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.

A Practical Guide to Processing the Milky Way in Landscape Photos

Astrophotography is a fun genre with a wealth of knowledge that you could easily spend years diving into. Many landscape photographers like to incorporate the night sky into their work and just need a practical understanding of how to process it in single exposures. This great video will show you just how to do that. 

The Photographer and the Subject: Two Views in Every Photograph

As photographers, a common rhetoric we hear is about finding our style. We are to consider so many technical aspects like lighting, lenses, color grading, and choice of palette. On some platforms, these aspects have become more important than the content of the images themselves.

A Beginner's Guide to How Different Focal Lengths Affect the Look of a Portrait

When you're first starting out shooting portraits, one of the most important decisions you can make is the focal length you shoot at, as it can vastly change the way a subject is rendered. This helpful video will show you how various focal lengths affect the look of a portrait to help you choose which one is most suitable for your work. 

Six Helpful Tips for Better Landscape Photo Composition

Talking about good composition is one of the subtler aspects of image-making, but of course, a composition can make or break a photo. This helpful video will give you six tips for composing better landscape images. 

A More Nuanced Three-Light Setup for Studio Portraits

The beauty of a studio space is the ability to carefully craft light exactly as you'd like it to be, giving you the opportunity to get as nuanced as you would like. In this video, you'll move beyond some of the more common three-light setups and see a very precise design and the portraits that were shot with it. 

Ten Lesser Known But Helpful Lightroom Tips and Features

Lightroom is likely where you spend a lot of (if not the majority) of your time working on images, so any tips that increase your efficiency or control over your images can add up to big time and quality gains over the long run. This helpful video contains 10 lesser known Lightroom tips and features that should be of use to most any photographer. 

How to Really Make Hair Pop by Adding Shine, Color, and Volume in Photoshop

When you're retouching a portrait, I'm willing to bet that you spend the majority of your time working on the subject's face, because, well, it's a portrait. Nonetheless, your subject's face isn't the only part of them, and with a little extra work on their hair, you can really make the entire image pop. This great video will show you how to do exactly that.  

How to Take Great Travel Photos No Matter What the Light

There's a lot out there about how to maximize the use of natural light, most of it revolving around working during golden hour or diffusing it somehow. However, that restricts you quite a bit, and golden hour light may not actually be the right quality for the what you're trying to convey. This great video examines how to get better images no matter what the light. 

Nikon Accepts Applications for $10,000 Storytellers Scholarship

It's no secret that college tuition is expensive. Nikon has an opportunity for eligible students to ease some of that financial burden. As part of its 100th-anniversary celebration, Nikon announced "The Nikon Storytellers Scholarship" earlier this year. On December 14, they began accepting applications from students in the U.S. and Canada.

How to Create Cinematic Footage With Your iPhone or Android Device

Filming with a DSLR is always an option, unless you want to capture some behind-the-scenes videos of your shoot or if you are on the go. Then, filming with your smartphone is probably the most straightforward alternative if you don’t want to lug around a camera just for that. The options available are actually more advanced than you may think, at least that is if you rely on Filmic Pro.

Five Things I Learned From Photographing My First Weddings

For the longest time, I avoided shooting weddings at all costs. I personally thought they were something photographers only did to make money and that no one truly enjoyed them. But as I developed more and more as a professional I started getting the itch to just try one, just to say I could do it.

How Science and Art Came Together to Inspire a Photographer

If there's one thing I've learned from having dual career paths in science and the arts, it's that the ways of thinking are not all that unalike and that really, scientists and artists are often trying to understand the same thing from different perspectives: the meaning and importance of human existence.

Advice on Distinguishing Yourself as a Photographer

Imagery is more prevalent than ever, and as capable technology finds its way into more hands and more people become hobbyists and even pros, good imagery is more prevalent than ever too. As such, it's harder than ever to distinguish yourself as a photographer. But it's not impossible. This interview explores how one photographer believes that should be done.  

Why Scouting Will Help Your Landscape Photography

Do you scout out locations before you shoot them or do you just photograph as you happen upon them? This helpful video explores why visiting locations before you shoot them can benefit your landscape work. 

Ask Yourself These Questions When You Think It's Time to Buy a New Camera

Given the choice, most of us would probably buy the latest and greatest camera bodies as soon as they came out, because hey, new toys are cool, right? But most of us don't have unlimited budgets, so it's important to know when you really need to upgrade and when it's just a case of gear lust. Here's what to consider when you're wondering if it's time to buy a new camera. 

