Recent Videography Articles

The Bad and the Beautiful: Where Does Helmut Newton Fit Into Our New World?

Over the last few years, we've increasingly and very publicly questioned our behaviors, our politics, our history, our heroes, our statues, and our art. It's only reasonable that we question our photography idols. Where do Helmut Newton's hyper-erotic photography and his ruminations on power fit into our new world?

How 'Rogue One' Created Full CGI Characters of Peter Cushing and 19-Year-Old Carrie Fisher

"Rogue One" is the latest addition to the epic space battle in the "Star Wars" universe, and damn, did it impress. From all angles, the film looked to hit on all the cues that made the original 70s and 80s films incredible, yet still filled it with plenty of new and relevant stories to bring it to life in 2016. Capping off a wild year of many celebrity deaths, it brings an interesting question: should we bring back deceased actors to fill a role?

Why You Should Start Printing Your Photos

Since the birth of digital cameras, there has been less need to print your photos. Many of the newer photographers have never printed or even sent their photos to be printed at a lab. Why should you if your audience is all online?

Autofocus in the Fuji X-T4 is Still Unreliable

Fujifilm is probably one of my favorite companies right now. They produce some of the best products within their respective formats. For APS-C the X-T series of cameras are probably the best. For medium format, the GFX 100 is the best in several key categories. Unfortunately, the problem I and many other Fuji shooters face, is the unreliable autofocus.

Is Flixel Ushering In A New Era For Photography?

We’ve heard plenty about the death of the humble photo as video proliferates. But photography is still far more accessible than video, often because video editing is still so time intensive. Instagram introduced video more than a year ago yet it is still predominantly a platform for sharing still photographs. But all that could be about to change. Last month I shot video as Flixel partnered with Lindsay Adler and saw something very interesting take place that got me thinking - could we be about to usher in a completely new era for photography?

Adobe's Lightroom Coffee Break Gives Quick, One-Minute Tutorials for Some Tips You Might Not Know

Adobe launched a new YouTube series through their Lightroom channel to give Lightroom users some extra tips on features they may not have come across yet. While some highlighted features such as viewing masking for the sharpening tool are a little better known, others are more tucked away and might come as a surprise, like this feature that allows you to update the overall effect of a local adjustment with multiple sliders in effect.

Surprising Micro Four Third Low Light Video Experiment

If you have previously been told micro four third cameras are not the best option for shooting video in low light situations. Then you just might be pleasantly surprised when you see the results of this video.

The Sony RX0 - The Action Camera That's More Than Meets The Eye

Sony is the most exciting camera brand right now. There I said it. They just keep bouncing from field to field making huge leaps and bounds in technology and the latest example of that is the entirely new, exciting Sony RX0—Sony’s first foray into the action sports world. But it's not exciting for the reasons that you might imagine.

How The Sun Sees You - Ultraviolet Camera Shows A Different Side Of Skin

Photographer and Filmmaker Thomas Leveritt had a radical idea: find people on the street, film their faces with an ultraviolet camera, and show his subjects the not-yet-visble changes to their skin. The participant's reactions range from shock to laughter, but it is obviously that no one had ever seen their face in this light.

Will the DJI Ronin-S Be the One-Handed Gimbal King, and Should I Wait for It?

At CES 2018, DJI released details of the Ronin-S, a one handed gimbal system with modular add-ons for creative filmmaking. This is already a crowded market, with Zhiyun-Tech and Moza offering some of our favorite options, but given DJI’s proven track record of building top class gimbals, should you wait for the Ronin-S before investing in a new one-handed gimbal system?

iPhone 8 Vs. $30,000 RED Camera: Slo-Mo Showdown

The iPhone 8 now shoots 1080p up to 240 fps which is genuinely an impressive feature. This is especially true when you consider the fact that currently there isn't a single DSLR on the market from Canon or Nikon that can shoot at those frame rates. The current highest is from the Canon 1DX II which can only shoot up to half the frame rate of the iPhone and at a cost of $5,999. In most cases, if you are planning on filming at 240 fps then you may need to look at some very high-end cameras with very high-end price tags. This is where the RED Epic W comes into play and Jonathan Morrison, a prominent YouTuber, decided to compare it to the new iPhone 8.

How to Make Your GoPro Footage Look Awesome

GoPro cameras are some of the most versatile cameras on the market. The super compact size and lightweight design make them ideal for a lot of creative uses. Not to mention their durability and water resistance. This makes them ideal for those strange and somewhat crazy angles.

