It's truly incredible what they can do with film today, especially with the advancement of visual effects and motion graphics. When I first heard they were remaking Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I was incredibly sad; all those years growing up watching the original live action films featuring the puppets crafted by Jim Henson's. It was brilliant and really well done for a movie of its time. Then came the almost 100% CGI filled epic by Michael Bay himself, yet it works and it's fun.

Compositing is no beginner’s tactic. Before you dive in, provide time for the proper research and learn the skill set to prior to the job. Like many photographers in the game, initially I had serious trouble with lighting groups of 3 or more. There was always a face with a hard shadow or one more exposed than another.

In this video, Guadalajara-based Photographer and Retoucher Sid Vasandani, shows us how to recreate that classic Steven Meisel vibe, used in his controversial campaigns for Vague Italia's, "Makeover Madness" and "Supermodel Enter Rehab". Watch as Sid walks us through a behind-the-scenes shoot, where he runs down the lighting set up, before going into an in-depth explanation of the retouching and color grading workflow in Photoshop.

A successful Hollywood director created what is arguably some of the best snowball fight footage the world has ever seen in a new commercial for Apple.

I wanted something to control my exposure when shooting videos but I didn't want to sacrifice quality with a variable ND filter. To my surprise, the magnetic system by Freewell has been better than expected and even has features for photography that have replaced my older equipment.

In this video essay, Evan Puschak aka The Nerdwriter explains some of the techniques Ansel Adams used to achieve his technical and esthetic mastery. Using visualization and some other relatively easy to learn techniques, Adams learned to bring what he saw in his mind's eye to his photographs (yes, I said "easy to learn," but hard to master). It was Adams' commitment to taking photographs, with intent, that made him a master artist and led him to develop the tools he needed to bring his images to fruition.​

Gene Nagata a.k.a. Potato Jet was pretty excited when the Canon EOS R5 was announced but the dramas surrounding recording limits caused by overheating have become a significant factor. Nagata, along with fellow YouTuber Armando Ferreira, has spent some time testing it alongside the new a7S III from Sony and put the two cameras through their paces before coming to a decision as to which one he wants to add to his arsenal.

The Academy Awards nominations were recently released and it's no surprise that "The Wolf of Wall Street" received nominations in the "Best Picture" and "Best Actor" categories, but what about visual effects? The visual effects for the movie while extremely subtle are outstanding to say the least. The company behind the special effects for the movie is Brainstorm Digital. They released the VFX breakdown of "The Wolf on Wall Street", and proves just how much special effects can have an impact on modern storytelling.

We've recently covered the knots a photographer and videographer must know. The same guy, Mark Vargo, shows us how to correctly wrap cables, rope, and cords on location. It's something I thought I didn't need to know, but the skills will be very useful when your team has one more look to shoot and the wireless trigger's last battery is done and you need to use a syncing cable.

"All good things must come to an end." It's a common theme throughout this special by National Geographic in which we follow Steve McCurry on his quest of shooting the last roll of Kodak Kodachrome film ever made. It's a pretty daunting and heavy assignment to be sure - one McCurry is no stranger to. That fact is even more apparent when we learn that it was McCurry who asked for the final roll.

In 2019, it’s almost unthinkable not to be shooting 4K video, even if it’s not the final resolution of the video you’re delivering to a client. While I’ve made 4K editing work on something even as lowly as a 2013 Macbook Air, chances are, you’ll want a little more horsepower than that. Here’s a video that has you covered on building your own budget 4K editing PC.

Kelly McGarry is a freeride mountain biker who strapped a GoPro to his helmet and rode away down a narrow ridge. On either side, he would have been met with a steep fall. As if this wasn't amazing enough, he proceeds to do a backflip over a 72-foot canyon gap along the way! He only came up with second place, even with such a great run.

A few months ago, Fstoppers reviewed a variety of gimbals and we picked our favorite one for the Panasonic GH5. Just after we published our comparison, the Moza Air 3 Axis Gimbal was released and they decided to send us one. The Zhiyun-Tech Crane is still amazing, but the Moza Air is now our favorite gimbal.

