Contests

Hey Fstoppers, there is only one week left to enter our Alien Skin contest hosted over at our Fstoppers Facebook Group. We want to give you a $500 post production suite to streamline your image crafting process, and it's super easy to enter. Just read the full post for all the rules.

Well it was a tough decision, but Peter Hurley managed to narrow hundreds of entries down to his favorite five. Who is the winner of our Peter Hurley DVD Contest? Check out the full post to get all the details. Read More.

Remember when Apple released the new version of its flagship video editing program Final Cut X? If not, you might want a refresher course with Conan O'brien. Basically the backlash was almost unanimous, and it made many of us thankful we chose Adobe's Premiere as our editing software of choice. Well today there is an upgrade that apparently fixes most of the complaints from FCP X users. [Read More]

Last week we announced our headshot photography contest, where the winner would receive the The Art Behind the Headshot DVD. I said that you readers would be picking the winner. However, when Peter Hurley calls and offers his services, you don't say no. It's time to impress Peter!

We're so excited to announce the finalists for our 2011 Behind The Scenes Contest. Thank you to EVERYONE who participated. The videos this year really blew us away! We were forced to choose our top 12 videos to make it to the finals instead of the the top 10 we had planned. From this stage, they will be sent off to our celebrity judges for the final round who will choose a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winner! Good luck!

After having their studio space and equipment destroyed from an earthquake, the guys over at the Image Workshop pulled it together to create a pretty cool behind the scenes video. They were asked by alternative Circo-Art performers, "The Damaged Duo" to take their promotional pictures. While they used several different lighting setups, the one thing that remained constant was their use of Broncolor heads and packs which provided fast recycle times. Click the full post to watch the behind the scenes contest entry.

Our instructional DVD, The Art Behind the Headshot, has been critically acclaimed over and over, and now is another chance to get your hands on a copy. We're giving away one in our Facebook Group! Read the full post for the official rules.

Another great behind the scenes of Arkells' "Whistleblower" music video, where they use a holographic pyramid to capture the image of the band member, playing live. Shot on the Canon T2i Edited in FCP 7

A short and sweet behind the scenes look at a desert sand storm photo shoot, without the desert. www.amylynnstraub.com @amylynnphotos Video filmed by : Taylor Tracy Model : Nicole Keimig Hair and Makeup : Sara Larson

See how existing footage, sound bites, 35 bucks and some creative editing can turn out a kick ass promo vid. If this BTS teaches you anything it should be to film, shoot and archive everything, cause you never know when you just may need the footage. Great work on the video, guys. And on making me miss BC.

"Spot Cinema was asked to come along to a Matt Barnes' Creative, as he organized an amazing PhotoShoot at Gopher Dunes rein-acting a scene from the 1960s /70s with a couple of male models, dirt bikes, vintage clothing and a Smoke Machine!"

See how much work goes into a 30 second (soccer themed) water spot. This is one of the few entries where I thought watching the BTS vid was far cooler than the final product. Definitely worth braving the 7 minute and 30 seconds to see how the big boys get things done but be warned, lazy kids, this one is subtitled.

As good as the BTS is for this submission, the final video is epic. If you are a hardcore gamer like myself and recognize titles such as Gears of War, Halo, Mortal Kombat, and Left 4 Dead, then you're gonna love watching them all come together to kick some zombie ass. Did I say, "Spoiler Alert"? Oh well it's all good.

If you are a Zombie Apocalypse fan like me then this very well maybe the most entertaining submission you will have seen so far, from the Fstoppers 2011 Behind the Scenes Contest.

Check out this Fstoppers Behind the Scenes Contest video submission, featuring the Glassmen Drum & Bugle Corps, in the making of a promo poster.

Black List Media follows photographer Jimmy Hickey as he follows professional freestyle motocross rider Justin Homan through the air. Music by: M83 - Moonchild and Ratatat - Bustelo

Ya, you read the title correctly, I said flying snowmobile. See X-Games gold medalist Justin Hoyer, flipping through the air as captured by photographer Andy Kawa and Videographer Luke Parmeter.

Watch "The Chase", a behind the scenes look at a 360º panoramic car chase. Submitted by photographer/retoucher Eric Herrmann, producer Steven Hasegawa, BTSV Austin Kearsley with music by Zack Hemsey. The panoramic final image is pretty impressive, so, be sure to check it out here: thechasepano.com.

Dan Savinelli: "This is my behind the scenes video for the FStoppers 2011 Contest. It is a photo shoot where I utilize composite photography & some creativity to come up with a more exciting portrait. I give tips and knowledge where ever I can, I hope you learn something.”

