Fstoppers Original Articles

So you finally made the jump to mirrorless! You've got that sexy new Sony/Nikon/Canon/Fuji/Panasonic and you're itching to get cracking on some awesome portraits! It's about then that you realize that the kit lens isn't going to cut it and you didn't quite budget as well as you'd thought for some shiny new system lenses. What's a photographer to do? Buy some cheap, old glass to get you going!

As the curator for the Fstoppers Photo of the Day and our Instagram feed, I happen to read a lot of comments and criticisms thrown out at images by semi-anonymous people from all over the world. One thing I can be sure of is that when I post an image that is a composite or incorporates some sort of digital art, some people get offended. This is ridiculous and needs to end for photography to continue growing.

It is good to have a plan B in landscape photography. But what if even plan B doesn’t work? Should we give up? Or is there still the chance, any way to get some really strong photographs? I came exactly into such a situation recently – and oh man – finally it turned into one of the best photography days I ever had. I even got 360 degrees surrounded by compositions!

Nikon has finally officially announced their new flagship mirrorless camera, the Z 9. The long-rumored specs are now confirmed, and the promise of the system has exceeded expectations.

One way to spice up your photography is to add gels to your lights so you can produce colorful and edgy looking imagery. Adding wild colors to your photos can offer a lot of creativity but gels can also be used in a much more subtle fashion to slightly alter the color of your background and sky. In today's video I want to share two simple techniques I use to help make my backgrounds on location look more interesting.

In a world of mirrorless cameras, vintage glass is coming back and for good reason.

When I bought a tilt-shift lens for my landscape photography, I soon discovered how to shoot panoramas without the need for a nodal slide. But I noticed some parallax problems. The answer to this was the Rogeti TSE-frame.

Photographer Brigette Bloom draws from her start in documentary photography to create mystical, story-driven work. A concept photographer, Bloom works with Impossible Project Polaroid and 35mm film, which she often alters to create interesting effects (you may recognize her as “the photographer who pees on her film.”) I spoke with Bloom about her captivating “Kaya” series, and her overall process as an artist.

By now, you’ve probably seen the wildly impressive short film “You Can’t Stop Us” by Nike. The video has already received about 42 million views on YouTube since its release on July 30th. While the narration and source content are both as solid and empowering as we’ve come to expect from Nike’s ads, the inventive editing is the true star of the piece with its revolutionary visual concept.

Among many other photographers, I was certainly disappointed to hear the cease of development of Nik Software plugins by Google. There are times when I really like to use the Nik plugins unique tools, and I know many photographers depend on it heavily in their workflow. So it's been a looming question mark as to what happens next and without future development, it seemed the writing was on the wall with some distant Photoshop update, the Nik plugin would eventually not be compatible. Enter the good news! DxO has bought Nik from Google and has already implemented the first of the Nik technology into DxO PhotoLab.

Photographer Monica Jane Frisell has spent the last four months living out of a renovated 1988 Toyota Seabreeze, traveling across the United States with her scrappy terrier Lou and a Zone VI 4x5 camera for her project “Looking Forward/Portraits from an RV.” I caught up with her to talk about the project, life on the road, and the process of shooting large format film.

A full tank of gas, a Fujifilm GFX 50S, and a partner in crime make for a perfect day to remember what happiness is all about.

Slides contain a lot of memories from events past: anniversaries, weddings, birthdays, family vacations and more. If you want to preserve those images for generations to come, you need to think about digitizing them. Here's a rundown of the options available and the results you can expect from each.

This past weekend marked ten years of me being a full-time professional photographer. There have been ups and downs since 2010, to be sure, but I’ve learned a few things along the way.

If I told you that Facebook lies, you'd all probably shrug your shoulders and reply with an elongated, groaning "duh." Other than the moral issues, their lies genuinely hurt individuals and businesses. As photographers, it's important for us to take note of how Facebook is impacting us.

