Photography Software

The photography software landscape has never been more crowded — or more capable. This section helps you navigate it: reviews of editing applications, DAM tools, tethering software, AI-powered tools, and the utilities that photographers rely on daily. Whether you're looking for a Lightroom alternative or trying to understand what's new in Photoshop, this is where to start.

Fstoppers Review of Red Giant’s Magic Bullet Denoiser III

We've all been there. You were hired for a run-and-gun shoot only to find the location has terrible lighting. Or your shoot is running later into the evening and the sun is going down fast, without any lighting to plug in. The ISO gets cranked up, and your exposure is saved at the expense of adding unwanted noise to your image.

Add Functionality to Apple's Photos App with Affinity Extensions

Apple is a company photographers and videographers follow with a mixture of excitement and dread. On the one hand, the Cupertino-based computer and software maker has given us the iPhone and a host of great hardware and applications for editing and sharing imagery. On the other hand, they have discontinued things dear to many, forcing inferior follow-up products on us.

4 Mac Tips Ensure That You Don't Have Problems with Your Memory Cards

Apparently issues with memory cards are quite common, even among Mac users. Personally, I almost never have issues but I happen to also be the guy all my friends flock to each time they are having issues with photos on cards. In this post I will share a few strategies to help you avoid a headache when dealing with memory cards. 

Color Grading the V-Log L Color Profile on Panasonic GH4

The imminent release of the Panasonic GH5 has caused quite a stir within indie filmmaking circles with it's  powerful array of video recording tools built in, notably 10-bit 4:2:2 4k recording. Sadly, Panasonic will once again activate the V-Log L color profile recording capabilities as an additional purchase. So is it worth the additional cost? 

How Templates Can Improve Your Video With Ease

If you are a shooter or video producer, you know that there are many things that go into creating great video. Sure, using the right gear is key. Composition and lighting are key. But after the video is shot, shot selection, pacing, and color correction have to be considered for the edit. Then there are graphics. Titles, lower thirds, transitions, and the like have to be designed and animated.

How to Create Seamless Cinemagraphs Using Photoshop

Cinemagraphs may not be new but they seem to be popping up more and more as mobile media plays a larger roll in content creation. There are lots of ways to make them using various software and even a few dedicated mobile apps. However, if you want to make one with just a video clip and Photoshop, YouTuber Peter McKinnon's latest video makes it quick and simple. 

Huge Discount on Apple’s Pro Apps for Students

In a smart move from Apple, they’ve opted to compete with Adobe for the hearts of students. For $199, you’ll be able to pick up $630 worth of software. Here’s how it works. 

Do You Take Sufficient Enough Precautions To Store Your Images?

As I read another report this week of a photographer losing his life’s work to petty theft, I started to question if I was doing enough to back up my own images. How many copies of your work do you currently keep? Are you doing enough to protect your photos? It’s easy to get complacent, but ask yourself: are you prepared for a thief to strike?

 

Create the Space For Your Creativity With These Three Great Apps

There is a theory that the best creative people have to live in a world that is chaotic and unstructured. Whilst there may be some great examples to cite such as Amy Winehouse and Janis Joplin, imagine what they would have created with clear minds. Being organized, having effective systems, and achieving mindfulness creates more time for creatives to do what they do best; Think with clarity.

Power Up the Alt/Option Key in Premiere Pro

Shortcuts for Adobe Premiere Pro are like the force is to a Jedi. The alt/option key on the keyboard allows you to remove some time-consuming drags of footage across the timeline. It speeds you up. Moving footage around on your timeline can often be exactly that: a drag. Enter the alt or option key. 

Should We Be Paying for Firmware Updates?

Remember when Apple used to charge money to update your iPhone? While we’ve gotten rather used to free mobile updates over the past couple years, the trend is as strong as ever with our cameras. Should this still be the case?

Products and Packing for Your Images

Now that the holidays are over, there will be an influx of photographers on the scene testing out their new DSLRs hoping to put their own creativity out into the world. As seasoned photographers, we know that it cannot stop at the shutter click for our clients so that is where vendors and products come into play.

