Most Bookmarked Articles

Below are the most bookmarked articles by our members.

Log in or register to add your own bookmarks.

Using ACDSee Pro for iOS and Mobile Sync to Edit and Manage Photos

In a market saturated with mobile editing apps, ACD System's combo of ACDSee Pro and Mobile Sync for iOS stands out as one of the best options for editing your photos on the go with features ranging from quirky filters to advanced editing functionality that can provide professional results. In this article, we will be taking a look at how you can leverage ACDSee's mobile tools as part of your editing workflow.

Keep Persevering: Why Persistence Pays Off in Photography

If you're engaged in a genre like landscape photography, the simple truth is that no matter how prepared you are, there are things outside your control that may hamper your ability to get good images. This video is a great reminder that a bit of hard work and perseverance will pay off in the end.

How to Take Pictures of Strangers

I love street photography. I love to get to a new place and through exploring and taking photos of what I see is the ultimate pleasure and satisfaction when traveling. Eric Floberg takes us on to the streets to show how he photographs strangers, and gives some tips on how he gets great shots. You don't need to be in a big city to go around shooting. It's actually the small towns and cities that make for interesting characters in spaces many people have seen.

How to Set Better, More Attainable Creative Goals for Yourself

So, we're a couple weeks into the new year, which is normally about the time we all start to give up on those resolutions we made. That can happen for any number of reasons, most often the goals simply being too lofty or grandiose to be reasonably worked toward. This great video examines how to set better goals to help yourself develop more as a creative.

Canon Italy Responds and the Locardi Landscape Saga Continues

This week I wrote an article pointing out that Canon Italy (among other Canon EU pages and Instagram accounts) had posted a composite landscape that had a large amount of the image stolen from Elia Locardi. There was an enormous response to this and so I decided to dig for more information and between my research, the community, and Locardi himself, there's rather a lot more to unpack.

How to Create Mystery and Tell a Story With Minimalism in Landscape Photography

Minimalism is a nuanced animal: if you really nail it, the clarity and sheer power of your expression is palpable, whereas if you miss your mark, the photo looks empty and devoid of meaning. The tough part is that the line between these two is razor thin. This helpful video will discuss what makes a successful minimalistic landscape photograph.

Stop Ignoring Sound and Learn How to Create Amazing Audio for Your Video

UK-based filmmaker, and DSLRguide creator, Simon Cade, walks us through the importance of good audio in our videos. Cade also shows us the gear he uses, how he gets his samples, and how he puts it all together in post. But the biggest take away for me was seeing the amount of creativity, and exploration that actually goes into sound creation.

How to Stabilize Footage Without Using Premiere's Warp Stabilizer

After getting into the video world, you quickly realize that being able to stabilize your footage when needed can make a significant impact on the result and quality of your video. While you can buy an expensive gimbal or rely on a not always so practical Steadicam, there is also the possibility of improving the stabilization in post-production. The tools included in most video editing apps aren’t exactly perfect as it will give you a weird effect and make you feel sick. What if I told you there is another way that works better than the warp stabilizer VFX filter and gives your footage a cool effect?

This Is Our Favorite Lav Mic System

 Recording clean audio is extremely important but can also be infuriating. Finally, after seven years, we've found a system that seems to work... most of the time. 

The Importance of Having Brand Ambassadors for Consistent Bookings

Marketing yourself as a photographer can not only be time consuming but a drain on your creativity. The time that is scheduled for marketing could be going towards more sessions or creative projects. The benefits of having a team of brand ambassadors will get you booked months ahead and get you back behind the camera. 

Three Creative Ways to Turn Exposure Into Cash

If you've been in the creative field for any length of time, you've surely been approached by someone and been offered the opportunity to work in exchange for “exposure.” In almost every case the query is met with a response that sounds something like, “I can't pay my bills with exposure,” or a clever meme breaking down the investment needed in order to take images in the first place. Before you lose any more sleep about it, let me share with you three ways to turn these types of “opportunities” into cash.

A Simple and Effective Technique for Removing Dark Circles Under Eyes

If you shoot almost any genre involving portraits of people, one of the most fundamental retouching techniques you'll want to know is how to convincingly remove dark circles from under eyes. This video will show you a quick, easy, and effective method for doing just that using Photoshop. 

