A little bit over a week ago, I went to Los Angeles International Airport to make a photo. It was a clear day, and I didn't want to waste it sitting inside. Being an aviation fan myself, as well as an occasional pilot and aerial photographer, watching planes, to me, is hardly the worst way to pass the time. As it turns out, making this photo would lead to one of the craziest weeks of my entire life.

This photographer not only creates situations that are unique and comical -- but sends you to a surreal universe in just a glance. John Wilhelm lives in Switzerland with the subjects of many of his works --his girlfriend and three daughters, he's also an IT director in the university there. His hobby is art. Aside from being technically perfect, his eccentric portraits each tell a story which will have you dumbfounded, but pining for more.

The first time I saw a levitation shot, I stared at it for 15 minutes in astonishment. I could not conceive how the image was captured; I was captivated by the story it conveyed, it was surreal, magical and awe-inspiring. Conceptualizing the image and executing it can prove to be rather difficult and meticulous. Thankfully, photographers who have mastered the techniques involved in levitating have decided to share their secrets with us.

It takes a lot to motivate me to reach out to a photographer for permission to feature their work but a lot is exactly what Brisbane-based photographer and digital artist Jane Long provides with her latest series, "Dancing with Costică”. Colorizing, compositing and creating content for images she sources from the Costica Ascinte Archive, Jane is able to deliver beautiful, imaginative and surreal narratives to each of her final images.

Peter Lik, whom many believe is the world's most successful photographer, recently released an image that is pretty unbelievable.

As I start to get more campaign work via Instagram for product photography, I've found that I need to use every bit of my creative mindset to get the shot I want. All the while I must also play to some of the iPhone's limitations. Tilo Gockel, a professional photographer and lighting expert, has created quite the tutorial for some outstanding product photography with nothing more than an iPhone and a few simple lights found around the house.

Even though I am not a landscape photographer and I have never attempted any sort of astrophotography, I have always appreciated beautiful photographs of nightscapes. Recently, I borrowed the new Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD lens and tried to photograph an interesting night scene here in Charleston. Truth be told, it was quite the learning experience. In this video, I will share my first ever approach to shooting the night sky and hopefully give you a few things to think about when tackling this interesting genre of photography.

Everyone dreams about their big break in photography. We wonder when it will come and if we'll be prepared for it when/if it does. For Rosie Hardy, a teenage photographer in Manchester, England, it came more suddenly than she could ever have imagined.

What do you do when you get bored with photography? How do you funnel your creative energy when photography leaves your creative soul empty? Do you move on to something new or do you combine photography with something else?

Each year Patrick and I work on one extremely large project. Two years ago we created The Art Behind The Headshot with Peter Hurley. Last year we finished our 14 hour tutorial on how to become a wedding photographer. In 2013 we teamed up with Mike Kelley to produce what I believe is the best resource available on How To Photograph Real Estate, Architecture, and Interiors.

There is something magical about having your 2D photos seem like they're actually 3D. It brings them to life in a way none other method can. The depth, the complexity and the subtle movements give your regular 2D photos more meaning and context, and it makes the viewer focus on the image much more than normal. Joe Fellows is a master of the 2.5D (Parallax) Effect and in this short video he shows you everything you need to know to make this effect yourself on your own images.

It has happened to all of us. We spend countless hours planning, scheduling, and coordinating for a beautiful golden hour photo shoot only to have our parade rained on by weather or other mishaps out of our control. Perhaps you didn't plan for those mountains in the background that's cutting your shoot 30 minutes shorter than anticipated. Maybe the conditions are perfect when you leave for the shoot, but by the time you get there, clouds are hovering above. Or it could be that your client just can't shoot at the ideal time. No matter what the obstacle, this article is going to show you a super simple trick that will allow you to get that golden hour capture at any hour!

They say the best camera is the one that is with you, but what if that particular camera is lacking in megapixels? Here's how to take advantage of the camera you already own and make some giant image files and extra large photo prints.

Whether you couldn't shoot at the time you wanted or you just want to experiment with composites and heavier editing, this video will show you how to make a complete transformation.

What follows is one of the strangest and most remarkable coincidences I've ever come across in the world of photography. We've heard of photos that were blatantly stolen, but what happens when the concept of a major digital art project is copied? Is it even possible to copy a "copy" of an idea, or can two different artists be inspired to come up with the exact same concept completely independently? This is the tale of two composite photographs.

This year for Christmas I wanted to surprise my father with his dream car, an original Chevrolet Camaro convertible in hugger orange with white rally stripes. Being that I'm a photographer I decided to photograph the car and give my father a framed print of the car before I revealed that I am actually giving him the car.

Are you a fan of the HBO's hit series "Games of Thrones?" Have you ever wondered how different the actors actually look compared to their Westeros counterparts? Creative retoucher and digital artist Gianfranco Gallo complied an amazing set of work with his personal project to help us compare reality to fantasy.

