Ultra Music Festival is one of the largest electronic dance music concerts in the world and brought in over 300,000 people last year in Miami. The heavy-hitting festival along with Winter Music Conference and Miami Music Week just wrapped up this past weekend. I reached out to members of the EDM Photographers group that attended Miami's craziest week and asked how their experience was shooting these massive events.
Recently I had an opportunity to try my hand at creating the new hotness in cyberspace, Flixel Photos Inc.’s Cinemagraph Pro for Mac, what they are calling a living photo creation software. Cinemagraph Pro allows users to easily create Cinemagraph images, a media form that combines elements of a moving video to a high quality still photograph or referred to as 'hybrid photography.'
Merely two years ago, Stanislav picked up his first camera: a Lumix G3 for $600. From that point forward his inspirational journey began. The majority of his mind-blowing work was taken in his attic using friends as models. Now he is known as Sean Archer - a natural light photographer who specializes in female portraits. His work is proof that it’s not about gear. It’s about the photographer; it's about the vision of the artist.
I am a bit of a Kickstarter junkie. I love learning about companies trying to take new products to the market, tossing some money behind them and then watching them succeed. This latest project that I just backed, Fractal Filters, has incredible potential. This is definitely worth checking out! But do it quick, it's funding period ends in less than 24 hours!
Rain on your wedding day can be quite a downer for most brides even though many cultures see rain as good fortune, cleansing and fertility. Often brides wonder how they are going to still get good photos if it's raining. Here are some tips for photographers that I've picked up over the years having shot numerous weddings in the rain.
Last Friday, during the 4th quarter of Stevenson High School's IHSA Boy's Basketball Class 4A semifinal game against Whitney Young, Jalen Brunson made a three-pointer shot that was "waved off" and instead a foul was called. Jalen, who was clearly upset with the call, threw his arms up in disgust. In that split moment, a picture was taken (among a group of shots) that made it look as if he was giving the finger to the opposing team and fans.
About 5 years ago, when I was still in my Photography college in Australia, our teachers would regularly introduce us to the new and noteworthy Australian photographers' and digital artists' work. Among others there was one artist, whose work really grabbed my attention and I have been watching her growth and success ever since.
I'm guilty. As a commercial and fashion editorial photographer as well as a writer for Fstoppers, I love lighting, bokeh, rigging, and all technicalities involved with cinematography and photography. For many months, content fell second to setup. From my experience, there are three types of photographers: those that confide in instinct and sunlight, those that rely on post processing, and those that excel at artificial lighting and formalities.
Matt Davey, a music photographer based in Essex, and iPhonographer Dilshad Corleone take to the streets of London and go on a fun journey of self-discovery and in the process create a collaborative project of creative individuals using the power of photography. I caught up with Matt and he broke down the project and the great experiences that he gained from collaborating with his fellow colleagues.
You may have read my previous post previewing the first modern CMOS-based medium format back to hit the world market by Phase One. Soon after my post, Phase One HQ sent me one of the first IQ250 backs to arrive in the US to review for this site. I had a solid 2 weeks to try it out and see what this system was capable of doing.
Months of planning, 567 images stitched into a single panorama and a 14.6 gigabyte image results in a breathtaking view of New York City from the top of the Freedom Tower. Deemed as one the tallest skyscrapers in the US, the new Freedom Tower is about one year out from completion.
Imagine someone were to ask you to count the number of photographs you see from the moment you open your eyes in the morning until the moment you close them again that night. Between looking through your own work, as well as the various social media and news sites, the number of images we expose ourselves to is probably well over a thousand.
When I first came across Guilherme Brasileiro’s series “Delicadezas” on Instagram, I was pulled in by a seemingly nonsensical, quirky theme: dozens of portraits, cropped close featuring men and women, each holding a hand under their chin. The energy of the series struck me as open and full of warmth; the subject’s reaction to the pose they had been asked to assume was usually very apparent (some looked amused, a good few looked self-conscious, and some had really obviously embraced the idea).
