Fstoppers Original Articles

This week I spoke with professional motorsports photographer Drew Gibson to find out what 10 things he couldn't live without in his camera bag. With clients such as Aston Martin and Top Gear, Drew certainly knows his way around motorsports photography.

What do you do when all of your contracts for the year are canceled in a matter of weeks? Regardless of how well-drafted your contract is, do you consider damage to your reputation when you think about holding clients to dates and payment schedules?

It’s going on day number 587 of being confined to my home during social distancing, or something like that. And while this experience has turned life upside down, it has also reminded me of a thing or two.

If you are new to photography, you are probably realizing you can quickly sink a lot of money into this pursuit. Here are five things you should avoid wasting money on.

Recent updates to Lightroom Classic have brought a new level of control over local adjustments: Range Masks. Within this, the Color Range Mask allows you to be clumsy with your adjustment brushes while targeting very specific parts of your image. Here’s a detailed look at how it works.

I know a lot of us can't go outside right now to shoot panoramas due to quarantines and self-isolation, but perhaps you have some panoramic shots you took months back on a trip somewhere, buried away on a hard drive in the cupboard. Now's a good time to dust them off and get to work!

When it comes to DIY hacks, there are some absolute beauties out there that demonstrate the wonderfully creative imaginations that people have. It’s no different when it comes to photography, and these hacks I’m going to share with you today might be some of the most outrageous you’ve ever heard.

Fujifilm makes some of the most interesting and beloved cameras on the market, with a range of unique designs and features. Here are three of my favorite things about Fujifilm cameras.

The draw to lower your prices will be just as strong as the economy is weak, but while that may be good for new business volume, here’s why you should stay firm on existing business, even as rescheduling occurs. Don't know how to handle that? I also have a few tips for what to say to your clients to avoid falling into the trap of discounting services to the point of driving yourself further into debt.

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?

Life as we know it has suddenly changed, and most of our businesses have ground to a near stop. Many of us were left scrambling to figure out how to keep some sort of work coming in. But when you primarily photograph people, yet your state has issued stay-at-home orders, you really have to explore ways to carry on.

Nearly every modern camera has different metering modes to measure the amount of available light. It is possible to measure the average across the image, or just a part of the image. Do you use all of these metering modes? Or is it better to limit the use to only one?

Mary Bel is a single mom of 2 teenage kids, works full time, and finds a small glimpse of love, through self-portraiture.

Lightroom is a great piece of software, when it works. In my case, it's an essential piece of my workflow for photography. Unfortunately, it's got some major quirks. Some can be particularly frustrating to solve — here's 3 weird tricks that helped when I ran into an issue.

We are currently locked down in Puerto Rico, and it's literally illegal for us to go outside to take photos, but we found an old lesson we filmed in Alaska that was never released.

Landscape photography can become an addiction — including your photography gear. When is the right time to give in to the urge of trying something new — and what's important in the beginning?

When most think about maternity photography, the visual is light airy looks with flowers wrapping the soon to be mother. However there have been many changes in the way photographers are shooting this genre and many photographers want to break the stereotype.

I used to clean my cameras and lenses before every shoot. Now that washing my groceries has become common place, cleaning my camera gear has taken on new meaning. This isn’t likely to change any time soon – even if the world opens back up. How are you dealing with this?

It was the year of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, iTunes, the final Concorde flight, and the invasion of Iraq. George W. Bush was President, and Tony Blair Prime Minister, whilst Serena beat Venus at Wimbledon and the Devils won the Stanley Cup. In cinemas "Matrix Reloaded," "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Finding Nemo," and "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" first aired. But what happened during 2003 in the photographic world?

With the outlook of the coronavirus finally starting to look a little less ominous, people are beginning to think about life in a post-coronavirus world and reflect on how this time has impacted the world of photography.

So far, the year 2020 has been tumultuous, to say the least. And our country now faces a tough new chapter in the Coronavirus pandemic: the controversy over reopening non-essential businesses. You may find yourself asking: When should photographers return to work?

If like so many of us you find yourself at home with a lot of time on your hands, consider using that time to experiment with different art papers and print some of your favorite images from your hard drives.

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.

There are places that no one would have ever expected to see as empty but COVID-19 has really proven that even the busiest places on Earth can be turned into a ghost town.

Starting a new self-driven project doesn’t typically involve getting on a flight and throwing yourself into documenting a city undergoing violent civil unrest. I spoke to photojournalist David Butow to find out what led to his award-winning work covering protests in Hong Kong and how he operates when the teargas canisters start flying overhead.

