A Comparison of Lighting Modifiers
There seems to be a new modifier coming out of China every other week; in this video, I go over the key lighting modifiers I use as a food photographer.
There seems to be a new modifier coming out of China every other week; in this video, I go over the key lighting modifiers I use as a food photographer.
When you start out in photography there’s a few things seasoned photographers will tell every amateur like read your camera manual or always have extra SD cards with you. Some of the advice is concrete, but one I always had a problem with is never shoot for free.
When analyzing a photo, do you care more about how a photo was taken, or why the elements in the photo are there? If you’re trying to grow as a photographer, you might need to stop asking how things are done, and why they are done.
In the world of professional photography, the value of our work doesn’t always line up with our client’s budgets. But as tempting as it is to take the money and run, holding firm can often be more profitable in the end.
It seems each recent camera announcement has brought a higher megapixel count — including Sony's latest 60mp+ release. But whether you're shooting on 24mp APS-C, 50mp full frame, or 100mp medium format, you might not be getting all the resolution you paid for. Check out this list for 3 clarity-robbing problems and their fixes.
What do oversize truck tailpipes, paleolithic sculpture, and the vibrancy slider have in common? And what might they have to do with helping us create more engaging photographs? Why do some abstract paintings move you and others don't? Why should we react to an abstract work of art at all?
Most of my original articles are positive in nature and giving advice I've learned over the years. So to change it up, I'm going to list the 10 worst things about being a professional photographer.
A lack of light is the enemy of any photographer and, in certain situations, it may force you to bump your ISO far higher than you're comfortable with. The resulting visual noise in the image can render it unusable. Unless you follow this tutorial from PiXimperfect, that is.
One of the most important skills any wedding photographer needs is the ability to quickly and effectively use artificial light in both a practical and creative way, whether it's to supplement or supply the light for a scene. This great video will show you a few techniques, tips, and tricks for using off-camera flash in wedding scenarios.
As a photographer, personal projects are important to always keep trying out new things and practicing one’s craft while helping to maintain the passion in the art.
Let's face it, photographers can be really annoying people. While some of their actions are just mildly tiresome, other things they do are downright harmful to our profession. Are you guilty of any of these wrongdoings?
Creating quality selections is often what sets apart convincing edits in Photoshop from poorly done ones, which often means spending plenty of time perfecting yours. But there are ways to shave time off your selection work.
When I first saw this photo series, I don't know what resonated with me more: the images or the stories that accompany them. I reached out to photographer Waleed Shah to discuss the poignant project.
It doesn't matter if you're a professional or amateur, there are certain items which will make your life as a photographer so much easier. Do you have everything on this list?
Printing your photos is one of the best things any photographer can do for themselves. There are lots of reasons why you should be printing and it gets brought up here on Fstoppers all the time.
Did you ever want to get into the prestigious and often lucrative world of selling your photos as fine art limited edition prints, but didn't know where to start? In this video, learn how you can get started in the fine art world of photography and start making money with your photography today.
Architectural photography is an exacting discipline. Consequently, small mistakes can make a large impact on your body of work. In this article, I cover five common mistakes that I’ve observed in architectural photography.
Lightroom's Dehaze tool can be a lifesaver in certain cases, bringing back photos that you might not have been able to recover otherwise. But that doesn't mean you should always use it whenever you see a bit of fog or haze in your photos. This great video shows you the ins and outs of the tool and discusses the best and worst cases for its usage.
What's the most important thing to master in photography? I asked this question to ten photographers and eight gave the same answer: composition. More than gear or technical know-how, understanding composition and avoiding common errors that many people make will help you improve your photography more than anything else.
Reports are coming in from Madrid of price hikes of 1000% for rooms in the Spanish capital. The cause for this is two English soccer clubs competing in the finals of the Champions League, arguably one of the world’s most watched sporting events. With all eyes on travel options to Spain, I thought I’d share some of my photography related highlights there.
Just like life, there's always something new to learn in Photoshop. Nathaniel Dodson from Tutvid shows a number of tricks I didn't know that will make my post-processing faster.
A nice portrait is made up of four elements: composition, lighting, post-processing, and subject. The first three are easy to learn about and improve on your own, but after annoying your friends and family and getting sick of Facebook and Instagram, how do you improve?
Since starting landscape photography over 30 years ago, getting great composition has been the holy grail. Finding a subject or great light is often a matter of timing and patience, but getting the perfect composition is the art in photography.
With popular software in a perpetual state of change, it's always useful to keep an eye out for videos which offer tips and advice for things you may have missed.