When a client came to me and asked if I could do a composite that featured a dragon, my first response was, "Of course, no problem. This is going to be so much fun!" Immediately following the conversation, reality set in and the haunting feeling that I had bitten off more than I could chew began to overwhelm me. After a momentary panic episode, I promptly began racking my brain on how I was going to pull off this impossible feat. Luckily in the end, creativity prevailed!

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.

Artificial intelligence is coming for photographers, just not in the way you're thinking.

We all have those pivotal moments in our lives where a single decision changes everything. When I picked up a camera about five years ago I quickly became obsessed with composites. In the beginning, I honestly had no idea where to even begin learning how to create these marvelous hybrids of photography and digital art. I had to learn how to create composite images! I knew if I could get to a point where I could create what I saw in my head, I could change the path of my career. Little did I know composite photography would change my life forever.

As a photographer, I'm always looking to capture something in a unique way. This is the craziest landscape photoshoot I have ever done. By taping a tiny Nikon Flash to my DJI Phantom II Drone, I was able to fly my remote helicopter up the side of a lighthouse and light the entire thing with flash. Creating this photograph was one of the trickest shoots I've ever done, and this is how I made it happen.

Current cameras' sensors are getting better year after year. Unfortunately, they cannot create noise-free images at high ISO just yet. I am sure the day will come soon, but in the meantime, there is a very simple technique using Adobe Photoshop or Affinity Photo to create the illusion of a clean file.

When I first found out a full solar eclipse was passing through Charleston, South Carolina, I marked my calendar hoping I would be able to photograph it. Today the eclipse passed through the final stretch of America, and even with a full year of forewarning, I was not prepared to photograph it at all. With only two hours before totality, I decided to take a huge gamble and aim for two unique photographs that would be done 100 percent straight out of camera. The results are pretty interesting.

Last year we teamed up with Mike Kelley to produce the 7+ hour tutorial: How To Photograph Real Estate, Architecture and Interiors. We were fearful that Mike's fancy equipment would be discouraging to new photographers so we asked Mike if he could create a signature image with much cheaper gear. Mike shot an incredible, world class image with the original Canon Rebel and kit lens and only a few accessories.

If you want to learn how to quickly create realistic-looking shadows for your subjects in Photoshop, you need to check this out.

If you ever do any sort of composite work, chances are that you'll need to add shadows. They're one of the biggest aspects of making a composite image convincing, and yet, they're also very subtle and tricky to pull off. Phlearn is here with a great tutorial to get you started.

Product photography is a great way to experiment with lighting and editing techniques. For me, it’s a chance to shoot in a relaxed environment where I have complete control over the subject, lighting, and camera. I can set up something small in the living room and find solutions that can be applied to my portrait work or professional product photography. It also requires a lot of creativity. Homemade items or DIY solutions are abundant on sets. From light-shaping tools to methods of creating parts of a composite, a lot can be created simply and at a low cost. You may be surprised to see how minimal of a setup can create some stunning photos.

Having options is always a good thing, especially when it can save you from a costly mistake. In this quick tutorial, Jay P. Morgan from The Slanted Lens shows us the importance of shooting background plates to give yourself options in post production and help speed up your workflow.

Last summer, Conceptual Photographer Erik Johansson spent a calm, pleasant evening shooting his charming photo project “Full Moon Service.” Almost instantly going viral as soon as it touched the Internet today, here’s a behind-the-scenes look of how it all came together from hand drawn sketch to fine art print.

In this video, I show you you to use complementary colors to create a cinematic color grading feel for your photos. This technique is quick and easy and can usually be done in less than five minutes!

Last week I made a list of 10 of my favorite photographers to follow on Fstoppers and a few people complained that too many of them were "portrait" photographers. I've scoured the community again and today I've created a new list with 10 incredible, additional photographers who shoot much more than your average portrait.

It doesn't matter what kind of photography you do, shooting photo backplates each and every time you go out and take pictures is one of the best habits you can get yourself into. Not only does it save many hours in postproduction, it will also help open up a world of creative possibilities to you as a photographer.

Fstoppers.com has featured some great behind the scenes videos over the years and showcased amazingly talented professional photographers in our Fstoppers Originals series. Recently Patrick and I were invited to Scottsdale, Arizona to expose the secrets of commercial photographer Blair Bunting. When Blair invited us down to Loft 19 Studios, his idea was to shoot something big, expensive, and one of a kind.

Have you ever needed to use a logo or image that just isn't high enough resolution or doesn't have clean enough edges to use? Here's how to quickly and easily convert a low-resolution image to a more useable high-resolution image in Photoshop.

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.

UPDATE: WE'RE SOLD OUT - 6 years ago I built a collapsible softbox that could easily fit in my pocket while I was shooting weddings. I built this product for myself and never dreamed that it would become a real product one day. 2 years ago Patrick and I set out to have the "Flash Disc" mass produced and patented. We just received our patent and first batch. Order now and get 3 before Christmas.