Both long exposures and panoramas are fantastic ways to create eye-catching photos that encourage viewers to stop and really examine every detail in the frame. Combining them takes a bit of careful technique, but the results can be well worth the effort. This great video will show you how to about shooting them and the sort of results you can expect from the process.
Although I've never been a high-end retoucher or digital artist, today, I'm going to play one. I've got my hands on a Wacom Cintiq touchscreen tablet/monitor and the Loupedeck CT, a customizable input device.
Believe it or not, headshot cropping and orientation is a controversial topic in the photography community. In this article and the accompanying video, I give you five reasons to crop horizontally and take just a bit off the top of the head.
When it comes to portraits, perhaps no feature is more important than the eyes, and as such, giving them a little extra attention in the post-processing stage can help you take your images to the next level. This great video tutorial will show you how to edit eyes using only Lightroom.
Whether you are a portrait, wedding, or family photographer, one of the most useful skills you can learn is how to balance ambient light and flash. If you would like to improve your portraiture work, check out this helpful video that will show you a method for balancing flash and ambient light to create more balanced and complete portraits.
When it comes to portrait photography, soft light is often the method of choice, as it provides flattering renderings suitable for a wide range of styles and subjects. If you are new to working with artificial lighting and interested in learning more, check out this helpful video tutorial that will show you how to create elegant soft light for portrait work.
Corporate events are perhaps my favorite thing to photograph these days. There are so many different shots I can create at a conference that I am never bored. Networking opportunities are in abundance at any given corporate affair, and most of the people in the room are working for a company that has the budget to hire me to shoot for them.
Modern cameras and lenses offer remarkably good image quality — levels that were only dreamed of even just a decade ago. And with those increased capabilities have come increased standards and expectations. But at this point, how much image quality do we really need? This interesting video poses the question and examines a scenario where getting the shot might take precedence.
A good composition is a tricky and often elusive thing, particularly since it is not as easily objectively codified as something like the right camera settings for a given scene or situation. As such, any heuristic tricks to go about finding a compelling composition are worth knowing. This excellent video tutorial details one such trick and why it can be really useful.
When it comes to portrait photography, learning to work with artificial lighting will make you far more versatile and enable creative opportunities that simply would not be possible otherwise. If that is something you would like to start diving into, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you the fundamentals and have you ready to tackle your first shoot.
Pretty much every genre of photography seeks sharp images, but in landscape work, sharpness is often of a particular importance. If you would like to take nice, crisp photos, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will give you seven useful tips to help you take sharper landscape photos.
It is the dream of many to become a full-time YouTuber or content creator, particularly in photography. It is, however, an arduous pursuit with a low success rate. This full-time YouTuber goes through his top 10 mistakes and how you can avoid them.
Once upon a time, we would learn a skill, practice it, hone it, and that would be our main area of expertise and way of making a living. In 2022, however, it would seem that mastering your camera, actually taking photos, editing them, and then applying that skill might not be everything you need to be a successful photographer in today's climate.
Almost every landscape photo requires some degree of editing to create a finished product. Lightroom is far more powerful than it used to be and offers some impressively capable and efficient tools for editing your images. This excellent video tutorial will show you five tips that will make your Lightroom landscape image editing both easier and better.
Fstoppers has teamed up with Infinite Tools to bring you the best retouching plugins online. These tools are relevant for every type of photographer and will dramatically speed up and improve any retouching workflow. We are offering them at 20% off in the Fstoppers Store through July 5th.
Backlit portraits can be a fantastic way to add drama and visual interest to a photo, but they also require some special considerations to get the effect you want and to maintain the best possible image quality. If you would like to improve your backlit portraits, check out this great video tutorial that features five excellent tips to help you get your photos just right.
We all want to improve our photography and get recognition for our work. However, there are two big distractions that we need to push aside to achieve success in our art. The first obstacle is the largest. Usually hailed as the key to photographic success, it has more disadvantages than helpful attributes.
Viltrox has been manufacturing thirrd party lenses for some time now and has been hitting the mark with build and quality at a very reasonable price range. Their latest release, the 13mm f/1.4 is aimed at photographers and vloggers.
Lightroom is more powerful than ever before, and it is entirely possible to edit a landscape photo from start to finish without having to switch over to Photoshop. If you would like to learn how to do so and pick up some useful tips along the way, check out this great video tutorial that will show you one such edit done entirely within Lightroom.
Depth of field is one of the most fundamental and powerful tools a photographer has at their disposal, and as such, mastering it is crucial to taking full technical and creative control of your images. If you are new to photography and wondering about how depth of field works, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you everything you need to know.
Being new to photography can be a bit daunting, as you have to build a variety of technical and creative skills simultaneously in order to create competent and compelling images. This helpful video tutorial discusses five common mistakes new photographers make and what you can do to fix them or avoid them altogether in the first place.
When you think of landscape photography, you probably think of using a wide angle lens, but a telephoto lens can be an equally effective tool. Nonetheless, it comes with its own set of challenges. One such aspect is the increased difficulty in getting sharp shots. This helpful video tutorial will show you how to use a telephoto lens for landscape photography and give you some useful tips for getting sharp photos when doing so.
You’ve received an enquiry from a potential new client and you’re looking forward to booking them in. Here are five questions to ask on your discovery call to make sure you understand what the client needs and that you can quote for the job accurately.
Lightroom recently rolled out a new and far more powerful masking panel, and if you have not taken the time to incorporate it into your workflow yet, you are missing out on some highly useful tools. One particular function, Intersect, is a bit strange and not necessarily intuitive, but once you get the hang of it, it enables quick and powerful edits, and this excellent video tutorial will show you everything you need to know about it.
