Behind The Scenes

With May 4 behind us, it brings us one day closer to the release of the upcoming "Star Wars" sequels later this year. Whether you are a fan of the series or not, it's going to be one of the biggest releases in history. In preparation for the launch, Annie Leibovitz had the chance to fly out to the set to photograph some of the original cast as well as the new members joining the franchise for Vanity Fair. Here is a behind-the-scenes look.

Photographer Joe McNally is out in the desert again. This time he is in a dry lake bed outside of Las Vegas with Cirque du Soleil performers Daria Shemiakina and Anna Melnikova. It’s a little unclear whether he is shooting this concept for a Gitzo campaign or for the artists but if you can take your eyes off the beautiful and amazingly talented athletes for a moment you’ll be able to gleam some of Joe’s desert setup. If you're like me and prefer simple kits and small intimate teams over large crews and trailers full of gear then you’ll find it comforting to see that a master like Joe keeps it pretty basic.

Behind The Glass recently spoke with Andy Baker, SVP/Group Creative Director at the National Geographic Channels, and he dispensed some incredibly valuable information on how to make sure clients see the work you are putting out. Andy is in charge of hiring many freelancers for National Geographics creative projects so this is the best inside scoop you can get.

The creation of a successful fashion image is often a team effort. Aside from the model and the photographer, the contributions of a talented creative team can elevate your fashion photography from good to great. In this article, we will review the key members of a creative team, and how you can cultivate a reliable crew.

The natural beauty contained within Enrique Pacheco’s latest time-lapse video “Reflections from Uyuni” is striking and remarkable. During South America’s rainy season, Pacheco journeyed through the Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flat in the world, down to the Bolivian desert capturing surreal landscapes of these flooded lands. Fstoppers is happy to share the Spanish cinematographer’s insight as to what the experience was like shooting in such surreal locations.

The guys over at Resource Magazine really outdid themselves with this one. Their spring 2015 issue featured a really awesome shoot by photographer Natalie Brasington and two of the stars from Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Melissa Fumero and Stephanie Beatriz. In this video we see the photographer work with these two exceptional actresses / comedians to come up with some genuinely funny work.

The battle between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao coming up on May 2nd is of epic proportions. Alexis Cuarezma had the opportunity to photograph both of these welterweight icons for an HBO press conference back in March. Cuarezma told me he only had roughly 30 seconds with each fighter, and he sure made the most of it!

Shooting in harsh sunlight is always a challenge. Recently I shot a test while out on a trip in Los Angeles. Due to scheduling we had to start shooting around 4 p.m., so we were dealing with hard sunlight. In this post we will look at five different setups you can use to shoot in and manipulate these less than ideal lighting conditions. In a previous post, I showed how to quickly scrim hard lighting. In this quick tutorial we will look five different ways to light while in the same environment and conditions in order to alter the look of our image.

Emilie Tournevache and Jason Greer go head-to-head again in the main challenge of "Photo Throwdown" Montreal. This time the pair are commissioned by a local brewery to shoot one of the fan favorite beers for an upcoming ad.

Vincent Laforet's latest AIR series blankets the City of Angels with a farewell series of shots before the project will head to Europe for the first time starting mid-May. As Laforet continues shifting cities (from the previously covered New York City, Las Vegas, and San Francisco projects), his aesthetic slowly changes in response to the varying challenges and differences between shooting each city. Fstoppers caught up with Laforet to discuss the ever-present surprises in shooting AIR and its transformation as it grows into a larger project supported by G-Technology and pre-orders for Laforet's "AIR" book.

With budget options for aerial video becoming more affordable, while the quality and abilities of the cameras they host getting better, I knew it was only a matter or time until I got my hands on such a system. Even though I was a little skeptical from the onset, I’m pleased to say that the DJI Inspire is a phenomenal drone/quadcopter unit for adding dramatic footage to video or still projects, even for first time users.

The creative genius that is Casey Neistat, for me, is next to none. The pure drive and passion this man has for what he does brings inspiration and motivation to my career and even my daily life. Late last week, Neistat decided to up and create his own viral video around the launch of the Apple Watch, and this is how he did it!

Benjamin Von Wong has never been one to turn down a challenge. He consistently creates mind-blowing images in some of the most desolate of places under extreme conditions. This recent venture for Huawei's new smartphone, the P8, is no exception!

Polish cinematographer Maciej Tomków’s “Treasures of Zakynthos” is a beautiful, award-winning time-lapse that highlights the titled Greek island. Going far beyond only filming for the final project, Tomków also took the time and care to create incredibly well-done behind-the-scenes videos that give a true sense of what production is like shooting epic time-lapses. If you’re passionate about photography or videography, you’re going to love these "Behind the Time-lapse" creations.

Zeke Kamm, a veteran filmmaker and creator of the Aviator Camera Gear, has spent the last year creating a series of informational videos designed to give aspiring filmmakers a great educational reference on the gear that is often used. The first two videos have dropped, with more to come.

If you’re a fan of both the “Game of Thrones” series and filmmaking, then today’s your lucky day as HBO has uploaded to the Internet behind-the-scenes footage from the Season 4 finale, “The Children.” This featurette from the Blu-ray boxset shows how the visual effects team came up with the wight’s design for the ambush scene and how they implemented a blend of CGI and live-action to get everything looking right for showtime.

Forever losing memory of that dreadful "Daredevil" movie starring Ben Affleck from 2003, we have found a new standard in superhero movies thanks to the partnership of Marvel and Netflix. Finding its place with beautifully shot shows like "House of Cards" and "Peaky Blinders," Netflix adds the masterpiece that is "Daredevil," starring Charlie Cox as the masked vigilante. Each scene matches a tone devoted to the comics, and one stood out as beyond epic making it a must see!

