Finding the best light to bathe our subjects can be one of the most challenging parts of planning a photoshoot. We strive for those beautiful golden hour photos and sometimes completely dismiss other parts of the day. Harsh sunlight can be difficult and cloudy can be flat, but what about blue hour?

I love doing photoshoots for musicians. I get to be creative, think outside the box, and make something that will be seen by an audience outside of my bubble. So, when Toronto singer Tafari Anthony approached me to shoot his EP cover, I was all in.

In this short documentary video from TIME, Dutch creative Erik Kessels explains his interest in amateur photography, including where it started and what he sees in it. What started as simply buying discarded family photo albums has now stirred an interest with the mortality of an image, where with the proliferation of sites like Flickr and Instagram, photographs now have a much shorter lifecycle. This culminates in a very interesting exhibition, featured at the end of the video.

Have you ever wondered what the person on the other end of a zoom call looks like outside of what the camera shows? In this article, take a look at the heartwarming work and message behind Tallahassee based commercial photographers, The Workmans, and their hilarious new series, #COVIDwear: Business on Top, Quarantine on the Bottom.

If you are a fan of photographers who push themselves to the limit to create unique shots, check out this incredible behind-the-scenes video of a photographer who made his way into a glacier to create these interesting shots.

Being a photographer means being able to adapt to any given lighting situation to create images that are remarkable. In this video, Sophia Carey shares some of her insights with a behind-the-scenes look at a night portrait shoot on film.

There are many kinds of professional photographers and videographers. However, if you take two professionals from different disciplines, how much of a difference is there? This video gives you an idea of what specializing in your field can do.

An editorial shoot, like any type of photography, requires a perfect blend of planning and play. Timing is critical, especially when working with a celebrity. In this video, London-based photographer Ejatu Shaw shares a behind-the-scenes look of her shoot with radio host Roman Kemp.

Shooting a commercial is a difficult task at the best of times, but to do so only utilizing natural light, is even trickier. In this video, go behind the scenes of the shoot as Eric Floberg walks you through settings, equipment, and considerations to get to the professional final result.

I've seen people learn photography and lighting from a technical standpoint and for me, it always went over my head. What!? There is a mathematical calculation to getting good light? I always went for what "felt good" and for the longest time I felt insecure about my process, even though I booked often.

Shooting outdoors can be some serious business, cave photography is certainly no exception! Getting quality images in pitch blackness is an incredible feat, but the guys from Lowepro and Joby show how photographer Chris Higgins does it by journeying deep underground in a Tennessee cave.

National Geographic recently released this video of the creation of one of their cover shots. While there is no exact date on it, I'd bet that it was shot sometime in the early 2000s or late 1990s guessing from technology being used. Some real ingenuity was at work here, as evidenced by the custom-built pneumatic jaw, the hand-cast Tyrannosaurus skull, and not to mention what appears to be at least ten cameras all triggered at the same time via laser in an effort to capture the decisive moment.

If you think this is a sci-fi horror thriller film with Transformers-style VFX you'll be disappointed. In fact, the action takes place in the 50s as a young man turns unfortunate obstacles into a romantic outcome.

For the bulk of my career, I’ve operated on single-light photography for my projects while many others relied on multiple heads. This video is for the photographer eager to start and they think it requires a stockpile of gear. It’s to remind them they can operate on a lot less and start sooner if you have a clear direction with your concept.

The process from concept to actually shooting a short film can have a lot of moving parts that quickly balloon the overall size of a project. Unforeseen problems will inevitably arise, budgets, schedules, and resources, all putting stress on the crew. Now, imagine choosing to shoot the entire film underwater and at times at a depth of 100 feet. This is exactly what Josiah Gordan envisioned for his film "Angelita."

If you've never heard of the Ronald McDonald House, it's not a house full of fast food novelties. AJ Parker takes us behind the scenes with a video showing how this string of houses helps families going through tough medical circumstances.

Every once in a while I come across a photographer or project that blows me away in terms of content, just in time for Independence Day weekend, B&H released this video of Stacy Pearsall, US Airforce Veteran and combat photojournalist, telling the story behind one of her latest and largest project, photographing veterans. Take a look.

