The guys over PHLEARN have a lot of cool content, and this is their most recent. The original idea for this photo shoot was inspired by childhood, drawing on references from stories such as “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak and the classic comic strip “Calvin and Hobbes." The result is a playful look at the imagination of a child.
The incredibly young and talented, Joey L. has released a new documentary that was shot while shooting his intimate series of photos, 'Holy Men'. Set in the breathtaking backdrop of India, the documentary filmed by Cale Glendening shows Joey while at work with his assistant Ryan, but more importantly proves that capturing an amazing portrait isn't just about the latest gear or technique, but truly the subject.
This past November while on a trip to Colorado, I had the chance to meet up with Celin Serbo, an outdoor lifestyle photographer whose client list includes the likes of Nikon, Backpacker Magazine, Nat Geo Adventure, and First Ascent, among many others. We spoke about the challenges of capturing images in the field, the importance of being business-savvy, and the obstacles of incorporating filmmaking into the services he offers.
French photog, Philippe Echaroux, has really gone above and beyond with his guerrilla style street portraits. In this video he hits the streets with 4 crew members and made this short video of how he approaches strangers, gives them a quick description of what he's doing. If they want to take part, Philippe then signals his crew and they very quickly style the subject, light them and even throw up a nice background on a stick. The images turn out really nice, and I would love to see more people thinking bigger and more outside the box like, Mr. Echaroux, when it comes to street shots. Enjoy!
Quebec photographer, Patrice Laroche, took an interesting approach to his personal maternity photos. He took several self-portraits of himself with the mother of his child, Sandra Denis at a convenience store air pump machine. The series of photos were taken a different times within the nine months of waiting for their daughter, Justine, to make an appearance into the world. A very unique and humorous way of documenting the whole length of the pregnancy, that I hope becomes a trend.
I'm a big fan of the mission and idea behind websites like Kickstarter. I appreciate creating a community of people from all over the world who help each other pursue their dreams. On Indieagogo, a site similar to Kickstarter, I came across this cool project on photographer, Fred Lyons.
The Slanted Lens recently posted a new behind the scenes video, explaining the process for a project that involves shooting photos of a warrior princess out by Vasquez Rocks. This video really dives in to considerations you have to make as a photographer when shooting on a remote location like this. From location scouting, to running power for lights, and even considering bathrooms for the crew, this insightful BTS video shows us how Jay P. Morgan approached this challenge.
Everyone knows "that" guy or girl who should have stuck with a point and shoot when picking out their camera. From the gear head to the overly enthusiastic "artist," Youtubers DSLRnoidea have a little fun with the type of people who really weren't meant to own a dslr.
Take a look at these inspirational photographs from Justin Bettman's Dark series. I have been following Justin for awhile now and love the work he produces. What i really admire about his images are the stories they tell. It seems a lot of photographers go for similar styles and the photography starts to blend together and become homogeneous, Justin definitely breaks that mold. I was able to talk to Justin about about his Dark series and what all goes into producing some of these astounding photos.
With a simple change in focal length, we know that we can drastically change and control the depth of field. In this lesson from The Slanted Lens, Jay P Morgan shoots a fashion portrait at the Vasquez Rocks in California. Not only does he cover how to control the depth of field, but you'll also learn how he uses this tip to enhance his work.
If you're a fan of setting up bird feeders and watching the adorable little animals swoop into your back yard, you might want to look into this new piece of equipment designed by Bryson Lovett. Instead of hunting down your favorite avian wildlife at 200 mm, this little contraption allows you to view and photograph the birds up close and personal without invading their space.
I have a deep admiration for wedding photographers. I believe wedding photography is probably one of the most challenging things you can tackle in photography. The pressures of shooting and then editing hundreds of photos from the event can become daunting. For photographer, Sasha Leahovcenco, he takes on the added pressure of same day edits. Sasha explains how he accomplishes his wedding reception-ready slideshows.
