Editorial Photography

We all take a lot of photos with our phones. And you know what? That's ok. The camera on the iPhone takes pretty darn good images, and the plethora of mobile editing apps gives us all more flexibility than we would ever need. But what happens to all these photos after we edit them and post them to Facebook or Twitter? We forget about them. Well now we can actually make use of those photos, and bring them into the physical world hassle free, insanely cheap, and unexpectedly gorgeous.

If you're a sports fan, or even if you just like toned and tan bodies, you're going to want to pick up the next issue of ESPN (hits newsstands Friday). It's filled with some pretty sexy images of the United States' favorite athletes in nothing but their birthday suits.

As I continue my articles on interior, architectural, and real estate photography, I thought it would be interesting to see different approaches to shooting these types of subjects. So, for this month's article, I've invited a number of professional interior, architectural, and real estate photographers to share their images and techniques with everyone who reads Fstoppers.

Last weekend, my buddy David Cross who works with our friends over at BorrowLenses sent me a text that he was building something unusual and really cool. When he sent me the photos after he finished his project, I was immediately excited. His DIY ring light (which they are calling the spider light, tentatively) not only leaves really unusual catch lights, but is easy and fun to build. Ok, so it's not really a "ring" light, but it casts similar light and I don't know what else to compare it to. So let us show you how to make yours!

Clever camera angles and captivating b-roll are important when making a solid and complete video product. When you’re on the move in a car, dune buggy, sailboat or tank, great videographers create enthralling footage by capturing unusual angles and movement. The Delkin Fat Gecko shines as a low-cost, effective suction mount for any slick surface that allows you to get your camera in the face of the mobile action.

Days of preparation, hundreds of people, and 57 Profoto strobes culminated in just five minutes and forty-two seconds of fast-paced shooting. In photographer Art Streiber’s own words, “it was pretty huge, and a little out of control.” I’ll say. In an Fstoppers exclusive, we go behind the scenes of one of the largest and most sensitive group photo shoots ever undertaken with 116 of Hollywood’s greatest stars on one stage at one time to celebrate Paramount Studio’s 100th anniversary.

Today's edition of "The Law vs. The Photographer" brings us to Reno, Nevada, where 60 year-old Reno Gazette-Journal journalist Tim Dunn was tackled and then cited by police for documenting wildfires on public land near Reno, NV. The offense? Wearing protective clothing, which was apparently seen as an attempt to impersonate firefighters.

Blair Bunting is a good friend of mine, and by far one of the best commercial portrait photographers out there today. He just published a blog post regarding the highly lauded (while simultaneously seriously attacked) new MacBook pro with retina display. While the display is absolutely breathtaking, it has a serious disadvantage. Is the display too good?

...Or do they? Camera manufacturers today -- especially consumer camera manufacturers -- have created sensors that keep growing the megapixel count on each chip year after year, meeting consumers' general expectations for a higher number of 'MP' with every subsequent refresh. But what do these numbers really mean? Do you need all of those pixels? These are some of the many questions discussed in the full post article.

Photographers like pulling for the underdog, and each year photographers are hoping to see Olympus return to the throne they once held, or at least make an appearance in the Court. Back when film was king, the Olympus brand was as strong as Canon, Nikon, and Kodak. But in the digital age and especially in the last year, things haven't been so great. Yet this new advertising campaign could change all that- It's witty, quick, original, and best of all, relatable.

Did you know that in just two minutes, we take more pictures than all of humanity in the 1800′s? Or that just 12 years ago digital photography was only 1% of photos taken world-wide? Check out this infographic created by HighTable showing some of the new trends in the photography world

In what may well be the most outrageous photo shoot that I have ever seen, Olaf Hauschulz was presented with what must be an incredibly rare opportunity to shoot a Lamborghini Gallardo for Lamborghini Magazine. The setting? High in the snow-covered mountain ranges of Romania, with the car drifting around corners, inches from guardrails

Many photographers start off their careers focusing on wedding photography. I started my career as a wedding photographer in Charleston, and I still enjoy shooting a handful each year. Over the next few months, I hope to share some of my thoughts on wedding photography and how event photographers can improve their photos. Today I was reminded how important "In Camera Cropping" is for emotionally charged photographs. Read the full post to see two examples of how cropping can make or break an image.

If you spend much time on the app store (or even if you don't) you are inundated with the hundreds of camera apps, every single one of them claiming to be the greatest thing ever. Camera Awesome is no exception. I mean, they make quite the bold statement in the name of the app alone. So let's take a look at what it means to "Awesomize," and dissect this app that promises to take sharper, better-exposed photos with stunning professional effects.

In the past week, we have reported on some hot button issues. First we dropped the story regarding Time Magazine's controversial cover. Not long after, Elle Brazil was next up to the plate with yet another contentious cover. Let's look at what some of you had to say and discuss the issues further, because I know I wasn't the only one who felt that there were those of you who were getting really fired up.

