Water dripping down the side of a beer bottle, splashing around a shampoo bottle, or sparkling on a flower petal are staples of product photography, but creating water effects in a controlled environment doesn't have to be difficult or expensive.

Photographing glassware is especially challenging, as controlling the reflections can be particularly difficult. Even if it is not something you normally do, it is fantastic lighting practice, and this excellent video tutorial will show you how to photograph clean glassware on a black background with only speedlights.

Kevin Winzeler, a commercial photographer based out of Salt Lake City, Utah, had an amazing opportunity this summer to travel to New Zealand for one of his advertising shoots for Altra Footwear. He shot both in the studio for the initial product shots, but he also took the shoot outdoors in some amazing New Zealand locations for some actions images, as well.

If you've been longing to make your photos a lot more interactive, there's a new app launching today that’s set to cure your itch. The mad scientists at Fyuse have come up with some incredibly cool spatial technology that blends photography and video to create a unique and interactive experience, all from your iOS or Android device.

Ecommerce images represent a product on the web to provide potential customers with an accurate representation of the products. Therefore an efficient workflow that enables you to get an image of a product that is fully in focus is extremely crucial. Check out this article to find out how easy focus stacking might be the answer for you if you find yourself struggling with focusing issues.

Leica has always been known as the Mercedes-Benz of cameras. With their unparalleled quality of build, and beautiful designs, they've been able make and sell cameras at the premium price tags exceeding $7000. With their latest creation, the X Vario, Leica looks to bridge the gap with Leica's quality, zoom lenses, and a sub-$3K price tag.

If you’ve ever spent time shooting product photography or still life, you probably recognize and appreciate random surfaces and textures that would make flattering surfaces to photograph things on. Here’s an easy and inexpensive way to create leather texture the next time you find yourself in need of a classy surface.

Did you know studies have shown that viewers form an opinion of people within 1/10th of a second of seeing them? In a similar way, viewers judge brands with a cursory glance. Brands rely on design elements such as color, shape, line, and font to communicate their identity and values.

This couple took wedding photography to a whole new level when they got their wedding shots taken. They used a series of drones in order to capture their big day. The shots that they created are undoubtedly original and stand out from the crowd... for now. With the release of the new DJI Phantom 3 that we recently covered, drones could be here to stay, but are we at a stage now where we can outsource our photography to machines?

Amazing Prime members are getting an extra little perk in their accounts today, free unlimited photo storage. In the service Amazon is calling Prime Photos, users of the Amazon Prime membership program are now able to store images in their original resolutions to Amazon Cloud Drive - available for any device, mobile or otherwise. Pairing this with their free 2 day shipping, Amazon Prime has become an absolute must for photographers everywhere.

Colors are very important in a composition and should be considered at the moment of capture. When shooting in still life, for example, gels can bring a good shot to the next level as Dustin Dolby from Workphlo shows us in this video.

In New York City, Adobe owned showcase website Behance sets the bar high for competitors in 2014 by providing re-designed profiles that work seamlessly across all devices. Among those features, are a fully responsive new web layout, editing tools to help your organization and much more allowing you to quickly see your work and your inspiration that drives it.

Lowepro’s new DryZone bags come in two different models, a 40-Liter backpack (40L) and a 20-Liter duffel (20L). Lowepro has been making bags for years, and these are a new entry into their DryZone series. These new bags have an IPX6 waterproof rating, which means they can take a significant amount of water blasted onto them and keep your kit dry. Think rappelling through a waterfall or taking on some white water rapids in a small boat. This review will focus solely on my experiences with the 20L and how well it performed.

Canon's EOS M was a good first-try mirrorless, compact APS-C camera that fell a bit short. After withholding the EOS M2 for other markets, the M3 comes to the United States after two generations of much-needed improvements. Those features, however, just might launch the platform into best-in-class territory -- at least on paper.

Creating long exposure is fun, but having the right tools to paint magic shapes with light makes it even better. The Magilight by Fotorgear is meant to help you bring to life the most insane long exposure you’ve ever dreamed of. Here is its review.

