In the wake of what the World Health Organization has declared a pandemic, meetings of all sizes are being canceled left and right. Unfortunately for many of us photographers, these cancellations are delivering a big hit to our businesses.
It’s easy to celebrate our successes in photography — the proud moments in-between creating and presenting a picture that we’re particularly fond of. But what about the times we fail? I think there’s a good argument for celebrating our photography failures, and here’s why.
Skylum, who made quite a splash in the image editing space with Luminar and then Luminar Neo, is setting out to conquer portrait photography editing with Aperty. The company says it's aimed at professionals and serious near-professionals, and it will be available on November 7.
It takes years of practice to become good at sports photography. Basketball, for example, is fast-paced, with frequent turnovers. When covering a game, you need to be attentive to all of the action happening on the court. But even if you photograph all of the crucial plays, something may be missing from your coverage. This article will help you understand the variety of potential shots at a basketball game and what you need to do to ensure that you capture them properly.
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.
In the nausea-inducing argument of "gear doesn't matter," one of the lines often peddled by one side or another is that the camera, no matter how sophisticated, is just a tool. It's the equivalent of a hammer. Its job is to collect light and any romanticizing over these "light boxes" is just an exercise in GAS. I agreed with that sentiment for a long time, but now I'm not so sure. Here are my reasons why the camera is more important than its obvious job as a way to catch an image.
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 2020, 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.
It's Monday so it's time for another speed retouch and episode of Retouching Mondays. This week image comes courtesy of last weeks winner, Ben Scott. If you would like me to retouch your image and send you back the full-high res final image, all you have to do is post your image in the comments and wait to hear back. I will email the winner on Thursday morning, so post your newest favorite image that you want retouched. It can be any genre, beauty, fashion, landscape, wedding! I'll record the retouching and send you the final image to use as you wish! Take a look at the speed retouch of Ben's image and let me know in the comments if you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them. Now lets take a look at the before and after and the challenges for this week's Monday Retouch.
Like many small businesses, I decided to use the very popular restaurant recommendation site Yelp to advertise my business after seeing they automatically created a page for me. Here’s how you can avoid the disasters that come with making that same mistake.
I live in a small city far from popular landscape photography locations and seemingly devoid of fellow photographers. I oftentimes find myself feeling a bit alone in the creative process. To remedy this, I went online to find peers and look for resources to get constructive feedback on my work. I ended up meeting someone who helped me improve my work and whose generosity took me completely by surprise.
Over the next week the best brands in the industry are offering their best prices of the year. Whether you're in the market for new gear, a faster workflow, or want to study a new skill, there's a way to save money on what you need.
Traveling and photography are a perfect match. It’s so fun to photograph in a new place. Yet, for portrait photographers, locating models while abroad can be a challenge. There's nothing more disheartening than finding yourself in an incredible place with no one to photograph. Here are some tips for finding models while you travel!
Shooting on location can be a stressful time. So, what are some of the questions I ask myself before heading out into the wild?
I love prime lenses—they’re always my preference—but I had to travel across Spain recently to make a documentary film and was traveling light. I had to pick my lenses carefully, so I chose the 24-70mm as my main lens. I quickly discovered it was the perfect travel lens.
Flying a drone is a feeling that can be hard to describe. However, the photos and videos people are able to achieve using these tools are absolutely amazing and can have people staring at their screens for quite a while.
The in-between stages of fashion photography can be knowing which ideas for stories serve best as test shoots and which are worth pushing forward as a full editorial. Do the benefits of a cohesive editorial outweigh the efforts required to make it? This article breaks down the steps required from idea to execution.
As a parent and photographer, there is nothing I would love to do more than collaborate on a photo series with my son. Growing closer through collaboration - and a mutual learning process from both ends of the lens - appeals to me the most about this idea. And naturally, the memories and images produced in the process. But until he is willing to cooperate with me, I will have to lurk from behind the sofa, “paparazzi mom”.
Having a creative mind is a wonderful gift. Whatever your discipline, you love the thrill of making new things out of nothing. Sometimes when the creativity slows it can land you in a rut. When this happens to me, I like to grab the camera, and head out in the backyard for some dewy grass exploration.
I finally received my DJI Mic after pre-ordering it more than a month ago, and at first, I was disappointed. When I did the initial test with the DJI Receiver connected to my Canon R5, the audio I recorded was much noisier than what I was used to from my old setup, for which I used a Zoom H1 with a Rode Lavalier GO. But there's a solution to this problem, and in this article, I share it with you.
Photographing in a winter wonderland offers us so many advantages, as all the distracting elements on the ground get hidden by snow. But then there comes the photographer, who wants to get out the best possible photograph. And exactly this leads to one of the problems.
There is a war going on in the lighting community: To dome or not to dome? Does the recessed front make a difference? Are the flat-front lights not usable anymore? Well, having had the privilege of owning a number of lighting variants, I did rigorous testing to settle the debate once and for all.
As creative professionals, the ability to pivot, both in business and creatively, can be a life-changing experience. I might be at that stage now and I've no clue as to where this will will lead to.
Patrick and I have recently moved into new homes in Puerto Rico, and we have each been building our individual studios. I knew removing the echo from my concrete room was going to be difficult, but I didn't realize it would be this hard.
It's not often that my favorite flash system goes on sale, so when it does it's pretty big news. Now until August 31st, Profoto is offering up to $600 off their B10x and B10x Plus flash heads. If you looking to add to your kit or are wanting to switch over to a powerful and portable flash system that uses Profoto's light modifiers, this is a great deal to check out.