Adventure Sports Photographer Tim Kemple was one of the only photographers in the world who was lucky enough to try out the new Phase One IQ250 that was just announced earlier today. Check out the behind the scenes video, but also read the full article for my interview with Tim, where he shares his thoughts on the system, as well as what it's like to beta test cameras.

Whether you’re a photographer or you focus on video, this article highlights the high octane visual set piece created by Slaughterhouse Pictures, who successfully combined principles of both stills and motion work to create high impact visual media with zero budget and very limited resources. Read the exclusive FStoppers article and watch the BTS video to get some simple and highly effective little tips that you will be able to apply to all aspects of your own work.

I don’t know about you, but I'm not personally acquainted with anybody who could afford, or even want, to buy a RED Scarlet before their twenties. That’s a serious commitment to your career, and it’s exactly what Kansas teenager Thad Swift did.

The new Canon EOS R5 and R6 mirrorless cameras have been making waves for their highly impressive feature sets, but one thing that has some worried is their potential for overheating when shooting video. If you have been wondering about that yourself, this great video takes a look at real-world usage and what you should expect from them.

If you're constantly seeking inspiration from the same places, it can be hard to move forward creatively. Worse yet, if many others are also using the same sources as you, there is a risk of making work which is just like everyone else's. With this in mind, the guys over at Canon Australia have produced another episode in their series from The Lab, a collection of short experiments designed to shift creative thinking behind the lens.

Ever wonder about VR filmmaking, but aren’t sure how to get started? Here is a mini-primer using the Canon RF 5.2mm f/2.8 L Dual Fisheye 3D VR lens and the R5 C camera.

Despite being a 45 MP stills and 8K raw video monster, is there a reason why you shouldn't buy the new Canon EOS R5 mirrorless when compared to the rest of Canon's mirrorless lineup?

By now most of you have probably watched the Matrix movies and seen how the bullet time effects were created, and if not where have you been? In a nutshell, the effect was used in the films too slow down or freeze a moment while adding a rotation around the subject using multiple cameras to capture that moment. Why did I bring that up?

The most common complaint with nearly all video editing software available on the market is the learning curve. Most programs lack a certain degree of intuitiveness, so any attempt to tinker leads to exasperation. That was certainly my number one frustration with past attempts to teach myself to use some of the heftier video editing suites. Enter ACDSee Video Studio 4, the answer to exacting and irritating video editing sessions.

Andrew Dean from HillBillyGripTruck.com posted his updated video shootout of the Gh4, Gh3, 5d3, 7d, and C100. The results were pretty cool and we were able to get a nice side by side view of quality from each of the cameras as they were all setup to be relatively close in settings. On top of making sure settings were close, all of the cameras shot at the same time in the same exact lighting situation to make sure they were all brought an equal scene to work with.

How do you move beyond using someone else's actions and presets to tone your images? It’s a lot simpler than you’d think. There are so many different ways to achieve similar results in post-production, and having so many options can be extremely intimidating when you’re just learning how to edit. This is the reason that many photographers will rely on actions and presets to “color grade” and tone their images when they are first starting off.

There's no getting away from it, social media is both important and ever-changing. One way you can keep up and generate a bigger following is by creating short-form videos and this little camera is great for that.

Last week saw the release of ‘Anomaly’, a film that is redefining the approach and model for independent, narrative film making. Co-Director Salomon Ligthelm outlines how he managed the project as it grew from “a 2 minute art film” into the astonishing 38 minute-long final masterpiece, and provides key takeaways for all of us that we can apply to our own stills or motion projects. If you have any interest in what's coming over the horizon for cutting edge, independent, visual media production, this is for you.

I'm usually not a huge fan of stop motion videos but this 6 minute short by Derek Kwok and Henri Wong is incredible. Every detail of this video from the lighting to the sound is top notch. The design of the action figures and their animations were sometimes so good that they appear to be real. Even if stop motion isn't your thing, this video is worth checking out.

