Fstoppers Original Articles

It happens at basically every wedding I shoot. I walk into the room to start taking images of the bride getting ready, and the bride offers me a mimosa. After I leave to take images of the guys getting ready, I walk in and the groom offers me a beer. Then, the ceremony is about to start, and a groomsman offers me a shot out of the flask he has in his jacket. Lastly, we are at the reception and both sets of parents and the entire wedding party are offering drinks. I have to assume that most wedding photographers are faced with at least one of these events at every job. So, the question is: do you accept?

If you’ve been shooting (landscape) astrophotos for a while but are relatively new to astronomy, you may be contemplating stepping up to a telescope for your astrophotography. But taking the next step isn’t as simple as getting a longer lens for more magnified views. You should understand the changes in your shooting and equipment that this implies.

With an optical viewfinder, you are literally looking through the lens, so you see exactly what will be in the frame. Now, we have reached the realm of the electronic viewfinder, the EVF. But there are some things you need to be aware of.

When you think of landscape photography, does a wide angle lens come to mind as the go-to choice for capturing the vast beauty of nature? While wide angle lenses undoubtedly excel at framing expansive vistas and foreground elements, the importance of having a telephoto lens in your bag for landscape photography should not be underestimated. Let's explore the often-overlooked role of telephoto lenses in landscape photography. You will discover how telephoto lenses can enhance your creative possibilities, capture stunning details, and unlock new perspectives in your landscape images.

There is nothing quite as misleading in the photography internet as exposure guides, triangles, life hacks, and all that noise of information. There isn’t a topic that is as widely discussed as exposure. In this article, I will describe my method of exposing images, which has not yet failed me.

The jump from hobbyist or part-time to full-time photographer can be a daunting experience. About three years ago, I took the plunge into full-time photography. Overnight, I dropped my career as a teacher and decided to pursue this creative art. It was one of the most difficult decisions I have made and one of the most rewarding.

Today, I’d like to have a brief word with all the newbie photographers out there.

Pentax is one of those loved brand names that inspires confidence and loyalty among its followers, a result of its engineering excellence and value for money. Yet, it has been largely absent from the camera market in recent years. Has it slipped into a commercial coma, and will life support be switched off shortly?

A few days ago, a friend of mine brought a DJI Osmo to film alongside his usual DSLR set up. The client questioned them: “Why are you filming on your phone?”

You wouldn't expect that certain locations alone could assist you in learning the art of photography, but they do — especially if you are one that needs to experiment to learn. Photographing someone in these two locations will force you to learn about all kinds of light, get creative with posing, and help you create images that are full of substance and all the elements of art.

A free update to ON1 Photo RAW 2018 made sweeping improvements to performance and image quality and also introduced new features. From importing and cataloging to editing, layer-based compositing, and printing, the new Photo RAW 2018.1 is a powerhouse for every photographer's workflow.

A lot of us think we know what set photography is, but Ron Jaffe is here to tell us about his incredible career and what’s going on behind the scenes that we don’t know about.

With the wide theatrical release of "The Picture Of His Life" just a few days away, I thought it might be interesting to create a list of some of the best documentaries about photography and photographers ever made. What are your favorites?

A couple of months ago a rogue wave destroyed my Nikon D850. Today I got back it back from Nikon and it's been fully repaired.

Many street photographers might claim that the Leica M series is the best street photography camera. While they are not wrong, necessarily, I think the Ricoh GR Digital IV offers more flexibility and value.

You're trekking across Scotland and you come up to a waterfall that's screaming to be photographed. In your mind, you already know you want that beautiful, streaky, long-exposure water. As luck would have it, you're hungry, shaky, and your tripod is enjoying a day off in your Airbnb. What's next?

Do the colors in your photos sometimes look wrong, but you don't know how to correct them? This article and video can help. I show you how to get brilliant colors in your images.

