Recent BTS Articles

Using Marbles to Represent Planets, This Is the First Timelapse of the Solar System to Scale

If you Google the solar system, you will be shown images of all the planets in our solar system laid out in the order they rotate around the sun. The problem with these images is that each planet's respective distance to the sun is not shown to true scale. This leaves the viewer without a true understanding of just how far away each planet is from another. That’s why Alex Gorosh and Wylie Overstreet set out to make a true-to-scale representation of the solar system.

Photographer Drives Remote Controlled Nikon D800 Into an African Pride of Lions

I remember seeing this video when it first came out and it stuck with me. Then, while planning a shoot with some lion cubs this coming weekend (you may launch jealousy fuelled insults my way for that), I looked it up again. When photographer Chris McLennan attached a DSLR to a remote control 4x4 car and then drove it across the plains of Botswanna in to prides of lions, it yielded — rather expectedly — unique and beautiful results.

Unconventional, Yet Effective, Method for Recording Audio with a 5D Mark III

My friend Chris Lavigne is what I like to call the "master of media" over at Wistia, which means he gets to make all their product videos and also spends a lot of time sharing tips and tricks he uses as a cinematographer. He recently released this video which explains how he records audio to his 5D Mark III in a somewhat unconventional, yet still effective, way.

Completing The 'Up-Lit Photo Challenge' Is Extremely Difficult

Being a well-rounded photographer who can succeed in any situation is the ultimate goal for most photographers. However, what happens when you are forced to take a portrait by lighting from below? Today, I take the challenge.

What Do Pro Photographers Do When Not Shooting?

It's not all jumping out of helicopters and shooting worldwide campaigns for household names. Sometimes, we just have to take the bins out and change the loo roll.

5 Steps To Realizing Successful Passion Projects

How do you tell a better, stronger, more compelling story through your photos or video work? How do you get booked for the work you want to do? Film makers and story tellers, Jared Levy and Justin Hamilton, will today share some secrets. Their new, beautiful, compelling mini-documentary entitled ‘Updating Philosophies’, helped them realize much of this, and we can all learn from their experiences.

How to Photograph a Glowing Tent under a Starlit Sky

It’s one of those iconic images that makes your camping trip look like an epic experience of a lifetime. In this segment of AdoramaTV’s “Getting the Shot,” Corey Rich takes the mystery out of how to capture your own glowing tent photo. From gear to technique, this video goes over all the basics to have you prepared for your next adventure.

The Sound Behind: 'Man of Steel'

With filmmaking it's not just the camera operators, directors, actors or even the composers that bring a good well-rounded film together, you also have to have an amazing sound team. It seems to be such an insignificant thing when creating a film, but in reality sound mixing can create the mood of the film just as much as the acting or lighting. Follow the team behind Zach Snyder's 'Man of Steel' as they discuss how they created the mood for the 'super' blockbuster.

The Choreography and Camera Work in This Scene Will Blow Your Mind

A professional production team can pull off some pretty amazing feats when given the opportunity, and this unbelievable side-by-side video of a scene and the behind the scenes footage of it shows that off. Check out the incredible timing and choreography that went into filming this scene.

Some Basic Tips To Improve Your Running Photography

In the beautiful meadows of the Sierra Mountains, Corey Rich takes you behind the scenes for some key tips to improve your sports photography. Documenting sports comes with a certain amount of challenges, especially while shooting in an uncontrollable environment. From working with major clients such as Nikon, The North Face, and Patagonia, Rich has plenty of experience and insights to share when it comes to demanding adventure and sports photography.

How I Overpowered the Sun in This Outdoor Portrait Shoot

What happens when the sun is setting and you want to get a balanced exposure of the setting sun in the background and your subject? The reality is you can't without the use of a strobe and high speed sync. In this article, I’ll share with you how I was able to get a perfect exposure on my subject and the background using high-speed sync.

Ideas and Inspiration for Greater Success in Landscape Photography

In this excellent installment of the B&H Prospectives video series, photographer Robert Rodriguez Jr. explains what goes in to taking successful landscape images, offers his thought process while out in the field, and dives in to some worthy ideas to inspire the development of your art.

Classic Lighting Setups That Every Photographer Should Know

There are many ways to light a subject, both complex and simplistic, and while you might be always tempted to go for the most complicated setups, knowing the classics is important too. Classic lighting is classic for a reason and you may find yourself using it more often than you expect.

Danger Zone: Risky Moments for Photographers in the Field

Photography isn't always the safest pursuit, especially when you delve into the world of documentary and travel photography. Shooting out in the field can be unpredictable, from the weather and terrain, to the wildlife and the local people. The more you push the extremes of your photography, oftentimes, the more risk you'll take — to both your gear, and yourself.