Update: Aaron Hernandez has now been found guilty of 1st degree murder. If you're a sports fan, you probably know the huge scandal unfolding right now surrounding Aaron Hernandez, the former NFL star who was recently released from the New England Patriots. He is now under arrest for a murder that happened on June 14, but last February he allegedly shot a man in the face, a man who survived and is now suing him for it. Thing is, the EXIF data on images recently released by Fstoppers contributor Blair Bunting show the photo shoot took place only a few hours after that alleged shooting. Freaky.

As photographers starting out, we quickly learn that shoots do not always go as planned. This fact seems to remain the constant even as we proceed through our careers, but we know we have to make the most out of what we are given or we risk not getting the job done! One such example happened to veteran car photographer William Stern when he was hired to shoot a new Corvette, but his strobes were dead on arrival. Learn how he overcame the obstacles and created some pretty sexy car shots.

If you've never heard of Casey Neistat then you have probably been living under a rock for the last few years as he has skyrocketed to stardom on YouTube. His fame comes from the creation of videos he posts to the online media source labeling them as "movies" or "films." Over the last two weeks, Neistat has created a new video every single day highlighting his incredibly interesting daily life in New York City. Here are the results as he ventures into the future of filmmaking and vlogging.

How do you tell a better, stronger, more compelling story through your photos or video work? How do you get booked for the work you want to do? Film makers and story tellers, Jared Levy and Justin Hamilton, will today share some secrets. Their new, beautiful, compelling mini-documentary entitled ‘Updating Philosophies’, helped them realize much of this, and we can all learn from their experiences.

I, like many photographers out there, don't have a studio, or don't have the money to rent out studio space every time I want to do a shoot. While shooting inside my house or garage is always an option, I found myself wanting to experiment more with ambient and natural light. Although I love shooting in a studio, a completely controlled environment, I learned shooting outside with backdrops was a great experience and taught me a lot about light.

With the untimely passing of Paul Walker midway through the production of Furious 7, now in theaters, it was questioned for months how they would replace the unfinished shots needed with the star. Many stories were circulated including the complete scrapping of the film, but with the help of CGI and Paul's brothers Cody and Caleb Walker they were able to finish the movie and fill in the gaps that Paul had not yet finished.

I will soon be releasing a start-to-finish retouching tutorial video here at Fstoppers on my most recent fashion editorial photoshoot. But before I do, I wanted to start warming our readers up with a complete gear list. In this article, I share with you everything I used on my shoot, the breakdown of costs, and where to find all the gear and extras: from the Profoto Strobe all the way down to the gaffer tape.

Photography isn't always the safest pursuit, especially when you delve into the world of documentary and travel photography. Shooting out in the field can be unpredictable, from the weather and terrain, to the wildlife and the local people. The more you push the extremes of your photography, oftentimes, the more risk you'll take — to both your gear, and yourself.

Matt Mangham, the director of photography over at fortyonetwenty – a San Diego production company – has recently created a personal photography series titled Analog where he finds and tells stories that explore the current state of film photography. Episode one of the series follows Southern California lifestyle photographer Brooks Sterling as he heads out to a surf shoot with his trusty Nikonos underwater camera.

Get ready to leave your jaw on the floor. Brain Farm Cinema, the production company that is one of the global leaders for capturing ultra high quality, pioneering action sports and documentary cinematic digital video, has done something no one else has. They have just released this stunning footage showing what happens when you strap a very expensive high speed cinema camera, to a very expensive drone, and fly around trying not to have a $250,000 mishap. The footage is glorious, and is .

GoPro has just released a behind-the-scenes look at how some of the insane stunts were pulled off in the upcoming film "Furious 7." You will see the caravan of support vehicles that was utilized for chase scenes as well as how they sent cars careening from cliffs complete with explosions.

PRO EDU just wrapped a week of shooting video in New Orleans, where they captured content of Dani Diamond teaching his approach and style to natural light portrait photography. This behind the scenes video takes you along for the ride and shows you the locations, models, and gear we got to use, and what it takes to make a video tutorial come to life.

Brothers Will Pattiz and Jim Pattiz are on a mission to spread greater awareness to the treasures that reside within America’s National Parks through visually stunning imagery. The first results of which are 3 short films, with a staggering 49 more in the works. I interviewed half of the Pattiz brothers, Will, and learned a bit more about how they got involved in such an ambitious undertaking.

Whether you're an intern about to work on set for the first time or a production veteran, acting well on set is the easiest way to move up in the world, learn more quickly and be asked back on more shoots. In this primer, we'll cover some simple do's and don'ts that should be able to get anyone through his or her first production.

On Fstoppers, we’ve long been fans of quality behind-the-scenes video counterparts to an interesting photo or video project. They are great marketing tools for us as creatives searching for more work, but they also help promote the primary business or product. This means we can justify pitching these videos as an add-on service to our clients.

In a dramatic scene from "Interstellar," the space crew was nearly overcome by a massive wave on a distant planet. Take a look behind the scenes to see the filmmakers and actor Wes Bentley discuss the lighting and composite work required to produce this daunting visual effect.

Vincent Laforet's famed "Air" series takes yet another turn from New York and Las Vegas, finally arriving in San Francisco. Fstoppers caught up with Laforet to discuss ever-shifting challenges throughout the project, G-Technology's recent support of the project which will bring it to Europe this summer, and the future of the project as a whole.

In the last few years, us earth-bound humans have been blessed with stunning still images and breathtaking timelapses that were taken in outerspace. Veteran astronaut-photographer Don Pettit was at the recent SXSW event, and spoke about the challenges of capturing images in space.