“It’s like a Mercedes-Benz. You drive it off the lot, it loses half its value," says artist Peter Lik, describing his own work. This brutal article from the New York Times examines the extraordinary amounts of money that people continue to spend on Lik's work and how he has created his own speculative — and lucrative — economy.

Every couple months or so, I find myself in a conversation about the state of photography. There is no doubt technology is pushing our field farther and faster than ever before, but is this technology actually killing photography?

Last week, we continued our exploration of Puerto Rico with our second shootout challenge. This time, we mixed it up a little bit with a guest photographer, and the results were pretty interesting.

I recently got my hands on the new Tamron 100-400mm zoom lens and wanted to try a unique portrait idea. Unfortunately, this photo idea involved wind, tides, fast moving kiteboarders, and the ocean. What could go wrong, right?

The last decade has seen a gradual increase in the number of new manual focus lenses manufactured and sold. Who are these lenses for and why would anyone buy them over a lens with autofocus?

A few weeks ago, an online mob doxed a street photographer for taking candid images at a county fair. The incident raises questions about where we draw the line when it comes to invading someone’s privacy in a public space.

The ultimate lifehack tool or an unnecessary distraction? Love them or loath them, the Apple Watch is here to stay. But does it have any real use case for a photographer? Well, here are five of them!

I promised a while back that I would do a comparison between the Profoto B1 and the Godox AD600 head to head. I have finally had the chance to rent and spend some time with the Profoto B1 again, and I am ready to give my thoughts on the two as they pertain to the way I shoot and the situations I spend my time in.

I think we can all agree that the thing we want more of as photographers is additional time in a day. How exactly do we get more hours in a day? It's simple: we cheat. Over the last few years that I have been shooting, I have tried to hone my skills in photography while also learning any way I can to refine my process in shooting, editing, and eventually delivering my shots to either clients or posting them to social media. Here are a few hacks I have learned to use on my iPhone in a pinch.

The mirrorless tsunami is well under way. We have a wealth of full-frame options with new mounts, smaller flange distances, vastly improved EVFs, and smaller bodies. Given the dent that this is already putting in DSLR sales, what’s the next step? Sony already has a well-established range of crop-sensor mirrorless bodies, but will Canon and Nikon follow suit?

I get a lot of commentary on using expensive photo equipment, most notably lighting. Fair enough, a $400 softbox is not for everyone, and most people find it ridiculous to use a modifier this expensive. However, there are good reasons to use such tools. Here is why.

Nikon has just released its 2020 financial results alongside its medium-term management plan. How does the manufacturer see its future in the wake of last year's financial results?

If there's one thing I've learned over time, it's that there are often different ways to accomplish the same task. Likewise, every Lightroom user does things in different ways. That doesn't make it wrong; it's just different.

Zen photography comes naturally with an empty mind. It’s both waiting for a moment where light, shape, and dynamics fall into place, and being devoid of planning in advance. Instead of checking the weather online before a shoot, you just venture out and essentially wing it. It’s all about being in the moment. As a landscape photographer, I want to share the ways of this minimalist sub-genre.

Get acquainted with Urbex photography as we chat with the Nikon-endorsed photographer who has travelled the globe to visit the best abandoned spots in the world.

There is quite a lot of excitement about the new Canon cameras. Of course, the much-anticipated Canon flagship is bound to attract attention, as well as the much-improved Canon R5 Mark II, which builds on the legacy of the famous R5. Yet, I am not buying any of these cameras. Here’s why.

Last week, we featured an interview with the awesomely talented retoucher and photographer Marina Dean-Francis. This week, she's shared a video with Fstoppers showing her retouching on a hair and beauty image. Although the video has been sped up tremendously, it's not hard to see that there aren't many quick tricks in play here. It's no secret that maybe the greatest skill in retouching is patience.

Pay close enough attention, and there are some very useful tips in this video - my personal favorite comes in around the 2:30 mark and is a great way to add highlights on...

Using something in the foreground of your landscape image can add a lot of depth, but placing a foreground in your composition without consideration is not the way. It can be smart to give it a little thought. In this article, I will give you a couple of things to consider that may lead to a better composition.