Everyone has the capability to take incredible photos with the phone these days. Yet, most people lack the training of photography fundamentals that would turn their iPhone photos into works of art. Enter the newest landscape photography course from iPhone Photo Academy.
Access to key photographic locations is increasingly becoming a concern among photographers worldwide. As iconic landscapes attract more visitors each year, issues surrounding access, preservation, and management arise. This article delves into the factors contributing to the potential loss of access to these sites and explores perspectives from both landowners and photographers.
Hopefully, these videos help readers de-stress, and maybe you’ll learn something new along the way.
It's exciting when you are hired for a music video, but you are allowed to film it as a drama short film with elements of musical. In this article I will share the challenges in such a production.
Today, I conclude my two part essay about a difficult two months of negotiation over a commercial photography shoot that may not have ultimately come to fruition, but taught very valuable lessons along the way.
For the most part, I have total control over my client's experience with me. I know and understand every aspect because that's my livelihood and passion. I research my equipment, control my backups, work from calibrated monitors and meticulously set up how I deliver images to my clients. However, I've always been in the dark about one aspect of the process, wedding albums.
The claim is that NFTs got rid of gatekeeping in photography. Anyone can pick up a camera, mint a few NFTs, and make money. But what does this actually mean?
Have you ever been casually scrolling through your social media feeds, not really paying attention when suddenly an image arrests you? If you’re anything like me, this is a daily occurrence and one of the reasons to use social media. I can’t say the same thing for video.
Today, a short story about how forcing yourself to look at art from a different perspective can sometimes help you see the whole picture.
Taking pictures of people or things that are old is a wonderful way to get your photos to tell more of a story. Check out the great finds our readers came up with this week and be sure grab the new theme to join in yourself.
Have you ever described a portrait subject as your muse? Beneath the seemingly charming facade of the word lies a complex and often problematic history surrounding the photographic muse. As we examine this age-old concept through a modern lens, it becomes clear that the term "muse" is most often reductive, sexist, and objectifying. This article explores why the concept of a muse might be best left in the past.
We live in a world where most of our images are intended for an audience. In this article, I’ll share some ways to circumvent that way of thinking to create simply to create.
I’ve lived in many places and every time, as much as I’ve wanted to set up a small studio, most apartments were not conducive to doing so, or I’ve had partners with so much junk that even a free wall was a luxury I couldn’t afford. I’ve finally had the occasion to leave one wall free for that mini portrait setup and I’m glad I did. It’s something every photographer should plan their furniture arrangements around.
When creating composites using various images from multiple photos, each part has its unique color balance. This is where most beginners tend to fail when creating a composite.
Photographers spend their entire careers mastering the art of composition, gradually honing their skills over many years. For new photographers, learning compositional theory from scratch is a huge task, but you can fast-track your progress by focusing on one technique first: subject separation.
Sure, I dig gear reviews, image processing tutorials, and seeing what others are doing with photography just as much as the next person, but today I want to talk about something a little less tangible yet possibly the most important thing when it comes to landscape photography: how does the location feel?
Today I take a trip down memory lane to identify a few of the television commercials that, for me, have exceeded the level of infomercial pitch to touch the mantle of enveloping art. As with any "tops of all time list," these are thoughts are completely subjective, but I'll do my best to explain my thinking behind each choice and hopefully, my list will inspire you to start thinking of your own.
Some photographers are lucky enough to work large shoots that have directors or production managers who manage the logistics of the shoot, leaving the photographer free to focus on creating images but, often, photographers are running large scale shoots without the benefit of a production manager. Instead of just shooting and directing models and grips, the photographer becomes responsible for the whole team, which can include models, grips, assistants, stylists, makeup artists, hair stylists, set dressers, etc. Under these circumstances, with everyone’s safety riding on your shoulders, there are dangers you need to be prepared for.
Recently, a hiker in Hawaii ended up lost in the forest for 17 days, highlighting the danger behind even short hikes. There are a number of simple things that nature photographers can do to stay safe in nature.
The WeeklyFstop depends not only on its loyal readers and participants, it relies on light. Light determines what we see and how we see it. Our photos depend on us controlling the camera so the light coming through the lens exposes correctly. This week's list of photographers submitted some superb examples of photos featuring light.
Let's be honest, how often do we get perfect conditions where everything just simply falls in the right place?
Sometimes, to grow as a photographer, you have to take two steps back to go three steps forward.
Ever thought shooting a wedding on film? Curious about what it takes or what goes into it?
When it comes to retouching, or more concretely, the removal of unwanted objects from photos, there are a few things you can do to make the editing a lot easier. In this article, I share three questions you can ask yourself in the field before taking your photos. Those questions will help you to get much better starting material for your retouching.
When V-Flat released the new Karl Taylor Light Cone, the comments ranged from dismissive jokes about "the cone of shame" to excitement for a product designed by esteemed commercial photographer Karl Taylor. I decided to take the cones into my product studio and see for myself if this simple tool really delivered the effortless results it boasted.
We are in the heart of one of the most severe winters that has come along for years. Many are spending as much time bundled up as possible waiting for spring to show up in a month or two. Photographers, however, are a different breed. Crazy conditions are an opportunity to create interesting images so we often find ourselves meandering out into the unexpected after that perfect shot. Winter portraiture can be especially tricky as it requires managing a model in adverse weather. These tips should help ensure your next winter shoot is a success.