Google's Street View Cameras Capture Artistic Images Without Even Trying

How long do you think it would take to photograph over five million miles of road? Since 2007, Google's Street View teams have been doing just that; capturing panoramic images of millions of miles of roads all over the world. Armed with a fleet of vehicles with 360 degree cameras mounted atop of them, the Street View team has managed to capture a few lucky shots while motoring across the globe. It's a pretty incredible project if you ask me.

Black Hole Series Looks at a World Faster Than Our Own

Fabian Oefner’s latest series entitled Black Hole shows us a world of paint, drills, and motion, all within 1/40,000th of a second. While high speed photography is nothing new, the art of it is still underground, as its still incredibly expensive. Oefner’s newest work uses high speed photography to show us a world of color that our eyes normally could not process.

Ridley Scott: Words of Advice From A Master Filmmaker

Ridley Scott is arguably one of the greatest movie directors of his time. Blade Runner, Legend, Alien, Black Hawk Down are just a sampling of his masterful works.

In the following sound clips, Ridley Scott shares his beginnings through art school, how directing television commercials for 15 years developed his lighting and editing skills and how making feature films for himself helped carry him to Hollywood.

[BTS] Sasha Leahovcenco Makes A Band Walk On Water

This is another cool video from Sasha Leahovcenco where he shoots a band walking on water using only a single light. This video walks you through the set up and shooting and shows you the awesome final image.

Why You Don't Always Need the Latest Photography Gear

If you’re anything like me, you spend half your time fighting for new business and the other half fighting your urge to spend the money you make from new business on gear. So, for a bit of fun, today I thought I’d share my own personal, self-directed pep talk whenever I feel the urge to splurge.

The Next Season Of Fstoppers Behind The Scenes Begins Now

It all started last year when Patrick and I flew around the world twice to create Photographing The World with Elia Locardi. We documented our entire three months of travel and edited it all down into 16 behind the scenes episodes. Earlier this year we created a behind the scenes series with Joey Wright covering our Swimwear Photography tutorial. These series have been so popular that we've decided to continue them.

Planning for the Shot of a Lifetime - Supermoon 2016

This article is a twist on the more common behind the scenes post. Instead of writing about the thought process of the shot in retrospect, I am starting this article several days before the full moon, to showcase my process and mindset when planning for a once in a lifetime shot of the Supermoon.

Fearless Photogs: CBS's Look At The Adventurous Filmmakers From Sender Films

CBS's Jeff Glor recently interviewed Pete Mortimer, known mostly for his work on this Citibank Commercial and the 60 Minutes special on free solo climber Alex Honnold. In this interview, Pete discusses the mental attitude needed for his line of work, and emphasizes how crucial safety is while dangling off of a rock. During the interview, a rock actually breaks loose in a brief moment of danger, which illustrates just how dangerous things can become. Embedded video in the full post.

Getting The Shot: Kayaker Dropping Off A 65-foot Waterfall

Bugs, rain, rough terrain and carrying gear– forget about all of that. Shift your focus and get creative all of a sudden. Think: how can you approach taking an image that you'll have just one chance to get, but also capture it in a unique way? One take is all Tim Kemple had, and using a Phase One camera, he scored this shot of kayaker Tyler Bradt going over a waterfall in the jungles of Mexico.

How To Light and Compose a Parkour Photoshoot

Posing multiple people can be a difficult task as it is, but throw in parkour performers into the mix and the shoot can quickly become tedious, but if done correctly the results can turn out nothing short of amazing. In this video Benjamin Von Wong walks you through the lighting set up he used to bring a three dimensional feel to the photographs. He also explains the different composing techniques he uses to get the posing and composition spot on for the shoot.

Street Photographer: '99% of My Photos are Terrible'

Social media has led us to believe that most people take only incredible shots, look like catwalk models, and live like billionaires. We know that isn't the case, but still, we can't help but be affected by the data in front of us. Well, one successful photographer and creator takes you behind the scenes of all of their shots from a trip.

Abstract Photography Tips to Improve Your Compositions

Do you find yourself overwhelmed and stuck when composing a landscape photography scene? Having some tips on what to look for can help if you are stuck. This video looks at the world of abstract photography as a way to find scenes and compositions.

A Photography Lesson From Noted Street Photographer John Free

John Free, for those that don't know, is considered one of the great street photographers of our time. His ability to capture the human spirit in a split second is uncanny. Here is a 10 minute video of a private lesson that was given to Ted Forbes of The Art Of Photography. It is full of helpful advice and inspirational lines for photographers of any genre.

Sneaking into Coachella Lands This Guy the Career of his Dreams

Have you ever snuck into a concert before? How about a huge festival? Well, in 2010 James Marcus Haney really wanted to attend Coachella... the only problem was he didn't have the money to get a ticket. So what's the next best thing? He figured out a way to bypass security and get in for free and got to see some of the bands he had admired for years. He continued sneaking into festivals around the world for the next few years, and filmed every minute of it.