Thomy Keat is a photographer based in Paris. Although corporate photography makes up much of his job, Keat says street photography is “the thing that makes me want to keep doing what I do as a professional photographer.” Pulling strong stylistic influence from his commercial work, Keat’s street photography is full of contrast, bold lines and repeated colors.
There are a few behind the scenes videos out there that show photographers working with ice climbers, but often the climbs are right next to the road, making it convenient to bring tons of gear, power, and spend all day getting coverage. So what does it take to create those images when you're miles deep into the woods, and can only take what you can carry on your back? In this behind the scenes video, I'll show you the challenges of such a shoot.
Sponsored by “Hunger Free Colorado”, a recent photo series gave digital cameras to 15 woman living on food stamps in Colorado, and asked them to document their lives using the cameras in a series called "Hunger Through My Lens". The concept is simple, but what it leaves us with, is some incredibly powerful images on the harsh reality of the lives of those battling hunger in America.
Simeon Quarrie, owner of wedding production company Vivida, is back with another amazing and unique editorial-style pre-wedding photoshoot for one of his couples. In this behind the scenes video he shows just how much planning and work goes into a great quality photoshoot production. The concept for the shoot is a whimsical story about severing the ties of restriction with the power of love starring a beautiful couple as its centerpiece.
Publications allowing individual photographers access to their Instagram accounts is an increasingly common practice, and helps to foster a more intimate look at a photographer’s process. For example, Time Magazine allowed several photographers access to its Instagram account after Hurricane Sandy, enabling the magazine to update its almost 600k followers in real time.
Few months back we featured the incredible and unique rock climbing photos of Seattle-based photographer Kiliii Fish. This week Kiliii finished his newest photo series he worked on for a long time - this time survival was the theme. The results? Nothing short of epic. In this interview he explains the whole process and reveals how he shot and edited it all.
And of course she pulls it off! There are so many articles online right now that are in a fuss over how manipulative Photoshop editing can be. Check out Fstopper's post on how Women React to Being Photoshopped As Cover Models if you don't believe me. It's not uncommon for print work to be heavily retouched by some of the best in the world, Jennifer Lawrence show's it's not needed with her latest untouched shoot.
Jeffrey Mckee is a Lawrence, KS-based photographer and a graphic designer for the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas. His colorful portraits, created with Polaroid instant film, evoke a sense of dreamy playfulness.
Like so many 20th century processes, Polaroid photography is a format far less common than its digital counterparts. However, equipment and film for instant photography have been made more accessible in recent years.
It's been 3 years since Fstoppers' Patrick Hall posted on the Midway project, where Seattle-based photographer Chris Jordan made us aware of the horrific plight of albatrosses living on the Midway Atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Since then Chris and his team have put together this short film documenting the tragedy that plagues the inhabitants of the island, where the Great Pacific Garbage Patch continues to kill. This short is a bit of a teaser for their featured film due to be released later this year.
Renowned actor Norman Reedus, best known for his portrayal as Daryl Dixon in the television series The Walking Dead, is also an international artist and photographer. Step inside the inventive mind of Reedus by taking a look at his recently published book, The Sun’s Coming Up… Like a Big Bald Head. It is filled with dark and gruesome images that exist somewhere between Reedus's reality and our own.
If you are a lifestyle photographer one of your jobs is to make your images look natural- not stiff, not awkward, and definitely not staged. Your audience should see your images as moments that were going to happen regardless of whether or not you were there to capture it. The imagery that Roxy uses in their advertising is a spot-on example of this. Their photographic brand is made up of images of surfer girls living their carefree, summer lifestyle. Each image is a moment.
If you're anywhere outside of California, good chances you're kind of sick of this winter by now. More specifically - sick of the all that snow and sleet. Seeing the ugly NYC snow this week made me think of all the beautiful snow photos I've seen as a kid. Photos that made me believe snow is a magical thing. Here are some of these amazing images found on Flickr to remind us snow CAN be a good thing.
