Fstoppers Original Articles

We’ve all been there – you have multiple lenses and sometimes there’s one or two that you hardly ever use.

Photojournalists usually pack a pretty standard kit in the field. A full frame camera is usually a must, along with the requisite 24-70mm and 70-200mm lenses that can cover 90 percent of situations a photographer might encounter. For some of that other 10 percent, a really good idea might be to pack a 360 camera in the bag as well.

Canon’s EF 50mm f/1.8 has near-legendary status as the definitive nifty fifty — i.e., a small, lightweight, affordable, fast 50mm prime lens. The news that its RF counterpart is going to be almost as cheap will be great news for owners of Canon mirrorless full frame cameras.

There are many misconceptions or myths in landscape photography; here are seven worth forgetting about.

So, you want to change the color of something specific in a photo and you don't have Photoshop? Here's how to do it in ACDSee's Photo Studio.

Every time I think about how much 2020 has fundamentally changed my life and my profession, I am reminded that, while dramatic, this is hardly the only period of change I’ve experienced in the business. So today, I thought I’d have a look back at just some of the changes that have impacted my own career since I first started making money as a professional photographer.

Serious and pro photographers can't help but notice that AI is creeping into our craft. Maybe "creeping in" is not the correct metaphor. It's actually rushing toward just about every software application we use. Luminar was an early adopter, and their upcoming Luminar AI, well, it has AI in its name.

I was recently in L.A. filming a new project with Mike Kelley, and I decided to sneak one of my photos into a critique we did together.

Photographers frequently buy and sell gear, whether that is because they like to try different bodies and lenses or because they would like to upgrade their equipment. So, what is the proper way to sell your old gear? I think I have found the best place on the internet.

Nikon’s recent announcement of the Z 7 II and Z6 II, as well as their lens roadmap, paint an interesting picture for the future of the Z system. At a time when every other manufacturer offers increasingly expensive and exotic lenses and cameras, they’re going against the grain. Is that enough in today’s market?

One of the simplest questions that could be asked of photography, but surprisingly difficult to answer. What is the type of photograph you most enjoy taking?

There will always be a first time. Choosing the right camera for your purpose will help you with your first steps in photography. Here are some suggestions.

Photoshop's latest release included such things as sky replacement tools and the ability to change the expression of faces. This is in line with what other software platforms offer. Are these features helping or hindering creativity and the future of photography?

Adobe just released the latest version of Lightroom that removes the split toning module and replaces it with an updated version, "Color Grading." In this article and video, I quickly go over how to use the new tool, and I even edit a few photos along the way!

Now that sky replacement has become more effective and ubiquitous in photo-editing software, more and more photographers may feel tempted to give it a try, but is it a valid photographic tool or just a lazy way to save a subpar image?

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 2020, 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.

Photo Rumors recently covered the latest BCN report on the state of the mirrorless market in Japan, which showed a resurgent Canon growing at the expense of Sony, with Nikon trailing a distant third. However, the report only outlines what is happening in the Japanese camera market and only for current sales. How important is the Japanese market?

Our local high school had an idea to get senior photos taken for the young adults that have been working their whole life to achieve something, only to have it turn into an afterthought overshadowed by a serious global pandemic.

I first came across the compressed cRAW files when I reviewed the Canon EOS M50 a few years ago. The new Canon mirrorless cameras also have cRAW available. This compressed raw file will enable you to save even more images on one memory card without loss of quality.

GuruShots, host of "The World’s Greatest Photo Game,” has released yet another fantastic challenge. Participants were invited to submit their best photos of "Incredible Architecture." The challenge received thousands of entries and millions of votes. Check out the three winners of the challenge as well as hundreds of top rated images below.

One of photography's most weathered tropes is "the best camera is the one you have with you," and yet, online courses, tutorials, and articles on mobile phone photography are met with a barrage of abuse. The dismissal of using camera phones as "not real photography" is just gatekeeping in our industry.

Whether you’re a film photographer who also shoots digital or a film photographer exclusively, a life after film is on my mind and should be on yours as well.

Pentax recently announced the K-3 Mark III, the third iteration of their flagship APS-C camera, which reinforces their stance that their future (and as they argue, the future of photography) is in DSLRs, not mirrorless cameras. With an industry increasingly focused on mirrorless cameras, why is Pentax going against the grain?

This year has taken a number of different tolls on people. For us photographers and videographers, one casualty for many has been creativity. Here are five ways you can keep creative during this testing period.

The faster you can edit a photograph in Lightroom, the more time you have to go back out and shoot. The catch is keeping your edits high quality while also saving time, so I'll show you some essential Lightroom shortcuts that you can use next time you go to edit.