There are two general philosophies in landscape photography: stay light on your feet and ready to move from scene to scene, or plan ahead, plant that tripod in the ground, and wait for the scene to develop in front of them until it is just right. While both are equally valid approaches, there is something to be said for being willing to adopt either as needed, and this excellent video discusses why.
There are lots of reasons why beginner photographer might avoid using strobe lighting, but a common answer is that they don't like the look. While I know exactly what they mean, there doesn't have to be a "look" at all.
The 4th of July is just about here, and that means fireworks will soon be filling the skies all around the United States. They make for fantastic photography subjects, and they can be a great technical challenge as well. If you are thinking of heading out to capture some images, check out this helpful video tutorial that will give you a range of tips to ensure you come home with the best possible shots.
You probably have one or more camera bags for transporting your camera equipment. A shoulder bag, a backpack, perhaps a trolley. Do you place your camera in your bag with or without a lens attached? Or does it depend on how you use your camera bag?
Being new to photography can be a bit daunting, requiring you to tackle a variety of technical and creative ideas and approaches simultaneously. However, there is one lesson every new photographer should learn as soon as possible, as it will save them a lot of money and headache down the road and help them become better faster. This important video discusses the topic and how to get yourself on the right track.
Hasselblad's X1D and X1D II 50C medium format mirrorless cameras have achieved some popularity for being incredibly portable while still offering extremely high levels of image quality. An updated body is expected fairly soon, and it looks like Hasselblad is planning some major upgrades to the camera.
The film look continues to gain popularity, and whether you use it as part of your personal aesthetic or for clients, knowing how to create it from digital images is a good skill to have. This helpful video tutorial will show you everything you need to know to create the look using nothing but Lightroom.
A park is a fantastic place to shoot portraits, full of interesting architecture, compelling light, and eye-catching foliage. If you would like to explore your creativity a bit, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you five easy concepts for shooting portraits in a park.
Life as an artist is a never-ending series of peaks and valleys full of both joy and inevitable disappointment. But adding a bit of routine into a life seemingly devoid of it can make you both a better photographer and a happier human being.
Yousuf Karsh is widely regarded as one of the greatest portrait photographers of the twentieth century. In this essay, I discuss five ways that studying Karsh's life and photos can impact our own work as portrait artists.
If you've used Instagram in the past six months, you might have noticed the slow decline of photography on your feed. Reels are the main culprit of that change, but there's more to it than you might think.
Only if you buried your head for the last few months would you have missed the enthusiasm for the OM-1. The new camera from the company previously known as Olympus caused quite a stir. How is it faring in the real world? I've owned the OM-1 for a little over three months. Am I still as enthusiastic about it as I was when I first bought it?
Another magnetic filter holder system option for landscape photographers. Let’s take a look at how this can improve your shooting process out in the field.
Modern cameras are quite capable and powerful machines, but none of them are perfect. Every camera has quirks that we find annoying or would like to change. This interesting video discusses five annoying camera quirks in current cameras.
There used to be no contest in image quality between supertelephoto prime and zoom lenses. Zooms simply could not keep pace with primes, and if you wanted to create professional-level photos or work in demanding conditions, you had no choice but to shell out for a top-shelf prime. Supertelephoto zoom lenses have made tremendous progress in the last few years, however. So, do you still need to buy those ultra-expensive primes? This great video discusses the topic.
Take a nice subject, awesome conditions, build up a pleasing composition, and you will get a great photograph. But there is still something important missing for getting it to world class. Therefore, we have to go even one step further.
Canon Canada just launched Canon Creator Lab as part of what I'm calling its new community-building mandate. A lot of corporations these days talk about building community, about creating a space to encourage growth. Most of it seems to be lip service at best. Here, however, we're seeing Canon Canada invest time and money into a free hub designed to help photographers get better while actually connecting with each other. Being a Canadian, I'm proud that Canon's Canadian operation is looking to lead the global photography community into this space.
Canon Canada has opened applications for the second installment of its groundbreaking FUTURES program, geared to developing emerging photographers between 18 and 24. How often do we see major corporations make a point of nurturing, not just sharing five-minute videos, but actually committed to nurturing?
For more than 30 years, I tried different camera settings for my landscape photography. With the settings I use today, I don’t only feel more flexible, but they allow me to nail each of my photographs technically.
Mastering portraiture involves more than knowing which lens to use to ensure your photograph does not show unflattering perspective distortion. It is not enough that you understand where to place strobes to create dramatic lighting. As portrait photographer Mark Mann explains in this excellent video, it is important that you make a personal connection with your subject.
The high-key portrait is a classic look that has retained its popularity over many decades, but it requires good knowledge of lighting to execute it properly. If you are new to portrait lighting and wondering how to create the high-key look, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you everything you need to know.
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 2022, 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.
Tripods have been sturdy companions for photographers all over the world. A good tripod can help you produce images that are simply not possible when shooting handheld. Unfortunately, tripods can be a bit of a pain to carry around, especially if they're any good. This is why, in many cases, a monopod ends up being a better option.
Portrait photography is a popular but challenging genre that requires you to be at the top of your game in handling a camera, creating lighting setups, post-processing, posing, interacting with a subject, and more. If you are new to the genre and looking to improve, check out this great video tutorial that offers some helpful advice sure to improve your images.
Landscape photography allows for a wide range of lenses to be used to realize your creative vision, meaning photographers have a lot of choices available to them. If you are wondering which is right for your work, check out this fantastic video that features an experienced landscape photographer discussing three excellent options that will cover just about all of your needs without breaking bank.
One of the most fundamental skills every portrait photographer should learn is using flash for lighting their images. However, flash is not just for working in a studio. This helpful video tutorial will show you how to use flash for outdoor portrait photography.
