Photography Education

Whether you just picked up your first camera or you've been shooting for years and hit a plateau, there's always more to learn. This section is where Fstoppers publishes educational content aimed at genuinely improving your photography — not just gear tips, but the foundational understanding of light, composition, and visual thinking that makes the difference between a competent photographer and a compelling one.

Helpful Safety Tips for Landscape Photography

Landscape photography is one of the most accessible genres of photography. As long as you don’t live in the middle of a city or sprawling suburb, it’s easy to just go outside and start shooting. I was always drawn to the natural world, so landscape photography was an easy path for me, but sometimes, the most rewarding shots are well off the beaten trail.

Shooting Silhouette Shots With a Single Light Inside a Studio

Everyone loves a nice silhouette shot. You can create them outdoors during the dusk and dawn hours. But what if you can create such shots inside your studio space with a single light anytime, any day? This video shows you how to get started. 

How to Create Long Lasting Relationships With Clients

If you're like me, you will find that before shooting your clients you will feel as nervous as they are, or even more! I have found that there are certain things I can do to relax myself and my clients before, during and after our session, which also helps to create a long lasting relationship and hopefully creates a repeat booking.

Testing Out Photoshop CC’s New Select Subject Tool

This week, Adobe released an update to Photoshop CC that features a new selection tool capable of automatically selecting the prominent subjects in an image with only one click. This video does an excellent job of revealing exactly what you get with this new technology and how to use it to its full potential. 

Taking the Next Step Forward: Working With Modeling Agencies

You’ve reached a point with your work at which shooting friends and family doesn’t quite cut it. Your curiosity to challenge yourself and move forward is piqued, and you have a good sense of established skills that make you think seeking out agency-represented models is your best move. The question is: Where do you go from here and how do you even start?

 

Dealing With Doubt and Deeper Questions When Pursuing Photography

At one point or another, we all end up questioning our decisions to pursue a creative career over more “traditional” options. If you've never questioned yourself along the way, then congratulations, you're an outlier. It's far too common that we find ourselves creating stress when dealing with self-doubt.

How Color Theory Improves Your Photography and Retouching

The wrong elements of color can disrupt the harmony of photographs and distract the viewer from the story you’re trying to tell. When we’re deliberate though, we can use color theory while planning the components of our photos and use color grading to allow us to create compelling images that add emotion to help us create a story.

To Be a Better Photographer, It's Sometimes Best to Not Take a Picture

When you drag all your photography gear to a location, do you ever feel a certain pressure to come away with a shot? Certainly, we all want the time and effort we put into each shoot to pay off, but sometimes, it's detrimental to try to force a shot that isn't there. 

Six Bad Habits That Can Hurt Your Photography Career

All the talent in the world doesn't mean a thing if you undercut yourself with bad habits that can damage your career. This great video explores six bad habits that can cut a career short and how to turn them around to increase your chances of success. 

How to Get Inspired as a Photographer

Being an artist isn't easy, especially when the world is against our way of life and creation. The artist life is discouraging for sure, and every once in a while I still have days where I just want to lay in bed. I have learned that you can't let yourself have many of these days if you want to be great, there's always someone else who's pushing through it.

How to Retouch Newborn Photography in Photoshop

If you’ve ever wondered how photographers can create such dreamy images of newborns, this is the perfect tutorial to watch. Newborn photography is an art that can require a great deal of patience and creativity. The post-processing workflow is no different.

The Story of the World's First Digital Camera as Told By Its Inventor

It's hard to believe that digital cameras have been in existence for over four decades, but thanks to one creative engineer, we have one of the most ubiquitous pieces of modern technology. Hear the story of the birth of our beloved cameras from the inventor himself. 

Seven Tips for People Looking to Turn Their Photography Into a Career

One of my recent articles was on how developing a niche can help you make more money from photography. I received a lot of emails and questions over the next week and a strand that run through almost all of the contact was about making the transition to full-time professional.

Real-World Test to See If the Sony a7R III Is the Best in the World

Back at it again, the charmingly abrasive but always informative Jaren Polin (or as most of us know him, Froknowsphoto) released a new real-world review on Sony’s newly released a7R III. Love him or hate him, Polin always puts out the some of the most in-depth camera reviews in the photography YouTube space, and this video is no exception. 

How to Select Hair From Complex Backgrounds Using Photoshop

Selecting and masking hair on a solid background isn't too terribly difficult, but doing it over a non-uniform, complex background can be very hard. This great tutorial will show you how to select and mask a subject's hair and convincingly composite it into another image. 