I teamed up with Luquire George Andrews, an ad agency in Charlotte, NC, to create four images for a corporate brochure for Lincoln Harris, a commercial real estate company with properties in 26 states. LGA wanted to feature b/w photographs of executives in Lincoln Harris' properties.
Figurative artist Cayce Zavaglia started as a painter, but has since discovered new techniques to sate her creative appetite. As she calls it, her "renegade embroidery" comes from a portrait that she shoots of a person, and then she recreates that portrait using threaded wool in a way that creates the allusion of depth, volume, and form. This video from Garrett Zavaglia gives viewers an inside look into her process.
Right now the hottest spot on the globe for photography is in New York City at Photo Plus. Our good friends at creativeLIVE have set up an unbelievable opportunity for photographers to learn from eight of the industry's leading photographers all for FREE. Catch creativeLIVE's free event Photographers Ignite live right now. If you missed any of the speakers or want to revisit these amazing workshops,
Matthew Hogan, a talented photographer and videographer from Tyler, Texas, shot country band, JB and the Mooonshine band. He not only shot the band for a promotional photoshoot, but for their music video, as well. Using Alienbee lighting, a Nikon D700 and a Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 lens he composited the individual band members together for the final image.
We've featured Ian Ruhter before: his Silver and Light series was an incredible display of talent, ingenuity and originality. I'm glad to say that he's back at it again, this time criss-crossing the country, telling the stories of inspiring people with his portable darkroom setup. Watch as Ian shoots Madison, a young girl who overcame some serious setbacks, and creates a series of incredible portraits using his custom made (very large format) camera which is built into the back of a box van.
Perfect travel or street photography is a delicate concoction of the right place and the right time mixed with a superb eye for the extraordinary. William J Palank is one of those individuals who managed to brew that concoction with a supernatural elegance. While traversing the globe, his weapon of choice these days is the Leica M9, a digital rangefinder that produces an uncannily beautiful image. To help us celebrate Mirrorless Month, Palank describes what about the Lecia M9 allows him to shoot at his best.
There is nothing better than seeing happy people around you - doesn't matter if they're family, friends or total strangers. Seeing happy people will make you smile, and this is why this week we are featuring 15 awesome pictures of happy people found on Flickr. Check them out and let us know which are your favorites.
One skill set any photographer needs to master is how to pose people in ways that don't look awkward. Doug Gordon has been teaching his "flow posing system" to photographers across the country for years. Now, starting today Oct 11th through Oct 13th, Doug is hosting The Doug Gordon Photography Project over at creativeLIVE. If you struggle with telling your clients what to do in front of your camera, you should definitely tune into this FREE creativeLIVE workshop. Check out what is covered
Montreal photographer, Ben Von Wong, an Fstoppers favorite is at it again with his latest shoot. The folks over at Nikon sent Von Wong a Nikkor 400mm f2.8 lens to shoot with. Typically with a large lens you would shoot nature or sports, but not Von Wong. He decided to test the lens using the Brenizer Method. He took several portraits of musician, Andrew Kesler, on top of a rooftop, but one problem presented itself. How to light Andrew in the middle of the night on such short notice? In typical Von Wong ingenuity, they chose, an iPhone.
Street photography is the kind of photography most of us don't usually like doing, but its probably the kind of photography we appreciate the most when the pictures become old. Its always amazing for me to see how people live, or lived, in other places or other times. Great street photography pictures can tell a story of time and place, and makes you make up your own story for the subject photographed. Check out these awesome photos and let us know which ones you like the best!
Lighting Asylum has brought us this informative look behind the scenes of a sunset portrait shoot, and it gets pretty in depth with how the photographer handles over-exposed back lighting, poor color in the clouds, and flash positioning. The photographer gives some insight on his process for camera settings, and even shows how he gels a flash to get the sky to change colors.
If you've ever had to photograph a large group of people, you probably understand how difficult it can be to capture every single person looking great. Imagine if that group photo was made up of 12 of the worlds richest Billionaires! That's what photographer Michael Prince did when he had to photograph the cover of Forbes Magazine during the 400 Summit on Philanthropy back in June.
