Fstoppers Original Articles

Recently I was thinking about the year so far and noticed that my output for the year was down compared to other years. Why was this?

It doesn't matter how long you have been a photographer, I guarantee that some of your images will suck. Question is, do you really know why they do?

Canon Canada has opened its first-ever mentorship incubator. If you're a creator looking for a helping hand up to the next level, applications are being accepted until August 16.

When editing in Lightroom Classic, it's normal to edit as quickly as possible in order to share your finished photograph online, but by doing that you run the risk of missing out on some hugely powerful settings that can save yourself a lot of time and headaches further down the line.

There are many tips you can use to improve your landscape photography. Here are five simple ones you can start incorporating right now.

Film photography is enjoying a bit of a resurgence at the moment, with many people flocking to it for reasons ranging from the abundance of cheap used equipment, to the enjoyment of the process, or the look of the results. And while film can certainly be both a fun and rewarding way to shoot, it is important to be aware of its downsides as well, one of them being the fact that it is not friendly to animals.

A long time ago, I got to visit a friend down in the south of England. We drank (quite a lot of beer), we ate (lots of chocolate brownies), and we set up to shoot a moody portrait.

Boudoir shoots are inherently more quiet and less flamboyant by their very nature, but that doesn't mean that they have to be any less creative and unique than any other style of shoot. One of the ways that I have found to change things up with my boudoir work is to set up the shoots in random Airbnb properties instead of in studios.

I got a few questions about the Electronic View Finder on a mirrorless camera concerning flash photography. And yes, when you use the wrong settings it can be quite a challenge using a mirrorless camera in dark situations when flash is needed. The solution is fairly simple.

Last year, my husband and I traveled to Greece. While we were in Athens, we could not avoid crossing paths with the same couple at every sightseeing location we went to. I must have seen the entire wardrobe of the girl during those hours we walked. Her eccentric wardrobe change was not the only thing that caught my attention. It was rather strange to witness an all dressed-up girl posing alone non-stop. To me, it was definitely meant for social media.

As a commercial photographer, I specialize in product, food, and architecture. One of the products we've been shooting a lot of lately is jewelry, specifically jewelry for catalog use. In my opinion, jewelry is one of the hardest things to photograph, and many photographers don't know where to start. Whenever we're tasked with photographing shiny, reflective, spherical objects, our studio sounds like a group of sailors on leave with all the profanity flying around (often times strung together to make complete sentences).

This year has been rich in new exciting product releases. While most wedding photographers were probably awaiting the Canon 5D4 announcement, the action and sport photographers were looking forward to the new pro bodies, such as the Nikon D5 and Canon 1DX II. However, Nikon surprised us with the D500, their new APS-C flagship camera. Being the geeky photographer that I am, I wanted to try it out and see if it was good as a Nikon full frame body.

The most common complaint with nearly all video editing software available on the market is the learning curve. Most programs lack a certain degree of intuitiveness, so any attempt to tinker leads to exasperation. That was certainly my number one frustration with past attempts to teach myself to use some of the heftier video editing suites. Enter ACDSee Video Studio 4, the answer to exacting and irritating video editing sessions.

In today’s article, I’ll talk about a surprising new/old addition to my lens collection.

Social networks are a good way to advertise a photographer's work. Sometimes, with all the different platforms available, it becomes difficult to keep track of everything. Tools such as Hootsuite are great to make that easier. However, when it comes to Instagram, there aren't many solutions for scheduling and uploading photos from a computer. But there is at least one, and it works great.

Another day, another new camera has been announced. Most of the time the latest and greatest doesn't actually solve any real world problems or improve the shooting experience for the average photographer in any way. That said, camera makers have become rather adept at writing specs sheets designed to make you think that the latest and greatest in camera tech will revolutionize your shooting experience and thus, in turn, your work. I call hogwash, especially in terms of some of their favorite specs that they use to hide the fact that you really don't need a new camera.

Brandon Cawood, from Dalton GA, has taken appreciating first responders to the next level. What began as a personal project to photograph local EMS personnel, soon blew up and went viral. Cawood captures priceless moments in the daily lives of firefighters, police and other public safety personnel. He has a movie poster style and pulls it off in a flawless manner.

Last year Team Stuart was faced with a big storage problem. Our 9-plus terabytes of photos were a few weddings away from out growing their 10 terabytes of storage. This meant we needed to shell out a bunch of money for more hard drives to even think about storing more photos. Money that I didn't have, especially considering we'd need a whole new NAS setup. That is when I made the bold decision to forgo on-site storage and move to the cloud. In retrospect, it may have been a big waste of time.

The wrong elements of color can disrupt the harmony of photographs and distract the viewer from the story you’re trying to tell. When we’re deliberate though, we can use color theory while planning the components of our photos and use color grading to allow us to create compelling images that add emotion to help us create a story. Dynamic images are created through complementary colors that develop harmony in wardrobe and location, lighting, and mood. Fortunately, there are numerous resources to understanding and implementing color.

Adding a colored background to your studio shots can vastly change the impact of a studio photo. The most obvious method to do this is by collecting an army of colored backdrops that take up space and are a headache to swap in and out from shoot to shoot. Instead, it is quite easy to build this coloring effect using Photoshop so that you can shoot each image using a standard white or grey background.

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.

Feeling stagnant in your editing recently and looking for some fresh ideas? While you might not use all of these tips, they should help reinvigorate your editing flow and get you thinking outside of the box for tools you might be familiar with or completely new to.

