographic achievement and a high level of involvement within the Fstoppers community.
Photo contests are often very divisive. You're happy when you win and furious when your work is snubbed. They can be so subjective yet they draw people in like moths to a flame. Why?
Photography is a passion and a hobby for many and a career for a few. But to truly succeed in this competitive industry, does love for photography stand you in good stead, does it make little difference, or does it work against you?
Whether you're hiring a photographer for your wedding, getting a headshot, or even hiring a second shooter as a photographer yourself, it can be daunting. So, what are the worst red flags you ought to be wary of when hiring a photographer?
Mike Kelley and Fstoppers have teamed up once again to produce the third installment of Where Art Meets Architecture. Over the past few years, creating images for realtors, architects, interior designers, and property management companies has become a booming industry for professional photographers. In this tutorial, Mike focuses on how to photograph the hospitality market including how to shoot hotels, resorts, and rental properties. For the first time in his career, Mike also shares everything he knows about the business of commercial architectural photography including pricing your work, creating bids and contracts, marketing your business effectively, and building licensing fees for residual income. We are excited to finally release the most thorough tutorial we have ever produced on architectural photography and have a special offer inside.
What do you do when you hit a creative roadblock? What things do you do to promote new, creative ideas when you're fresh out? For a lot of folks, that means heading to Instagram, YouTube, or any of the thousands of repositories for creative works that exist. Look through your favorite photographer's latest book, or find an artist you like and get inspired by someone's travel vlog. I'm here to tell you there is another way, and I think this type of inspiration should be used sparingly.
It wasn’t until English photographer Tommy Clarke wound up living in Australia, shooting fashion photography that he didn’t feel complacent with, that he decided to venture into landscape work. Since then, he’s found his niche in aerial photography, and recently unveiled his surreal abstract shots of Holland’s Tulip fields.
Admit it or not, we all like new gear or the next best thing. We try not to think about it, but that thought just sticks and goes round and round in your head like a cyclone until you either realize you don't need it or you give in and using your hard-earned savings to purchase it, only to find that you didn't need it after all and that it hasn't made your photographic practice any better.
Every year for the past few years, I’ve donated photo work to a local organization that puts on a half marathon in coordination with the local firefighters union chapter to raise money for local charities. Last year, I ended up doing a relatively simple shoot with just some firefighters and a ring light. This year, I wanted something different. And so, quickly and repeatedly, the question became, “Can we use real fire?”
Like a lot of creatives, finding that perfect desk setup is sort of like searching for the holy grail. But after a lot of searching, I think I found mine.
During a two-day trip to the magnificent city that is Rome, photographer Milán Rácmolnár came up with the brilliant idea of photographing Rome in infrared. The result is a different and pink perspective on the cityscapes.
Let’s chat a bit. Have you ever stopped to think why you chose photography over all other avenues of artistic expression?
Martin Melnick is a Portland-based director and colorist. His studio, Tree House Post, specializes in color, VFX, editing, and motion graphics. Recently he along with his team put together an amazing music video for the band Adventure Galley based on classic 50s and 60s scifi shows such as Men into Space, Destination Moon, and Dr. Strangelove. The video has already received quite a bit of attention from various film and music video festivals and Martin was kind enough to share a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the video in a brief interview.
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 2017, 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.
Photojournalists usually pack a pretty standard kit in the field. A full frame camera is usually a must, along with the requisite 24-70mm and 70-200mm lenses that can cover 90 percent of situations a photographer might encounter. For some of that other 10 percent, a really good idea might be to pack a 360 camera in the bag as well.
In a world full of over-sensitized, manicured imagery, this photographer’s work stands out. His portfolio is beautifully raw and gritty. There’s no posing or redoes. No fake moments. No reading between the lines. What you see is what you get. And what you get is very real.
Serious and pro photographers can't help but notice that AI is creeping into our craft. Maybe "creeping in" is not the correct metaphor. It's actually rushing toward just about every software application we use. Luminar was an early adopter, and their upcoming Luminar AI, well, it has AI in its name.
Through editing photos, many people aim to produce work that remains grounded in truth while still adding a bit of themselves and their personal vision to it. Using ON1 Photo RAW 2018.1 software, a fully featured all-in-one image editor, here’s how to leverage a few of its most powerful tools to tell your story.
A few days, ago we published three anonymous pictures and asked you to vote on your favorite. Now, you can watch the entire challenge and see who the winner was.
I’m not much one for New Year's resolutions as I am for promoting constant growth and change. I've found these tips to be important. I'm sure a few resolutions have begun to fizzle out for us, but here is a means to ensure that those that matter most remain steadfast.
