Recent Commercial Articles

[Fail] You Won't Believe This Enormous Photoshop Failure

A user on the popular social website Reddit was the first to bring our attention to this enormous Photoshop fail. A recent Target advertisement left one of the models sporting a little something extra. You won't believe your eyes when you see this, nor will you believe that somehow, nobody caught the mistake.

[BTS] The Anatomy of a Luxury Interior Shot

When it comes to interior and architectural photography, there is often much more involved than what meets the eye at first glance. In order to create a photograph that is realistic and enticing, careful planning, staging, lighting and a healthy dose of patience is imperative. In this Fstoppers Original, we dive into a luxury interior shot and see what it takes to construct a mouth-watering interior photo from the ground up.

[Travel] How To Make A Viral Video With Someone Else's Money

Casey Neistat is a great film maker that you may remember for his Peanut Butter Lid Lens Hack. Recently he was hired by Nike to create something interesting for their Nike + Fuel Band. The story goes that instead of making a traditional commercial, Casey took Nike's budget and traveled around the world until it was all spent. He filmed his 10 day escapade and produced the following video. Even if the Nike story was staged, it's still a pretty inspiring video made by an incredible budget film maker.

[Video] Shooting The Ad Campaign For Discovery's River Monsters

Our good friend Blair Bunting is at it again. This time Blair was hired to shoot the ad campaign for The Discovery Channels hit show River Monsters. The concept was relatively simple; to have the show’s host Jeremy Wade wrestling a giant fish in the shallow waters near South Beach, Florida. To do this Blair's team used a fake fish that was then replaced in post. To freeze the water with a quick flash duration and stay portable Blair used the new Photoflex Tritons.

[Education] Mark Wallace Is Coming To A City Near You

Most of you know Mark Wallace as the face behind Adorama TV. He's a very accomplished photographer based out of Phoenix, Arizona and we recently were able to share some drinks with him when we filmed Blair Bunting's Aventador video. Mark gave us a little glimpse about his 2012 Workshop Tour and now the details are finally able to be revealed. If you are a fan of Mark, which we hope you are, click the full post to hear about his new 7 city tour!

[BTS] Timothy White Shoots for "Cowboys and Aliens"

Well, It seems like the video doesn't allow embedding so everybody check it out HERE

This is a great behind the scenes video from Timothy White as he does the promotional photography for Cowboys and Aliens. I'll warn you, there's not much about the technical side of photography, a lot of these shots are done with natural light, but you can see most of his lighting set ups when he does use lights, and he talks at length about environmental portraiture and creating a dramatic image.

[BTS] The Wade Brothers Film "House Of Fly 53"

This is a pretty cool time lapse of the production of the Wade Brothers shoot "House Of Fly 53". It's a pretty interesting concept that incorporates both a 10 minute video and a series of images used for print and web advertising. The incredible part of all of this was that both the video and stills were shot at exactly the same time, which saved production and talent costs.

[BTS] Erik Almas Shoots An Amazing Composite For Credit Suisse

Erik Almas is definitely one of my favorite photographers and this behind the scenes video does a great job of explaining his process for creating his amazing composite images. I really like this video because in addition to just the photography, it speaks to the idea and inspiration behind the photography, and why they chose to shoot what they did.

[Video] How To Light A Person For A Video Interview

We get asked to show our lighting for our Fstoppers Original interviews all the time but it seems like we always forget to shoot our lighting schemes. StillMotion just released a killer video that shows how they light interviews with key, fill, hair, and background lights. By using Profoto's new HMI lights with Air remotes, you can easily change the output of each light without moving from behind your camera. Of course all of this still applies to still photography as well.

[Video] Canon 5D MK III vs Nikon D800

The Canon 5D MkIII and the Nikon D800 are two of the hottest cameras on the market right now. In this video commercial photographer Nathan Elson joins up with The Camera Store's Chris Niccolls to see how these two cameras stack up in the image quality department. Enjoy!

[BTSV] Photoshoot With Hockey Legend Trevor Linden

Photographer Dave Hamilton takes us behind the scenes on his latest shoot with hockey legend, Trevor Linden. This video is very informative and well produced - including a lighting diagram for each of the different setups. Aiming to get that perfect cover shot for Vancouver View Magazine's April 2012 issue, Dave was able to get some nice shots using his Canon 5D Mark II.

