Recent Lifestyle Photography Articles

The Power of Bracketing Your Images (Even in The Ocean)

Do you think bracketing is necessary in today's world, where cameras are so sophisticated and post-production software so advanced? Whether you're a beginner or an experienced photographer, seeing how bracketing is used here will almost certainly spike your creative ideas.

How to Manage a Client's Expectations Before and During a Photoshoot

It is a common expectation that when clients hire you, it is because they like your style and think you will help project their brand’s identity. But what do you do when, despite previous exchanges, on the shooting day, you realize that your clients have entirely different expectations. Do you just change everything to adapt to their needs or do you say no?

Casey Neistat Inspires Us (Again)

Some photographers call themselves artists, some photographers only think they’re photographers. Regardless, we all aspire for success. Maybe that means finding your work in galleries or gracing the cover of Vanity Fair. Even if you aren’t a photographer (how did you get here?), everyone strives to succeed. It’s different for everyone, that’s why it’s a difficult thing to chase. It’s tough to advise someone on how to succeed if you don’t have the same dream. There is, however, some common ground. Casey Neistat, the master Youtuber, shares his mantra, his guide, and what seems to be his daily lifestyle for pursuing his dreams and succeeding.

Models Are Using Closed Facebook Groups to Bring Awareness to Sexually Predatory Photographers

This year has been marked by a single hashtag: #MeToo. From Hollywood to the Oval Office, it seems that accusers are finding their voices and taking a stand for themselves and countless others who haven’t been able to speak out. Naturally, awareness of sexual harassment is coming to light in all industries, and the photography industry is no different.

Analog Episode One - Lifestyle Photographer Brooks Sterling Explains His Passion for Film on a Surf Shoot

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.

GoPro's New WiFi BacPac Commercial Will Make You Smile

GoPro has become one of those companies like Redbull where everything they put out there is pretty cool. It has been fun seeing such a small startup become the industry leaders in tiny HD video cameras. With their new Wifi BacPac, GoPro gives users the ability to control their cameras through tablets like the iPad and smart phones. Unlike previous versions of the Hero, you can now control the shutter, camera modes, and other options with a simple remote. It's pretty amazing to see what this camera has become in just a few years. Rock on GoPro!

Critique the Community Episode 15: Lifestyle Photography

A couple weeks ago, we asked the Fstoppers Community to submit their best lifestyle images for our next episode of "Critique the Community." This episode is particularly special because we are giving away two free camera bags from HEX to two of the photographers who were selected for critique. We chose a total of 21 images to offer feedback to, 20 of them were submitted and one was chosen from some of Fstoppers most popular photos. Check out the image we chose to critique, see who won the backpacks, and give your thoughts and feedback on the pictures in the comments below!

Skier Falls Into a Crevasse and Documents It With a GoPro

Those who have never been on a glacier may not realize how big a crevasse can be and how dangerous falling into one is. Last December, Jamie Mullner while skiing in Zermatt discovered it all within a few seconds when he tripped and ended up at the bottom of a crevasse. He wasn’t injured, but happened to have his GoPro on and documented the accident. The video is quite impressive but also surprising!

Shooting the Ultimate Photograph for Jeep with Some of Instagram's Great Photographers

It's been an absolute pleasure seeing friends and colleagues getting chosen for social media campaigns and commercial photography jobs all around the world as a result of sharing their talents via Instagram. With mobile media teams popping up around the country bidding for projects with companies like GE, NatGeo Wild and beyond, it's amazing to see their work featured across the web and in print media. My pals Scott Borrero and Ravi Vora have teamed up with Jeep to create this awesome behind-the-scenes video about a trip out to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to shoot for their new Grand Cherokee. The results are just captivating.

A Very Rare Genre: Medical Photography

After years of working in typical areas of photography, Eneil Simpson, has found his calling in a very surprising place: the operating room. As a former flight instructor, Simpson stumbled into very unique and rarely seen world of ophthalmic and surgical photography, after asking his eye doctor if he could sit in on and take an environmental portrait of him. This intended “one off”, resulted in further opportunities, as surgeons began to recommend him to their colleagues.

Behind the Scenes with Simeon Quarrie in a One of a Kind Period Drama Shoot

Incredible behind-the-scenes photoshoot with the one and only Simeon Quarrie as he takes us through his process and passion for a shoot involving over $100,000 in gear and a couple willing to gamble on his vision. With a shoot of this magnitude challenges are abundant including finding just the right couple that is open to a shoot of this magnitude and style.

How to Get the Most Out of and Do More With Your Travel Photography

Traveling to create new photography can get expensive fast, but whether it's for personal work, stock, or your portfolio, it is often a necessary part of advancing your work. There are lots of ways to monetize these images and tricks to shoulder the upfront costs involved in creating them. This is the approach and tips I use to get the most out of my travel photography.

Life on the Road: The Realities of Traveling While Working as a Filmmaker and Photographer

In the last few weeks I interviewed both the Wickstrom’s and the Hage’s, creative couples who make their living while traveling full time. In this article, I’ll be sharing what I’ve learned from spending two months on the road with my partner, while trying to stay on top of projects and work on new ones. Come to find out, it is not as fun and dreamy as it sounds.