Cameras these days are so customizable that sometimes it's hard to even know where to start. So, after a lot of time and effort, here is how I have my camera set up to photograph weddings.
Vignettes can make or break an image and can literally lay waste to the final outcome if overcooked. I’ve never been a big fan of the vignette feature in Lightroom, but that’s not because of what it does or how I use it. It’s simply because of the immovability of it.
It didn't seem like very long ago that I reviewed Luminar 3, and while I liked the editing features, I dislikes the fact that if you weren't using Luminar's "Lightroom lite" catalog feature you were stuck with it and couldn't turn it off.
The concept of a one image portfolio is difficult to imagine. But what if you had to only display one image? Which image best represents you as a photographer?
In Part One of this series, we began writing our business plan by focusing on the nuts and bolts of our business. In this section, we will start to expand on those roots and add to the "what" by knowing our "why".
This episode of Critique the Community ended up being our biggest ever with over 500 comments on the submission post. Thank you all for your participation. Unfortunately, we we only able to give feedback to 20 images, although we did throw in an extra curve ball for Lee and Patrick and added an Elia Locardi image, who Lee and Patrick have filmed several landscape tutorials with. In keeping with our new tradition, we are also giving one participant a free Fstoppers original tutorial. And the winner is...
This is another brief story about the possibility of progress over the course of a photography career.
What will you be doing for World Photography Day? There’s good reason to get on board. Some exciting happenings are going on, including some free live presentations from top-notch photographers.
Polarr has just announced its new Polarr Next Public Beta 2.0. It is a considerable update, introducing integrated AI culling as well as enhanced AI editing experiences. I took a closer look at the new update to see how it can solve some of the frustrations photographers face in their current workflows.
Wet plate collodion is a photographic process that dates back to the mid-1800s. It involves using antiquated equipment and processes, including toxic chemicals and is difficult to master. So, why would a modern-day successful commercial photographer be interested in pursuing this? And what insights could his journey provide?
Our latest article in the Seniors Ignite series with Jen Basford from 3 girls photography covers how to create a year round senior business. Jen has created a studio that doesn’t slow down in the off months. Instead, she is constantly building her portfolio and generating revenue. How does she does do this? In this article, we dive into the four things that have helped Jen create a year-round business.
If you've been a hobbyist photographer long enough, or you're a professional photographer already, sooner or later, they will come for you. You think they won't, but they will.
If you’ve run a photography business for any amount of time, I can almost guarantee that you’ve come across clients who make requests you don’t want to fill.
A little over two years ago, Emily and Jeremiah divided their lives into three piles: sell, donate, and keep. Having called Charlotte, NC home for five years, they aimed to get away from the monotony of 50+ hour work weeks. Weekend getaways just weren’t cutting it anymore so they sold their townhouse and hopped in their Expedition, with a camper in tow, and started a new nomadic lifestyle. Jeremiah would be working remotely, while Emily documented their travels. An opportunity that many dream of, but few follow.
Baber Afzal is the soft-spoken talent who only found his way to photography after picking up his sister’s Sony point-and-shoot nearly over a decade ago. That twist of fate has led him to work for some very well-established clients in the UAE, including the Porsche UAE’s new Panamera campaign.
Styled photo sessions can be a powerful tool for any wedding photographer’s portfolio. However, if utilized incorrectly, styled photos can arguably hurt the wedding photography industry. Here’s how to properly use styled photo sessions for your portfolio.
As 2019 approaches, I reflect on the past year and the ways I have grown and the ways I can grow: the most important lesson I learned last year came from the great photographer Layne Murdoch Sr.
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.
When doing a documentary-style video production, an interview or series of interviews is often at the heart of the content. Uncontrollable lighting, background noise, and the size of the space you have to work in all play a significant role in capturing a quality testimonial, so location scouting to check on these is an important facet of our production process. In this short video, Joshua Pardon and I explore two rooms at a location and discuss what we look for when making a decision on where to set up for a shoot.
Has your online presence benefited your photography in any way? Or is just a waste of time and effort?
With the US government shutdown extending into a fourth week, some of photographer’s favorite destinations are starting to see the impact. There are some important considerations specific to photographers during the shutdown.
With modern cameras having incredible resolution and dynamic range, we all obsess over sharpness and the tonality of our images and how flexible the raw files are. But when broken down, what really makes a good portrait? Is it the perfect focus on the eye or a subtle transition of highlight to shadow from a massive softbox? As with all things, what defines a good portrait can go out of style. This was an interesting wake up call when a friend asked me to create an early 20th century style portrait of him.
