Fstoppers Original Articles

Reviewing our old photographic work can be a little daunting. As styles change and skills improve, we start to notice what was once a hero image is now sorely lacking in quality and perhaps even embarrassing to look at. I propose that it is a good thing if you hate your old photographs because it could be a sign that your taste is improving. Having a refined visual taste is arguably one of the most important factors to developing as a photographer. It guides all our creative and technical decisions, but it is also one of the most elusive qualities to develop.

I’ve just read a comment from a photographer who said it’s time to stop shooting in black and white. He claimed we don’t see the world in black and white and it was something only done in the past due to the limitations at the time and it’s time to move on. Here’s a number of reasons why I think it’s critical to shoot black and white from time to time, and how it can help nurture your photographic eye.

Chris Field shot this amazing time-lapse video, but that’s not all he did; he also generously shared with us the BTS video, which is a dream come true for anyone who wants to see how others do it. Chris spent three months of shooting and over 80GB of images and video. As you may realize, putting all that footage together is a process on its own. On his website, Chris shares with readers all of the ups & downs of such an elaborate time-lapse shoot. It is absolutely mind boggling all that went into creating this video. Chris spoke to Fstoppers about the process in great detail.

Everyone has heard the saying, "The eyes are the window to the soul." There is a lot of truth to this when it comes to photographs. The first thing many of us look at when we see an image are the eyes of the subject. In this article I'm going to teach you how to enhance eyes using the brush tool in Lightroom.

Remember that time you planned a business and it worked out perfectly? Neither do I. Starting a business, any business, is a daunting task. The reality however is that most of us overcomplicate the starting process and do some severe damage to our business before it ever takes off. Let’s put things into a bit of perspective.

New Zealand photographer Tom Hollow has an interesting photo series titled "Love Lost." Tom took an old couch, put a bride on it, set it on fire, and took pictures of the whole thing. Tom initially just thought it would be a fun idea for a shoot. It wasn't until after the session he realized he could do something more with the images.

Any photographer who wants their work to stand out has to offer something unique to the viewer. The following list contains ideas, poses and editing techniques that probably aren't too original and should be avoided. If I had known this when I started photography, I probably would have found a signature look sooner.

For a while, things looked pretty bleak for the instant-film-loving community. Films that were once mainstays of the film shooter's arsenal (like Fuji FP-3000B) were discontinued and instant camera equipment production slowed to a crawl. Fortunately for us though, like other formats and kinds of film, instant film photography is seeing an unprecedented resurgence (both in niche, hard core film communities and popular culture). This guide is for you, the digital film guy, who's been sitting on the fence and wants to see what all the buzz is about. In this article I teamed up with two of the coolest instant-film-shooting photographers today, Robert Timko and Sandy Phimester.

Some of our readers have been sharp to figure it out, but until now we haven’t formally announced that Fstoppers can now be found on Instagram (@officialfstoppers). Follow us for Photo of the Day selections from our impressive community, images from the talented photographers who write for Fstoppers, and some behind-the-scenes shots of what we’re working on. Leave a link to your favorite portfolio image within our community and we’ll pick some to ‘gram over the next few days.

If you’re interested in getting big budget looks in your low budget indie film, then you should be very familiar with the Shanks FX channel on YouTube. If you’re not, you should get acquainted with it… like now! Joe Schenkenberg aka Joey Shanks is the man with the know-how when it comes to creating Hollywood effects out of simple household items. He teamed up with PBS Digital Studios to bring you quality behind-the-scenes content online and has recently partnered with Red Giant to explain how he created a black hole effect very similar looking to the one in the recent movie Interstellar – all captured in-camera.

While sharing drinks with a friend, he started inquiring as to how I’m able to supplement my income with video editing projects. The more we talked, the more I realized that a lot of people have the ability and skill to do it, but they don’t understand the small things that can make or break being successful at it. In this post, I’ll share what I’ve learned about being a freelance editor.

The human expression is, for me, the most powerful form of communication we have. We all remember the looks our moms and dads gave us when we did something wrong, or the look on the face of the person we love when we proposed. These looks are just a few of the powerful ways we can communicate with no words, and it’s this that is the holy grail in portrait photography, whether it be stills or video.