Michael Ericsson: "There is my latest behind the scenes video for a shoot I did back in early September. I've had it in my head for a while to create some sort of tribute video to the late Dean Collins. After seeing the call for entries from Fstoppers.com, I decided to run with it.”

"...One projector (the one I used was less than 200 bucks used) can replace many traditional strobes + modifiers for a fraction of the cost. Using this technique I can create more elaborate plates for composite images with less lighting gear... I guess the end goal for this technique would be a developing a projector that used a flashtube... thus creating the ultimate light modifier.”

With great final images and a very informative BTS video, this contest entry may have made it into out our top 10 but sadly they didn't submit before the closing date. Having missed the deadline but not the point of the contest, they decided to post it anyways. So, thank the guys from 2D House for this most excellent video. Nice work guys.

We are still making our way through all 179 contest entries and posting our favorites as we come to them. I'm a big fan of the BYU Photo Team's shoot below which involved shooting the girls with splashing water. By soaking the gymnasts right before they jump, they are able to capture the motion of their moves with the water by lighting from behind the subject on either side.

Amateurs and pros alike know that in order to get themselves and models in the zone, the right tunes are a must for any studio. Well now you can get a library of music that puts Pandora to shame with Slacker Premium Radio. We're giving away three free months, and all it takes is a simple tweet. For the official rules, read the full post.

Entry for the Behind the Scenes Contest may be closed but there are still a lot of great submissions to view. Keep your eyes peeled for your favorites as we here at Fstoppers pick out the finalists for our celebrity judges to choose from. In the mean time here is an earlier entry from November.

A four piece photography shoot featuring the four elements; Earth, Wind, Water and Fire. Photography: Ryan Doco Connors docofolio.com / Makeup: Dina Day dinaday.com / Videography: Brian Ceci brianceci.com / Music: Tobias Schuch tobiasschuch.com / Stylist: Alexa Kellee It's a sad time indeed as we are no longer accepting submissions for BehindtheScenesContest but you can check out the contest entries here.

We had a great showing for our random drawing to win a Lowepro Pro Messenger 160 AW over at the Fstoppers Facebook page. Using a random number generator, we have a winner! Congratulations to Lisa Morris-Murray! Send me an email at Jaron@fstoppers.com with a link to your facebook profile so I can confirm your details (this may require that you accept me as a friend) to claim your prize. Love winning free things? Keep checking back to Fstoppers.com for more contests and more winning brought to you by the best brands in the business.

The Fstoppers 2011 BTS Contest is now closed and we are going through every single video 1 by 1 to choose our favorites that will make it to the next round. In the next round our panel of celebrity judges will narrow the lot down to the top 3 winners. At this point we still have not seen every video but if you would like to look through them yourself, you can see them all here on our forum. I just ran across this really interesting video by Loren Byerstein and Syx Langemann that involved shooting a nude model with a projected pattern. Not only do they show you how they did it but they have actually released the software to make your own patterns easily. If you want to give something like this a try on your own, you can download the software here.

As expected, this was an awesome contest. As we have tried to prove time and again (starting with the original iPhone Fashion Shoot), it's not about the camera. With our Black Rapid contest, we wanted you to help us prove that point, and prove it you did. Of all the stunning entries, I had to narrow it down to my top six (seen in full post), and finally my overall favorite. To be honest, there has been one entry that struck me from the moment I saw it. And that was... [read full post]

One of the biggest rewards of our 2011 Behind The Scenes Contest is we finally get to meet our readers and see what they enjoy shooting. Meet Kevin Kozicki; he is a great fashion photographer based out of sunny Los Angeles. In his contest entry, Kevin wanted to use poinsettia leaves in some sort of beauty themed image while not going in the typical Christmas/Holiday route. The images Kevin produced are outstanding and his lighting is perfect for this type of project. I do wish Kevin would have explained his lighting a bit more but it's also nice to hear photographers talk about the overall production ideas because they are equally as important and often overlooked. If you have any questions for Kevin, leave them in the comments below and click the full post to see a few of the final images.

Holy crap! James Karinejad and Edmund Curtis's BTS video is chock-full of creative knowhow. I can almost guarantee that everyone will pick something up from this entry. Top notch work guys. Thank you for sharing and good luck in the contest. This is it everyone. The final hours to submit your contest entries. Happy freaking New Year!

I have to give some love to fellow Canadian photographer Benjamin Von Wong, a prolific and dedicated shooter. His BTS video shows something you don't often get to see. Disappointment and frustration... (Oh ya and a man getting set the fuck on fire!) It's a common occurrence for good creatives to come up with an idea in their heads only to be really hard on themselves when the final image doesn't quite live up to their expectations. Knowing that being 100% happy with your work means you aren't growing makes Benjamin's dissatisfaction the mark of a true artist. Cause let's be honest, the shoot and the finals were pretty cool. Well done Benjamin. And if you win, you better split your loot with Felix... aaaannd maybe the dude who put him out too. :)

December 31st is the last day for contest entries. Do it! Do it now!