Today, we’ll look at three simple questions you should ask when deciding which images make the cut for your professional portfolio.

Why do we care so much what people think of our photos? Do we shoot for others or do we shoot for ourselves? Does it help us progress by having strangers or even people we know comment on our photos? What about formal reviews by so-called experts?

Autumn is upon us and the great migration is in full swing with hordes of photographers descending upon small towns all across the northeastern United States to capture the changing colors of the leaves. Leaf peeping (and photographing) is hard work. It requires patience, solitude, and the ability to put up with the constant aroma of pumpkin spice latte in the air. For those of you heading out to photograph fall colors this year, here a few tips that I hope will help you get the most out of your experience.

There's no lack of choice when it comes to camera bags anymore, with new arrivals happening almost every month. So. it takes more than a polished marketing campaign to catch a useful level of attention, and this newcomer is more than that.

For many photographers, the pursuit of passion is often overshadowed by the looming fear of financial instability. Visions of artistic fulfillment are frequently interrupted by sleepless nights, wondering if next month’s bills will be covered. In a saturated market where every other person with a camera considers themselves a photographer, standing out and making a comfortable living can seem like an elusive dream. But what if amidst these swirling doubts, you came across a story so compelling, it reignites the fire in your belly and renews your faith in the power of persistence and innovation?

The magnificence of 2016 is about to come to and end and with it comes a throng of New Years resolutions, most of which will be broken by mid next week. Many New Years resolutions, however, are quite useful and beckon for positive change, while others can be more damaging than beneficial. Today we are going to take a peek at some of the most common, and also most useless new years resolutions that seem to come about each year.

August is the time for photographing the annual Perseid meteor shower. It is one of the most spectacular ones, and definitely worth photographing. If you want to get the best pictures, some preparations have to be made.

There is often a lot of talk of "taking the leap" to full-time photography. It might be a cliché, but it does feel as if you have to throw yourself into the partially unknown to have any chance. But whether you're winding up to jump, or you've landed on the other side and are wondering what's next, you can benefit from the Tipping Point.

When it comes to being a successful professional photographer, there are certainly many misconceptions. Knowing what some of these misconceptions are and how to avoid them can help take your business to the next level.

Missing a shot is something that happens to every photographer, but there are ways to make it happen less to you. Here’s how to almost never miss a photo.

So you’re trying to develop your wedding photography skills? Let’s talk through some of the photography skills you need to learn and develop. My advice is to pick one thing at a time to focus on, perfect that and then move on.

Composition is one of the more difficult things to learn. There are many rules and guidelines that can make a good composition. The crop tool inside Lightroom and Photoshop offers a bit of help to learn about composition and even helps you achieve the best possible composition in post.

Whether you’re about to head out for a day of shooting some corporate videos, producing a multiday lifestyle photoshoot, or even traveling abroad for a project, as a filmmaker or photographer you’ll likely have to do a fair amount of prep, called preproduction. This article will summarize a number of things that you should think about and probably not forget to do before leaving for your next job.

This week, I acquired a shiny new Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II, which surpasses all cameras in its class when it comes to speed. This is thanks to the advanced silent electronic shutter mode. And this got me thinking, will there come a day when the electronic shutter will ever fully replace the mechanical shutter? And do we want it to?

Unscrupulous manufacturers manipulate you to buy their products. It's much more severe than you can probably imagine. With Black Friday fast approaching, there are things we should be aware of before buying a camera.

I live just a few miles outside of New York City, so when 911 happened, my world was rocked harder than most in the world. After getting my daily dose of hate mail this week about taking pictures at the 911 Memorial at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, I thought I'd write about it.

Importing files from a memory card onto a computer doesn’t seem to be a complicated task, and it shouldn’t be. However, it’s probably one of the most crucial parts of your workflow. If you forget a file on your card or format and reuse the wrong one, it can generate bigger issues than any photographer would like to face. Because let’s be honest, no one wants to tell a client that files have been lost… let alone a full job! There is a trick to avoid that kind of problem, and if you’ve never heard of it, you may be surprised by how simple it is!