Creating a Product Photography Shot Almost Entirely in Camera

Product photography is all about the details, where every ray of light, every angle, and every placement can make or break a shot. This great video will walk you through setting up and shooting a watch image while working to minimize the amount of time spent in post-processing. 

Create a Water Reflection With Photoshop

When shooting landscape, I’m sure there have been times when you wished you had a wider lens to capture the reflection of the view in a lake. Don’t be full of regret, and try to look for another solution. One way could be to capture multiple shots and the other to rely on Photoshop.

Learn How a TV Works in This Video by the Slow-Mo Guys

If you’re not following The Slow-Mo Guys over on YouTube, then this video might change all that. They have created yet another video which both destroys our perception of reality and makes us thirsty for more knowledge. 

The Joys and Benefits of Shooting Landscapes Near Home

If you look at enough landscape photography, it might be easy to become convinced that it's a genre centered around exotic locales and epic scenery. And while it certainly doesn't hurt to have access to beautiful places, there's a lot you can shoot right where you live. This great video shows you how much you can accomplish just shooting near your home. 

Should You Give Raw Files to Clients?

We've all been put into this position. You've finished a shoot, and before you can even get through culling the images, the client is asking you to see all the raw files. Should you hand them over or hold onto them, biding time until you can produce the edited bunch? 

Get Started With Night Time-Lapses in the City Using These Tips

Shooting time-lapse video can be a slow start for many videographers. There’s a lot of time put into capturing every scene, and so when you’re just learning the ropes, mistakes in scene selection or camera setup can mean hours of shooting time thrown away.

Two Locations In Which Every Beginner Needs to Shoot

You wouldn't expect that certain locations alone could assist you in learning the art of photography, but they do — especially if you are one that needs to experiment to learn. Photographing someone in these two locations will force you to learn about all kinds of light, get creative with posing, and help you create images that are full of substance and all the elements of art. 

Ten Situations When You Should Use a Tripod

Tripods are pretty useful, so much so that they're normally the first photography accessory I tell anyone to buy. And while there are some obvious times when you should bring yours along, there are lots of other situations where you might find it useful. This helpful video will show you all the times you should think about packing your tripod as well as some good tips for using them. 

Five Tips for Using the Clone Stamp Tool in Photoshop

The Clone Stamp Tool is probably my favorite thing in Photoshop, as it's a simple, straightforward, versatile, and most importantly, powerful tool for editing a wide range of images. This helpful video will give you five tips for getting the best results out of the Clone Stamp Tool.  

Seven Things Photographers Need to Know About Filmmaking

If you're like me, a long-time photographer with a new found desire for getting into filmmaking, then you undoubtedly have a lot of questions. There are so many new things to consider when a photographer makes the jump to filmmaking. Things that as a stills shooter we seldom, if ever, think about.

How to Be Prepared for the Wildlife Shot of a Lifetime

Some of the best photographic opportunities happen when you least expect them. In this video from John E. Marriott, he shares valuable tips on how to always be prepared for the surprise wildlife photo of a lifetime. 

A Quick Tutorial on How to Use the Pen Tool in Photoshop

Of all the tools and features in Photoshop, perhaps none strike more fear into the heart of the unsuspecting photographer than the Pen Tool. If you're one of those people, this great tutorial will show you both how the Pen Tool behaves and how to put those rules to use in practice. 

Shooting Film Noir Portraits Inside the Studio Space

Moody, dark, and dramatic — the term "film noir" immediately invokes cinematic scenes of crime-solving detectives and notorious mobsters in our minds. Film noir is interesting as a genre in photography too. In this article, we take a look at how to shoot film noir style portraits inside a studio. 

Don’t Lose Your Photos: Simple Ways to Keep Pictures Safe

It’s always been said that there are two types of people in this world: those who have had a hard drive crash, and those who will have a hard drive crash. To that, I’ll add another two: those who’ve dropped a phone into a toilet, and those who will drop their phone into a toilet. Or oven. Or puddle. Or snow. That’s why it’s important to have a backup plan.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About How to Choose and Use Tripods

Tripods are sort of the humble buddy of most photographers: we rarely think about how much we need them in comparison to all the gee-whiz features on cameras and lenses, but they're essential in a lot of situations. This comprehensive video will show you everything you need to know about choosing the right tripod and using it to its full potential. 

What Makes Lightroom Photo Edits Go Wrong

Have you ever taken a photo you knew had great potential from the moment you saw it on the back of your camera, come home to edit it, then spent an hour in Lightroom, only to look at the result and feel strangely let down? This great video examines why Lightroom edits sometimes go awry.  