Building a Fashion/Editorial Photography Business: Podcast with Clay Cook

Next up on our Tog Tools Jess and Stephen interview our very own Clay Cook on how he got his start in photography and how he's built an incredible fashion/ editorial photography business. Having first seen Clay's work right here on Fstoppers I was astonished by his clean, sharp style using seemingly basic lighting setups.

You Miss 100% Of The Photos You Don't Take - Even Von Wong Doubts Himself

I have been a fan and a friend of Benjamin Von Wong for years. I have seen him turn tech employees into athletic gods and seen him schmooze with the police while on a 13 hour photoshoot deep in a foggy forest. In my eyes, the genius that is buried in Von Wong's creative mind can do anything, and he always knows it. Well, little did I know, the man who once chained a model to a shipwreck to get the perfect shot, often doubts himself, much like all of us.

Aaron Draper Takes Stunning Photos of Homeless

Photographer Aaron Draper is using his photography skills to bring awareness about homelessness by providing us gorgeous images of our human society's proverbial underbelly. By taking time to apply his artistic eye to the invisible, he's forcing the average person to stop and think about their respective roles in our world. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Check out this behind-the-scenes video and a few shots of Draper's fine work.

Why I Am A Photographer

A casual conversation leads to an interesting question. There I was again. Spouting endless drivel at the beginning of a date. Trying desperately to impress her with my chatter. Listening to her and responding with what I hoped were deep and probing questions that both relayed my interest in her personally and required a significantly lengthy response which would provide me the necessary time to catch my breath and subdue my nerve-induced racing heartbeat.

BTS - Outdoor Catalog Shoot In Jasper National Park From Lars Schneider

This behind the scenes video from Lars Schneider, would no doubt be a killer shoot to land.

The location for the outdoor catalog shoot took place in Jasper National Park in the Canadian Rockies last September for Ortlieb, a company that makes various bags for outdoor activities.

An App to Help Photographers Find Workspace Away From Home

Culling, processing and editing jobs is a time consuming endeavor to say the least. Hours go by with you hunched over the Wacom as you find yourself leaning ever closer to your screen. Sometime you just need to get out of the studio (or your apartment) and find a different environment to keep yourself sane. Sometimes you are away on assignment and you just need to find a place with wifi, a plug, a comfortable seat and a good cup of coffee. Well the Work Hard Anywhere app aims to help you with that, by creating a community of freelancers who share their favorite haunts to plug in, plop down and post up in.

This Unique Time-Lapse of Austria Will Blow You Away

Over five terabytes filmed over the course of two grueling years, A Taste Of Austria is comprised of over 600 time-lapse clips intricately woven together through creative clip transitions. Time-lapse movies often take themselves entirely too seriously, focusing on the dramatic through epic song choice and long drawn out pans. This short video incorporates creative use of sound coupled with quick and calculated cuts to give the viewer a sense of a fast-paced guided tour through the spectacular European countryside.

Choose Colors Deliberately for Extraordinary Photos

There are a bunch of different ways to make your photos stand out: great light, gorgeous model, amazing locations, idealized retouching, but one that is often overlooked in favor of these less subtle approaches is color. We photographers tend to schedule a shoot, show up, capture what's there, and pat ourselves on the back for our genius, but what goes into the shoot before we schedule it can be just as important to the end result as what we do with our lights or our camera. Let's look at an example from my work for Lifetime. No lights. No reflectors. Just color.

Street Photographers Recognized in Harvey Milk Photo Center

Work of many talented street photographers in San Francisco is being recognized at The Harvey Milk Photo Center. The exhibition includes 52 works of 28 street photographers, with all images captured within San Francisco, California. The exhibition was the brainchild of David Christensen, the Director of the Harvey Milk Photo Center. A group member, CJ Lucero, brought the group to David’s attention and, after having reviewed the images from the SF Facebook page, he became determined to present the work to the public. The groups' administrators then labored over several months to put together this amazing show: that team included Michael Kirschner, RE Casper, Denis Englander, and James Watkins.

A Week in the Wild - Part 1: Preparing for Photography Wilderness Camping

With the goal in mind to write up a reference for planning a week of photography in the wild, it's almost unthinkable to not include an article about gear an rules about sleeping in the great outdoors. Not on a campsite, not in a hotel or any form of modern comfort, but out in the backcountry, sleeping under the stars. This quickly grew out to be an article to bookmark, because I don't expect you to remember everything about this after a first read.

These Filmmakers Create The Ultimate Bachelor Party: Rambo Day.

What happens when you take a group of best friends who are all talented photographers and cinematographers and give them a near unlimited budget? The greatest bachelor party of all time. A group of friends decided that they needed to give their best friend a truly epic send off before his wedding.

Making Visuals Great Again: TV Hires Adventure Photographers to Capture Younger Audience

YLE, a Finnish Broadcasting company, were on a mission to attract a younger audience. They needed to make a change to their strategy and get some new programs produced. They knew these shows had to tell stories that were going to speak to a younger audience. Stories that would captivate the senses - and get people excited about the outdoors, to travel and explore.