This is how you get a great shot. You start with inspiration and you carry it all the way through. In this case Stanislav Stepanov, like so many old school photographers before him, drew his inspiration from classic movie lighting (film noir in particular/ "White Heat" specifically). Good luck Stanislav and don't apologize for you English, your process speaks for itself. December 31st is the last day for contest entries. Get on it.

These high school kids, Ersta, Christian and Marshall, embody the spirt of the Fstopper community. Only 17 years old, these three, got motivated, came up with a concept and made it happen. Can you say as much? We are down to the wire, so, get those contest entries in. NOW!

This is your last reminder to submit your entries to our Facebook Group! We are looking for your best image that you shot with either a point and shoot or your phone Make sure you note that it is a contest entry in the caption or tag Fstoppers in the post. These days, great photos can be made with the smallest hardware and we want you to prove it. Contest ends January 3, 2012.

Big props to photographer Kevyn Bryant and film maker Xavier Burgin for submitting a video that covers all the bases. For being one of their first BTS videos, these guys did a good job at laying it all out there for us. And gosh darn it, there is a quality to these guys that just makes us want to like them. We haven't seen awkward southern charm like this, since the likes of one (green) Lee Morris and one (wet behind the ears) Patrick Hall first took to the BTS camera, way way waaaay back in 2010. Nice work on the editing too Douglas Dillingham and good luck to you all. T minus 3 days and counting to get your contest entries in (that's Dec. 31st 2011).

Warning! You now have 3 days to submit your behind the scenes video for our big 2011 contest. I've been a professional wedding photographer for 7 years now and I've seen tons of absurd wedding advice online. Anytime I see a wedding related video submission I think "oh boy, here we go again." I just stumbled upon a video from 375 Photography on our forum that broke the mold. Not only is this video good, it may be one of the best wedding related videos I've seen online. It's informative, entertaining, and the images speak for themselves. No matter how long you have been shooting weddings, you will learn something from Justin and his team.

Last week we announced a contest on our Facebook sponsored by our friends over at Lowepro. It was only supposed to last one week, but we decided that we would show a little New Year's generosity and extend it an additional week. That means you can still enter to win an awesome Lowepro Pro Messenger 160 AW simply by telling us what style of bag is your favorite over at the Fstoppers Facebook page. Just click the contest tab and submit your answer. Enter now by clicking here. All entries must be received by January 3! Good luck!

With less than a week to go, the Fstoppers 2011 Behind the Scenes Contest is quickly drawing to an end. So, we are spending a lot more time looking over and posting user submissions. This latest entry may not have the best final image out there but I really dig the adventurous/road trip vibe. And what really got me was recognizing myself in the final seconds of the video. You know what I'm talking about... being hunched over your laptop, running through your selection process, while the party rages on around you. It's never very hard to spot the photo geek in a crowd. Best of luck Matthew. Last minute reminder: $21,000 worth of gear is nothing to sneeze at so get those contest entries in damn it. tick, ticK TICK!

"The last thing we want to see is another music video." "The last thing we want to see is another music video." "The last thing we want to see is another music video." No matter how many times we say it, we get submission after submission of uninformative videos where people take some footage, drop in some music and send it along. Not the case with Caleb's first ever BTS video where he shows you, in painstakingly long detail, how he got his ethereal final image. He even made me chuckle a bit but lied to me when he said "...the next ten minutes.", cause this vid is 32 minutes long. :) Get those contest entries in kids.

As more and more jobs pop up for product shooting here in NYC I find myself needing to seriously update my portfolio. Which must be why this latest contest entry from Rui Antunes caught my eye. It's a simple video, that lacks a bit in the way of entertainment value but makes up for it in educational value and a pretty decent final image. Good luck Rui. And remember folks, you only have about a week to get your contest entries in.

It's a big day for contests! We have two winners from two contests: our Flickr Group contest and our FS Forum photo contest. Check out the winners by reading the full post. This week we have a contest over at the Fstoppers Facebook page. Enter by December 27 and you could win a Lowepro Pro Messenger 160 AW Just head over to our page, click the "Contests" tab, answer one question, and you're entered to win. Simple, quick, and so rewarding. But remember, you only have ONE WEEK to enter! Head over there directly by clicking here.

