Although it sounds like a nasty disease, like athlete's foot or tennis elbow, the photographer's eye isn't that. We take our eyes for granted, and they are an essential part of photography, both metaphorically and literally.
You can spend a lot of money on lights and modifiers for portrait photography, and while there are certainly reasons why professionals invest in expensive equipment, you can absolutely create professional-level portraits with the most affordable gear — even a shoot-through umbrella and speedlight. This fantastic video tutorial will show you everything you need to know.
In this video from nature photographer Simon d'Entremont, he details many solid techniques to help you improve your photography.
Most of the problems I get asked to fix in my role as technical support for photographers has to do with Lightroom. This article will show you the way I use Lightroom to be able to find any photograph I've shot in the last 10 years in under a minute.
Rarely is a landscape photo finished the moment you press the shutter; almost every such image requires some degree of post-processing to create the finished product. It is easy to get a bit mired in the editing phase, though, finding yourself pushing sliders back and forth as you experiment and try to create the best possible version of an image you know has potential in it.
Rarely is a portrait image finished once you have pressed the shutter; almost every such photo requires some degree of retouching to finish it.
If you’re thinking of making your love for photography into the thing that pays the bills, here are a few pitfalls which you might want to avoid.
It sounds like a strange concept, but the reasoning behind it is sound, and it is straightforward and easy to do. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to edit your photos in reverse and why it will help you make better and more precise photos.
We all want to take better photos, but how can you do that? Whether you are an amateur or experienced professional, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced photographer sharing five helpful tips that will lead you to better images.
Wedding photography is one of the most challenging genres out there, requiring you to be at the top of your game technically and ready to tackle any challenges that come efficiently and smoothly.
Being competent with composition, camera settings, lighting, and post-processing and having a strong creative voice are all requirements for becoming a successful professional photographer, but they are far from the only things you will need.
Some beginning photographers keep on shooting in JPEG because of one reason. They’re a bit of afraid of the raw file format. But shooting in raw is easier than you think. If you want to start photographing in raw but you don’t know how, I’ll show you how it’s done.
There has been a lot of advancement in lighting technology for LED lights for photography recently, but are they the way to go? Check out this video for a comparison of the pros and cons of each.
We live in an age of hyper-fast content creative and consumption, and it can be easy to feel pressured to bring home loads of images to continue feeding the machine. There is something to be said for slowing down so you can think more and shoot less, however. This great video explores that idea and why it might improve both your photos and your enjoyment of the experience.
Seascape photography is a challenging yet rewarding genre of photography. The dynamic nature of the sea makes taking photos at the coast very exciting, but it also requires a unique set of skills and knowledge. And that's what I'll share in this article as seven tips that'll help you take your seascape photography to the next level.
You can put in the time to become competent with a camera and editing and build out a portfolio you can be proud of, but actually monetizing your photography is an entirely different beast and something many talented photographers struggle with despite their image-making capabilities.
What skills other than knowing your camera kit and how to take a good photo do you need to make your fledgling photography business work, grow, and be sustainable while still standing out from the crowd? What tools do you need and what websites are good enough to bookmark and check daily? These five tips will help you on your way.
Glyn Dewis discusses the reasons behind the thinking that printing makes us better photographers. He takes a look at Permajet paper and gives some of the reasons why you'd choose this over other types of paper and educates us as to what makes a good paper for printing.
Landscapes often have dynamic range that exceeds the capabilities of even the most modern camera sensors, and as such, exposure blending is one of the most common techniques photographers employ to improve the quality of their photos.
The Lumix S5 II is the first full-frame mirrorless camera from Panasonic to offer hybrid phase detect autofocus and a plethora of other cinematic video options. With all of the new improvements on the S5 II, could it be an ideal choice as a full-fledged cinema camera?
It often takes a ton of work to put together a successful photoshoot, and as such, you want to be sure that you are getting everything you can out of it. This fantastic video tutorial features an experienced studio photographer sharing three quick and easy tips that will not only improve your image quality, but help you come away from the shoot with more worthwhile photos.
Learning flash can be a scary thing, but it does not have to be. Once you understand how flash works, it will unlock a multitude of creative opportunities that simply would not be possible when working with only natural light. This great video tutorial will show you one of the most important skills you will need: how to properly set your camera when working with strobes.
Color grading your images can be fun, yet, in some cases, an arduous task. The subtle nuances that it can provide can make or break an image. Learning to color grade effectively takes years, and understanding the subtle differences that adding numerical values can make to the RGB of your image is an art form.
There are a lot of different ways to edit a photo in Lightroom, but most people probably do not use this slider for the purpose demonstrated here, as it is designed for something else. Nonetheless, it can give your photos that extra bit of pop that makes them catch the viewer's eye without teetering into the territory of the gaudy.
