Fstoppers Original Articles

In the first article in this series, I discussed themes that would affect freelance photographers most: mixed-message branding, teaming up for video, and the opportunity cost. This second piece focuses on some of the issues that hit us photographers where it hurts most: profitability of video services, client satisfaction, and the sheer embarrassment of moving to the dark side!

Was Santa kind to you? Did he bring you that brand new camera you've been drooling over for months? Before you run out and start shooting with it, here are 10 things you should do.

The holiday season is a time when we put down our tools and use the downtime for important issues, like making wishes for the following year. Not me, though, my wish list hasn't changed since 2009. I keep getting what I don’t need while my seemingly obvious wishes are ignored.

As the turkey lies heavily in your belly, take a moment to sit back, relax, and read some of the best articles published on Fstoppers over the last year that didn’t quite get the attention they deserved.

The business of photography can sometimes be fairly cutthroat, but it can also be a community full of great people who care and support each other. This is precisely the experience that one photographer shares after losing everything to the recent wildfires in California.

Photographing the night sky can be fun, especially when there is a meteor shower. Every year, I try to capture the famous Perseids during my summer holiday in August. But in December, there is the Geminids, which also can be quite spectacular. This year, I had bad luck and a lot of luck at the same time.

The end of the year is a great time to take a look at the backups and file management you’re currently using. This article details some essential practices and habits to adopt for the new year to help keep your images safe.

In midst of a world of darkness, see how one photo ended up changing someone's life and shedding a much needed light on the world.

The winner has been announced. Congratulations to...

Many people have asked me over time why most of my headshots are taken in portrait orientation and so tight? I used to joke around, saying I shot that way because I am a Virgo and my style of shooting is very much “in the box”. I then realized I could simply sum up three main reasons for why I shoot in portrait.

How many times have you snapped a beautiful scene, only to be disappointed when your images don’t adequately represent the reality? Though the camera’s images sometimes fall short, have no fear, because bracketing is here.

Gear. Photographers go crazy over new lenses, lights, cameras, and all the ancillary parts that go with them. Many of us have added to our bags during this holiday season, and a few are holding off for those big purchases still. What if I told you that the prices of lenses, lights, and other equipment may be going up 25 percent or more in only a few months?

In this week's episode of "Photographing The World 4" Behind the Scenes, we move down to Patagonia to film the second half of this landscape photography tutorial.

When you're looking to print something that can really stand out and be unique, you may be wanting something more than a traditional matte or glossy paper. That's where Moenkopi Washi Unryu 55 comes in with a gorgeous texture and feel for your fine art prints.

Fujifilm is known for many things: great cameras at better prices, gorgeous film simulations, and having a lot of very similar but distinct cameras. Sometimes, it can be overwhelming about what is similar or different between models, so I thought I would put together this resource to break it down so you can be sure to get the best camera for your own personal use.

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.

Every now and then, it's nice to be reminded of how spoiled we are and how much information really lives inside our raw files. Whenever we capture a raw image, we have a plethora of information at our disposal. That's all well and good, but this one example really helps bring it home.

Over the last few years, something has become quite apparent: photographers are becoming reliant on social media. Some have achieved great success across the various social media platforms, but would they or you make it if social media as we know it suddenly ceased to exist?

As photographers, it is often incredibly simple to just stay in your safe lane and stick to photos. I know people that have been photographing for years and never once touched the video function on their DSLR. They are intimidated by it. But adding video to your marketable skills is far simpler than you may think, and with today’s rapidly changing landscape, it’s an incredible tool to add to your repertoire.

A few quick things to consider when making the shift from still photography to cinematography.

December can be a trying time for photographers running a business. As business slows down, discouragement can creep in. Luckily, however, January is around the corner, which means a new beginning and new goals for a new year.

Photography isn’t an all-or-nothing venture; you can be a part-time photographer and do quite well for yourself while maintaining a full-time job. Here’s how to do it.

The Instagram hustle is real, and it’s here to stay. Everyday photographers are using Instagram to get more coverage and be seen by their potential client pool. But with all the noise on social media, do you actually need a huge following on Instagram? I don’t think so, and here’s why.

Honestly, friends. We’re a stone’s throw away from 2019, so how is this sort of thing still happening? How are there still this many people willing to fork over hundreds of dollars to learn about going “from being a broke traveler to becoming a six figure [sic] earning travel blogger” and feel duped when it doesn't pan out?

As we come to the close of 2018, it's worthwhile spending some time reflecting on how your year has gone, either as a hobbyist or a professional.

Every photographer needs a good website; that's a given. What isn't so obvious is should you have a contact page? What about a photo on your bio? Is it best to have multiple galleries or everything on one landing page? Today Lee and I review a few websites to show you what does and doesn't work when displaying your work.

After reading an article about a wedding photographer who has taken over eight months to deliver photos — only doing so when a local news station got involved — I wondered how long is considered acceptable for image turnaround times.

