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The Most Important Thing I Look for in a Camera

As I await the arrival of my new Nikon D850, I’ve spent more than my fair share of time over the past couple of months pouring over specs, B&H user comments, Fstoppers reviews, and YouTube unboxings. I’ve read all there is to read about my new camera, as well as its closest competitors, to get the best advice on the ideal use of my hard-earned money. Of course, one person's answer as to why I definitely should buy a certain camera is the same as another person's answer as to why I definitely should not buy the exact same camera. So which camera is right for me? And at the risk of sounding self-absorbed, the emphasis is on the word “me.”

Adventure Photographer Passionate About Career

Almost every adventure and landscape photographer wants to travel the world. Capturing new landscapes and experiences in new, epic locations is a trait ingrained in outdoor photographers. But how does one balance the need for personal exploration, the need to quench a creative thirst, and the opportunity to be there for one's family?

How to Transform Your Existing Lighting for Less Than $20

Sometimes the locations we have to work with are a little played out or uninspiring. By using gels and haze to our advantage you really can transform a space dramatically. The great thing about these techniques is that they can be done for very little money.

Get Creative With Seamless Paper

Do you ever shoot with seamless paper as the backdrop? If so, how do you use it? Don’t use it just as a plain background when you can get creative with it. If you're not sure what else you can do with seamless paper, here are 10 creative uses to give you some ideas.

Must-See Dramatization of Sexual Harassment During a Photoshoot

We've all heard the horror stories by now, reports of sexual harassment in the industry continue to flood our news feeds daily, but have you ever actually seen it? This extremely well-made dramatization based on a real-life incident is a must see.
Capturing Unique Angles in Tight Spaces

Adding interesting angles to your shots is one way to get creative; however, when the camera is in tight spaces, it's not always easy to do so. Nonetheless, there are usually several different ways to achieve that unique shot.

Feel Your Photography

Sure, I dig gear reviews, image processing tutorials, and seeing what others are doing with photography just as much as the next person, but today I want to talk about something a little less tangible yet possibly the most important thing when it comes to landscape photography: how does the location feel?

How to Retouch Newborn Photography in Photoshop

If you’ve ever wondered how photographers can create such dreamy images of newborns, this is the perfect tutorial to watch. Newborn photography is an art that can require a great deal of patience and creativity. The post-processing workflow is no different. There are several steps to take when editing a newborn photo well and this tutorial does a great job of explaining them all.

The Joys and Benefits of Shooting Landscapes Near Home

If you look at enough landscape photography, it might be easy to become convinced that it's a genre centered around exotic locales and epic scenery. And while it certainly doesn't hurt to have access to beautiful places, there's a lot you can shoot right where you live. This great video shows you how much you can accomplish just shooting near your home.

Five Easy Ways to Maintain Your Photography Gear

When I’m on location shooting photography or video, each shoot requires a different set of equipment than the last. While it’s easy (and tempting) to sling your bags and cases back into storage at the end of the day, it’s important to put some steps in place to ensure all of your equipment is accounted for and well maintained for future use. Here is Jay P. Morgan from The Slanted Lens to explain more.

Fstoppers Interviews Commercial Photographer Erik Almas On Becoming Successful

Erik Almas is an inspiration to many of us not only with the work he does as a commercial photographer but also as a person who shares the struggles and successes he had in his career. No doubt that he works with many companies and brands we can only dream of, but in a recent interview he confessed that despite that there wasn't a moment in his life when he could say he "finally made it." It is exciting to hear what his measure for success really was.

How to Be Prepared for the Wildlife Shot of a Lifetime

Some of the best photographic opportunities happen when you least expect them. In this video from John E. Marriott, he shares valuable tips on how to always be prepared for the surprise wildlife photo of a lifetime.

Tether Tools Releases a Variety of USB-C Cables for All Your New Gear Needs

Tether Tools is well known for its variety of wired and wireless products that make tethering easier and safer for your equipment. They have consistently been able to create products that solve problems that most photographers experience. Today with the release of their newest cables, the TetherPro USB-C products, they solve what has been a huge frustration for many early USB-C adopters.

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?

You Have Two Days Left to Save a Boatload on Your 2017 Taxes With These Tips

Everywhere I turn, I am hearing about the upcoming tax code change and who it will benefit. Until January 1, my eyes are solely on 2017 income and what advantages photographers can utilize to reduce their tax burden this year. Time is of the essence for what you can do this year to save money before the ball drops on December 31 at midnight.

A More Nuanced Three-Light Setup for Studio Portraits

The beauty of a studio space is the ability to carefully craft light exactly as you'd like it to be, giving you the opportunity to get as nuanced as you would like. In this video, you'll move beyond some of the more common three-light setups and see a very precise design and the portraits that were shot with it.

Photographing Infants and Toddlers: Working With Short Attention Spans

Some time earlier this year, I had this idea to try and find my own approach to portraiture solely for children. It was a multi-faceted idea which came to me pretty much at random. I was reviewing some of my recent portrait work when I realized that I had only ever worked with a couple of children as my subjects throughout my entire running career as a photographer. I figured out a long time ago that family portraits really just weren't something I was interested in, but that didn't really have anything to do with my actual choice of subjects. Just because I didn't want to shoot family portraits didn't necessarily mean that I couldn't work with kids.

Six Ways to Make Money on YouTube

Even though Instagram seems to be the more interesting platform for photographers, YouTube is not one to forget. It offers a ton of possibilities to showcase our work and even make money out of it. If part of your business is education, Google’s video service should definitely be part of your marketing and business plan. Matti from TravelFeels gives us a few tips on how to turn it from a hobby to a money making platform.

Twenty Helpful Tips for More Professional Drone Footage

Drones can enable you to get some pretty epic footage that you wouldn't dream of with a normal camera, but they also require an entirely separate skill set as well as a different way of visualizing your shots. This helpful video will give you 20 tips for creating more professional-looking drone footage.

Inside Look at the Work of Master Photographer Herb Ritts

You've heard the name. Listed among the accolades as one of the greats, Herb Ritts' ability to seamlessly blend together both environment and model set him apart from his peers. A mastery over lines, shapes, and all things pertaining to light that trademarked his work as timeless. He had an eye for capturing a moment and creative intuition for creating one. This documentary gives us a glimpse into the man behind the work. In a sense it is even more intimate then we could've hoped, as it is told by those who were closest to him.

How Many Megapixels Do You Need?

How many pixels do you need in an image? Sounds a simple enough question and the inexorable megapixel race doesn't seem to have ended, in much the same way that the PC processor race marched on unabated for several decades.

Get Free Unlimited Google Drive Storage

By now, you should already know the importance of backing up your data, and while storage (even cloud storage) isn't all that expensive these days it's still an expense. So here is my holiday gift to you: unlimited Google Drive storage for free. See for yourself if you qualify.

What a Lifelong Photographer Has to Say About What Makes a True Photographer

The vast proliferation of cameraphones and even the digital age itself have created an explosion in the sheer number of pictures taken and shared with the world, and for many, that has blurred the line of where snapshots end and photography begins. This interesting video segment features one photographer as he gives his opinion on what a photographer is in the age of inescapable and omnipresent images.