Have you ever tried to recreate an iconic image? It could take days of preparations to get anywhere close to the original. The location needs to be perfect, the makeup and wardrobe need to be spot on and the lighting needs to be accurate. In this incredible video created by "US" (Christopher Barrett and Luke Taylor) for The Sunday Times Culture, they managed to re-create 6 iconic images, in camera, in one seamless shot. Check out the final result and the BTS showing how they shot it.
With modern technology within Adobe Camera Raw, you're limiting yourself considerably when shooting in JPEG. However, by shooting in Raw, you're removing the purpose of many of the features within the camera. Settings such as 'Picture Style' serve no real purpose when shooting in Raw, because all the adjustments added to photos, will be stripped when put on your computer. Regardless, I shoot in monochromatic, and it has helped my work considerably.
Adventure Sports Photographer Tim Kemple was one of the only photographers in the world who was lucky enough to try out the new Phase One IQ250 that was just announced earlier today. Check out the behind the scenes video, but also read the full article for my interview with Tim, where he shares his thoughts on the system, as well as what it's like to beta test cameras.
My photographer-friend from Moscow Aleksey Dovgulya is visiting me in Los Angeles right now. We went to the same high school, but only met in 2008 after I got into photography. While I was studying in Australia Aleksey built an impressive list of commercial clients in Russia. In the past few years he has photographed for major brands such as Rolls-Royce, Renault, BMW, Schwartzkopf & Henkel, Benetton, Vogue, Christian Louboutin, and the list goes on and on.
I would like to wrap up my Secrets to Crafting Top-Quality Beauty Portraits series in a quick roundup on the most common mistakes I have been noticing beginner Beauty photographers make.
I will sure talk more about Beauty photography in the future, but I'd like to summarize a few things at this point.
Featured last year for his "Wedding Day Zombie Apocalypse" composite, Photographer Josiah Moore is up to his old tricks again. This past fall he shot a wedding where both the Bride and Groom were car enthusiasts. He decided to make a fun chase scene out of a photo from the reception, and this video shows his process in Photoshop.
After our post about ...an Itty-bitty Universe the question was raised as to how such images are produced. For answers I turned to the publisher of "Year in the Life of the Universe", "Capturing the Stars", "Treasures of the Southern Sky" and "Lessons from the Masters", recipient of a "Hubble Prize" for contributions to astrophotography, image producer for both a UK and German national stamp, and the guy responsible for Apple's ubiquitous desktop image of NGC 3190. Meet astrophotographer Robert Gendler.
Yesterday, I posted about the most viewed post from this past year. While those posts are great pieces in their own right, there is so much more content for learning on Fstoppers. So this time, I want to show you the absolute best original content posts of this past year. These aren't organized by views, or anything arbitrary like that, these are just some of our favorite posts from this past year.
This is yet another article of the Secrets to Crafting Top-Quality Beauty Portraits series. If you haven't read the first three, you can find them here: on compositing, on shooting Beauty portraits on location and in studio.
Today I would like to talk about framing, posing and directing your models when shooting Beauty portraits. While lighting and compositing are very important parts of creating a striking image, the model's pose, facial expression and her body language can make or break it.
As most of us are off spending time with our families and loved ones we want to wish all of our readers and fans a Happy Holiday season. Next February (2014) marks Fstoppers' 4th anniversary. It's unbelievable just how much we've grown thus far. With an amazing staff of writers putting out fresh and informative content each and every day, we have grown to over 10 million readers worldwide.
As a writer for Fstoppers I have seen a lot of behind the scenes (BTS) videos, but some of my favorites are those produced by Simeon Quarrie of Vivida. His videos are always top notch and offer the viewers a wonderful opportunity to see real shoots with actual clients while picking up lots of great tips on how he produces such great photographs.