There are an infinite amount of photography-related items you can spend your hard-earned cash on. Sometimes, it's the small and insignificant purchases that can really save the day.
So you upgraded to a DSLR to take your photography to the next level and you now feel a strong urge to step into the big bad world of professional photography. You have the kit lenses, but you know they won’t cut it. Let me introduce you to the must-have kit lens of professional photographers.
Every camera is standard set to AWB, meaning "Auto White Balance". AWB uses 18% gray as a reference, to correct any color cast in the image. But the auto white balance is a dumb algorithm that cannot interpret a scenery. Perhaps it would be best to set the white balance yourself, instead of relying on the camera.
Thomas Heaton is a travel and landscape photographer based in Northeast England. The photographer took to his YouTube channel with an audience of over 300,000 subscribers to share a tutorial on how to improve your landscape photography using Lightroom.
Posing is not just something that randomly occurs on shoots, it's an intentional effort put forth by both the photographer and the model. This is never more true than in the case of boudoir shoots, which is why it is important to have some good, foolproof poses handy.
Peter Hurley has grown into a household name among photographers over the past 15 years while working from his studio in New York City. With a personality that keeps his clients on their toes and a vocabulary that is ever evolving, the leader of the Headshot Crew has some tips for you that may help you grow even faster with your photographic journey.
Focus stacking is a technique mainly used by landscape and advertising photographers. It can be done manually focusing at different points, or you can use a camera like Nikon D850 to get it done automatically in-camera.
There a lots of differences between professionals and hobbyists at anything, but there's one thing that crops up time and again, and it appears to be particularly true of those in creative professions.
As I've written about recently, I'm pushing incremental changes that provide compound interest. One of the most effective of which I have been tweaking for some time, and it has paid off.
Are you unlocking all the potential that curves adjustment layers, blend-if options, and layer masks hold for you in Photoshop? Watch this info-packed video, and you’ll be able to use them to shape the light into something spectacular.
Tripods and light stands are found in virtually all photographer's kit bags. While most of these stands already do an excellent job, a few low-cost modifications can make them infinitely more versatile.
The color grading is one of the most memorable parts of any photographer's images, and it's a stylistic choice that we often admire in those photographers we look up to. This awesome tutorial will show you a clever technique for copying the color grading from one image to another.
The modern culture of producing massive amounts of content at breakneck speed can lead us to falling into the trap of trying to force shots before they've developed. This great video shares five reasons why having a bit of patience can lead to better images.
You've probably seen videos and articles that discuss common mistakes photographers tend to make. This great video outlines five less often discussed (though still common) mistakes and how you can correct them to improve your photography work.
When Per Florian Appelgren first got the brief from L'Officiel Indonesia, he was excited as shooting styled beauty is his strong suit and he absolutely loved doing it. Being able to work with a top-tier model such as Sara from GirlsClub Management Berlin was also a huge plus point.
Opinions are like cameras: everybody’s got one, and it should be upgraded once in a while. If you love giving feedback on photography, great, but make sure you're doing it in a way that’s right for the giver as well as the receiver.
Are you committing these editing mistakes, and potentially ruining your portraits?
2018 is old news, but that doesn’t mean we’re quite done learning from it. As you reconsider some of those New Year's resolutions, it’s important to revisit the previous year to celebrate milestones and shed some light on meaningful goals in 2019.
Does winter have you climbing the walls looking for something to do? Do you need some new or more interesting backgrounds for your food or product photography? Well then perhaps this DIY project is just the thing for you.
Controlling the brightness of the background is one of the most fundamental techniques when it comes to artificial lighting. This helpful video will show you how to create a white background even when you're only shooting with one light.
The day has finally come. Capture One users can finally use the XRite ColorChecker to create camera profiles and get proper true-to-life colors in our photos. The necessity for a proper color workflow is imperative for anything you plan on printing, or duplicating in any way (Especially when working with brands).
Sometimes, you miss focus slightly, but the expression and everything else are there, and the client ends up picking that portrait. What do you do in that case? Try replacing the eyes.
To stand out in a sea of photographers, you're going to need to think outside the box a little. Thankfully, some of the most effective strategies can cost little to no money.
When you're new to artificial lighting, it can all seem a bit overwhelming. This helpful video will give you a very quick introduction and some helpful tips.
Posing can be a particularly hard thing for many photographers to master and is often one of the last skills they acquire. This helpful video will give you five go-to poses you can use when working with men as well as some helpful tips.
As we start 2019, it's a great time to take a look at your photography skills and habits and start prioritizing where you'd like to improve in the coming year. This great video will give you seven tips and ideas to think about trying this year.