Amy Lynn must really want to win some of the $20,000 in photo gear we are giving away in our Behind the Scenes Contest because the photoshoot idea she came up with is one of the most original ideas we've seen yet! Amy wanted to create a fashion image with a twist. Her plan was to take a bunch of photos of her friends in a circle and stitch them together in a way that would allow the viewer to pan around the scene in full 360 degrees. I wasn't quite sure how the image would turn out when I first started watching her video but the final product is pretty impressive. I've embedded the final image HERE so make sure you check out the full post to see how awesome this turned out. If you have any questions for Amy about how she created this awesome fashion image, leave her a comment below. We wish Amy and everyone else who has entered this contest so far the best of luck!

We are heading into the final stretch for our 2011 Behind The Scenes Contest and someone is about to win a truckload of gear! The latest video that caught my attention was from LA photographer Mike Kelley. Mike has been featured on our site before but in case you missed that post, his portfolio is full of some pretty kick ass commercial images of buildings and outdoor environments. So it was only fitting for his contest entry to showcase how he approaches an outdoor commercial architectural shoot. Mike uses a lot of exposures and some well thought out accent lighting to create a composite image that looks really nice. As much as I love this video, Mike won't win this competition by impressing anyone here at Fstoppers. Instead his video has to make a lasting impression among our celebrity panel of judges. If you have any questions for Mike, leave them in the comments below.

I am happy to announce that the random winner for our Christmas Twitter contest is Seagram Pearce. After randomly picking his "tweet" I headed over to his website to find that Seagram is a photographer that seems to shoot just about anything and he does it all very well . Seagram's studio is based in Cape Town, South Africa which I hope won't cause us any shipping issues because he is now the proud owner of a brand new iPad 2 and our new DVD Peter Hurley: The Are Behind The Headshot. I'm thrilled that we have had another great photographer win one of our contests. If you happen to be Seagram, send us an email at contactfstoppers@gmail.com and we will figure out how to get you your prizes. Head over to Twitter and tweet him your congratulations

Just a heads up to everyone; today is the last day to enter into our Peter Hurley / Apple iPad 2 Twitter contest! Tommorrow we are giving away a Apple 16GB iPad 2 and a free digital copy of Peter Hurley's The Art Behind The Headshot to one of our lucky twitter followers!
All you have to do to enter is follow @fstoppers on Twitter, and tweet the following message: "Follow @fstoppers and retweet this message to win Peter Hurley's DVD and an iPad 2 http://bit.ly/tsTufu" Make sure you tweet this message between now and the end of December 15th, 2011 because we will announce the winner the following day. Goto Peter's The Art Behind The Headshot Website for more information. Thanks to everyone who has already purchased the DVD and good luck to everyone entering the contest. NOTE: If you plan on ordering the DVD or already have purchased it, you will be refunded if you win the twitter contest.

With only about 2 weeks left in our 2011 Behind The Scenes Contest, entries are starting to pour in. It's great to put some faces with the names of our readers and see the different types of projects everyone is working on. William Walker came up with a pretty simple but clever idea for his contest video. Using just a camera and a Vello ShutterBoss intervalometer, William was able to capture photos of his buddy restoring a badly damaged 2011 Audi Q5. The whole project took over 40 working hours (several days of footage) and presented William with a few challenges. The concept is pretty straightforward and mad props to William for going out and pushing himself to try something new. The BTS video is below but click the full post to watch the final timelapse video. If you are planning to submit your own BTS video to our contest, you have just over 15 days to get it up online. Don't wait until the final day or you will probably not make the deadline!

Okay, I know my title is a bit dramatic but nevertheless I really think this is one of the best videos I've seen this last year for any working professional. Yesterday, Chase Jarvis had Ramit Sethi on his Chase Jarvis Live site, and the conversation was a cornerstone pillar for any working professional photographer. You see, Ramit is a New York Times and Amazon best seller book author (his book I Will Teach You To Be Rich is a classic), and he dropped by Chase's studio for some candid yet blunt answers on how a professional should run his career. Ramit covers how to book worthwhile jobs that satisfy you both creatively and financially and a ton of great advice that can be very psychological at times. The interview is super long so pace yourself, but if you stick with it I think you will be 10x more successful than you currently are (but hey I'm no fortune teller). Oh and if you want an early start on a great career in photography, why not let Chase Jarvis judge your own work by entering into our behind the scenes contest he is judging! Sorry about the sound at times.

Hey Fstoppers! This week we have a new photo contest in the FS Forum. The winner walks away with a free year of Animoto Pro, the way to turn your photos and videos into pure amazing. Lee Morris is an avid fan and subscriber, so make sure to check it out. For all the rules and how to enter, view the full post. NOTE: The timeline for this contest has been quartered! You have only ONE WEEK to submit your images, so hop to it!