My Best Investment as a Photographer

As I set up to shoot an assignment last week, I found myself in a casual conversation with the owner of the location. He was also a photographer, and as I opened my Pelican case and began to set up my strobes, he commented on the fact that he owned the same one. He then lamented the fact that this particular kit was no longer made by the manufacturer. It had been discontinued and replaced by a new line of photographic debutants. I had no idea.

You Will Never Be a Professional Photographer

If you're a photographer with thin skin, I would advise against watching Jared Polin's brutally honest breakdown on why you'll "never make it as a photographer." But then again, if you're a photographer with thin skin, you're probably not going to make it as a photographer. Watch the video to hear Polin's five reasons why you won't succeed in the industry,, and continue reading for five of my own.

A Visual Explanation of White Balance

While our brains are conveniently set to auto white balance and our eyes view a properly adjusted color temperature, our cameras, try as they may, are not quite as advanced and sometimes rely on us to provide assistance to them. For our image color and tone to be as accurate as possible, we have to command control of this setting ourselves. 

How to Find Your Landscape Photography Style

One of the toughest personal self-searching processes a photographer will go through is defining their style. Many of us will latch on to a composition or a color palette, sometimes by accident, that isn't really defining but is a part of our learning process as photographers. Eventually we learn what we like or value in a photograph and as we create, this becomes our style. But, can you define your style and explain it to someone else or even yourself?

New DJI Osmo Mobile 2 Only $129

DJI have just released an update to the mobile version of their stellar Osmo system. The updates are pretty sweet, but not as sweet as the new price.

A Tutorial on Retouching a Portrait of Kate Moss

With the new year upon us, I found it insightful to reflect on tutorials that not only taught skills, but focused on heightening your attention to detail. Join the Breed has been a wealth of knowledge in regards to editing techniques as well as ins and outs to becoming a successful photographer. This video in particular shows an in-depth breakdown of how to recreate this well-known Kate Moss photo.

A Creative Video Exposes the Disturbing Link Between Advertising and Women’s Bodies [NSFW]

Sex sells. This basic advertising trick could be the number one rule of any marketing textbook. Unfortunately, as uninspiring as it seems, associating brands with provocative half-naked bodies draws people’s attention. Pushing this logic to the extreme, French Musician Hiérophante created a short stop-motion video showing naked women’s bodies being covered by brand logos. The result leaves you with an uncomfortable feeling of watching some sort of livestock branding.

The Secret to Blending Photos in Photoshop

In my early days with Photoshop, there were many timex when I tediously removed background from text by "magic-wanding" it out. If you've ever been inexperienced enough to do this, then you know that you then have to isolate the background that remained within the closed off section of each letter, like the inside of an "o." I've come a long way since then, but apparently, not long enough. Because when I saw LA-based digital artist, best-selling author, and founder of PhotoshopCAFE, Colin Smith, blend out the white background to isolate the black text and vice versa using only a few clicks, my $^@%*! jaw dropped and my face met palm.

Fstoppers Awards the Best Photography Gear of 2017

Photography gear keeps getting better and better, with 2017 bringing us some great products. The Fstoppers team has been working on a list of our favorite gear of the past year, and we're happy to present it now. Here's the top photography gear of 2017.

Build Rapport on Your Photography Shoot With the Language of Music

At the onset of a portrait shoot it is important to come packing the usual garden variety of a few safe jokes to lighten the mood, some fail-proof poses to keep things moving, and direction for the model to play off of. It is easy to forget, with all the headspace that pours into reflecting the images from inside of our heads, towards reality, that when the time comes to start working with our subject, we are not just setting a tone visually, but also emotionally. One simple way personally for me to connect and as well bring additional personality out of a model is via the universal power of music, which has long played a predominant role in my life.

How to Get Discounted or Even Free Camera Gear

Photography can become very expensive, especially if you like collecting a lot of gear. So who wouldn’t like to receive discounts, or even better, free gear? I have spent a good amount of money on my gear and I would've loved to save some money on those purchases. So how do you go about saving money?