Keep Persevering: Why Persistence Pays Off in Photography

If you're engaged in a genre like landscape photography, the simple truth is that no matter how prepared you are, there are things outside your control that may hamper your ability to get good images. This video is a great reminder that a bit of hard work and perseverance will pay off in the end. 

Five Things Successful Photographers Don't Do

Every photographer is their own person with their own style and distinct habits, but there are some tendencies of successful photographers that tend to crop up constantly. Here are five things that successful photographers simply don't do. 

Stop Ignoring Sound and Learn How to Create Amazing Audio for Your Video

UK-based filmmaker, and DSLRguide creator, Simon Cade, walks us through the importance of good audio in our videos. Cade also shows us the gear he uses, how he gets his samples, and how he puts it all together in post. But the biggest take away for me was seeing the amount of creativity, and exploration that actually goes into sound creation. 

How to Set Better, More Attainable Creative Goals for Yourself

So, we're a couple weeks into the new year, which is normally about the time we all start to give up on those resolutions we made. That can happen for any number of reasons, most often the goals simply being too lofty or grandiose to be reasonably worked toward. This great video examines how to set better goals to help yourself develop more as a creative. 

There's More to Being a Good Photographer Than Talent

There's a tendency in photography (or any creative field) to look at the people who are naturally talented and envy the seemingly effortless ease with which they produce great work, thinking that you'll simply never be as good as them. That's definitely not the case, and this great video explores why talent is sometimes an overrated commodity. 

You Have the Photography Skills, Now Get the Money Flowing In

You’ve got the fancy camera, the biggest and baddest lenses, and the technical know-how to shoot beautiful imagery in your field of photography. What do you do now to get the cash flow rolling in? Do you try to branch out your network reach to try to get the “in” with potential clients, make countless cold calls and emails, or giving away work for free to bring attention to your business?

How to Find Your Landscape Photography Style

One of the toughest personal self-searching processes a photographer will go through is defining their style. Many of us will latch on to a composition or a color palette, sometimes by accident, that isn't really defining but is a part of our learning process as photographers. Eventually we learn what we like or value in a photograph and as we create, this becomes our style.

How to Retouch Skin Using Dodge and Burn to Get a Natural Result

The trend in the portrait, fashion, and beauty industry is to come back to a more natural look while still removing the unwanted blemishes. But without the proper techniques and settings, it’s difficult to make an image flawless while avoiding the overly retouched look.

Seven Quick and Easy Photo Fixes Using Lightroom

When you're first starting out post-processing work in both Lightroom and Photoshop, any sort of editing can feel like it takes a long time, just because there are so many ways of going about things and it can take a little while to get your bearings. This great video will show you seven quick and straightforward fixes for photos using Lightroom. 

Making the Most of the New Year: Five Insightful Tips for Photographers

I’m not much one for New Year's resolutions as I am for promoting constant growth and change. I've found these tips to be important. I'm sure a few resolutions have begun to fizzle out for us, but here is a means to ensure that those that matter most remain steadfast. 

Distinguish Luminosity Levels in Photoshop Better Than Ever With This Visual Help Layer

Seeing colors and luminosity correctly is not always easy. You could calibrate your screen and be stuck working at the same place every day, but some people just can’t have a fixed office or studio. And even with a calibrated monitor, adjusting luminosity to your creative vision can get tricky. This is where visual help layers come in, especially one called the five-tone heat map.

Simplify Your Background for More Powerful Compositions in Photography

As I head into the new year of photography, I’ve taken the opportunity to think a lot about composition and how it relates to my photography and to photography as a whole. It is true that every picture has a composition, whether the creator intended it or not. Some spend much of their time thinking on how to compose, others do it instinctively, and others pay very little heed to it.

Protecting Your Camera Gear After Shooting in the Cold

Baby it’s cold outside, just look at that ice beard! Only in Northern Michigan would you find someone actually surfing in this kind of cold. But, that’s what a Marquette local, Daniel Schetter or “Surfer Dan,” does.

A Great Comparison of Shooting Film Versus Digital

There's a lot said about film versus digital, and a lot of it tends to be one extreme or the other, but like most things in life, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. This great video takes a very balanced and honest look at the merits and drawbacks of each when used in a fashion shoot. 

How to Stabilize Footage Without Using Premiere's Warp Stabilizer

After getting into the video world, you quickly realize that being able to stabilize your footage when needed can make a significant impact on the result and quality of your video. While you can buy an expensive gimbal or rely on a not always so practical Steadicam, there is also the possibility of improving the stabilization in post-production.