Fstoppers Original Articles

We all want to get better. Here are three quick steps to help you get on your way this weekend.

You carry that decent camera around with you because you want decent photos. Every so often, then, you need to get some of those unprocessed raw files on to your phone. How do you do it?

As I use my Fujifilm X-Series cameras more and more for event work, I've needed fill flash here and there to enhance some of the portraits I'm asked to take on the fly. With there being very few good options for the Fuji system at the moment, I picked up a Nissin i40 back in April. Initially, I just wanted it as a fill flash, but more and more, I have been using it as a backup for outdoor flash work. Below, I'd like to share my experiences with the flash.

Insta360 recently announced that they’ve raised a further $30 million in funding, and that they’ve been profitable since 2017. That’s more than can be said for GoPro.

This entire summer, I have been trying to include elements of water in many of my photoshoots. In today's behind the scenes video, I team back up with Krystal Xamairy and attempt to photograph her in a pool using a fish tank and a few strobes. The results are pretty interesting, to say the least.

My passion for photography stemmed from a series of trips I had taken overseas and a desire to capture the beauty of those places with more finesse. Landscapes were a natural draw for me and it didn’t take long to come across the concept of exposure blending.

Every time I’m on a set or grabbing coffee with another local filmmaker, we always end up talking gear for a bit, and inevitably the question comes up of “What camera would you buy if you had to buy right now, and why?” I decided to research things a bit and put together an article that explains what I’d buy if I absolutely had to right now, and the answer might surprise you.

As I read another report this week of a photographer losing his life’s work to petty theft, I started to question if I was doing enough to back up my own images. How many copies of your work do you currently keep? Are you doing enough to protect your photos? It’s easy to get complacent, but ask yourself: are you prepared for a thief to strike?

It is surely the simplest of operations — instructing the camera when to take a photo. Surprisingly, for such a straight forward task, there are a myriad of ways to actuate the shutter. What are they and what is the best?

Photographer Aaron Anderson has once again created an amazing set of images that came from an idea he could not shake. It's often been said that anyone can do something once but to keep coming back with impressive results is what differentiates the best from the rest.

I have seen absolutely beautiful things happen in the photo industry. I've seen strangers become best friends, I've seen grand ideas being brought to life, and I've seen photographers grow from beginners to mentors. I've seen so many things that make me proud to be a part of such an amazing community. The sad news is that I've also seen the uglier side of it. I've seen jealousy turn into bad-mouthing, I've seen photographers knowingly leave out key techniques from classes or talks, and I've seen new photographers become discouraged and disheartened by the cold shoulders of the more popular photographers in the industry.

Monte Isom is a super successful commercial photographer based out of New York City. However, before he made a career of his own, he assisted some of the biggest names in the photography world. In this video he recaps his experience shooting the president of the United States of America.

When it is time to buy a camera, image stabilization can be something that is on the bucket list of must haves. Image stabilization makes it possible to shoot with longer shutter times than normal, preventing the use of a tripod. There are many different implementations of image stabilization, but it is not the Holy Grail. You could say image stabilization is overrated.

There is nothing quite as heartbreaking as the actual moment when your creativity is quashed. There are lots of culprits that can lead up to that moment, but I find that it's often traceable to a single action (or inaction) by another party.

As large as the photography community is in a whole, it seems small and intimate when a crisis attacks one of our own. We have seen photographers unite and rally when another is hit with tragedy. However the way one couple decided to deal with the crisis themselves leads to a whole new way of thinking for personal projects and photography shoots.

Were you one of the early adopters who jumped to a Fuji X series, selling your extensive Canon camera body and lens range, to be thoroughly unimpressed with the image quality to then jump back? Or did you fork out on a PhaseONE medium format, drooling over that dreamy tonal range to then see Pentax release the rather good 645Z for a quarter of the price a year later? Enter the "Yesterday's Tech" purchasing model.

As a full-time freelance photographer, we often ask ourselves why we should work for free, especially at the start of our careers. Are we being taken for a ride, or is it worth investing in our client for possible future returns?

While you can use almost any lens to make an environmental portrait, there are a combination of features that make the 35mm a great choice for this style of portraiture.

Sony just recently released one of the biggest firmware updates I have ever seen from the company. With so many feature additions and upgraded functionality, I wanted to walk through my favorite items. Not only that, but I also want to talk through some things I feel are still missing.

Separation is a powerful tool we can use in compositions, and there is much more to it than preventing subjects from touching.

Mention off-camera flash and people often think about C-stands, flash heads, large octaboxes, and V-flats. Hardly what you would call portable. So how do go about assembling one?

Thanks to a combination of Lightroom and Photoshop, your dog portraits can be drastically improved with a little bit of editing, so follow along.

Fine art photography can be very lucrative, but it is a business and may not be for everyone.

Being a commercial photographer working on ad campaigns, I pay a lot of attention to color. From image capture to the final result, color plays a significant role in my work. The tools I use for color, by all means, determine the quality of the result.

Whether you take photographs of products for fun, for some money on the side, or as your primary income, there is a common mistake that many photographers make that is holding them back.

Surprisingly often, simple courtesy is overlooked by photographers when hired to perform work as a peer. These principles sure seem like common sense, so what could be the problem? Take a look at these basic standards of professionalism.

No one likes to get caught short, but there are times when you have the image and none of your standard image processing software. Here are eight of the best web apps to help you out in a sticky situation.

Learn how to photograph the Milky Way galaxy by choosing the correct equipment, using the right camera settings, and planning ahead with precision to avoid disappointment. You can also use these tips to photograph other astrophotography shots such as meteor showers.

