Let me first say, for reasons that will become clear momentarily, that I’m a six-foot-seven-inch tall male who weighs approximately 200 pounds and has about a week’s (…okay, week-and-a-half’s) worth of stubble. And my favorite color is pink. Did you just do a double-take?
A chilly September morning. The crispness in the air added weight to the solemn moment. My composition was all figured out. I patiently waited for the final elements to come into place.
There’s always that one photographer who says they’ve got 40 years of experience, and their photos are at the high school photography level. Truth is, this happens quite often. Assuming they are telling the truth, how come someone’s pictures with so much experience look so much like a beginner's? Let’s dive deep.
When photographing landscapes with a wide-angle lens, you probably want something in the foreground, to give the photo some extra depth. It can make your landscape photo more interesting to look at. Just make sure your foreground subject is interesting enough.
It’s not a secret how much I feel the Mac OS is powerful, and most often underused. Apple makes great products, but in my opinion they don't do a great job informing everyone of the really nice and polished little features, so unless you know, you may think it's just another basic OS. Today I want to talk about another of my favorite and useful tips for photographers, and that’s “tags” within Finder.
Modern cameras are much more than light-tight boxes for capturing images; they are small but powerful computers that offer an array of capabilities for photographers. Here are five features that every modern camera should have.
Of course, it's possible to capture great landscape photographs without multiple filters, but purists like getting things right in camera. To do that, you're going to need not just a single filter, but a filter system.
I shot these images for fashion ecommerce store Zilingo when we were doing a recent campaign/catalog shoot. What a fun team to shoot with! They really have a vision for what they want to pull off and are very supportive in terms of getting there.
Platon is a widely acclaimed British portrait photographer. His portfolio includes, among others, images of the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, former president of the United States, Barack Obama, and the chilling portrait of revolutionary chairman of Libya, Muammar al-Gaddafi. His book "Power," shows portraits of more than 100 famous and infamous, past and present heads of state.
Artists invariably love color, and artists using camera mediums are no different. However, for photographers and videographers, there is a foundational element of color in our work that is too often neglected: color management.
A few nights ago, fellow Fstoppers writer Pratik Naik posted on his Facebook about a bizarre Kickstarter project that is causing a lot of commotion within several online photographic communities. Lukasz Wysocki, a self-proclaimed Canadian-based phoneographer looking to get into professional photography, decided to use Kickstarter to fund a brand new Canon 6D. Kickstarter, an amazing platform for bringing innovation to life, now has funding choices like this which arguably skew the entire platform is a direction it shouldn't be headed.
New gear, new techniques, exciting shoots, and financial success are all parts of a fun and successful photographic life. However, it’s equally important to maintain our passion for our art form and continue to feed our creativity in the long term.
Making the relation between aperture, shutter speed, and ISO visible is the idea behind the exposure triangle. I have seen many beautiful drawings of the exposure triangle, but what does this diagram really show? Let’s find out.
Camera cages aren’t just for filmmakers, and now that prices have come down, is it worth considering?
Is it possible that gear that costs you more can end up costing you less? Let’s explore.
What lengths would you go to in order to capture an amazing, unique perspective of one of the most photographed events in human history? Photographer Jon Carmichael shares with us the extraordinary story about how he captured an amazing aerial shot of 2017’s total solar eclipse.
Drones are a lot of fun, but they're made for fair weather. Winter weather is generally not the friendliest, but with a little thought and preparation, you can capture the beauty of winter landscapes from above.
If you are thinking about booking a workshop in the coming year, how do you choose what one to book, and what do you hope to get out of the workshop?
After 16 typhoons, three landslides, two major road closures, a frightening earthquake, and countless near-misses, the ocean finally exploded into life for daredevil surfers in Kyushu, south-west Japan. I was there to capture it all with my Canon EOS R5.
I am always looking to improve my work and increase my efficiency and my open mindedness to try new methods isn't always rewarded. However, applying one psychological principle for habit building has proven effective.
Stijn Verlinde is boarding a flight home to Belgium from a shoot in Las Vegas. “The one piece of advice I would give to anyone starting out is 'be dedicated'.” Stijn, who started out a few years ago with some basic gear has lived by that advice. He is constantly working and is revolutionizing dance music festival videos across the globe. His success is not elusive or down to luck – it’s the result of three very clear factors we can all apply.
After eight months of work I finally finished this project: an aerial tilt-shift hyperlapse of Miami. The idea was to produce something different. Time-lapse videos are very common these days and most drone operators can make a decent hyperlapse with their drones. In this video I wanted to replicate the out-of-focus look normally associated with macro photography to give a miniature effect of the city of Miami. Here is how I filmed this video and what I learned during the process.
There are seven common traps that many photographers fall into that rarely get spoken of. Does your work fall into any of these? Here’s how to spot them and escape their clutches.
As we consume social media, YouTube videos, and online articles, it is easy to think everyone else out there knows what they are doing. I made many mistakes early on in my landscape photography journey. I still make mistakes today! I’m going to share some of those early mistakes I made and things I wish I'd started doing sooner.
What do you do when you have a light that doesn't fit into the standard set of categories?
Most of my original articles are positive in nature and giving advice I've learned over the years. So to change it up, I'm going to list the 10 worst things about being a professional photographer.
Olympus has produced a beautiful series of videos on YouTube whereby its ambassadors visit some stunning locations, exploring Lapland, Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Namibia. What’s noticeable is that all of the Olympus Xplorers are men.
There are various reasons why the golden hours are the best times of day to shoot. But to just dismiss regular daylight hours out of hand is just silly. Because daylight can be beautiful too.
