Fstoppers Originals

Profoto just announced their new 500 Ws studio strobe, the D30. I've been playing with it for the last few weeks, and today I am finally able to share with you a full photoshoot using this powerful light. 

Sadly, the world in which we’re living has become more polarized, with hatred splitting communities and war tearing countries apart. Many people roll their eyes when the holidays approach, but perhaps we should all be happy it’s only a few weeks away and think about what would help other photographers and brighten their days. 

For any videographer, getting your equipment setup just right is key to achieving smoother workflows and better-quality shots. Recently, I upgraded my gimbal setup with a few accessories that have made a significant impact on both my shooting experience and footage quality. Looking back, I wish I had invested in these upgrades much sooner.

There is a bamboozling range of different camera bags on the market, and deciding which to buy is a veritable minefield. Here are some explanations of the various bags, their purposes, and what to look for when choosing yours. 

Are squares better? Come with me as we throw a fork in the photographic microwave and investigate why you shouldn't underestimate the 1:1 image format. 

Now… about that microwave.

We begin our little journey into the world of square format photography by addressing the glaring elephant in the room: there is no truly “better” image format when it comes to photography.

If you’re creating content on your iPhone, Apple’s storage pricing can make it very difficult to justify using storage-heavy workflows like ProRes. Lexar’s Go Portable SSD, however, is specially designed to be the perfect external storage pairing for iPhones and other USB-C mobile devices. 

The photography world is full of questions. Many of these questions are met with few answers and even fewer absolutes. Perhaps the biggest question of all is: “Do photographers exist today?” 

Modifiers like softboxes and umbrellas serve as powerful tools for photographers to shape and control light. Whether they want to emulate natural window light with a touch of soft, diffused light or create an epic environmental portrait with darker exposures and higher flash powers, these tools provide portable and powerful means for photographers to bring their vision to life.

Film production equipment is notoriously expensive. But some of the most helpful tools can still be had for a song. 

As a professional commercial photographer, my main priority has always been to capture the perfect still image whether for client delivery or personal project.  

For centuries, art was created in a physical form and limited to one original copy. If an artist wanted attribution, they could sign or carve their name into the artwork. No matter where the art traveled, the attribution traveled with it. Today, much of our work is shared digitally, where watermarks or crediting do not appear alongside the art.

Do we even need a unique voice in our photography? Is having our own style really necessary? I have a few thoughts to share about this. 

Whether you are still trying to find your footing or decades deep into a creative career, sooner or later a basic question comes for us all: Should you continue down the same path, or is it time to take a turn? 

Is buying a Leica akin to strutting around with the latest ridiculously priced Louis Vuitton handbag? Is it all hype and image? Is it mandatory that Leica owners place their camera on the table in a coffee shop and spend more time taking photos of it—with their phone, I assume—than actually photographing with it? 

In this article, we'll explore the ingredients for a great photo and find out which are the most important. 

There are many benefits that come with teaching up-and-coming photographers, as I’ve come to learn. But some of them surprised me—namely that I would learn a lot more about photography, as well as myself, in the process. Consider this a short list of those benefits, along with some insights along the way. 

One of the most challenging yet rewarding aspects of landscape photography is finding the perfect location. The right location can elevate your photo from ordinary to extraordinary. However, choosing where to shoot can be a time-consuming process, filled with challenges such as overcrowded tourist spots, difficult terrain, or simply not knowing where to go.

As photographers, we intuitively understand that color profoundly impacts our images, and there’s much more to it than meets the eye. Here are ways you can elevate your images by employing the power of color. 

Are you kind? That sounds like an odd question to ask in a photographic article, but it impacts your work profoundly. However, there is one circumstance where you should be mean to other photographers. 

With the current advancement of imaging technology in digital photography, the significance of format has evolved dramatically to a point where it no longer matters as much compared to the early film days.

If you'd like to try some comet photography, tonight and the next few days are for you. Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) will be in our night skies just after sunset. Happily, you likely have all the gear you need on hand. No fancy tracking mounts, telescopes, or filters are required. A DSLR will do the trick.

A common misconception in landscape photography is that using the lowest ISO setting always results in the highest quality images. I frequently encounter this question and concern in my YouTube comments. Therefore, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to share a video and article discussing the importance of ISO. 

For the last few weeks, I have been filming with the brand new GoPro Hero 13 Black and the new DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro action cameras. To mix things up a bit, I also tested them against and Apple iPhone. Can your older "professional" model iPhone produce video that competes with these new state of the art action cameras? Let's find out. 

Diving into the fascinating world of creativity within our craft can raise people’s hackles. Many commonly accepted truths about what makes a good photo are subjective and swayed by widely held opinions. Nevertheless, breaking free from the constraints of popularism can lead to creative results that stand apart from the crowd, and that's important. 

In this article, I share the photo editing workflow I use for all my photos, and if you want to achieve high-quality results, this is for you. 

The focus of this article is not on the individual editing techniques, as I've written detailed articles on focus stacking, exposure blending, getting brilliant colors, and print preparation in the past.