We've seen behind the scenes videos of how projection mapping can be used artistically and commercially. Tobias Bjorkgren takes on a slightly different angle and applies the concept to his latest fashion shoot. The use of projection allows him to stand his models in front of varying scenes without having to leave the studio. To see the final images, check out his blog. What do you think of the effect?
Back again, Benjamin Von Wong takes on family portraits this time in another one of his behind the scenes videos. See how he put together 4 different scenes to make typically mundane photography style come to life. Using a D800E and Photoshop, check out how Ben works his magic.
There is just something about portraits of people looking out the window - doesn't matter if its in a building, train or car. Its something we do all the time, but never really pay attention to it. This is why seeing these awesome images capturing this quick-everyday-moment is really great. It makes you think. What are they seeing? What are they thinking of? are they happy? sad? maybe waiting for someone?.
Update: Warner Brothers has asked us to remove the images.
Some images have surfaced on Imgur that show some white backdrop, studio images taken for the release of the original Dark Knight. From what I understand, these are images that poster designers would use to craft the extremely popular and highly lucrative (both as a movie advertisement and as individual sale) designs to support the movie.
Now available on Netflix, "Shooting Robert King" goes behind the scenes of what it was like to be a documentary war photographer. You always hear and see images from the war but NEVER about what it's like to be thrown into it as a documentary photographer. At just 24, American photojournalist Robert King began his 15 year journey to follow his passion. Originally he set out to win a Pulitzer prize, but in the end found himself with a life changing experience.
I've really been enjoying these episodes of Mark Seliger's discussion-based show called Capture. In this latest installment, you'll get to sit in with one of the most talented photographers around - Martin Schoeller. He tells the stories behind his photographs of Jack Nicholson, Lyle Lovett, Steve Carell, and the breastfeeding mother (that I'm sure you all remember).
Elena Kalis's underwater photos are incredible. I have seen many photographers try this and it just never seems to turn out right. There is always something about the shots I wont like but that could easily just be me being picky. However, when it come to Elena Kalis's underwater photography, I cant look away.
Each week creativeLIVE has unbelievable live content that you can stream for free. Starting today through Sept 15th, creativeLIVE will host one of Fstoppers' most featured photographers Matthew Jordan Smith. Matthew is an acclaimed fashion photographer, and he has brought along America's Next Top Model winner Yoanna House to talk about everything that goes on in the fashion industry. For more information about this week's entire event, read the full post.
Douglas Sonders has been features a few times on this site with some incredible images and this series doesn't depart from that sentiment. This video walks you through the post production of his "Beard Series" and gives you some great insights into how to use some excellent Nik Software to create a beautiful high contract black and white image.
Camera/video tech is becoming ever more sophisticated to the point where we now have cameras that can recognize and track faces. So, how long will it be before we start seeing cameras that can completely change a person's face in-camera? Never going to happen you say? Tell that to Arturo Castro and Kyle McDonald.
Photographer John Keatley takes us behind the scenes of his latest series "Bad Coffee" and gives us a great look at how it was shot. He gives us some really interesting insights into how he deals with the with the myriad of ideas that come from working with retouchers, assistants and make up artists on a big shoot.
Dutch Filmmaker Jeroen Wolf shows us the span of a lifetime through many different individuals. Going from infancy all the way to 100 in just 150 seconds, this short film is appropriately titled, "100". No matter how simple the nature of the video is, there's something very compelling about this short film. Each clip, no matter how short, shows so much personality from each person.
People often ask me "what is the most difficult part of shooting weddings?" One challenge I face at every wedding is having to pose the bride and groom in less than flattering sunlight or in a less than perfect location. Wedding photographer Roberto Valenzuela is tackling this very issue during his creativeLIVE workshop. Robert's free-to-watch workshop will air September 6-8th and you can ask him anything live through webchat.