One deterrent that photographers and videographers often encounter can be loosely defined as "situation"; not having enough space, not being in the right location, and not having the right gear. There is almost always a way.

Music and visual components have always been used together as a form of art, most famously in the music video. As technology expands so does the way we use it for expression. The people over at Frucor (V Energy Drinks) recently challenged Joel Little, lead singer of Goodnight Nurse, to create a single track that could be played (mixed) live using only a body's movements in this unique musical and visual journey of a marketing campaign.

Do you have a couple of light modifiers sitting around, but not sure how to use them? In this video, learn how you can mold and shape the face just by moving the angle and direction of your light.

When taking a portrait of an artist, I find it is always a good idea to try and tell the story of the artist through the image. If someone is a musician, the aesthetic of a photograph should help you understand the type of music they play. Similarly, if someone is a drag queen – I try to photograph them in a way viewers can instantly ‘get’ their character. Join me behind the scenes in photographing Mango Sassi, a Drag Queen from Toronto, ON, and have a look into what it can take to create a collaborative image!

We had an idea for a shoot and acted on it. We had no idea that this photo would take me all the way to the legendary Abbey Road Studios.

It can be difficult to consistently push yourself to achieve more, but Morten Hilmer manages it. In this video, he ventures out into the Norwegian wilderness for days on end to capture the local wildlife in grueling conditions.

Advertising photography isn’t just about taking nice pictures. Every shot needs to sell an experience, blending technical skill with storytelling. That’s why planning and execution are crucial.

It's easy to get inspired when all your momentum is going in the same direction. But what do you do when you're feeling stalled?

Vincent Laforet's latest AIR series blankets the City of Angels with a farewell series of shots before the project will head to Europe for the first time starting mid-May. As Laforet continues shifting cities (from the previously covered New York City, Las Vegas, and San Francisco projects), his aesthetic slowly changes in response to the varying challenges and differences between shooting each city. Fstoppers caught up with Laforet to discuss the ever-present surprises in shooting AIR and its transformation as it grows into a larger project supported by G-Technology and pre-orders for Laforet's "AIR" book.

One of the easiest ways to enhance the story and transform a dull scene is by using lighting. In this video, learn to incorporate motivated light into your scenes to bring your story to life.

Arizona State University's mascot, 'Sparky', and its football team, the Arizona Sun Devils, have lit up several stadiums over the years with it's blazing and rock-driven intro video, but after seven seasons it looks like poor Sparky is in need of an update. The people over at True Story Films have taken over the task of sprucing the Sun Devil up for its new remake of its traditional stadium intro video.

Sometimes a portrait requires expensive hair pieces and jewelry... other times the shoot just needs clean makeup and some paper doilies.

On November 7th, 8th, and 9th Rob Grimm of PRO EDU will be giving away a 2-day pass to the Fstoppers Bahamas Workshop in May of 2014. It's free to enter, just tune in live for your chance to win on CreativeLIVE next week where we will announce the instructions for how to enter. The pass we are giving away is for our liquids, liquor, beer, and splashes workshop that will cover everything we know about shooting liquids.

Let's talk about one resolution you'll be able to stick to.

High altitudes, snow, biting cold, and a lot of equipment. Some shoots are harder than others and this music video looked particularly grueling. Nevertheless, the Nikon Z 9 is well-equipped for such trials; see how it performs in a testing climate.

Today, tomorrow, and Saturday RGG Photo will be teaching a commercial photography workshop LIVE on creativeLIVE. We will be giving away ROSCO Lite Panels, a 2 day workshop to the Fstoppers Bahamas workshop, a hard drive from OWC, and a lot of other stuff. Tune in and like us on Facebook to win.

Were you not able to attend this year's Fstoppers Workshops in the Bahamas? Well if you want to check out some of fun behind the scenes action live follow us on Periscope. Basically Periscope is a live video streaming app that will allow you to shadow some of the top photographers in the biz including Peter Hurley, Pye Jirsa, Julia Kuzmenko, Aaron Nace, Mike Kelley, and more.