Now this is fascinating: Lady Gaga worked with photographer Robert Wilson to produce a stunning video portrait. The portrait was one of a set of others that were on display in the Lourve last year, but are only released to American audiences last Saturday at the Watermill Center in New York. Likely as a marketing initiative, two minutes of those 6 hours have been uploaded to YouTube.

The Nerdwriter is a Youtube channel run by a guy called Evan Puschak. He uploads great analysis video essays about movies, writers, and most recently, about one of the great vloggers of our time, Casey Neistat. Now although Casey finished his daily vlog, it’s still important to analyze and see how Casey as an editor of his vlog went about shooting, and most importantly, how he edited his vlogs to make it entertaining and fun to watch.

Phoenix based model and photographer Shantia Veney took some time to make a quick three and a half minute video demonstrating how a constant, fluid, motion of dance-like movement looked in front of the camera. She explained on Facebook that the video was to simply show how to move gracefully from one pose to another and reminded her followers that different photographers may require different actions and pauses between poses.

The new year is upon us. In 2016, many of us will take on resolutions related to our photography. There’s probably not a more common resolution than the 365 project, where a photographer commits to publicly post one photo every day. Projects range in scope, theme, and popularity, but one thing is for sure: Most of us never complete it.

About 5 years ago, when I was still in my Photography college in Australia, our teachers would regularly introduce us to the new and noteworthy Australian photographers' and digital artists' work. Among others there was one artist, whose work really grabbed my attention and I have been watching her growth and success ever since.

Now that many of us are shooting with DSLR cameras that handle both photo and video we often find ourselves doing a bit of both. For example, while I specialize in shooting weddings it is nice to be able to capture a bit of video of my clients and use it in a slideshow such as those done in Animoto or Lightroom 5. While I would love to invest in a slider for the videos, it is just not in my budget and would not be used enough. This video tip by Fenchel & Janisch will show how to get similar shots to those done with a slider, using the tripod you already own.

This week I wanted to share a few of the tools we commercial photographers use to create our tabletop images. Particularly the items used in photographing beverages. There's a lot of trial and error when it comes to this sort of photography, often times we find ourselves using things in ways far from their originally intended purpose. Having said that, there's a lot of things that have become kind-of standard practice in food/beverage photography, some of those items I'll share with you today.

Back in April, filmmaker Mark Bone released a video singing the praises of Catalyst Browse, free software from Sony that took the gyro data from the FX9 and processed handheld footage to make it look as though it was shot on a gimbal. It turns out that the Sony a7S III does exactly the same, and it’s far better than warp stabilization.

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is bringing its attention to the camera world with results that would make even the most die-hard GoPro fan think twice about their next purchase.

Last year, photographer duo Dylan Howell and Sara Byrne (of Dylan and Sara Photography) posted an awesome video showing you how to create beautiful double-exposure photos in-camera, a technique popular in fine art, portrait, and wedding photography. I just stumbled across this awesome tutorial by event and wedding photographer Andrew Klokow showing you how to replicate this cool look quickly and fairly easily in Photoshop.

Pressure, fear, joy, excitement – these are not uncommon emotions on any shoot. A few weeks ago, I spent a few hours in a helicopter above New York City with Vincent Laforet where we experienced all of these emotions. This exclusive interview and BTS video highlights not only what’s involved to produce aerial stills of this nature, but provides 5 key insights we can all apply to our own shoots.

Unless you're filming horror, shaky footage is almost always highly undesirable. Now, however, you have lots of ways you can create dynamic shots and keep the visuals steady, so which is the best one?

Over the last few years, there just haven't been that many massive updates to DJI's Phantom drone lineup. The biggest was perhaps the inclusion of its own camera when it ditched the need to add a GoPro to the bundle. But just looking at today's Phantom 4 design is enough to indicate the major steps DJI took to step into an entirely new generation of autonomy. Featuring class-leading obstacle avoidance and autonomous flying modes, the Phantom 4 is so good that people are afraid of the implications of never actually having to learn to pilot a drone.