About a month ago, you might recall my bitter disappointment with Canon’s new 40mm f/2.8 STM pancake lens. Aside from being light, it presented very little else that I could see as a positive. So my search for a great pancake lens continued, eventually leading me to the Voigtländer Ultron 40mm f/2 SL II Aspherical lens.
Hard to believe summer has come and gone, eh? Well, at least for those of us in the northern hemisphere. You guys gave summer a smashing farewell, as the images we've seen in the Fstoppers Facebook Group were downright stupendous. With now over 5200 members, we're swimming at the deep end of the talent pool. Here's the best from August!
Photographer Noah Kalina was one of the first people to make a viral video on Youtube, back in 2006, when he posted a clip made out of self-portraits he took of himself for 6 years. He called it "Everyday", and got over 23 Million views. It got so big back in 2006, even the Simpsons made a parody about it. Today, Noah uploaded a new version of the video, this time it includes 12.5 years of self-portraits. Every day, for 12.5 years. crazy.
Working as an investigative photographer for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), Lewis Hine (1874-1940) portrayed working and living conditions of children in the United States between 1908 and 1924. The Library of Congress' National Child Labor Committee Collection includes more than 5,100 photographs that came with the records of the organization. Many of the pictures are familiar, but others are relatively unexplored.
Hey everyone, my name is Anthony and I am new here to Fstoppers. I really got into photography by documenting hardcore shows (as in hardcore punk rock). I first encountered Manny Mares on a message board for this genre of music. During this summer I have watched Manny continuously post images from a series he has been working on called "Summer in America."
A new “trend” seems to have rolled into the photography world. What is this trend? It’s called the “morning after” wedding photography session, and to me it's a little absurd.
Last year we posted a behind the scenes video of the 2011 Barbie fashion shoot and it was a massive hit. This year Mattel has once again teamed up with designer Robert Best and photographer/videographer Paul Jordan to create another amazing collection. The attention to detail in the clothing, set design, and lighting is staggering. Check out the full post for the images.
Talented Magnum Photographer, Christopher Anderson, experienced something that completely changed his life. In June 2000, while traveling in Haiti, he met writer Michael Finkel and together they documented a group of 44 Haitians on their journey to the United States. A few days after they set sail, they realized the handmade boat was sinking. Anderson’s first reaction was to continue taking pictures – even though he knew there was a chance they may never be seen.
Adorama TV has been mixing up their youtube channel lately, and this week features the TTL acrobatics of Joe McNally. Joe walks you through a typical street portrait as he accentuates the natural ambient light with a single speedlight gelled red. The more useful tip Joe gives is how to control the spill of your large softlight with an "egg crate" or softbox grid. I'm still shocked he pulled this shot off using only the Nikon D800 pop up flash acting as commander.
Cat Cora, a well known celebrity from the Food Network show Iron Chef as well as Bravo TV's Around the World in 80 Plates, was arrested for drinking and driving in Santa Barbara, California. It looks like this particular police station has taken a few lighting lessons from Peter Hurley. Anyone care to take a guess at the lighting setup?
As photographers, we are always sculpting our images with light. But if you've seen any of the light painting posts here on Fstoppers, then you know just how complex the art of light painting can get. Photographer Ben Willmore has been using small constant lights in his images for years, and now he's offering a free online workshop for anyone wanting to learn the craft. On Saturday, August 25th, Ben will be giving away all his tips and tricks for free on creativeLIVE.
Jay P Morgan has been getting a lot of press recently for both his creative imagery and his informative behind-the-scenes videos, and for good reason: they're chock-full of great information and Jay shows everything from his lighting setups to post-processing tricks. In this BTS, Jay gives us a look at how he balances constant lights with strobe lights, something that
Chances are you've been asked to shoot someone's headshot before. As photographers, we need to be able to make our client(s) look as good as possible. To be able to light, shoot and retouch skin are vital skills that keep our doors open, and food on the table. Hollywood photographer and digital illustrator, Lee Varis been a photographer for 40 years and involved in digital imaging for 20 years.
