Mistakes are good because they teach us what not to do. Photographers, like any other people, make lots of mistakes. Here are three I see time and time again. Which ones are you most guilty of making?
There is a movement by the name Project Harpoon, or more recently Operation Harpoon, with the sole purpose of finding images of plus-size celebrities, models, and regular folks, then editing the image to make the people from the original image a skinnier version of themselves. The images are generally accompanied by some rather crude comments to the effect of "Isn't that better?" The creators of this movement claim they are doing this to "help misguided women."
A photojournalist is often called upon to photograph a scene at a moment’s notice. It can be a car accident one day, a music festival, the next and a protest the day after. With that in mind, there are two useful lenses that every photojournalist should carry in their bag to cover such a diverse range of photographic opportunities.
OK, now that I have your attention, let's get something out of the way: I'm not trashing your photography. I'm sure it's all fantastic, and I sincerely hope you keep creating those amazing images.
I often write about the careful process of making sure you get the most bang for your buck when shopping for photo gear. Well, sometimes you just get lucky.
Roland Barthes was a theorist and philosopher whose literary contributions to photography are still discussed and hold relevance today. I believe he is mandatory reading for anyone who considers themselves a photographer in any capacity.
RED is entering a nearly impossible market, and promises to deliver a smartphone like no other – armed only with their reputation. What exactly stands in their way, and can the RED Hydrogen compete? Here’s everything you need to know about their chances.
Every few years we go through trends in wedding photography. The latest trend seems to be stylized photo shoots. Though stylized photo shoots are gorgeous and ripe with portfolio-worthy images, could they be hurting the industry?
Over the last couple years, Terry Richardson and controversy have gone hand in hand. Despite the controversial story from 2010 on Jezebel, and the now current #NoMoreTerry boycott going on following new rape allegations surfaced, Terry Richardson has remained quiet in this battle against him. Today however, Terry Richardson finally spoke to Huffington Post, in an attempt to debunk the rumors and allegations surfacing.
When you’re starting out as a photographer, it’s natural to lust after the lenses at the top of the food chain. You know the ones. Sometimes they have red rings around the front, or they are the portrait lens that can obliterate a background. Maybe you want the zoom lens that can survive a monsoon.
I shoot with Nikon Z. I really like the system, and I’m excited to see Nikon making a clear commitment to the high end of the lineup. What I don’t like is the pointlessness of these pre-pre-release announcements.
Why is it so hard to hire someone to fill a creative position? At this point I'm afraid that art school might be making most graduates unemployable egomaniacs. I know this because I used to be one.
We have all made the classic gaffe of remembering everything except the crucial memory card. With flash storage cheaper than ever and features being pushed to the max, why have we not seen internal memory added to cameras?
I don’t know about you, but I never planned to become a photographer. It kind of happened by accident. I have always considered myself more of an explorer, traveling the world in search of adventure. Shooting photographs was just my way of telling the story of the places I visited. But pretty soon, people started calling me a photographer, and that was that. Shortly after, I quit my day job and found myself trying to make my way as a full-time travel and portrait photographer. That was six years ago, and although I have learned so much over those years, these are the five things they never told me about becoming a photographer.
The rumored Canon lenses coming out have got a lot of us talking and pricked up a number of ears. One set of ears it ought to have pricked up, however, is Olympus' — and here's why.
Do you want your sensor to shift in-body to create a higher-resolution image? Want 4.5-stop image stabilization built into the body so we can benefit from its use with any lens? Want to be able to decide for every shot exactly what level of anti-aliasing you want in order to balance moiré and sharpness? It’s all possible with the new 24-megapixel, APS-C Pentax K-3 II. And, it'll likely be possible in their rumored full-frame camera. Pentax is great, but why aren’t we seeing the “bigger” brands pony up with groundbreaking features?
A few days ago I covered a story here on Fstoppers about an online altercation between a massively popular music producer, Diplo, and a Canadian based photography collective under the name of Visualbass. Diplo has recently stepped forward and has made a statement on Fstoppers about the incident.
Peter Jackson's first steps into Middle-earth with “Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring” was incredible as it followed Frodo and his good friend Samwise Gamgee as they fight their way to Mordor in one of the greatest trilogies of the early 2000s. You can guess that my excitement level was high when they finally announced “The Hobbit” would come to the big screen in its own series, though as many could have guessed it was a terrible venture that overwhelmed its director at the high cost of making a mediocre follow-up to its previously successful trilogy.
We all hear photographers lamenting about how great things were in the film days before just anyone could easily buy a camera and take a good photo, but are the golden days of this profession really behind us?
In short, no it is not. But a few minor dealbreakers are all that stand between leaving this camera on the shelf, and making it best digital camera in its class.
After nearly a month of capturing video, stills, and timelapse media with the Panasonic GH4, I laughed, I cried, and I almost threw it off a mountain. At times it was a joy to shoot with, and other times it wouldn’t even power on with a full battery. I’ll give you a complete, unbiased rundown in my full review, complete with video samples.
One of the most common questions photographers have is “should I upgrade my camera?” It’s right up there with “what lens I should buy” and “can I take selfies with this?” (That last one isn’t actually a common question.)
If you rely heavily on HDR for your image processing, I have some news for you: It can be a lazy approach, and you may be using it in the wrong applications. It's time to learn about the limitations of HDR and far better alternatives at your disposal.
If you're a content creator in any industry, I can almost guarantee that someone somewhere will steal your work. Unfortunately, it's pretty much inevitable now, especially with the advent of social media. The question is: what can you do if someone steals your work?
Human nature can sometimes get the better of us. But sometimes knowing when to apply lessons and when to forget them can be the difference between taking photographs or taking photography to the next level.
After several years of Sony having its run of the mirrorless world, Canon and Nikon finally announced their full-frame mirrorless cameras. The initial sentiment may not be brilliant for both Canon and Nikon; however, I think Canon has done something absolutely incredible.
Just the other day, Canon announced the 16-35mm f/4L IS lens. The general announcement was left with confusion, anger, annoyance and felt an awful lot like when Canon announced the unnecessary 24-70mm f/4 IS back in 2012. Between these announcements and others much like it, as well as general quietness on announcing an updated 50mm lens, we have to ask...What’s the problem, Canon?
To take The Buggles out of context — digital killed the film star. But just as podcasts are one of the biggest growth areas in media, so is film on the up. Forget buying digital. Your next camera should be film, and here's why.
Multimedia professionals rely on solid tools to get the job done, and those tools have typically been Apple’s Mac lineup. But as Apple shifts its focus more to its MacBooks and iPhones, it’s neglected a tiny, but important product: the Mac mini.
I recently made the switch to Mac after a lifetime of Windows. My MacBook Pro isn’t perfect, but in this video ,I discuss the top 10 things that it does better than my Windows machines.
Our love story began, like many, amidst the tumultuous, coming-of-age years of high school. Me, a wide eyed, optimistic 16 year old kid with a lanky, awkward build. I stayed out of trouble… choosing books over beers, and enjoying the simplicity of a life-before-adulthood. She was different. The new girl on the scene. A wide-bottomed goddess, pear-shaped to perfection, milky-white and miraculous. The talk of the town, if there ever was one. Her name? iMac G4.
