Fstoppers Original Articles

It's that time of year! No, not Halloween...It's Photography Trade Show & Convention Season! There are many expo's though out the year, but the two biggest would have to be Emerald Expo's Wedding & Portrait Photography International (WPPI) in Feb/March, and PhotoPlus Expo (PPE) in October. The latter starting today! So for those of you returning for another round at the convention center, and especially the first-time attendees, I've put together a short list of tips to make the most of your time and help you survive the convention-gauntlet!

Efficiently and effectively creating impactful black and white images of people can be tricky, but utilizing ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate's Light EQ tool, I've whittled my workflow down and kept the results just as high.

Since its origins in the 19th century, photography has proven to be a powerful medium for documenting human life and bringing awareness to social issues. When a photograph captures an injustice or iconic moment, it can resonate around the world and galvanize people to take action. Photography's unique ability to convey visual information makes it an unparalleled tool for social change.

Recently the studio hired a new assistant for the busy holiday season. While the intention was for light assistant work it quickly changed when the applicant mentioned they knew album design, retouching, and much more. Before sitting down with an applicant, have you thought about the possibilities of what more they could do for you?

Today, I’d like to share a bit about my own photo journey. Whether you are at the very beginning or nearing the end of your own, I’m guessing you’ll find a few similarities.

Making a living in an oversaturated marketplace can be a challenge even without a global pandemic present to further shrink the marketplace. It takes a lot of tools, even some unexpected ones, to make it the distance.

Distorted portraits are all the rage in fashion photography at the moment, with elongated body proportions. Take it one step further by using highly reflective mylar during your next photoshoot. This article explains all you need to know to achieve this effect.

Our friends at ViewBug are proud to give away a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV in the creative landscapes photo contest. ViewBug is launching a new contest series called the Newly Shot Series; everybody wants to see your new photos. Only images uploaded recently are eligible for this contest, so keep uploading great new stuff. Increase your chances for awesome prizes and bragging rights doled out. Moral of the story - upload awesome images every month!

When you begin your journey into photography, you feel gated by how small your arsenal of equipment is, despite the elders of the craft telling you it doesn't matter. But, is there a negative correlation between creativity and the amount of gear owned? For me, I suspect there might be.

In my last Fstoppers post, I shared an interesting video called Briefly, which discussed how and why a company or advertising agency might approach developing or executing a creative brief.

Remember, the brief is the information that you receive going into an assignment and client relationship. It can serve as your guide to understand what your client aspires to accomplish; a jumping off point to get your own mind working to produce concepts and content ideas. Some briefs are short; some briefs are lengthy and detailed. Some are open for interpretation; others seem rigid and strict.

It can be challenging for many photographers to get qualified leads, but there are steps you can take today to enhance your online exposure and lead generation.

As good as it feels to already know, it’s the learning that is the most fun.

Sometimes you don’t have to look far and wide for artistic inspiration. Oftentimes the answer you seek is right around the corner.

Do you sometimes have a feeling of resistance before a photo shoot? It happens to me when a lot of work is involved in getting a photo, and this resistance tries to prevent me from heading out. Over the years, I found that the bigger it is, the larger the reward.

If you've ever found yourself posting a photo in which you've masterfully designed your shadows, created asymmetrical balance, and selected a brilliant color palette just to see it wildly out-performed by a reel of a 20-year-old aimlessly walking down a sidewalk and spiraled into complete despair, then this is for you. In this article, I will walk you through how to shoot skillfully crafted images and easily stitch them into a stop-motion. The artist strikes a treaty with the Insta.

Following the success of their powerful drag and drop album design software, Pixellu has launched SmartAlbums 2019. The latest update is complete with time-saving features, workflow improvements, and faster performance.

When you are trying to build yourself into the artist you want to be, a little ordinary can help you do the extraordinary.

As I’m sitting down to write this, I’ve just had a quick peek over at the clock in the upper right-hand corner of my screen. It has just rounded 5:43 am, and I’ve already been at work long enough to have long forgotten about the sleep I wiped from my eyes when I rolled out of bed. To some, this might seem like an early time. Others might be wondering why I slept in so late. The exact time on the clock isn’t important. What is important is that this...

Since the pandemic, running remote photoshoots where the client is not physically on set has become more commonplace. In this article, I'll share my best tips on how to run a successful and efficient remote photography service.

The value of participating in non-commissioned projects in a photography career is very high, and photo competitions are a good example of that.

If you are a professional filmmaker or photographer working with a regular camera from any of the large makers, there is no simple and reliable way to encrypt your files in camera. To put pressure on camera makers to provide such an option, the Freedom of the Press Foundation released open letters to Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Fuji, and Sony requesting that the manufacturers add encryption. The identical letters to five major camera makers were signed each by over 150 journalists, photographers, and filmmakers and sent out on December 14.

I've got just the perfect inspiration to get you started this year: a beautifully made film about travels in South Korea. It is very possible that it will give you a strong inclination to document your next trip, too.

As photographers, we inevitably find ourselves dealing with that one client that causes us to take into serious deliberation the idea of working at the grocery store and throwing our illustrious career to the wind.

It has been our reality for quite some time now, but the effects the pandemic has had on the travel industry will continue for the foreseeable future. How does a travel photographer get through this without completely losing everything?

After nearly a decade of experience in the Toronto wedding industry, having met countless wonderful couples who work together and having had a lot of personal intimate conversations with industry pros, my personal advice would be to venture into starting a studio with your romantic partner with caution. Here are the top seven reasons why.