Before I became a photographer, I had ideas as to what the career might be like, boy was I wrong. Here is what a week as a professional photographer looks like.

This week we continue our Puerto Rican Photo Challenge. In our second challenge, two photographers explore the elaborate cave systems hidden deep within the central hills of Puerto Rico. In the full article, you can vote which image was the best and later this week we will reveal the winning image.

Everyone who is photographing landscapes knows how important light is. With the right light situations, a boring landscape can transform into something magical. It is not only choosing the golden hour, but also waiting for the right moment. You need to be patient.

Sony users tend not to struggle when it comes to choosing lenses thanks to a ton of third parties complementing a large offering from the Japanese manufacturer. However, one lens now forms a bizarre gap in the lens lineup and, amazingly, companies are not trying to fill it.

When the weather gods do something crazy, don't ask questions; just say thank you. You can try and plan your outdoor photography until you're blue in the face, but sometimes, when it starts to look like the conditions might be epic, you need to be spontaneous and just get out there.

There are endless benefits to using strobes over continuous hot lights, but there is one drawback: sometimes, you may actually want to capture motion blur.

Landscape photography offers endless opportunities to capture breathtaking scenes and create stunning images. However, one common issue that can plague your landscape photographs is the presence of dust spots. These pesky little specks can appear on your images and distract the viewer's attention from the beauty of the scene. In this article, we will explore several effective techniques to help you avoid dust spots in your landscape images and maintain the integrity of your photographs.

Mostly, photographers learn the camera settings and compositional techniques first. Those basics of photography are essential. But when we have mastered those, what do we do next?

I consider myself lucky. Not because I won the lottery (which I didn’t), or because I drive a Dodge Viper (which I don’t). I do however, consider myself lucky for photographing subjects with a clear complexion more often than not. It’s luck. Not Photoshop.

BBC's "Sherlock" has been widely praised since it debut in 2010 thanks to it's razor sharp dialog, witty humor, and gorgeous production. From a filmmaking perspective there is much to be admired, which is why we were thrilled to see Nerdwriter1 use the Conan Doyle adaptation as his latest subject in his latest YouTube video essay.

Sadly, there is no linear relation between the effort to get a photo and the quality of it. However, if there was, mountain landscape photography would be of the highest quality. In this article, I will share five tips to upping your photography quality in the mountains.

"What is your budget?" Have you ever asked that question? Actually, the more important matter is: Have you ever been asked this question? How has it made you feel?

If you’re thinking of making your love for photography into the thing that pays the bills, here are a few pitfalls which you might want to avoid.

Vintage lenses can be a great way to get some different glass for you to try without spending much money. But, there are also a number of hidden gems that can create stunning and singular results.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Okay, not really, but choosing a camera these days when that same camera can change so much from year to year can make buying decisions all the more difficult.

When autumn arrives, it's time to photograph mushrooms. Creating something unique can be challenging, but you don't need to use the most expensive or elaborate equipment, nor do you need a macro lens. I have some nice ideas for you when you go out photographing mushrooms.

A macro lens enables you to capture small subjects at a 1:1 size ratio. This means the subject appears the same size on the sensor. If a mushroom is 2.4 cm in height, it will also be 2.4 cm on the sensor. For example, with a full frame sensor measuring 36 x 24 mm, the mushroom fits perfectly within the...

If you're just getting into shooting film, one of the first decisions you'll have to make is what format you'll be shooting. If you ask around, you'll get many varied responses as to the advantages and disadvantages of shooting 35mm, medium format, or large format, but I wanted to make an article that shows some basic advantages and disadvantages of each medium as well as a photo test to give you some concrete comparisons of the same subject.

A picture is worth a thousand words, and if you do it right, you just might be able to use a photograph to tell a story.