Fstoppers Originals

Exclusive articles and expert opinions written by Fstoppers’ talented team of creative professionals. Here we cover everything from the latest photographic techniques to advice on running a successful photography business, to first hand accounts of working in the photography industry.

Ten Photography Tips for Epic Aerials Out of a Fixed Wing Plane

With drones being so accessible and easy to use, everybody is taking aerial shots these days. But there's nothing like crawling into a tiny Cessna and exploring the skies from a plane for yourself! Here’re 10 tips on how you can do just that. 

Do You Really Need to Spend Big on Flash Guns?

I'm a big fan of speed lights, and I pretty much use them for almost all of my personal and professional shooting. That said, I'm not always using the biggest and the baddest the major brands have to offer, even professionally. 

Barriers to Entry: Underwater Photography

There is a tremendous amount of magic hiding just below the surface of our lakes, rivers, and seas that has yet to be documented. And while underwater photography certainly has a few barriers to entry, if approached in a pragmatic way the initial shift can be quite simple. Let’s dive in. 

Copenhagen's Five Best Photo Locations

If you have never been to Copenhagen in Denmark, I highly recommend going in summer. All the locals are out enjoying the sun and heat. This 3 hour photo walk is only an introduction to the most common places you must visit.  Bicycles are also a great alternative to walking if you wish to cover more area quickly. Canal tours can also give you a very different perspective from the water.

Dream Photography Studio Comes to Life

Photography dreams can come true, and for Adam Coppola, that’s just what happened this year when he opened his newly completed photography studio. I had an opportunity to tour Coppola's newly completed dream studio a few weeks ago. 

How to Never Work a Day in Your Life

They say that when you find a career that you love, you will never have to work a day in your life. That’s bull. Well, sort of. 

Cultural Tattoos Invisible in Wet Collodion Prints

A photographer has found an amazingly cool way to capture and honor the art of facial tattoos from the indigenous New Zealand culture the Māori. Using the wet collodion process, the subjects appear to have their ink magically removed in portraits hung next to modern digital photos creating a surreal before and after effect. 

How to Build a Real Community of Instagram Followers

With social media being such a critical part of a photographer's online presence, developing simple strategies for Instagram is a key part of presenting your work to the world. These simple tips will help you to grow your following and make the process enjoyable as well. 

Women and Advertising: How One Company Is Ahead of the Game

DJI's latest advertisement for the Mavic Air is incredibly woke. Not only is it targeting the growing number of women heading outdoors in search of adventure, it also pokes a little bit of fun at gender politics in the world of filmmaking and photography. 

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Photography Workshops

There isn’t much worse than doling out a substantial amount of money and ending up on a less than stellar workshop. I’ve been there, done that, so here are a few thoughts on how to have a great photography workshop experience. 

Five Tips for Better Beer Photographs

I am trying to brush up my photography skills in areas I am not overly familiar with. This week it was beer photography, and boy did I learn a lot.   

Can You Make Money Shooting Concert Photography?

Go to any live music event and if the crowd is big enough, there will be photographers snapping away for the first three songs. Concert photography is a blast, but does that blast produce bucks? 

Top 10 WeeklyFstop Photos: Water

This week's theme on the WeeklyFstop was something we all need but rarely appreciate as much as we should. Our readers got their feet wet with an awesome top ten list all featuring photos of water.  

Getty's 'Sexiest Fans' Gallery: Is the Outrage Justified?

You may have read an article about how Getty removed their "sexiest fans" gallery due to receiving backlash from social media. What's interesting is Vogue Magazine posted a similar type of article about men, which didn't seem to receive much in terms of outrage. Is it more offensive to objectify women than it is to objectify men?  

Five Days in the Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands are an archipelago between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic, about halfway between Norway and Iceland, 320 kilometers (200 miles) north-northwest of Scotland. The islands are an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark. Their area is about 1,400 square kilometers (541 square miles) with a population of 50,322 in October 2017.