Nine Awesome Tips for Taking Better Portraits

Portraiture is a fun but also difficult genre of photography, as you have to manage not only your camera but a living, breathing subject. This helpful video will show you nine great tips to improve your portrait work. 

The Usefulness of a Tilt-Shift Lens for Panoramic Landscape Photos

Tilt-shift lenses are some of the more exotic hunks of glass out there, but they enable some very unique capabilities that simply can't be accomplished with normal lenses. This interesting video shows how their shift capabilities can be used to easily create panoramic images. 

Twenty Helpful Tips for More Professional Drone Footage

Drones can enable you to get some pretty epic footage that you wouldn't dream of with a normal camera, but they also require an entirely separate skill set as well as a different way of visualizing your shots. This helpful video will give you 20 tips for creating more professional-looking drone footage. 

Is There Value in Taking a Photo That Has Already Been Shot Many Times?

One of the curses of modern photography is that nearly every breathtaking place on Earth has been photographed. And while many, many places continue to offer new angles, conditions, and compositions, some of the most famous have been so well documented that it can be tough (if not impossible) to create something truly original.

Photography Educator David duChemin Thinks You Should Consider Being Unrealistic

The incredibly prolific David duChemin has managed to squeeze out some more great philosophical and metaphorical nuggets in the latest video of his "Vision is Better" series. Full of his usual optimism and encouragement, he verbally judo-rolls his way through the walls of failure and fear, to prepare you to finally start that large format pet photography business you've been thinking about.

Get Free Unlimited Google Drive Storage

By now, you should already know the importance of backing up your data, and while storage (even cloud storage) isn't all that expensive these days it's still an expense. So here is my holiday gift to you: unlimited Google Drive storage for free. See for yourself if you qualify. 

Avoiding Clichés in Landscape Photography

Every genre of photography has its share of clichés, and while that doesn't necessarily mean you should never shoot certain images, it can restrain your creativity by never forcing you to think outside the box and create a shot more representative of who you are as a photographer. This great video examines recognizing and avoiding clichés in landscape photography. 

Five Reasons to Use Smart Objects in Photoshop

If you're new to Photoshop, Smart Objects can seem a bit foreign, but they're extremely helpful when you're doing certain kinds of work. This informative video will show you five reasons to consider using them when you're working in Photoshop.  

A Quick Tutorial on a Better Way to Brighten Portraits in Photoshop

When you're shooting portraiture, particularly outside without artificial lighting, you'll often need to brighten your subject a bit in post. This can create a few issues, but this helpful video will show you how to obviate those potential problems and create a higher-quality result. 

Four Tips for the First-Time Sports Photographer

So your kid just started playing pee-wee football, or maybe you are a portrait photographer who just landed a sports gig. Maybe you’re shooting your first assignment for the college newspaper. In any case, while sports photography isn’t for the faint of heart, here are four technical tips to get you started on the right path. 

Pratik Naik's Color Workflow via Capture One

With the effortless launch of Capture One 11, it only made sense to go back and share a hidden gem of a seminar that helped me greatly with color editing. Capture One's cutting-edge color editing ability, now combined with the newfound layer and opacity capability breathe a new sense of life into a process that can sometimes feel overwhelming and daunting.  

A Close Look at Planning a Meaningful Portrait Series

Portraits are such a special and intimate thing: they offer both a representation of the subject and a window into who they are, which is why it's so important as the photographer to give the utmost consideration to how we portray those two things. This wonderful video examines just that topic, connecting it to practical advice as well. 

Tips for Better 'Getting Ready' Shots in Wedding Photography 

"Getting ready" is one of the most important sessions in a wedding because it kickstarts the celebrating mood of the ceremony. This post takes a dig into a few tips that would help you get better getting ready shots on the spot. 

File Formats for Photographers in Lightroom and Photoshop

Greg Benz, creator of the luminosity masking Photoshop script panel Lumenzia, is one of those experienced photographers who doesn't hesitate to share their technical knowledge with followers. In his latest video, he explains file formats in detail, both for Photoshop and Lightroom. 

