Last summer, photographer and director Dixie Dixon was called upon by Nikon to shoot a campaign for their new touch screen DSLR, the D5500. This incredible opportunity had one interesting challenge in store for Dixon, however; All of the material would be photographed and filmed — kit lens, auto settings, and Photoshop-free — using the consumer-level D5500 itself.

It never ceases to amaze me when I see how complicated lighting setups for products can be. Thankfully photographer Phillip McCordall can walk us through his process with relative ease. This tutorial video definitely doesn't come close to the most complex setup, but of course it's still very interesting to see especially considering how cheap most of the modifiers are. This is seriously a setup most of you could do in your living room.

U.K. commercial photographer Karl Taylor takes us behind the scenes on a rather exciting and unique photo shoot where the goal is to create an animal portrait of a hawk during flight. There are so many variables to this concept that even with a trained bird of prey, Taylor still ran into a little bit of trouble at the beginning of the shoot.

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.

If you work in a competitive area for your photo or video work, chances are that you’ve experienced losing a client at some point. Whether there were creative differences, budget issues, or you weren’t available, there are some things that you can do to alleviate some of the sting from breaking up with a client, and perhaps put you in a better position to work with them in the future, even if the root cause is simply that they couldn't afford your rates.

I am a wide angle fanatic, especially when it comes to prime wide angles. I carry four lenses in my camera bag: two of them are prime wide angles, one prime nifty fifty, and one telephoto. Out of all these four, I found myself reaching just for one particular lens: the Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art. This came to substitute my old Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 USM lens which I adored, but it used to struggle a bit with chromatic aberrations and at times I craved for a wider view.

I get asked day in an day out; "What is that big black box on the front of your lens?" Well, it's a matte box that mounts glass filters in front of your lens... the LEE Filters System. In attempt to cover the question I recieve so often, I wanted to address it all and explain the system, but my friend and fantastic photographer Dave Kai Piper beat me to the punch! So, instead of writing my own article on the matter, I thought it best to simply share his article...

Let's face it, when you're in business as a portrait photographer, the person who usually ends up in front of your camera is not going to be a professional model. That's why it's all the more important that you can give a regular person the guidance they need to look and feel like a superstar.

First of all, if you watched the lead video above, you have learned that Matthew Jones is possibly a crazy person. Car photography is absolutely a challenge, but rollerblading down the road at full speed to capture driving action is just bonkers. When I heard Matthew talk about doing this and when I saw the high quality of his images, I knew I had to feature him on Fstoppers. Obviously this technique is not for everyone, but Matthew has absolutely captured my attention with his story. Read below to read why he has chosen to do this and see samples of his great photography,

You've likely seen Lee Morris's iPhone fashion shoot by now. One of the common critiques had been the use of expensive lighting. Well here is yet another prime example, by Philippines-based portrait photographer Laya Gerlock, that creative use beats expensive toys. That's not to say an iPad, iPhone or D3 equivalent are inexpensive but you have those already, right?

In the digital world it may almost seem as though selling albums or wall art would be a thing of the past. The majority of clients will want to post their session to social media and go about their day. As photographers, it is up to us to educate the client about the importance of having a physical piece of art as well as the right type of art for their home.

Understanding light is at the heart of photography. The topic of light is a vast one but there are some fundamental concepts which should be mastered before all others. One of those is the difference between hard and soft light.

It's easy to dismiss the amount of difficulty involved in location shoots. A few years ago, Joey Lawrence (JoeyL) shot a personal project of portraits in Ethiopia. Whether traveling by van, boat or Indiana Jones plane, it's great to have the opportunity to see how hard the literal journey was on the way to the figurative photographic destination. Just handling the equipment was a pretty substantial undertaking.

Cinescapes Collective is a Saskatchewan, Canada based production group that has been putting together unique documentary content that has a dramatic and cinematic aesthetic. Their most recent short tells the story of Kessler, the creators of popular video production gear like sliders, cranes, and now motion control products.

Sometimes those obligatory travel photos snapped on location are great on their own, but (at least for me) a lot of them aren't visually dazzling. Luckily, that can be rectified. Jonas De Ro recently published an absolutely breathtaking composite image psd.tutsplus that is jaw-droppingly amazing. Best part is, he shows you how to make it so all you Photoshop fans can try a similar project yourself. Turn ordinary into fantasy!

While we all might not all be a fan of his on-camera persona or his punchy photography style. I think we can all agree that Jared Polin aka FroKnowsPhoto does a great job of testing out and reviewing the latest and greatest in the Photography industry. In his newly released “Real World Review” Jared takes the newly released Sony a9 and puts it through the paces at a professional soccer event in Philadelphia.

Austin Mann recently got hold of the new iPhone 6 Plus after Apple’s Keynote at the Flint Center in Cupertino, California. In partnership with The Verge, he set out on an amazing adventure through Iceland with the phone in tow. His reason? He wanted to put the iPhone 6 Plus camera through the test to see how much has improved since the iPhone 5s. His results? From focus pixels, focus control, time-lapse and slo-mo, Apple has made all the right improvements and innovations with their iSight camera. The new features are “enabling iPhone users to better capture and share life” says Mann.

Creative clients and photographers love shooting on white. Whether it be seamless paper, foam core board or a cyclorama wall. I’m not sure if it’s the simplicity and absence of color or it just creates such clear contrast for eye popping subject matter. Yes, it's versatile and can go dark with less fall off but frankly, I've always found white somewhat boring.

The only times my strobes see the light of day is when they are facing down onto the surface of the water from poolside for my underwater work. In the studio, the amount of natural light that fills the space has created a look and signature feel to my images. However, I started to wonder if I was just taking advantage of this light and not truly challenging myself to the work that can be created using a strobe light.

The guys over at Ledicia Audio Visual recently shared this beautiful video that shows process behind large format 8x10 film photography from start to finish. The film folows large format photographer, Luis Plácido López Caballero, as he sets up and composes his image all the way through his manual dodging and burning and developing in the darkroom.

Where Art Meets Architecture 2 Behind The Scenes continues today with Episode 2. In this episode we photograph a $15 million home in Venice Beach.

The Austrailian based production company, Graetzmedia, may have just created one of the most inspiring, insightful, and incredibly entertaining behind-the-scenes videos ever! Have a look at how you can pull together a Hollywood level shot on a small-hometown level budget.