The photo gear bag market is saturated with so many options of style and size that new products within this space really need to come out swinging with never-been-better looks and features in order to catch interest. The California-based company Booq, most known for their line of laptop bags and Apple product cases and covers, recently released the Python Catch shoulder-carry camera bag into this market. In this review I'll share my experience with the Python Catch and uncover what features it offers that separates itself from the competition.

Each year, TIME Magazine picks and highlights the best photography books of the 12 months prior. This year, they’ve put a special focus on the growing trend of bucking the traditional publishing system as many of their choices fall in the realm of self-publishing and self-promotion. This was made most evident when many of TIME’s editors picked the same book for the top spot, Magnum Photographer Peter van Agtmael’s self-published Disco Night September 11, an often brutal look at America post-September 11.

Behind the Scenes of a Barbie Fashion Model Photo Shoot from Paul Jordan on Vimeo.

Canon's latest cameras are compact, but pack a punch (maybe). While some might be compelled to ask themselves about the reasons behind releasing the lackluster EOS M10 at all, the G5 X and G9 X both fit well into Canon's high-end compact lineup with interesting features that might draw the casual shooter looking for something a bit more spectacular than le quotidien.

Product photography is a fun genre that will challenge you to really fine-tune your lighting and post-processing skills. This excellent video will show you the process of building up an eye-catching image of a black product on a black background.

As someone who has owned countless backpacks, both for photography and for trekking, I can tell you that fit and comfort are second to none when deciding what pack to purchase. My partner sometimes struggles when selecting a pack, as her options can sometimes be limited depending on the brand. F-Stop Gear has taken notice of this very thing, and is testing the market with a Kickstarter fundraiser to create a camera backpack that is built for the body type of women.

PRO.edu has released its newest tutorial, "The Complete Guide to Product Photography and Retouching." This in-depth tutorial features over 20 hours of content on shooting and retouching, taught by Tony Roslund. The tutorial is currently available and being sold with a $25-off early-bird discount, this week only. Use the promo code 25OFF to recieve the discount at checkout. RGG brings us a curriculum based approach to teaching photography with 55 Pre-production, 11 Photo Shoot, and 11 Retouching tutorial videos.

There are many instances where I’m working on site and I need to adjust camera position while on a tripod. From interiors and architecture, food and product photography, often a tripod alone can’t provide the convenience or flexibility I need to get a job done quickly. In other situations where space is limited, my gear needs to occupy as small of a footprint as possible while shooting tethered. That’s where the Tether Tools T Setup and Tether Table Aero Traveler comes in.

Announced this morning, preceding PhotoPlus Expo, is the brand new Epson SureColor P600. Kicking off the new SureColor P line, the P600 uses Epson's UltraChrome HD Ink to deliver high quality and affordable prints from your home. However, the biggest announcement from this 13" printer comes in it's black intensity, at black density with L values as low as 2 (~10 shades of black density).

I’ve been shooting stills and video alongside the rest of the crew with Clear & Cold Cinema, while working on the Michigan Ice Film. Before I departed sunny Colorado, I was lucky enough to get my hands on a Mountainsmith Descent Pack, and I don’t know what I would have done without it.

You heard right! Fujifilm has officially announced the releaes of their new firmware update which will bring the Fujifilm X-T1 viewfinder better performance on top of more enhancements to the award-winning Fujifilm X-E2. The new functions and performance gains that Fuji has announced give many photographers a reason to pick up Fuji cameras for their bags and many a reason to open their bags back up and take them back out.

Kai and friends at DigitalRev TV have got their hands on the very new and very exceptional Milvus lenses from Zeiss. Their test includes the 21mm f/2.8, 35mm f/2, 50mm f/1.4, and 85mm f/1.4 models that make up the core of this new lens system. These new lenses were designed from the ground up to keep pace with the insane resolving power that modern digital camera sensors are capable of.

Big fan of tablets? Today, Wacom announced the release of the newest addition to the Intuos family, the Intuos5. With the addition of multi-touch options (recognizing both Windows and Macintosh gestures), a heads-up display system called Express View, an upgraded ergonomic pen (although all Wacom pens will work with the Intuos5), and optional wireless connectivity, the Intuos5 looks to offer everything current tablet users have been clamoring for.