Once you have decided who you’re going to sell to and have worked on your portfolio enough to be confident with it, as discussed in Chapter 1, it’s time to get started in the game of marketing. Like any other part of the process, selling your product or service is something that requires planning. Marketing plans for big companies can get really complex, sometimes they can be extensive as a 100 page document, but I’ll try to break it down to the basics. In this chapter you will learn how to think with a marketing mindset, focusing on objectives and organizing tasks that will eventually fulfill your goal.

For years I found myself making excuses as to why I wasn't creating the type of images that I so desperately wanted to make. I didn't have the gear, I didn't have a model, I didn't have access to a studio. At the end of the day, it came down to one simple thing, I never tried.

As an art director, I get hundreds of emails per week from photographers offering their services. When I received an email from Michael Ray, I was truly touched by the images he shot for Flashes of Hope, an organization where photographers go in and do pro-bono shoots at the local Children's hospital. These shots are gifted to the children and their families. I love the part about being able to do something nice for others as a photographer. Not too many professions have the potential of doing that. It is up to each and every one of us to decide what we want to do with this gift we were given. I spoke with Michael about this project, and here is what he said...

"Looking for professional makeup artists to work on set for ASOS. This is unpaid, but will create opportunities for exposure and portfolio development" - it took no more than two minutes to locate a commercial casting call for an unpaid makeup artist online. Money will be made from product sales, so why isn’t the team also being financially compensated?

Being a family photographer is hard. Ask anyone who does it or who has tried it. But it's also one of the most rewarding fields of photography - in my opinion at least. Family photos are a treasure in most families. They showcase who your loved ones were at the time they were taken, they show off your kids' personalities, and most importantly, they bring to life memories of loved ones that have passed. These tips I've explained within will help elevate your family photography to a new level.

6 months ago Dylan Patrick flew to Charleston SC for a week to film our latest tutorial; The Cinematic Headshot. As always, editing this 6 hour tutorial was much more difficult than we expect but I'm excited to announce that it is finally available.

At some point of our career, we find ourselves wandering whether we should continue to develop our skills or channel our efforts into broadening our network to capture potential clients. The answer is more complex than just choosing one or the other. But to be able to compare both concepts I think it’s important to understand them well. They are not really the most ambiguous words, yet some ideas gain different connotations according to the situation in which they are used.

I have always associated a romance with being a specialist photographer, whether this be in the area of weddings, fashion, automotive or dreamy tintype portraits. You are valued as a master in your field and people want you for the style that you create. On the other hand, there are positives in working in multiple industries as a photographer. You rarely get bored due to the variety of work you do, and it’s fun to learn new skills and adapting to various situations. You might have to manage different “identities” but that suits you fine because you love the challenge conquering different fields.

What’s wrong with our industry that we are so quick to belittle formal education? Whenever the topic of an art degree arises, there’s an angry mob that amasses, collectively chanting how “useless” a degree is in photography and that the best school to learn from is the University of Hard Knocks. To really understand this issue, we have to first step back and look at the value of art and why photographers are so polarized on the term. Then, we have to recognize that “art school graduates” are not the real problem; it’s the dismissive attitudes toward them that are.

It seems as if the film edit is getting more popular every day. A lot of beginner photographers out there will do anything to achieve this look. The easiest way to do that is to buy presets but I want to show you how to create the look yourself. I believe once you understand how to create the look yourself you can begin to find your own style. I know too many photographers that take an image, slap a preset on it, and call it good. All the editing on these images was done in Lightroom 5.

As a writer for Fstoppers I hear about a lot of personal projects. This past weekend, my attention was grabbed when I read about how Denver-based photographer Dylan Burr undertook a project to create wet plate collodion photographs. It wasn't his image making process that stood out to me though- it was his subject matter. Read on to see the images Dylan created, but also hear how he is hoping to impact the community through his efforts.

If you are much like me, you are getting a new phone roughly every other phone generation. This was leading to an abundance of old hardware collecting dust in a box, so I finally decided that I would put them to use. These tips may not bring back that new phone excitement, but they could perpetuate their usefulness and save them from the island of misfit gadgets.