Last week saw the release of ‘Anomaly’, a film that is redefining the approach and model for independent, narrative film making. Co-Director Salomon Ligthelm outlines how he managed the project as it grew from “a 2 minute art film” into the astonishing 38 minute-long final masterpiece, and provides key takeaways for all of us that we can apply to our own stills or motion projects. If you have any interest in what's coming over the horizon for cutting edge, independent, visual media production, this is for you.

Weapons of Choice is a powerful visual series that demonstrates, through painfully jaw-dropping imagery, the damage verbal abuse has on a person. I found myself saddened yet amazed while looking through the photos. Richard Johnson takes the power of a photo to a whole new level by eloquently illustrating the invisible and eternal scars victims of emotional, sexual and verbal abuse endure.

It's easy to pick up bad habits in anything you do, and photography is no different. Here are seven that you ought to check for and make sure they haven't crept into the way you work.

One regular and boring argument proposed by some is that the camera doesn’t matter. That’s hogwash. A good quality camera is vitally important for photography, and here’s why.

If I promise to not curse and do my best to keep my rants to a minimum, can we have a discussion about the ongoing dilemma for photographers which is Instagram?

I already wrote an article stating that this camera is the best wedding photography camera you can buy. But like most cameras, it's not perfect. These are eight things holding back the a7 III.

If your work never leaves the confines of a computer screen then you are seriously missing out. Some people might think printing is an indulgence, but seeing your photography in this way will actually benefit your career on many levels.

Nikon may have just announced my dream camera for street and travel photography.

The holidays are fast approaching, and if you're anything like me, it’s time to scramble for those last-minute gifts. Here are seven gifts that would be great for photographers that you can also simply download online.

There is a reason people say that your price range usually determines what kind of clients you attract, and this also often holds true for photography workshops, not just for weddings or photoshoots. I found this out in the hard way; I burned out, made hardly any profit, sometimes even loss. So, how did I end up in this situation and why did I keep going instead of learning from my mistakes early on?

Everyone in the industry must know who Pratik Naik is by now. And if you don't, then you should. In ten years Pratik has become one of the most famous retouchers on the planet.

As is the case with most photographers, I have my usual go-to light modifiers that I know are a safe choice and can guarantee usable shots. However, sometimes, you need to step out side the box.

I love all types of documentaries, and I think it's very important that artists and photographers educate themselves on the past greats and present ones working today. I watch documentaries on photography, fashion, art, and anything else I find interesting. It’s an education coming from a very successful person in that field that everyone can learn from, and I find them to be very inspirational. When I don’t feel inspired or I'm frustrated with things not working out for me, I put on a photography or artist doc and learn about their past struggles and their process that they go through. It’s always a great way to remind myself that everything is going to workout and to create that crazy idea.

Prepare to dive headfirst into the world of waterfall photography! In this article, we'll uncover the five secrets that will make your waterfall shots as majestic as possible. So, grab your camera, put on your raincoat, and let's embark on this adventure.

Having been an active member of the photography community for the past few years, I started to notice some toxic traits. In a community this small, how can everyone seem to hate each other this much sometimes? Let’s dive deep and see just how bad it gets here.

There's something special about taking a picture on film. That said, film also lent itself to a lot of error: a botched exposure, missed focus and light leaks could all serve to ruin an otherwise lovely image. There are few things more frustrating then getting a roll back from the lab with an error note on the envelope. Occasionally the results were a novelty, perhaps adding interest to an otherwise boring image but all too often light leak was nothing but a bother. So why would anyone want to replicate it in Lightroom?

As a photographer with a decent following on both YouTube and Instagram, you start to see certain patterns in the comments and direct messages. One question I see repeatedly is about camera settings. “What is the EXIF data of X or Y photo?”. I always wonder why people want that information.

Growing up in the family's studios and labs, I learned a thing or two about mounting and framing prints, and I also ruined a lot of them in the process. In this video, I'll demonstrate a version of my process so you can skip the lab and mount your own prints, fresh from your home or studio printer.

Looking for a photo-editing alternative to Adobe's Lightroom CC that won't break the bank? Today, I test-drive Alien Skin's new Exposure X4 editing suite for the first time.

Learn how to become better at landscape photography fast by following these 10 simple steps.

Today, I’ll share with you a few lessons I've learned after several years of taking cameras and other gear through their paces.

Instagram is the most popular platform for photographers to display their work and reach an audience. If you know how, you can even turn it into a business and make a living off it. Imagine now, you wake up and Instagram has deleted all your family photos, favorite memories, connections, friends, and portfolio work?

Lightroom is about 13 years old now, and over the last few major releases, Adobe has added a number of tools you’d previously need Photoshop for. While it’s great to see new features like color grading, luminosity masking, and more make their way to the program, their implementation still leaves them falling far short of just using Photoshop. Here’s why I couldn't ever use Lightroom without Photoshop.

Everyone wants to win the lottery. In this day and age winning the lottery can mean many things, one of which is hitting it big on social media. Creating a body of work, an brand image, and a following so massive it creates clout behind your name so high, it is easily seen by everyone as the best in the business. For photographers and creative alike, achieving something like that can easily be seen as difficult, but in reality for some it was outrageously easy and can still be done thanks to Instagram.

Seascapes have always been one of my favorite subjects to photograph. For most of my travels, I visit and photograph at least one spectacular coastline, and in this article, I share the five most photogenic beaches I have photographed so far.

The drive south from Akureyri had been eventful, to say the least, but the snow subsided and we managed to stop briefly and get some minimal shots every now and again. As color began once again to show in the landscape we began to feel more hopeful as we headed towards Vestrahorn.

Recently Lee published a comparison between the images from several different-sized cameras and there was no apparent difference. What's the point of buying a camera with a larger sensor then?