I owe a lot of the success I’ve had in my career to the critique I’ve had from other photographers. Since specializing though, I’ve had to unlearn many of those lessons. Specializing has proven to me that critiques from photographers are often wrong.

There are so many ways to approach photography. We can search for artistic expression, money, Instagram fame, or any number of other things. Photographer Damari McBride believes we should all do a volunteer photo-journalistic project at least once. Let’s find out why.

The Sigma 40mm f/1.4 Art is such a ridiculous lens. Whenever I've thought about 40mm lenses I thought about the Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 pancake lens. I'm sure many of us have owned one of these lenses; it's actually pretty good. The tiny form factor, relatively fast autofocus speeds, and great image quality. Obviously, this lens was just too small for Sigma.

Skin retouching has always been one of those things that require a bunch of work in Photoshop or an expensive add-on program. But the new ON1 Photo RAW 2019 has streamlined the entire process.

I didn't study photography in any official capacity — not unless you count a quick Google whenever there’s a term I don’t understand. So naturally, I'm biased in the argument about whether studying photography is worth it. But in my opinion, the most valuable asset to a photographer is something that cannot be searched on the internet, nor can it be taught.

So it's finally happened:Phase One and Fujifilm have collaborated to bring film simulations to the newest version of Capture One! The film simulations in Capture One work with most of Fujifilm's cameras, except those with the X-Trans I and II sensor (The XPro 1, X-T1 etc.) but why should you care and how do you do it?

The impact of the final composited images depends more on the directing of the cute little model, than the image manipulation trickery. In this article I will share how I did both.

What would it be like to take a year long travel sabbatical to photograph the world? When I started in November, I expected it to look like my last five years of landscape photography trips — just back to back. After just two months of being location independent, it’s fair to say I was pretty far off the mark. Here are seven lessons I’ve learned.

Learn how one creative went from paddling in the American Southwest while growing up in Colorado to navigating and documenting Glen Canyon as a National Geographic Explorer.

Raised in a small farming community in Saskatchewan, Canada, Chad Carpenter found himself far from the idea of ever being a boudoir retoucher. Boudoir in a small conservative town can be considered taboo and Carpenter never imaged he would be leaving his job in order to work as the main retoucher for his wife's boudoir company.

Nude photography is a very complex subject, one that can be viewed from thousands and thousands of points of view. The final product can range from what most would consider straight-up porn to what many would think to be fine art. But why do people on both sides of the camera do it?

I have found a few different times in the past that some features of Adobe Bridge randomly go missing, namely the Photoshop menu.

The moderation of social media platforms has fallen under intense scrutiny in recent months. A recent study suggests that while some content on Instagram is removed almost as soon as it is reported, other violations are allowed to stay online indefinitely, raising difficult questions about how the company is dealing with a growing problem.

"Are you going to bring your camera?" I get asked this question any time I travel, and it creates an internal struggle every time. Chances are that I've probably already asked myself before anyone else gets the chance and fought with myself over the answer. Why does something as simple as taking my camera on a trip cause such internal strife?

The Christmas holiday brings to mind images of children in their home, opening the gifts Santa left the night before. One pictures the entire family in their pajamas sitting around the living room as wrapping paper flies and the children’s faces light up with surprise. However, for too many children, this image is replaced with the hard, cold reality of celebrating Christmas in a hospital. But The Heart Project along with Santa are out to change those images for a few lucky children.

Although some of us either slept through the night or couldn't see the stars due to weather, a lot of photographers set up their rigs and captured the spectacle known as the Geminids Meteor Shower. Check out some of the highlights we found around the web.

In the vast majority of my photos, I aim for one specific thing during editing.

A lot of landscape photographers prefer a maximum depth of field when photographing wide landscapes. They love to use small apertures in combination ultra-wide angle lenses, making use of hyper focal distances or even focus stacking to achieve their goal. But not many have ever considered using a camera with a crop sensor for that goal.

Wedding photography has changed vastly over the years. And as much as there is a growing potential for newcomers, there is also an amassing amount of challenges that one has to encounter. It is wise to have a clear understanding of the industry before taking the plunge.

Have you ever been casually scrolling through your social media feeds, not really paying attention when suddenly an image arrests you? If you’re anything like me, this is a daily occurrence and one of the reasons to use social media. I can’t say the same thing for video.

Every well-rounded photographer needs to be able to tell a story in three images or less. This is particularly important when shooting editorial content for online publications and in print magazines. On today's assignment, I explore three different focal lengths to capture a well-rounded story of a local musician.

Photoshop is an amazing, complex tool. When it works, everything is great. When something isn’t working or even worse, works intermittently, nothing is worse. Recently, in dealing with a problem I had, I learned an essential troubleshooting tip, which I’ll definitely make use of in the future.

Photographing a thing for what it is, is the premise of photography — Fox Talbot called it "nature's pencil." It's therefore natural for us to see an object and visually record it. So how do we go about recording something that we can't see?