When winter hit and weddings and senior portraits weren't generating any income, Michael Sasser decided to expand his reach by adding boudoir style photography to his repertoire. If you're looking for a way to increase your business through the slow months, this might be just the thing for you. In this interview, Michael explains how his new sessions have been working out.
A few days ago I covered a story here on Fstoppers about an online altercation between a massively popular music producer, Diplo, and a Canadian based photography collective under the name of Visualbass. Diplo has recently stepped forward and has made a statement on Fstoppers about the incident.
Last night on the EDM Photographers Facebook group a member posted a tweet from an upset photographer who wasn't properly credited for an image that famed music producer, Diplo, posted on his Instagram feed. The concert photography collective, Visualbass, tweeted their irritation to Diplo about the uncredited photo and was met with a rather unpleasant and public exchange from the artist.
I am continuing my series of articles about creating stunning Beauty portraits and I would like to talk about on location lighting today. Please note that not only are we talking about advertising Beauty photography, examples of which you may see in the cosmetics section of a department store, or in fashion magazine ads, but we are also talking about simple female Beauty portraits that many of you are probably often hired to photograph for your female clients locally.
This powerful timelapse video called "Wyoming Wildscapes II" was put together by photographer Nicolaus Wegner. Taking 14 months, this video covers the cycle of the seasons, the shifting of the landscape, and the ever-changing weather. To find out more about this project, I interviewed Nicolaus and asked about his gear, workflow, and experiences.
Trevor Sherwin recently traveled to Kenya, and decided to use this opportunity to create some amazing images for his portfolio. Most people who travel to the area tend to focus on the wildlife, but Trevor wanted to focus on something else - people. He wanted to create dramatic portraits of the local tribes in a way that shows both the people and the location. Check out his great video explaining his method of shooting.
This article is for those of you how enjoy beauty photography: from fashion and advertising beauty, to beauty portraits of non-models and even boudoir photography. And while there are always millions or rules, trends and opinions, I base my article on my own ideas and beliefs as to what's important to be aware of to successfully create attractive beauty images.
There are lots of presets out there for sale emulating the look of film. Enough so that when I heard that Mastin Labs released one I didn't pay too much attention. Fortunately, because of the nudge of a friend, I decided to look into it a little further and I am glad I did. This is the first time I have seen a Lightroom preset designed by a film shooter for film shooters to help them match their digital images from a wedding with those shot on their film. Fortunately for those only shooting digital, you can benefit as well.
When you're successful you get tons of requests, but sometimes there's that one that captures your interest and intrigues you. That's what happened recently to Benjamin Von Wong. A woman by the name of Nicole emailed Benjamin's agent asking what she thought was an impossible favor, to be featured in one of Ben's magical and dream-like sessions, on very short notice.
Tired of shooting photos of your latest meal for Instagram? Need some new ideas, some challenges, something new and fresh to do with your iPhone camera. Well... ok do this.
Yep you heard that right. Check out OkDoThis.com!
We all have cameras and know how to operate them. But how well do you understand the image forming principles? Modern technologies spoil us and we are often not required to possess any knowledge about the process behind the functions of a device. However, such knowledge can lead you to fun experiments like the one I am going to share with you today.
Amy Lynn is a 24 year old photographer from Nebraska who wanted to do an institutionalized themed shoot for a long time. Right before Halloween, she decided to finally make it happen by heading to local thrift shops in search of the right materials to match her vision. The BTS video captures the whole process and the final results are more than awesome.
NYC Photographer Richard Renaldi recently embarked upon one of the most original photo projects I've ever seen. In the series Touching Strangers, Renaldi finds two strangers, whether on the street, in a restaurant, at work - and tells them to get together and pose as if they have known each other for years.
How many times you had to come up with ideas for creative portraits and got stuck for days with the same boring ideas? I can guess it happened many times. Sometimes anything cool or creative can seem too complicated to execute and sometimes you think you need a whole team of professionals to help with with creating it. Here is one super simple idea that is very easy to shoot, and the results are always interesting and creative. I'm talking about paint. A lot of it.