A bit of brainstorming in an uncertain time for photographers.

When stuck at home, a portrait shooter turns the lens back on themselves.

Lately, I've been in somewhat of a slump. For a couple of months, I haven't shot very much other than products in my office studio.

Whether you are an owner of another company or someone with a nine-to-five job, you may want to start your own business offering photography or video services. This article will give you advice about how you should and should not name it.

This is not a negative piece on Canon, nor am I complaining about what Canon is or isn't doing. Now that I have that out of the way, let's get realistic about Canon cameras for a moment.

So a court recently decided that anyone can use your public Instagram images for free without having to notify you, much less pay you. Lots of photographers out there are outraged, but should you care?

For some people, the magnitude of this pandemic doesn't seem all too real. Unfortunately, these photos prove otherwise.

As creatives, we all love opportunities to work out creativity muscles and test how far we can push it. This was how the shoot “Inception” came about for photographer Astrid Obert.

As a photographer with a decent following on both YouTube and Instagram, you start to see certain patterns in the comments and direct messages. One question I see repeatedly is about camera settings. “What is the EXIF data of X or Y photo?”. I always wonder why people want that information.

When it comes to composition rules, we often use the rule of thirds to build up a composition. It is an easy way to bring a little bit of order in chaos. Another good habit is the use of lines. It can be used to strengthen your composition.

The Desert Island albums question is a favorite for many podcasts, with the premise altered slightly for the industry in question. So let's see what the answer is for our readers.

I have been sent a lot of messages and seen a lot of comments on this topic over the last year, and it is something I have shied away from tackling, but in this article I am going to delve into the taboo debate around internet photographers versus professional photographers.

Like many photographers, I was intrigued by the announcement of the Peak Design Travel Tripod. It was a Kickstarter offering, like many things Peak Design sells. It appeared to be a fresh look at what a travel tripod should be, so I plunked down my money. I opted for the carbon fiber model, as travel tripods are all about weight, and carbon fiber is lighter.

Are you daydreaming about traveling while on lockdown? Why not immerse yourself in the beauty of deserts and learn how to capture beautiful landscape images when we're allowed to travel the world once again?

Pentax is one of those loved brand names that inspires confidence and loyalty among its followers, a result of its engineering excellence and value for money. Yet, it has been largely absent from the camera market in recent years. Has it slipped into a commercial coma, and will life support be switched off shortly?

Minimalist photography by and large captures my imagination far more compared with traditional landscape photographs. I also I find that the less that’s in the frame, the more challenging it is to photograph. Go figure.

The coronavirus is making it incredibly difficult for photographers to make new content while the world is on lockdown. The good news is you already have a treasure trove of untapped potential buried in your homes, garages, and offices, and it's crying out to be posted online.

Fujifilm has revolutionized the medium format digital world. Their cameras came in at one-tenth of the cost of the existing players, and they want to make them even cheaper! I have worked with the GFX 50S for several months and own a GFX 50R, so when I had the chance to spend a couple of days with the GFX 100, I snapped it up. I'll share my experiences with it here.

COVID-19 has certainly turned the world upside down. One of the most unexpected effects, though, has been on the streets in normally bustling cities. Taking advantage of the quiet roads, wildlife is starting to creep back in and reclaim urban areas. Instagram is now just as likely to show us a badger ambling along the road in Florence, Italy, as it is to show us a civet meandering in Kerala, India.

Today, an open letter to the one who knows me best.

It's easy as a photographer to get caught up in having dozens of strobes and spending hours trying to get an image perfect in camera. It doesn't always have to be that hard, though, and in today's photography tutorial, I work through a mock advertisement campaign shot with just one strobe light.

The Canon R5 announcement has pricked up the ears of most of the industry for one reason or another. Already, however, we're seeing photographers claiming they might switch manufacturers for it. Is Canon domination on the horizon again?

This is undoubtedly a crazy time for photographers. There's no work, and we can't stretch our creative muscles as often as we're used to. How are the pros coping? Many pro photographers are using their photography skills to create something they'd never normally have time to do, and the results are remarkable.

Most people are spending so much time on social media during the world-wide lockdowns and it has been such a polarizing topic if marketing efforts should cease for such non-essential products.

With landscape and travel photography, you might only have one chance at the shot, regardless of the quality of light. In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through how I edited a blue hour shot of the Virgin River in Zion National Park, using ACDSee Photo Studio and targeted adjustments.