Hey guys, Paul here. Today is a busy day of packing for me. I'm shooting 41 shows for New York Fashion week and my plane leaves bright and early. I will share my experience with all of you as soon as I get back. For now, I wanted to share a quick down and dirty solution to shooting product shots, or any subject for that matter, especially when you have the client present in the studio... or garage in my case.

Wine bottles can be a real challenge to light and photograph, particularly with their curves and reflective glass. Nonetheless, you can learn quite a lot from the process. If you would like a fun weekend project, check out this great video tutorial that will show you everything you need to know to create a professional wine bottle product image.

Ideal for mounting Leica X- and M-system cameras, Leica's new 24/38 ball heads and new carbon tripod provide the same high-quality precision engineering typical of the storied German brand. Well suited for travel and location work, the 2.6-pound carbon fiber tripod when matched with one of the ball heads extends to five feet high and collapse to 1.7 feet when packed.

Argentina-based food stylist and illustrator Anna Keville Joyce has managed to take the art of food styling to a whole new level, for her recent creations are true culinary masterpieces (so what if they’re not made to eat?). While food photographer Agustín Nieto had quite the task of doing justice to these mouthwatering works, he managed to capture them perfectly, but as he readily admits, it didn’t come easy.

When you think of product photography and lighting, you likely think of intricate, multi-light setups that precisely sculpt every last highlight and shadow. Nonetheless, there's a lot you can accomplish with simpler setups, and this great video will show you how to get a professional shot of a perfume bottle using very minimal gear.

If you have ever wanted to create dark and moody images of people or food, then this video will help you understand how to light them.

After becoming the best selling off camera flash light modifier on Amazon.com in 2014, we were sad to announce that we had completely sold out of our entire Fstoppers FlashDisc inventory. If you have been waiting patiently for our stock to replenish wait no more; our US Amazon Store now has a fresh batch of inventory. For those of you who have been waiting for the FlashDisc in your region of the world, we have good news for you too!

After working with lightweight, compact jib options for DSLR sized cameras, I decided to check out a more affordable and durable option. In this review I’ll show you a sample of the footage from the Taurus Jr. Heavy Duty Jib, and point out where it rocks and where it could be better.

The guys over at Alpine Labs have announced a new Kickstarter campaign to fund their follow-up time-lapse motion control system, the Radian 2. Packed with the same features as the Radian, this new version adds a wireless preview of your time-lapse and complete control of your camera via USB allowing you to change camera settings like aperture, shutter speed, and ISO while shooting. But one of the most welcomed features is the ability to pair the Radian 2 with select sliders adding motorized slide movements to your time-lapse making Radian a complete motion control time-lapse platform.

I love new stuff. Who doesn't? The only thing I love more than new stuff is new stuff that guarantees to make my life easier in some way. Allow me to introduce you to the Broncolor FT-System Continuous Lights.

In my previous article, we talked about the technique and tips for performing focus stacking for e-commerce shoots. In this article, we will further expand into discussing the advantages of using focus stacking techniques, apart from the obvious reasons of getting the entire product to be in focus. There are a few more logical reasons and advantages behind focus stacking.

Built on years of experience with creating the film industry's favorite high-resolution digital cinema cameras, RED now brings the Weapon upgrade in 6K variants due out this summer and in an 8K variant due to ship by the end of the year. There's quite a bit of new information to go with this announcement, but for now, we'll go over the main and most important points.

I'd love to shoot the new Tesla Roadster, but being that it's going to cost a quarter-million and it's not even for sale yet, that wasn't a possibility. I got the next best thing, the official Tesla Roadster diecast model.

The calendar just turned its pages to 2015. We have tiny and versatile cameras like the GoPro Hero 4 filming 4K video, camera companies making 50-megapixels DSLRs, and artists making mind-blowing stop-motion/hyper-lapse/time-lapse films. So why is it still so hard for artists and big brands to easily connect to collaborate on photo and video projects?