Branding yourself is probably one of the most important things you can do as a photographer. It is important to showcase your work, whether it is your best work at the time, your best work overall, or even some of the work you just like most. I personally put up the images I think are best, but a lot of the time, I can be very picky, and I tend not to like certain photos when other people still really like them. This is something that is 100% up to you. You are the person choosing what you want to show as a reflection of you and what you do.

You are at a crossroads again. Every now and then, you arrive at a point in your photography where you are left uninspired. It’s that moment when you feel like you’re drawing blanks even as the conditions are just right. Stages like these occur every once in a while, no matter your experience in photography. Feeling uninspired can be daunting and seemingly endless. But once you realize that these are the best moments for self-reflection, there’s another opportunity for personal growth. It’s times like these when you ask yourself: “What is your reason for pursuing photography in the first place?”

Playboy Magazine is famous for one thing, — okay, maybe two things — but there are no nude women in any of my photos, nor do I have any shots of the late Hugh Hefner. So, how did I do it?

Although you read it on a website related to photography and videography, the information in this article can be applied to many other businesses. What I'm going to share is based on my own experience, not based on marketing books. I will not teach you new psychology tricks on how to sell mediocre products or services, nor will I give you X steps to follow blindly in order to have a successful business. I will try to give you advice to help you correctly estimate your business value and set a price accordingly.

Ah, vacation! As photographers who shoot to put food on the table, it's exceedingly difficult to unplug. The temptation to jump into post-processing as soon as we take a photo can be overwhelming. The image is never done! If we just push this slider or that, tweak this or that, or crop here or there, the image would be so much better. At some point, though, shouldn't we be experiencing our vacation instead of documenting it? Enter the ultimate in quick and dirty memory-making: the 35mm film camera.

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.

Portrait photography is one of the biggest genres in the industry. It's also one of the most competitive types of photography. If you plan on staying ahead of the competition, then having a great workflow will drastically improve your performance.

A quick trip into downtown Los Angeles allowed me a closer look at one of my photographic heroes.

We often hear that we, photographers, don't necessarily need to travel the world or spend a lot of money to create beautiful photographs. That's exactly what Kavin Bradner endeavored to do when he began a weekly photographic ode to his girlfriend, calling it #maggiemondays.

Collaborating with models for trade shoots, often referred to as TFP (Time for Print), provides a wealth of benefits to both parties involved. In this type of collaboration, neither party charges for their services, but both receive valuable assets in the form of high-quality images that can be used to build their respective portfolios.

The UK’s new Online Safety Bill is a massive change, heralding a new digital age that is safer for users. Tech giants and websites will be held to account, and they don’t have to be UK based to face the enormous consequences. This will affect photographers and photography websites around the world.

A lot of photographers spend a good chunk of time reading about gear and considering if they should pull out their credit card to purchase that fancy new camera or lens. Here are three good reasons to purchase new gear and three bad reasons to do so.

I can think of so many times throughout my career where I have drooled over that latest camera release or that most recent lens that my brain convinces me that I simply have to have. Realistically, though, what photographer out there hasn't done that at least once in their career?

Landscape photography is no walk in the park. It can often be filled with challenges and frustrations. But why do we choose to do what we do?

No matter if you’re creating your own portfolio or taking photos for paying clients one thing you need to be able to do is create consistent and repeatable results. When looking at images next to one another you will immediately notice if there is a color shift or inconsistent lighting between photographs which can be a detriment to you developing your style or landing the perfect client. Let’s talk about the fastest and easiest way to help elevate your photography and fix those color and exposure issues quickly.

In this day and age of social media we hear people rant about terrible customer service they receive all the time. Fortunately there are some good stories still out there, and after hearing about this one I just had to share. The wedding photography team of Easton and Laura Reynolds of LuRey Photography had their camera attached to a popular BlackRapid Strap used by many in the industry. Unfortunately the strap came loose causing Laura's camera to hit the concrete and damage their Nikon 24-70 lens. What happened next deserves to be heard.

Whether you’re using your iPhone or regular camera, shooting through windows and transparent surfaces can be one of the trickiest situations you’ll encounter. With just a few simple tricks, you can greatly improve the results next time you try photographing through a window.

The National Park Service in the United States is one of the few organizations to have made clear policies regarding the use of drones, or small unmanned aircraft systems (SUAS) on their property. Yet some people continue to ignore these rules, and it’s only going to make things harder for the rest of us if this trend continues.

If you're looking for a raw processor that does more and are not currently using Capture One, it's likely that in your quest for a solution, Capture One has crossed your mind. Making the switch to Capture One from Lightroom, for example, is easier and quicker than you think, and right now, with Capture One's Black Friday sale, it's the perfect time to buy.

Bill Clinton was President, John Major was Prime Minister, the 49ers won the Super Bowl, and Pete Sampras and Steffi Graf were Wimbledon champions. It was the year that the Space Shuttle docked with the Mir Space Station, the World Trade Organization was formed, there was a serin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, OJ went on trial, the Oklahoma City Bombing took place, Windows95, Dolly the sheep was cloned, eBay went live, and Braveheart, Toy Story, Babe, and The Usual Suspects were released. But what happened in the photographic world?

By now, most of the countries around the world are under full lockdown or about to undergo lockdown. At the time of writing, my country (South Africa) would be one of the latest to undergo lockdown. Tensions seem to increase the day before the actual event, as people question what they'll be doing with themselves while locked in a house for three weeks or longer. Luckily, it doesn't need to be as scary as you think, especially if you're a photographer.