In this day and time, virtual conferences are a necessary adaptation to the in-person experiences we all know and love. But even so, do people really like them?

Black and white and Minimalism is a great style that can be applicable to any genre in photography. It is also a great discipline to practice, especially in landscape photography by maximizing the use of long exposures.

How many pictures do you average per day while traveling? I often shoot between 500 and 600 frames. That’s one picture every two waking, semi-caffeinated minutes. On our last trip, however, I hardly took any. And the results were enlightening.

The cameras in phones have come a long way, but can they stack up against the best of the best? When they both have over 100 megapixels, do they compare?

Today, I’d like to review, well, reviews. Since gear and gear reviews are something all of us, including myself, spend a bit too much time obsessing over, it’s worth taking a step back to think about what they do and do not have to offer.

The Sony system is blessed with an abundance of thirdparty manufacturers making excellent glass. Many of them are available for a discount right now, so here’s a short roundup of the best autofocus prime lenses available on the FE mount, from wide to telephoto.

If you’ve ever shot a landscape and been frustrated that the sky wasn’t epic enough for you, today’s software has you covered. But what if you need to swap out the foreground, too? This incredible new photo-editing package could dramatically improve your photography.

Whether you're just starting out or are a professional photographer, knowing how to properly use a tone curve is one of the most important editing techniques you can learn. In this video and article I'll show you everything you need to get started in less than 5 minutes.

This year has been tough in every aspect, no question about it. Has your love for photography also suffered through this?

We all hate to admit it, but the most popular photo and video camera in the world is the iPhone. The iPhone 12 Pro was just released, and I decided to put its video cameras to the test by comparing them to the Sony a7S III. The phone did surprisingly well.

Finding the perfect camera system is not that easy. Before you make a large and long-lasting investment, you should do proper research and critically analyze your own needs. Step by step, you will get closer to the best possible system for yourself.

Competition is one of the main causes of innovation, but camera innovations have been stalled out for years, and I think Sony could be to blame.

It sounds like clickbait, but follow me for a minute. I know what you're thinking: "Oh yes, I do. I back up my catalog and my photos!" That's good, but it may not be good enough.

Lightroom totally dominates the realm of digital asset management (DAM) — a solution for everything, it fits the mold of most photographic workflows, however the bitter pill to swallow can be the treacle-like performance and that monthly subscription. Is it time for Adobe to start again?

There's a new change happening in the photography world and you may not even be aware of it. Let's see how it'll pan out and learn how it might affect you.

Some shots are great without a story, some are great and tell a story, but occasionally, the story couldn't be told in one image. Which shot in your portfolio has the best story behind it, and what's the story?

Back in March, Globe Newswire reported that the global facemask market is expected to reach $21.2 billion in sales by 2026. For many photographers, this represents an opportunity to try out a new revenue stream as other sources of income dry up. So, how do you get started selling face masks featuring your photos? We'll take a look at a few vendors on the market.

Photographer Sana Ullah got the idea for her “Places You’ll Pray” photo project while shopping with her sister, who ducked into a fitting room once to pray as part of her Muslim faith, and so, it’s fitting that the first photo she took for the series several years ago was in a shopping mall.

My MacBook Pro started to lag, get buggy, and slow down when editing photos and videos. So, I decided to do something about it, and with just a few budget tweaks, it now runs like new again.

Drug and alcohol addiction often go hand in hand with art. Painting has Van Gogh and Pollock, poetry has Coleridge and Ginsburg, music has The Beatles and Jim Morrison, and novels have Burroughs and Welsh. I was, however, surprised by how little information I could find about photographers’ substance abuse. Where are the in-depth books about photographers that were inspired or crushed by their addictions?

Most modern cameras have the option of highlight tone priority available. It will improve gradation in bright areas of the image. But does that function has any use when you are shooting raw images? Let’s find out.

Ever wonder how photographers capture what looks like a single moment in time, but you're not quite sure how they got it all in one shot? Join me for another day of adventuring in the San Juan mountains to find out.

Most gear chatter online tends to center around the endless and ultimately useless debate about which camera bodies are the best on the market and will transform you overnight into a photographic superhero combining the skills of Ansel Adams, Annie Leibovitz, and James Nachtwey into one without ever having to practice or learn your craft. But with all the focus on sensors and capture devices, we often pay far too little attention to each image's first port of entry: the lens.

So you say that you’re a landscape photographer and the appeal of new gear affects you like every other photographer? I’ve got just the suggestion for you.

Artistic style is what separates you from other artists of the same medium. But, how do you develop it?