[BTSV] The Making Of Canon's 5d Mark III Promo Video, Radball

You may remember Canon's promo video for the 5d Mark III that I posted a couple of weeks ago, which showcased the, ehem, interesting sport of Radball. Love it or hate it, I think we can at least agree that it was pretty entertaining. Canon recently released a companion to the promo video which goes behind the scenes into the filming of the piece.

[Video] This Video Was Created Entirely In Photoshop! (Yes, Video)

The Photoshop team rolled out a video which showcases some of the direction which Adobe intends to go in the future. It was shot and then edited entirely in a future version of Photoshop. Though the video itself is pretty standard, it's a glimpse of what's to come. Do you believe that Adobe should keep video editing separate from Photoshop? We want to hear your thoughts.

[BTS Video] Monte Isom Shoots Sergio Martinez for HBO

Good friend of Fstoppers and Commercial Photographer, Monte Isom, takes us behind the scenes on his latest shoot with world class boxer, Sergio Martinez. Click through to the video to check out his lighting placement and setups. Enjoy!

[BTS Video] Dean Bradshaw Lights And Composites A Variety Of Athletes

Commercial photographer Dean Bradshaw provides us with a unique perspective of his recent photo shoot for "Startrac". The shoot involved a handful of athletes being shot while mock competing in their individual sports. The athletes were shot in a controlled environment and then composited into different backgrounds in post.

[BTS Video] Tips On Using Natural Light And Strobes

In this behind the scenes video, Jay P Morgan shows us how he combined natural light and strobes to get that perfect shot while on location. First, he starts by determining where the sun is going to set on the horizon by using the very handy iPhone app, Sunseeker. For this project, he was shooting stills as well as video, which can get a bit tricky. Using a Kessler Crane he was able to get the video shots just before sunset. After the sun started setting he pulled out the strobe lighting; two Hensel Porty L 1200 kits. If you enjoy this video be sure to check out some of his other...

[Video] Zombie Boy Rick Genest Stars in Sick Dermablend Video

Rick Genest (aka Zombie Boy) is nothing if not intense. The 26-year-old Canadian fashion model is tattooed head to toe to look like a decomposing corpse, representing “the art of the rotting cadaver.” Genest, who you may recognize from Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” video, spent over 6 years and thousands of dollars on his body art project, so who better to star in a commercial for tattoo-cover-up cosmetic company Dermablend?

[BTS Video] Todd Jones Shoots X Games Athletes at 1,000 FPS with Phantom HD Gold

Who doesn’t love watching the X Games? Those athletes are crazy. Just as captivating, though, is this behind-the-scenes two-part video on The Northface and X Games Baldface commercial. Director Todd Jones pulls out all the stops in this two part BTS documentary, breaking out a Phantom HD Gold, a helicopter, and building one really enormous jump.

[Video] Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend, Stunning Commercial

It goes without saying that besides the Superbowl commercials, we can pretty much expect the same run of the mill advertisements. Whether it's cartoon bears with toilet paper stuck to their butts, or of babies talking like grown adults, this commercial really blew them all out of the water. Advertising film director, Bruno Aveillan, (along with a crew of about 50 people) spent two years putting together this epic 3.5 minute journey celebrating the 160 year history of luxury jeweler, Cartier.

[BTS Video] Corey Rich Goes Behind The Scenes Of His Nikon D4 WHY Promo Video

Corey Rich was one of the first photographers to demo the new Nikon D4. His extreme athlete documentary "WHY" was one of the best product launch videos I've seen yet. Luckily for all of us, Nikon asked Corey to produce a behind the scenes video on how he and his crew filmed the various athletes for the short film. Watching this BTS video was one of the most inspiring videos I've seen in a good while. Not only am I pumped to have

[Video] The 5d Mark III and The Jaw-Dropping, Head-Scratching Sport of Radball

Canon France has just released what has got to be the most interesting promo video for a new camera in some time. Not only do we get a sneak peek at the video quality and capabilities of the 5d Mark III, but we also get a look into the sport of Radball: something I can only describe as "soccer meeting BMX meeting Urban Outfitters."