Over the last several months, the Fstoppers team was able to link up with Clay Cook, an acclaimed editorial and portrait fashion photographer, to produce a comprehensive tutorial teaching his photography techniques. If you want to learn more about the full tutorial and what it offers, check out the store page. One of the key elements of Clay's work is the variety of gear he has used throughout his career. Included in the tutorial, and now available here on Fstoppers, is a peek into the equipment he uses to craft his stunning images.

Given the choice to bring one accessory when shooting landscapes, it absolutely needs to be a circular polarizer and this is why.

Pentax launched a new "brand vision" recently in preparation for its upcoming product release, going as far as to develop an extensive webpage and supporting video to promote its DSLR cameras. Here are 10 reasons why their camera strategy is in disarray.

There has been a disturbance. Have you felt it? Some astute photophiles (not a word I just made up) have noticed a change in quality in their posts when Instagram pushed a photo to Facebook after the most recent update, 7.5. So I decided to run a few comparison tests of my own to see if the quality really was different, and why my photos suddenly started to look so gritty.

Professional-quality photo printers and paper are expensive. It can be difficult to justify the steep price of the machine and upkeep for most photographers who shoot as a hobbyist or even a starting professional. Outsourcing your printing needs to a pro photo lab alleviates the cost, but there are some inherent complications in not being able to print from home. These four helpful steps will minimize the disconnect when sending out your images to the lab.

Lens filters are useful for achieving a variety of photographic effects in camera, such as long exposures of moving subjects. But did you know you can achieve the same great results with Photoshop CC?

I love shooting on location and am passionate about deep blue skies. Usually I would use CPL and ND filters to get the best skies to my taste. A detailed article about how to get dramatic skies is described in my previous article, "The Ultimate Guide to Dramatic Skies in Portrait Photography." After the shot is taken I always play with the luminosity and saturation values of the blue tones. One issue I often face while darkening the skies via luminosity is having a white outline appear around my model. Today I will take you through a short tutorial of how to get rid of that quickly and effectively, without the need to compensate on your luminosity.

Fujifilm’s introduction of the X-Pro3 has continued their trend of quirky design choices, but has also raised the question of whether bucking the trend is actually making for a better experience for photographers.

Until 18 months ago, affordable 35mm primes for the Sony system were like hen’s teeth. Last year, Sony finally plugged the gaping void in its lens lineup, and now, a new contender has appeared: the lightweight, affordable AF 35mm f/1.8 from Samyang/Rokinon — appealing to full frame and APS-C shooters alike.

Finding the perfect camera system is not that easy. Before you make a large and long-lasting investment, you should do proper research and critically analyze your own needs. Step by step, you will get closer to the best possible system for yourself.

While researching and deciding on what camera or lens to buy next, there can be a lot of banter, back and forth, and noise on opinions on what camera or lens is right for you. It is possible that some websites, influencers, or average Joe’s can hold slanted biases that may play a role in your purchasing decision, and we don’t want that. So what if I told you that there was a more objective resource to help aid your purchasing decisions? Well, I have a site to share with you: DxOMark.

Creating sharp photographs can be challenging, a vast array of camera settings and subject matter can make it tricky. But there are three ways to successfully enhance the sharpness of images using Lightroom.

Landscape photography, at its core, is more than just a visual art form; it's a profound emotional experience. It's the art of capturing feelings, not just scenes. I want to take you on a journey through my lens to explore how photography transcends mere pixels and lenses, with my backdrop being the unforgettable Storm Agnes adventure at the Devil's Horns in Dingle.

Photography is an art that allows us to freeze moments in time and capture the beauty of the world around us through the form of photographs. Among the many tools a photographer can utilize to create their art, a telephoto lens stands out as a distinctive and excellent choice for those seeking to easily capture attractive and compelling images. In this article, we will discuss the advantages that telephoto lenses offer and also how they can help you get attractive images easily.