I know it's only a week and a half into the new year, but I'm calling it early. Schwartz Flavour Shots has the most beautiful commercial of the year. Created by DJ MJ Cole with filmmaker Chris Cairns and a brilliant assist from the pyrotechnic wizards 'Machine Shop,' this video is a pretty spicy set of slow motion explosions. Schwartz calls it a 'Sonic Flavourscape.'

Are you a photographer that owns a business or are you a business owner who offers photography? That realization can sometimes mean the difference between having a successful business or not. Here’s why you should stop photographing people as the sole subject of your imagery.

Everything starts from nothing. Thousands dream of being full time photographers, but knowing how to start a business - and how to grow it - are really tricky parts of a complex equation. Emily Soto today celebrates 4 years of full time professional photography. In this exclusive interview, she shares insights on how she has grown her business, as well as the struggles, hardships and rewards she's encountered along the way. If you're curious about what it takes to make it as a successful photographer today, this might just provide the answers you've been looking for.

I always tether. Whether it's for a client or fashion editorial, the CamRanger has played a very important role in capturing rock solid images. But, before the wonderful technology of wireless tethering came into the picture, I always tethered to a workstation. However, that came with the annoyance of a long tether cable dangling off your camera. I always felt the sense of being trapped or held back from moving freely, I was always concerned and it was always a distraction.

For years I found myself making excuses as to why I wasn't creating the type of images that I so desperately wanted to make. I didn't have the gear, I didn't have a model, I didn't have access to a studio. At the end of the day, it came down to one simple thing, I never tried.

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.

While Taylor Swift has continued her tirade against all things music streaming, a concert photographer, Jason Sheldon, has himself written an open letter to her. Jason calls her a hypocrite for her stance on musical artistry, given her stance on the art of photography.

Shooting out on location in a busy environment like New York City can be extremely difficult. When dealing with police, public safety, traffic, and pedestrians, it can often be near impossible to create the look you want without sacrificing your lighting. The way videographer David Geffin tackled these issues in his latest project, "Let's Dance," is pretty brilliant.

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.

As one might expect (though perhaps not quite so soon after the H5D-50c announcement), Hasselblad has taken to Instagram to announce the H5D-200c MS, a 200-megapixel, multi-shot variant of the H5D-50c. The camera, which can still produce normal 50-megapixel stills at 6200 x 8272 pixels, also ads 4- and 6-shot capabilities for applications such as fine art reproduction, product photography, and more. At its highest resolution, the 200c MS produces massive and glory-clenching 600MB, 16-bit TIFF files.

As you build up your clientele, you will undoubtedly encounter a host of requests that can blindside you. Many photographers will learn quickly how being a good salesmen is just as vital to their business as the quality of their photographs. Below I have compiled a list of the most common customer concerns, and how to best overcome them while building value in yourself and in your brand.

Controlling your image is a valid quest for any photographer, as we all want to protect our brand. Seeing one’s work altered without permission can be frustrating, as can discovering your work on blogs that are void of any credit. The first response for most photographers is to watermark their images, ensuring that their logo or website graces every image that hits the internet. In today’s landscape, is watermarking your photographs the best way to protect them? Let's review both sides of this debate, and explore the current state of the watermark in photography.

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.

This is Part 1 in what will be an 8 part series for a dramatic beauty portrait. In the series of tutorials, we will go through everything from the gear used, to the lighting setups, and all the way through the complete retouching process. In Part 1, I will breakdown my gear list used for the shoot and I will thoroughly go through my lighting setup. In this video tutorial not only will you see the gear and setup, but also a behind the scenes look as me and my team go through hair, makeup, and shooting. The complete series of videos will be available here on Fstoppers and on my YouTube Channel.

Sometimes it pays to appreciate the one you’re with.

Following recent reports of their severe financial difficulties — and with them, the cancelation of a new line of premium compact cameras — Nikon announced to Japanese press new plans moving forward.

The use of Photoshop by companies is changing and it’s indicative of a much deeper trend. Earlier his year, American Eagle stopped retouching the models in their 'Aerie' lingerie shoots. They claim that the 9% sales increase last quarter is directly related to this position. This is an unprecedented commercial statement, and has wide implications for photographers, videographers and post production specialists everywhere.

We have been sold on the biggest myth of all time; In order to succeed at anything and have a lustrous career you must spend 4 years in an overinflated educational institution and spend a small fortune, which doesn’t include costly textbooks, supplies and living expenses. All in exchange for a fancy sheet of paper we call a degree… a piece of paper that gives us instant credit and a golden ticket to the gravy train. Right?

Have you ever tried to recreate an iconic image? It could take days of preparations to get anywhere close to the original. The location needs to be perfect, the makeup and wardrobe need to be spot on and the lighting needs to be accurate. In this incredible video created by "US" (Christopher Barrett and Luke Taylor) for The Sunday Times Culture, they managed to re-create 6 iconic images, in camera, in one seamless shot. Check out the final result and the BTS showing how they shot it.

This year Patrick and I were invited to Gulf Photo Plus in Dubai to film a behind the scenes look of what it's really like to go to this exotic workshop. The experience itself was one of the highlights of my life but the most memorable moment for me was the few minutes I had with each of the instructors. I decided to interview them about the pitfalls of their careers and what it takes to become successful as a photographer.

As your photography archive grows, so does the need to handle and protect that data. What happens if your computer doesn’t boot, or an image file won’t open? What if your home or studio gets robbed, or worse, catches fire? What if your backup drive fails, or your laptop gets stolen? These are all questions I ask myself when planning my backup strategy.

For the last three years or so, Scarlett Johansson has been the face behind the acclaimed Spanish clothing company Mango. In their latest Spring/Summer 2011 campaign, set in the Goldstein Residence in Beverly Hills, photographer superstar Mario Sorrenti builds his images exclusively with natural light and reflectors. It's hard to imagine a wet haired Johansson ever not looking incredible, so it should not come as a surprise that Mario and company produced some stunning images. Hopefully these photographs will encourage a lot of photographers to step away from the strobes every now and then...

Throughout the course of my creative career, I’ve overdrawn my bank account a lot, shed tears over stress, and stared in the mirror for hours in dejection. I’ve made my share of professional and personal mistakes and certainly learned the hard way from all of those choices. I’ve lost, I’ve won, I’ve sacrificed, and I’m blessed to have earned.

Holy butts. Sometimes the fact that I'm an artist and I'm allowed to get weird slips my mind. I don't have a boss, I'm allowed to create what I want, I'm allowed to try new things for the sake of playing, and I'm even allowed to start a blog post by saying "Holy butts." That rocks.

Despite heavily investing in new cameras over the last couple years, it is the still excellent Nikon D850, purchased two years ago, which has suddenly become brand new to me.

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.