The holiday season is right around the corner, and for many photographers it’s one of the most lucrative times for print sales. If you’re selling framed prints of your work, it’s imperative that you package your products correctly in order save yourself a lot of money from damages, and to avoid having disappointed customers. Let’s take a look at how to do packaging the right way and earn yourself repeat customers that will come back year after year.

Freelance photographer is a term widely used inside our craft. Yet what does it truly mean to be a freelancer? And more importantly, what aspects should you take in consideration in order to make freelance photography work to your advantage?

There are many ways we can find new inspirations and ideas. From researching new work, doing workshops or experimenting with new techniques, most of us have these regular go to methods of getting ourselves out of a photographic funk. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi proposes that thinking more like the opposite gender can expand our creativity and essentially give us more scope in the ways we express ourselves in our work.

Many people will avoid picking up a camera because they think they don’t have an eye for photography. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t take talent to capture a solid portrait. It takes skill and the motivation necessary to master those skills. Portrait photography can be dealt with as an equation; with just a set of rules and guidelines, it’s possible to take jaw dropping, natural light portraits tomorrow. Here are seven steps to master portraits using natural light only.

I absolutely love seeing the photos I have taken hanging up in my client's house. However, I dread the time it takes to get together and try to sell large prints or canvases as I know I could be using the time for other things. Finally, I've found a solution that I am super excited about that will make the experience for both my clients and I enjoyable, quick and easy. The end result is a win-win for both of us. Swift Galleries is about to change everything!

When I first attempted to retouch the photographs I took in 2006, I had no idea what I needed to do and how. Today there are thousands of video tutorials on the web on how to retouch, but nobody explains what it is that needs to be retouched to make a female face look more youthful, healthy and beautiful. It took me some time to figure out what the common problems that I needed to remove from my subjects' faces and bodies were, and what I had to alter to make them look more attractive.

As a wedding photographer I understand the difficulties of running a business, shooting weddings on weekends and editing photos during the week. It can really eat up a lot of time in the schedule and if you let it, it can take priority over your family life. That's why as creatives we have to set limits on ourselves and make sure we always put family first. One photographer that is the perfect example of how to put family first is Vancouver wedding photographer, Matt Kennedy.

What's up everyone! My name is Pye and I am one of the educators for FStoppers Bahamas! This is my first article here on FStoppers, and I am really proud to be a part of such a great community of photographers. We all know dodging/burning is a fantastic tool when it comes to retouching. But maybe a less common usage, it is also a fantastic tool to enhance muscle definition. Since most of the time we think of Photoshop when we think of dodging/burning and retouch, we are going to stick within Lightroom just to illustrate how powerful and efficient the Adjustment Brush tool can really be.

The use of Photoshop by companies is changing and it’s indicative of a much deeper trend. Earlier his year, American Eagle stopped retouching the models in their 'Aerie' lingerie shoots. They claim that the 9% sales increase last quarter is directly related to this position. This is an unprecedented commercial statement, and has wide implications for photographers, videographers and post production specialists everywhere.

Although we’re often reminded of the importance of constantly shooting and developing our skills as photographers, is there a point where too often shooting actually becomes detrimental? Through observation and personal experience I’ve come to the conclusion that there is indeed a case to be made for shooting less if you’re hoping to properly develop your photography business.

I’ll never forget the email; I was on a plane somewhere over the Florida coast, on my way to the Bahamas for the Fstoppers Workshops 2014. Just before I left the States, I had signed on with the artist consulting firm Wonderful Machine. The first step in preparation for a press release was to tear my website apart. The critique was tough and they slashed it hard… here I am in one of the most beautiful places in the world, feeling a truck load of anxiety. For years, I had thought I had a clean and straight to the point website, but it turns out I needed to strip it down even more.

Contouring has become a popular technique that women use to give shape and enhance facial structure by using makeup. Since most men aren’t willing to use makeup during portrait shoots, I’ve devised a way for photographers to achieve the same results simply by using lighting techniques.

I’m a big proponent of outsourcing editing in my wedding photography business. There’s probably nothing more painful to me than the thought of trudging through 800-1000 images from each wedding I photograph. However, when it comes to my favorite few images from each job, the ones that I’ll share on social media or use to update my website, I take a dive into Lightroom and Photoshop and enjoy every second of it.