[BTS Video] On Location In SC With Tim Macpherson

It's crazy to compare todays advertising campaign's to those of 30 years ago. They are becoming more involved, creative and technically advanced than we could have ever imagined. In this video, Photographer Tim Macpherson takes us behind the scenes on the new campaign for the fabric company 'Sunbrella' which was shot and filmed in South Carolina! While this video lacks technical information, it is still really awesome to see how much planning and time it took just to film and shoot one simple scene.

Celebrated Food Photog Marcus Nilsson Dishes on Shooting On-Camera Flash, Tilt-Shift Lenses, and Why He Hates Sandwiches

Marcus Nilsson thinks outside the box. A former chef, Nilsson stumbled into food photography and ended up being one of the photographers who shaped our contemporary approach to cuisine. Today, Nilsson is still pushing that envelope (with on-camera flash, what?!), and regularly works for some of the world’s top foodie magazines, including Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, Martha Stewart Living, Details, Esquire, Everyday with Rachael Ray, the Food Network, GQ, and Travel+Leisure. Check out the full FS Spotlight interview below, where Nilsson dishes on shooting on-camera flash, tilt-shift lenses, crazy Mexican market foods, and why he hates sandwiches.
Fstoppers Reviews The New Pocket Wizard Plus III Radio Triggers

Today, Pocket Wizard has rolled out the newest in their line of wireless flash triggering devices: the long-awaited update to the industry-standard Pocket Wizard Plus II, the Pocket Wizard Plus III. We at Fstoppers have been playing with them for awhile, and we're here to give you all the details, including an exclusive video look at the new Pocket Wizard Plus III. Continue to the full post to see it all. [Pre Order The Pocket Wizard Plus III Here]
[Video] Camera Inception - Making a Canon TV Commercial

Shooting the guy who’s shooting another guy who is acting like he is shooting an athlete. Should we go one level deeper? Canon Explorer of Light Tyler Stableford was featured by Canon in a commercial called “The Craftsman” for their EOS Digital products. In the full post, check out the behind the scenes video, followed by the final ad. Try not to get caught in limbo.
[FS Spotlight] Lisa Hubbard Keeps It Interesting: Chic, Playful Interiors and Still Lifes

When photographers think about their dream shoot, it usually has more to do with Angelina Jolie and a Ferrari than painstakingly positioning a piece of cooked cauliflower. Shooting interiors and still lifes can be notoriously difficult. And when done poorly, it can be downright boring... which is why I love photographer Lisa Hubbard and her work. Hubbard’s work is fresh and quirky, with a style and sense of humor that never gets old. Her impressive list of clients, including Anthropolgie, Absolut, Bon Appetit, Burberry, Kmart, and Martha Stewart, certainly agree. Check out this week’s FS Spotlight with Lisa Hubbard to get the scoop on her life as a successful interior and lifestyle photographer.
[Video] Erik Johansson Discusses His Mind-Bending Photography

At a recent TED Talk, conceptual photographer Erik Johansson broke down his approach and method into a bite-size chat. While many photographers consider their work finished as soon as they hit the shutter button, apply contrast, and upload to Flickr, Erik decides to take it further (quite a bit further, in fact). His images make you stop and think and may take a few minutes to sink in. If you're one of those who asks "yeah, but is it photography?" don't say I didn't warn you. Check out the video in the full post.
[Behind The Scenes] How Chipotle's Willie Nelson Commercial Stole The Grammys

As a music lover myself, the Grammys is one of the few awards shows I sit down to watch year after year. This something interesting happened I had never seen before; a commercial featuring Willie Nelson singing Coldplay's The Scientist actually outshined the live performance from Coldplay moments before. [Read Full Article]
[Stock Photography] Yuri Arcurs Explains How To Sell Stock Imaging

We've featured Yuri Arcurs, the worlds most successful micro stock photographer, many times here on Fstoppers. In a time when people complain that the value of photography has gone the way of the buffalo, Yuri has created an empire on images that cost less than $1. In this video Yuri explains exactly what makes a great stock image and what it is specifically [read full story]