How To Make Snow in Photoshop with Custom Brushes

Setting aside the runny noses, forget the frozen fingers and the frostbitten toes, and the winter season can lend itself to some pretty magical photos. Personally, and I’m sure many of you will agree, it’s hard to find a willing subject and convince myself to drag my gear out when there is a blizzard. The truth is, if I could create a life-sized snow globe studio with central heating, I’d be a happy man. Well, I found an alternate solution.

How One Photo Changed Everything (a fish tale)

Sunday seems like the right time to tell a big fish story, so I was happy when I stumbled across director Kibwe Tavares's, "JONAH". It's a visually impressive fiction that begins with every photographer's worst nightmare (a stolen camera) and becomes the tale of how one photo changed everything. Well, one photo and some masterful visual effects executed by Factory Fifteen and Jellyfish Productions. Watch the follow-up, "JONAH MAKING OF" for a peek into how it was all achieved.

What North Korea is Really Like from the Point of View of a Vacationing Photographer

As some of you may have noticed by now, I'm kind of hooked on these mini documentaries put out by Seeker Stories. They're interesting, easily digestible, informative and from the point of view of our industry peers. This latest video features Bath-based, UK video producer/photographer Matt Paish as he takes us into North Korea on vacation. See what it's like to vacation in one of the most isolated nations in the world.

The Sony a9 Is So Fast That You Can Make a Movie From Still Image Bursts

The Sony a9 is a pretty exciting camera, as it's the first mirrorless camera to take square aim at the two highest-level DSLRs, the Canon 1D X Mark II and the Nikon D5. It's made waves for many features, not the least of which is its insane continuous shooting rate of 20 fps. This video highlights just how fast that is using a clever method.

Using GoPro Camera Arrays For A Live Bullet-Time Effect

Marc Donahue from Permagrin Films has been busy since his production of Dream Music, which got over 2 million views on YouTube. Most recently, Marc has been experimenting with GoPro camera arrays for a unique effect, most similar to bullet-time like in the Matrix. Click on to see the final video and read an interview with the man behind the lens.

A Hands-On Video of Nikon's Df Camera

UPDATED Post:
Moments after posting our fly by the pants video of the Nikon Df a reader pointed us towards another video by Chris Niccolls of TheCameraStoreTV, which frankly covers it all and generally kicks ass. So I decided to scoot our video to the bottom and share his exception hands-on with you instead.

DJI Inspire Pro and X5 Camera Review - An Absolute Game Changer

I recently had the pleasure of picking up one of the first final production models of the Inspire Pro and X5 Micro 4/3 Camera, and immediately took it to one of the most beautiful photography destinations in the world to test it out: Meteora Greece. I spent the better part of a week there getting the hang of flying and capturing both photos and videos and I was able to come away with some stunning results. This review is meant to showcase what I was able to capture and give you an idea about the capability of the new X5 Camera and the key differences between the Inspire and...

YouTube Cheating: The Overuse of B-Roll Is Becoming a Problem

What happened to b-roll? It used to be the sprinklings on top of the proverbial cupcake, but now, we've forgotten about the cake. There are far too many occasions now where watching a tutorial is just difficult because of the amount of b-roll in the video.

Enrique Iglesias Seriously Injures Hand during Show from Flying Drone

Singer Enrique Iglesias was injured by a flying drone recording footage at one of his concerts in Tijuana, Mexico. The drone is used during his concerts to capture the audience and various points in the show for more dynamic vantage points. When Iglesias went to grab the drone to bring the camera closer to his face, which he has done before, the blades from the device severely sliced his hand calling him off stage to tend to the wound.

What's New in Adobe Premiere Pro 2019

Premiere Pro 2019 is upon us and if you’re a video producer or looking into getting into video, there are some significant changes that that you’ll find speed up your workflow.

Drone Camera Shoots Super Slick Skater Video "Firefly"

Firefly is a super slick skater video shot with a JamCopter, a remote controlled helicopter rigged with a camera, that follows a skater and his LED lit board around a city.

The birds eye perspective and high camera angle shots create some really nice movements and give scale to the skaters journey. The project was created by samadhiproduction.cz and utilizes the use of remote controlled helicopters from jamcopters.cz.

Very cool, very slick, very simple.

Look How Ridiculous The New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Movies Look Without CGI

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.

Lighting and Retouching Tutorials for Recreating the Styles of Some of the World's Best Photographers

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.

How To Dodge & Burn In Photoshop With Elena Jasic

We have featured Elena Jasic on Fstoppers a few times now. Most recently we featured a tutorial from her on how to utilize frequency separation. Elena's newest tutorial is on dodging and burning, and how she goes about doing it in her work flow. Dodging and burning can add dimension to your photos and take them to the next level.