We've seen them at every company event...the dreaded photo booth! Well there are photo booths...and then there are HOLY CRAP WHAT IS THAT? Photo booths! This year, to close out PhotoPlus Expo, Resource Magazine with Scheimpflüg & Bathhouse Studio held their 6th annual Flügoween party and the Fstoppers team were there in force to see and play with one of the most epic Bullet-time Photo setups since The Matrix!

Why is it so hard to hire someone to fill a creative position? At this point I'm afraid that art school might be making most graduates unemployable egomaniacs. I know this because I used to be one.

As photographers, we are all subject to the “I saw this photo on Pinterest” or “I love this photo of my friend” requests. Below are three tips on how to handle these requests without killing your creativity and keeping your client happy.

I spent this last year doing a photographic cleanse, It’s kind of like spring cleaning. You focus on what you need most in your photography, in terms of lighting, editing and education, and you throw everything else out. It was not only extremely important for my growth both professionally and personally, but also for my sanity.

Taking portraits at wide apertures and consistently nailing focus is is not an easy task. In fact, it’s a skill that must be practiced in order to master it. However, an aspect not often discussed in regards to capturing sharp images has nothing to do with the lens used or the f-stop. Here is the ultimate guide to capturing tack sharp images at wide apertures.

I think we can all agree that catch lights in the eyes of our subjects can enhance a photo tremendously. Each modifier we pick renders a different reflection in the eyes of our subject and can give the image a completely different feel. I recently discovered a way to build virtually any shape modifier that can be used in a mobile photo booth or permanent installment in your studio. And it's amazing!

Excuse me a moment while I try and reassemble my brain, it’s kind of just been blown by the video reel I’m about to talk about. While I collect my senses, feel free to join me as I showcase this piece of artistic genius and the talent of the young lady who put it together. This might just be the most insane, joyous 50 second video you’ve ever seen.

Watching this magical time-lapse video - of the Annual Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta shot by Knate Myers - I couldn't wipe the silly smile off my face. The stunning colors and compositions captivate. If you ask me, Knate completely succeeded in providing the best seats in the house for anyone who didn’t get to attend this magnificent event. I am certainly adding it to my bucket-list of things to do and see.

At the most basic level, photographers seem to be in two camps when it comes to image file types. There are those who care about the look of their images and shoot with big RAW files and those who don’t and use the smaller JPEG files.

RAW files offer a tremendous level of control over noise, tonality and color; a hearty file that can cope with the demands of our creativity.

Whether we're a photographer, graphic designer, painter, musician or dancer... throughout our career, we’ll slam right into a rock solid wall and it some cases it can be so traumatizing that some of us may never recover. It’s not really a question of if; it’s a question of when and if you’re a new artist then brace yourself, there will come a time when things just don’t click. I’ll be honest; I hit that wall with writing for Fstoppers this past month. Writing 1,000 words once a week is no easy feat, I figure it's only appropriate to write about this very topic as I sit here in recovery from a creative collapse.

When we hear about eye whitening our thoughts immediately turn to disturbing cases of retouching gone bad where subjects look more like dolls than humans. While YouTube is littered with videos on the subject, a good chunk of them take a brute force approach to the problem. They either crank up the luminosity or reduce the saturation; both of which will produce unnatural and sometimes frightening results.

We have all been there at one point or another. The thought of picking up a camera and having to take more pictures seems less than appealing. Shooting the same thing over and over, dealing with frustrating clients, or simply not getting the results you had hoped for. All these things can take a toll on your mental state and will eventually translate into feelings of disdain towards your passion. It might feel like you need a miracle to find your passion again, but here are four things which have worked for me, and maybe they can work for you as well!

It's that time of year! No, not Halloween...It's Photography Trade Show & Convention Season! There are many expo's though out the year, but the two biggest would have to be Emerald Expo's Wedding & Portrait Photography International (WPPI) in Feb/March, and PhotoPlus Expo (PPE) in October. The latter starting today! So for those of you returning for another round at the convention center, and especially the first-time attendees, I've put together a short list of tips to make the most of your time and help you survive the convention-gauntlet!