Here's a behind the scenes video from Toronto photographer Finn O'Hara. It was for a recent cover story about Toronto smokers in a magazine called The Grid. O'Hara explains that the story is "a confessional tale of the stigmas faced by smokers every day in Toronto, and what it takes to finally kick the habit. To illustrate the commitment of a winter smoker, we enlisted a

Sometimes the who, what, and how is surpassed by the when. Timing can be everything. It’s a fact of life, even if a rather cruel one.

Mark your calendars for this Thursday, March 23 at 2 p.m. EST for a chance to talk with Clay Cook, the instructor of our newest tutorial covering fashion and editorial photography. This is a great chance to ask Clay anything you want to know about shooting, lighting, post-processing, and the business side of his work. The event will be held over Facebook live on the Fstoppers Facebook page.

A week and a half ago we asked the community to submit their best environmental portraits to be critiqued by Lee and Patrick. We got some awesome submissions and one lucky entrant won a free Fstoppers tutorial.

"A Book of Beards" is exactly what it sounds like. Dudes and huge gnarly beards documented in black and white by photographer and art director Justin James Muir. What started out as a simple idea, evolved into something much much bigger.

Inspiration comes from a variety of sources, but I'm guessing that seeing the works of others has always been big for you. Seeing someone else's work probably is what got you interested in photography to begin with. So what gets your creativity flowing? For me, though my work in photography resides in the Advertising / Editorial realm, inspiration for my work comes in the form of photojournalism.

Recently I had the opportunity to fly to Ohio and photograph the enigmatic alternative rock duo Twenty One Pilots for the cover of Alternative Press Magazine. Sure, you may have seen my posts before about shooting musicians and magazine covers, but never have I ever had to hang one of my artists upside down for a trick shot. Watch the video and read below to see how this shoot came together!

Creative genius rarely erupts onto the scene full force and in your face. Its entrance into the world is often quiet, gentle, allowing only a few to see it and recognize its brilliance. Such is the case with Portland, Oregon-based Kate Woodman, whose use of color in her work produces an instant halt to the ever scrolling feed of images - causing even the average user to stop and appreciate the story unfolding before them.

Derrick Story of thedigitalstory.com has been a fan of the Olympus portable cameras for a few years now, and has really taken a liking to the Olympus OM-D E-M5 mirrorless camera. He recently traveled to Cologne, Germany armed with the micro four thirds compact camera, and his story proves that you can get a whole lot of bang for such a small package.

Fashion and Editorial Photographer Clay Cook recently partnered with Stash, a mobile investment app, to photograph Instagram personality Baddie Winkle for a retirement themed campaign. I had the opportunity to pull up with Cook to discuss the shoot as well as learn more about how he approaches his business and brand.

Photography isn't something you decide as a career path. You rather find photography and then setup your life to do it as a job. It has that effect and it's why it's such a beautiful art form. You'll never be a successful photographer if you are not passionate about it, which is different to deciding a financial adviser or insurance broker. I might be stereotyping, but I am sure there are many who love their job, but also many who do not, but at least get a good paying salary at the end of every month, so they keep at it.

When a large event like the MTV Music Awards plans out their production, photography is at the top of the priority list. Because when all is said and done, the only thing that remains is what is on the back of the camera. Getty Images and MTV Europe have been partners for many years. Having a long lasting relationship allows the two teams to grow as a unit.

With COVID-19, fans have been wondering for quite some time just when sports would come back and what they might look like. Now, we are starting to see several professional sports preparing to start their modified regular seasons, but how are sports photographers being affected by these new changes?

Photography is one complex profession which requires many skills, from the technical to the psychological. We have all been faced with unpredictable scenarios which have put us or our clients/models in an awkward position ,or a state or panic. It can be anything: an insecure model, no time to set up your planned light, an equipment which breaks or malfunctions, a sudden rainfall, an unhappy bride, etc. Being well-equipped won’t always save the day. And if we lack self-control, good communication skills, and if we lose creative approach in stressful situations, we could just pack our gear and go home with an unhappy client glaring at our back. Being able to deal with these different scenarios might be surprisingly beneficial both for your photography and business.

We are photographers. We are not a bunch known for a lack of opinions. By and large, we know (or think we know) what’s good and bad and aren’t shy about telling others just how qualified our own personal greatness makes us to pass judgment on other far inferior work. Yes, I’m generalizing to make a larger point. There are as many different types of photographers as there are different types of people. And, if ego sits on one shoulder, its distant cousin humility stands firmly on the other, grasping tightly to the other end of the rope in an endless game of tug of war. But knowing when to pull, and when to offer slack, from one side or the other can be the secret to both successful shoots and successful creative relationships.

Many photographers have that one muse who inspires creative projects, knows exactly what the direction is, and is always the perfect collaboration. One artist found his own muse in himself when he set forth on a project to capture every stage of emotion of his own work. Creating composites from film, this artist brought a new light on the emotional range that photographers face everyday.

Photographer Dave Hamilton takes us behind the scenes on his latest shoot with hockey legend, Trevor Linden. This video is very informative and well produced - including a lighting diagram for each of the different setups. Aiming to get that perfect cover shot for Vancouver View Magazine's April 2012 issue, Dave was able to get some nice shots using his Canon 5D Mark II.

Originally, the idea of a “creative cloud” was difficult for many to grapple when it was first announced. When I spoke to him about a year ago, Photoshop mastermind Jeff Chien understood how we felt: Adobe couldn’t just put the software in the cloud and actually expect it to be an improvement. It had to mean more. Since then, Adobe has been trying to get to the point where the public would be on the same page as them in this regard. They might be getting there with today’s announcements, which are expanding the connectivity of your accounts in CC in ways that finally make the CC model begin to make sense.

Sports Illustrated Photography at Super Bowl XLV from Max Morse on Vimeo.

The Look3 Festival of the Photograph was just held in Charlottesville, Virginia June 13-15 but the nice folks at Livestream have archived some of the best content from the weekend and you can stream it now for free for a limited time. In case you weren't able to attend, you can stream complete artist talks by National Geographic photographers Michael "Nick" Nichols and Tim Laman, Magnum photographer Susan Meiselas and art photographers Carrie Mae Weems, Gregory Crewdson, Martha Rosler and Richard Misrach.

In the past week, we have reported on some hot button issues. First we dropped the story regarding Time Magazine's controversial cover. Not long after, Elle Brazil was next up to the plate with yet another contentious cover. Let's look at what some of you had to say and discuss the issues further, because I know I wasn't the only one who felt that there were those of you who were getting really fired up.