The news headlines have been rampant for the last 10 years: the camera industry is in free fall, spiraling into its death as a consumer electronics niche, no longer the doyen of conspicuous spenders around the globe. The numbers speak for themselves, peaking at camera sales of 120M units in 2010 before imploding to a grisly 15M in 2019. And that was before the definitive stab wound to the heart of COVID-19. Could it be that the humble interchangeable lens is the industry's salvation?
I remember when Facebook introduced their messenger service and how I mentally groaned at the idea of yet another way I’d have to keep up with correspondence. Heck, at times I even threw on my tinfoil hat and thought for sure that Facebook was spying on me through their messenger service. But, once I regained my composure and gave it a chance, I learned what many already knew: Facebook Messenger is quickly becoming the new email newsletter.
Most people don't like their photograph taken. So if, as a photographer, you've taken an image of someone and they don't like it, is it your fault?
In the latest installment of the “More Than Just Parks” series, filmmakers Will Pattiz and Jim Pattiz journey through Grand Teton National Park and capture breathtaking visuals of the natural vistas and wildlife. Their video series aims to document all 59 national parks through beautiful imagery in order to promote the protection and enjoyment of these lands. After you check out the new video (it does not disappoint), the Pattiz brothers share with Fstoppers some of their experiences and challenges working on “Grand Teton” and the video series altogether.
Landscape photography can be done anywhere and everywhere. That’s undeniable. However, there are certain places that would be best for when you are learning and standing out.
If you're an animal lover with pets, you'll know how hard losing a beloved furry member of your family can be. To some, they are like our children and they are a massive part of our lives for many years. Sadly, I lost two dogs due to old age in quick succession, and I was asked reluctantly to capture some last portraits of them before they crossed the rainbow bridge.
You're a professional photographer using cameras to make a living, and you suddenly end up with no cameras in your possession. What do you do?
I haven’t seen much on this topic, but a brief conversation with another photographer recently illuminated to me the fact that photographer anxiety is not at all uncommon. One of the reasons I believe it isn’t discussed a great deal is the general image of today’s top photographers.
Being a good photographer often means knowing where to position your lights to create the desired effect. However, the placement of your lights is only part of the equation; sometimes, it's just as important to set the color of your lights as well. In today's video, I'll show you three different lighting setups that also use color to alter the final images.
After spending a fair amount of time looking through the best images that the Fstoppers community has to offer, it's pretty easy to see what sets them apart. Not only are the shots themselves exceptional, but the post processing is world class (Julia Kuzmenko McKim and Michael Woloszynowicz, Photoshop extraordinaires, hold a few of our top spots). Photographers often take on their own post work either because of budget or wanting to maintain their full creative vision. Sometimes, even great photographers call on the retouching gods to lace their images with a bit of perfection. Marina Dean-Francis is one such retoucher (and photographer) with that incredible power.
Bad retouching is not the subject of this article. Sometimes we read articles that talk about banning retouching or rumors that some brands or companies are going to get it banned from their advertising. If we dig deeper into the very reasons for such a decision, we should ban many other processes involved in the crafting of commercial imagery.
I know, right? I too would have thought that more people would have common respect and courtesy for others, but apparently, I was wrong.
Contrast means so much more than the separation of light and dark. Understanding the different types of contrast can train our photographic eyes and improve our Images.
Update: The results are in. Patrick and I are once again competing to see who can photograph the same model best. It's up to you to decide.
If you've spent 10 minutes behind the camera, chances are someone has asked you, "What do I do with my hands?" For women, the possibilities range from graceful, balletic caresses to angular, fashion-driven poses. But, what do you with with men? These are my top three tips to always have an answer.
If a client has ever laughed at your quote, you know it’s hurtful and embarrassing. But there are ways to respond so that you can keep the client and get a price that’s good for you.
It's winter in the Northern hemisphere. Though it's only been winter for about week – at least if you go by the Old Farmer's Almanac, which I'm certain we all still read religiously – it's been cold for a while. For film photographers, summer is a happy season with enough light, with gorgeous colors, and little worry about malfunctioning equipment. If you're not hanging out in the wettest of jungles or the hottest of deserts, anyway. The cold is less kind to our equipment and our medium. Cameras are susceptible to malfunction, film becomes brittle.
Woodland photography, while rewarding, presents a unique set of challenges when it comes to shooting and bagging some banger shots. From intricate compositions to unpredictable lighting conditions, capturing the flow of forests requires skill, patience, and adaptability. For this article, I want to dive into the reasons why woodland photography is considered difficult and explore methods to overcome these obstacles.
Shooting in a photography studio can seem a bit daunting. A lot of photographers choose to shoot outdoors due to budget constraints and the fear of stepping into a studio. There are, however, some real benefits to shooting in a studio and they apply to both new and experienced photographers. If you have not had a chance to try shooting in a studio I highly recommend the experience.
When it comes to making great imagery, post-production is perhaps one of the most important steps that can make or break your image. Sure, you can master all elements to making an image, but if you forget post-production, you will be stuck miles behind someone who knows how to edit. In this article, we will discuss ways how to get better results when editing.
It is a photographers nightmare to see precious and expensive camera equipment fall. I have seen it happen quite often and most of the times a tripod was involved. Fortunately it never involved my equipment. Perhaps it is due to luck, but I believe ten important guidelines helped a lot.
The shutter drag/slow shutter trend has found its way into any niche in photography but particularly amongst wedding photography. But is the trend a clever use of camera techniques to add a different feeling or is it overrated?