DJI’s Ronin 2 is hard to beat, but perhaps the latest option comes close?

I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but, I think it's a good idea to hire a professional photographer that specializes in what you need. It's for this reason that I hired a professional photographer, despite the fact that I too work as a professional photographer. In this article, I'm going to discuss why.

When your personal life takes you into a new location, whether a few states over or even out of the country, your business does not have to suffer. Photographer Jonna Royer has a few tips to help smooth the transition and get you up and running faster.

The last thing you want to deal with is computer crashes in the middle of editing. If you have been in the business long enough you know it will happen sooner or later. Let's face it, electronics can crash, malfunction, or worse. Having a solid backup plan for your images is important to keep your cool and carry on.

As the winter months can be a slower period for portrait photographers, they present an opportunity to work more on your business, rather than in your business. One productive off-season activity for growing your pet photography business is to reach out to local retailers to create new co-marketing opportunities.

This method is widely used in editorial magazines. It's a fun way to look at different perspectives of your work combined. Sometimes it’s just not possible to capture everything you want in a single shot. The solution is simple – shoot two photos and display them side-by-side. I find that displaying two images side-by-side is a great way to tell a story photographically, and to create ideas that are not necessarily evident when one or the other image is displayed by itself. If you're interested in trying this technique with your own images, here are some of the tricks I’ve picked up along the way. Make small prints and lay them out on a large table to play the mix and match approach.

Most of the world is on an enforced break right now, which we can't do much about. But when the fog clears, what can you do if you find your motivation for photography has fallen off a cliff?

Last week, we looked at how to evaluate your own images before seeking critique. This week, let’s look at that process from the other side and consider how we can best offer critique to those who seek it.

As I continue to add content to my YouTube channel, I thought it would be fun to try something new and screen-record myself while doing an edit. During this process I remembered the importance of trying edits like this to familiarize myself with the programs I use on a day to day basis.

Oniric, from Composite Nation, is a plugin I've been looking for for a long while. Last year I caught an advert for it on Instagram and I haven't looked back since.

About four months ago, I downgraded my phone. I went from what would be considered a more photography-oriented phone, the iPhone 14 Pro, to the less photo-feature-rich iPhone 13 Mini. I don’t miss the photography pieces of the phone at all, and I’ll bet you won’t either.

In today's fast-paced world of AI and digital photography, tools like Aiarty Image Matting are transforming workflows for photographers. Designed for creators and businesses, it uses advanced AI to deliver precise background removal, even for challenging images. As a professional photographer, I find background removal essential in most of my commercial work, and sometimes dealing with a complex subject can be frustrating.

There are very few professions where you get to shoot zombies for a living, but production photography is one of them. If you’ve ever wondered what production photographers do and whether you might like to try it for yourself, then read on because this article was written just for you.

This week we continue the A to Z of Photography with an interview with contemporary photographer Benjamin von Wong, renowned for his attention grabbing, fantastical images. We follow this with a history of Vivitar, a camera and lens manufacturer that didn't make cameras or lenses!

Pop quiz, hotshot. What is the best investment you can make in your photography today?

If you've ever experienced a flare or diagnosis of a chronic illness while being self-employed, you'll understand the overwhelm of navigating your health and your business interests. It can be hard to focus on rest and recovery when you're fearful about the longevity of your business and the cash flow you need to live.

There are a lot of things that go neglected during the pandemic. But while a little undone personal grooming won't harm anyone, leaving your printer unloved for some time can cause some headaches.

Have you ever asked yourself why you picked up a camera? Learn about the inspiring and touching work of photographer Rich Johnson as he gives a voice to the incredible teachers who are fighting for their kids' futures each day.

As a reviewer, companies regularly get in touch offering some interesting products. This one piqued my curiosity as the technology was intriguing: a gadget that holds your phone or camera and tracks your face in order to pan while vlogging or live streaming.

As some of you may or may not know, there has been a weekly photo theme running here on Fstoppers called the weeklyFstop. It is very easy to join in and the themes change from week to week so everyone's strengths and weaknesses get a turn. This week the theme is "favorite" which should cater well to all genres and skill sets. The real beauty is that you don't need a large following to join in. A number of our featured photographers haven't even passed 100 followers. This fact, one might argue, makes our list one of the most unique around. We'd love to have you join in and show us your favorite thing to capture.

Troy Hyde, owner of Animals of Montana, is appealing the ruling of the State of Montana's Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks to revoke his license. As photographers, we should care, as Hyde has been supplying captive animals to photographers for decades. Apparently, he's been doing so in a way that mistreats the animals.

Capturing the beauty of the natural world through photography is an art form that requires a keen eye, technical skills, and creative vision. However, one often underestimated aspect that can significantly impact the outcome of a landscape photography trip is the choice of clothing.

You may need some inspiration or be ready for an adventure. Your first thought is to pack up your camera gear and head out on an adventure. Then, you start to research and decide it's too costly. I used to think that I would never be able to travel and explore. I was wrong after finding a little ingenuity. Here are six ways to travel without going bankrupt.

For the next episode of Critique the Community, we would like to invite Fstoppers members to send over their best Family Portraits for feedback. Your submission can include families, kids, or babies. We will keep submissions open through Friday, January 12th, at midnight and will release the feedback from Lee and Patrick early next week. Make sure to check out the guidelines below to make sure the picture you provide is eligible to be chosen.