Anyone who has picked up a magazine with photographic content is well aware of the amount of retouching and massaging that goes into many of the photos displayed in advertisements or in editorial features. But at what point does the 'retouching' go too far?

When I caught wind that the tripod masters at Really Right Stuff were about to release a new product, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. I love new gear. Because it had not even finished final production yet, they unfortunately could not send me a brand new one in time to satisfy my desire to see it. However, they didn't want to disappoint and instead sent me the prototype! Score! Let’s take a look at the TFA-01 Pocket Pod.

For many of us, Polaroid cameras hold a special place in our hearts. What started as the original instant camera evolved into an art form beloved by hipsters and pro photographers alike. Polaroid has struggled lately, as digital photography has forced the instant photo classic out onto the fringes. App developer Appadana licensed the Polaroid name to build an iOS version of their cult classic camera and make it modern. The result: Polamatic.

It’s rare these days to find a product that is so well rounded that it can appeal to an entire market of users. Especially in photography, it is not uncommon to find products that claim to be designed “for beginning to advanced users” but suffer greatly from the attempt to spread out over such a vast range. SLR Lounge's Lightroom DVD is advertised to be an A-Z Lightroom mastery experience, so does it live up to it's claim?

Below is a selection from a New York Post article that I read earlier this week. At first I laughed at the reality of a photographer being so careless around an ancient piece of art. The laughing stopped pretty quickly though once i thought "What if I had done this and had a lawsuit hanging over my head".

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last couple of years, you’re probably familiar with LensRentals.com, which is one of the most popular camera gear rental shops in the world, if not the most popular. We recently had the chance to sit down with the LensRentals team and learn everything about what just might be photography’s most fascinating company.

When we were told that the Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 VC lens was shipping on April 26, I can't understate how stoked Pat, Lee and myself were. Since we read the press release, we have been itching to get our hands on one. Why? Because this lens fills a void we have been aching for since DSLRs started shooting quality video.

As a photographer just starting my own wedding photography business, I quickly realized how much pro gear really costs. I don't shoot often enough to afford all of the gear that I need but when I do have a shoot, I like to use professional gear and I like to have backups in case something breaks (especially for weddings). For those of you who are just getting started like me, or those of you who need specialty equipment, you may want to consider renting gear.

If you are like me then you might not always get caught up in some of the super technical aspects of photography. One aspect of photography I recently investigated was the loss of sharpness caused by Diffraction. Last night while playing with the new Nikon D800 camera I examined lens diffraction and how diffraction can seriously affect the sharpness of your photography.

Here's a behind the scenes video featuring editorial and advertising photographer Stefan Ruiz. He traveled to Monterrey, Mexico to document the "Cholombiano" youth street culture. Skip to about the ten minute mark to see the set up and capture. He shoots exclusively on 4x5 film, and is highly influenced by renaissance paintings.

I have seen a lot of remarks and questions as to why Nikon released a 24 megapixel consumer camera. Why did they pack so many megapixels into a crop sensor? The ISO performance is likely to suffer (though we won’t know for sure until we test it out). The smarter move? Keep the megapixels the same and increase the ISO performance. So why didn’t Nikon do this?

Massoud Hossaini, who is also the first Afghani to win a Pulitzer Prize. Hossaini's work captures the horrors of violence that occur in Afghanistan on a regular basis. The photo was captured just as a suicide bomber took his own life and that of many others in the vicinity. A girl dressed in green screams as blood runs down her face, and she is surrounded by bodies of the wounded and dead.

There are some styles of photography which have been beaten into the ground. Take, for example, the trip to an old asylum; it seems like we've all seen a thousand HDR images of the local loony bin. Graffiti-covered walls, derelict operating rooms and spooky wheelchairs ad-nauseum. But every once in awhile, something comes along which makes my jaw drop and revisits what is possible in an ages-old subject. Drew Geraci's Asylum is exactly what I'm talking about.

As many of you have probably already read, Sony Corp announced that it is cutting 10,000 jobs, which translates to 6% of its global workforce. Sony has been struggling with negative profits for four straight years, mainly due to its floundering television division. But what does this mean for Sony’s camera division? With the television sector likely getting the main force of the cuts, will Sony rely on growth in their digital imaging division to make up for the numbers?

Hard drives are something we all need. But in an industry that advances (i.e. depreciates) so quickly and with increases in price due to flooding in Thailand, how can we be sure we're getting what's right for us? And how can we stay technologically flexible with upcoming releases when we have 'old' hard drives? Do I need Thunderbolt? Do I need more than two hard drives? How can daisy-chaining help me? These are some of the starter questions that lead into an entire breakdown of what you might need in certain situations.