The Invisible Element That's More Important Than Your Camera Gear

Technicality and equipment aren't all there is to becoming a meaningful photographer. In my own work it's actually the least important part. My favorite words to hear clients say are “wow, you captured the real me.” The following are tips to get these reactions out of your subjects. They have nothing to do with your gear, but will guide you to capturing your subjec

'Photograph the Unobvious': A Look at How to Create Unique Images as a Photographer

Photography, like any art form, is chock full of tropes. And that's not necessarily a bad thing: they provide a sort of guided path to creating solid imagery. But at the same time, getting stuck in them can make it harder to establish your own creative voice. This great video essay examines exactly that topic and why it's important to develop your own style. 

Five Tips for Better and More Creative Edits in Lightroom

People often think of Lightroom as the place where cataloging and basic editing takes place with Photoshop doing the heavy lifting. And while it's true that Photoshop is the more powerful editor, you can accomplish quite a bit using just Lightroom. This helpful video will show you five ways to edit more creatively using Lightroom. 

Five Easy Street Photography Photos You Can Take on Your Commute

Street photography is a genre of positioning and opportunity, meaning you can often end up going to a specific place and waiting a while for the right shot, something that not all of us have the time to do. This neat video shows you five common shots you can find easily, even on your commute. 

A Beginner's Guide to Why You Should Shoot in Raw

If you're new to photography, you've likely heard other photographers talking about shooting in raw and how it's a crucial step in one's workflow. This helpful video will give you a quick rundown of what raw is and why you should be shooting in it to maximize your image quality. 

Step Out of Your Comfort Zone With a Long Lens

As someone who shoots 90 percent of my professional work with wide lenses, it seems like a daunting tasking to go reaching for a 70-200mm or longer when looking to capture a landscape. Long lenses require a lot more thought in how the compression is going to affect the way the viewer sees the image and its a focal length that the human eye can’t really grasp until you look through the

Regaining Your Creativity

What do you do when worst-case scenario hits? When even after doing your best to prepare for it, it cripples you, and you feel like you're stuck in a depressive "Groundhog's Day" of going through the motions? 

Chances are if you're like me, you didn't have a clue about what to do about it. That's exactly where I was while coming out of the summer of 2017.

Shooting Landscape Images That Tell a Story

Shooting landscape images can be a bit difficult in a certain sense sometimes, as you have no control over your subject or even the lighting, which can make it difficult to know what you want to say with an image and then to say it. This great video examines the topic of telling stories through one's landscape imagery. 

Ten Mistakes to Avoid When Purchasing a Camera

Buying a new camera is exciting! Yes, it's often a work item for most of us, but it's a fun tech toy as well, and getting to play with all the latest features can be awesome. However, it's easy to make mistakes as a buyer, and this great video outlines pitfalls to watch for when you're getting ready to pull out your wallet. 

Some Helpful Tips for Wedding Group Portraits

If there're two things to remember about wedding photography, it's that you have to know your stuff inside and out and second chances don't exist. This helpful video will show you some great tips for posing a large wedding group, lighting them, and picking the proper camera settings. 

Five Helpful Tips for Shooting Portraits in Harsh Sunlight

Golden hour is cool and all, but unfortunately, it only lasts about an hour (I guess it was named well). If you're shooting with natural light, limiting yourself to just a small fraction of the day can really hinder your work. This helpful video will show you some tips to embrace that harsh midday sun and keep turning out shots. 

How to Add Lipstick to a Subject Using Photoshop

Lipstick can be a great addition that can complement a subject's eyes or really help a colorful portrait pop all the more. If the subject wasn't wearing it already, this helpful video will show you how to convincingly add it after the fact using Photoshop.  

How Autofocus in DSLRs Works and Why It Sometimes Fails

Autofocus is probably the only auto-feature on my cameras that I like to keep turned on. Knowing how autofocus works in detail is not essential, but having a general overview of it is a must. It may affect your next camera purchase and the knowledge can be helpful in controlling situations where the autofocus doesn't kick in.

Ten Hacks for Your Camera in Less Than 100 Seconds

Photographers and cinematographers sometimes find themselves in the middle of a shoot wishing they had some piece of equipment to get that shot just right. Whether a gimbal has broken or the light just isn't cooperating, sometimes you just need a creative solution to make the image you visualize in your head.

How to Shoot and Edit Natural Looking Holiday Home Photos

Real estate photography, while not the sexiest of photography genres, is quite accessible and a handy way to earn some cash, especially if your starting out. Many interior design and architectural photographers cut their teeth taking photos for estate agents and holiday home companies, but much of the high volume stuff looks way too flashy.