Photoshop is an extremely nuanced and complex program, which means there are often several ways to accomplish what you need to do. One of the application's most useful features, Blend If, is a bit hidden behind those multiple layers of menus, but it is one well worth knowing, as it gives you powerful and versatile capabilities for a range of editing scenarios.
Lightroom is one of the most popular programs for editing your photos, and it is surprisingly powerful, able to tackle a wide range of edits entirely by itself. If you are new to photography and working in Lightroom, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you the ins and outs of working in the program through a portrait edit.
Nothing is more frustrating than having the wrong camera settings, especially during decisive moments. These images are probably beyond recovery. That’s why you have to check the camera setting every single time you go out. Just assume the settings are wrong. Always.
As a portrait photographer, learning how to work with artificial light will enable far more creative exploration and free you from needing to rely on certain times of day, locations, and conditions. The best place to start is with a single light.
While things like aperture, shutter speed, and ISO are quantifiable, and thus, easy to discuss, composition is both qualitative and a bit more nebulous and thus, a bit harder to nail down.
Landscape photography is one of the most popular genres out there, and finding success in it takes a combination of good technique, creative vision, the ability to work with changing and often unpredictable conditions, and often, a smidgen of luck.
In our biggest FAQ about product photography yet, we discuss some of the most common questions a photographer at any skill level might have, from simple ones about settings to complex ones about the type of reflection a leather surface produces under hard light. This article was created to help you create better product images.
The sky is an integral part of just about any landscape photograph, and as such, it deserves a healthy dose of your attention during the editing process. If you would like to improve your landscape images, check out this excellent video tutorial that will show you three different ways to adjust the sky using Photoshop or Lightroom.
A lower ISO means less noise, greater dynamic range, and better image quality. As such, a lower ISO is almost always preferable — almost. ISO is only one of the three exposure parameters, and if you do not consider it in tandem with them, it can seriously affect your image quality.
2023 is the year of AI, and the industry is exploding with a wide range of tools that can make your life easier, whether that is through editing, running your business, or other tasks. This excellent video tutorial will show you five such tools you should consider taking advantage of to save time and improve the quality of your images.
A fundamental lesson in photography is the exposure triangle. Learning about ISO, shutter speed, and aperture is something all photographers should do.
The awesome thing about shooting portraiture in a city is that there are so many options for locations and looks, meaning you can easily create a large volume of worthwhile images in the span of just an afternoon.
Sunset portraits are a timeless look that will always be appreciated by a lot of clients, and adding a bit of artificial light can help both to balance the exposure and to add a bit of creative flair that can really take the image to the next level.
When you think of compelling landscape imagery, you probably imagine rays of dramatic golden sun cascading across the scene, and while that can make for fantastic images, it certainly is not the only kind of light that makes for worthwhile photos.
Today, we’re talking websites. What are the dos and what are the don’ts?
Rarely is a landscape photo finished when you take the shot; most such images require some level of editing to create the finished product. If you are new to landscape photography and interested in improving your work, check out this fantastic video tutorial that discusses some of the most common landscape photography editing mistakes and what you can do to avoid or fix them.
The beach and a good sunset make for a fantastic combination and a timeless look. There are several ways to approach such a shot, and it takes some careful technique to deal with some often tricky issues, such as large dynamic range.
Pets are some of our closest companions, and even if you do not want to photograph them professionally, knowing how to capture them well can help you create wonderful memories that you will treasure for years to come. If you want to improve your pet photography, check out this helpful video tutorial that will give you a wide range of useful advice sure to improve your images.
Though the words only differ by a single letter, the difference between making and taking an image could not be more immense. One is a passive approach meant to capture what occurs in front of the camera should something interesting cross its view, while the other is an active engagement in the creative process that draws on the technique, imagination, and foresight of the photographer.
A creative and well-executed edit can take a modest snapshot and turn it into an eye-catching image.
Though it fell out of use for a while, the Fresnel lens has regained popularity for portraiture work, where it can provide a sharp and impactful light quality that is still flattering on the subject's facial features.
Lightroom is one of the most popular photo-editing programs. We talk a lot about the library module and the develop module. The other available modules are almost never mentioned. What are these modules? But more important, are these useful?
Learning how to create good headshots is no easy task. With so much advice on the internet available, it can be hard finding a good place to learn professional headshot photography. This is why we here at Fstoppers created this comprehensive article that answers some of the most frequently asked questions.
When you use a wide angle lens, you can fit so many things in the frame, it can be difficult knowing what you should include and what you shouldn't. Here, we take a look at one simple composition technique you can use to enhance your wide angle photography skills.
There are a lot of common rules about portrait photography, but rules are meant to be broken, and one photographer shares how he does that in a meaningful way after shooting more than 100,000 portraits.