Fstoppers' First Look at ON1 Photo RAW 2017

This week, ON1 Software released their new Photo RAW 2017 processor. It functions as both a raw processor and a simple editing workflow that can be used as a standalone application or as a plugin within various other editing applications such as Lightroom.

Changes We Wish Adobe Would Make to Creative Cloud

Adobe is known as being the creator of Photoshop. Then, they went and bought Macromedia in 2005 which changed the game a lot for the creative industry. Since then, apps were bundled, we’ve moved to a subscription model with  Creative Cloud, and all the apps now work together intuitively. I have a great respect for the company that makes the software I use every day.

Phase One Introduces Capture One Pro 10

It’s become a tradition for Phase One to announce a major new version of Capture One during the last quarter of the year. 2016 is no exception, and the tenth edition of the professional image editing software was just released today. The already fast and very complete application is now even better thanks to a couple of new tools and enhancements. 

VLC Media Player Goes 360-Degrees for Video and Photos

VLC, created by VideoLan, is a free and open source media player that is both extremely lightweight and can play almost every video format on the market. What makes VLC one of the best options is the fact that it is also available on almost every platform.

A Photographer's Real Take on Macphun's New Editing Platform, Luminar

Luminar is Macphun’s latest editing platform, and it’s the company’s first try at an all-in-one solution that can go head-to-head with Adobe Lightroom and Apple’s discontinued Aperture programs. Still in beta, Luminar recently received an update that helped improve speed and fixed over 300 small bugs, making it nearly ready for its public release on November 17.

GraphicConverter: The Photo Conversion Swiss Army Knife You Didn't Know You Needed

Lemkesoft's Mac-only GraphicConverter has been around since 1992. Version 10.2 has just been released, and now integrates into Apple's Photos app. This makes it a great small tool for light editing of images in the Apple ecosystem. Time to quickly review an indispensable little piece of software that doesn't get much love or recognition.

Affinity Photo, Finally a True Alternative to Photoshop for Windows

Affinity Photo was released over a year ago on Mac OS X. Its success on the App Store definitely shows how great the software truly is. It is also proof that people are looking at different options than the traditional Adobe workflow. Until now, one thing refrained many: Affinity Photo was available only on the Apple platform.

A Simple Tip for Getting Free Wi-Fi in Airports Around the World

Travel is both an important and frustrating part of being a photographer. Many photographers judge their success by how many miles they've flown or days spent on the road. Others dream about getting the chance to fly around the world taking photos. No matter how much you travel, for a lot of us, being in airports and flying in general is a necessary evil.

Adobe’s Creative Cloud 2017 Updates Concentrate on Improving User Experience and Supporting New Media

Adobe concentrated its Creative Cloud 2017 updates heavily in newer media areas as it announced an After Effects improvement to render 3D elements up to 20 times faster, a Premier Pro update that automatically detect and create settings for different types of virtual reality content, and a new project, Project Felix, to aid in the creation of photo-realistic images by combining 2D and 3D assets

How to Share Full Resolution Pictures on the Web

Publishing high definition pictures on the web always seemed to be an issue. Both in terms of speed and quality. Full-resolution files could never really be enjoyed through the Internet without having to compromise either on the quality or the experience for the viewer. But that is about to be a thing of the past!

Review: Using Fundy Designer 7 to Create Wedding Album Designs in Minutes

First, let me just preface with the fact that I have been outsourcing my album design for the past four or five years now. While I took the time to learn and use this product myself, I do still believe in outsourcing your non-photography work. But, regardless of whether you outsource your album design or do it yourself, you want to have the best and fastest designer. 

The New On1 Photo Raw Software Looks Amazing

Image processing has always had very specific tools for very specific jobs. You have your raw processor for the basic editing of images, but for things such as layers and cloning, you had to jump to Photoshop. Then we have software such as Nik, On1, and Alien Skin that can be used for creative effects, film simulations, etc.

10 Powerful Features of Photoshop Photographers Need to Know

Photoshop is an amazing tool that most photographers find themselves using on a daily basis. It has countless features, and with the new Photoshop CC, more are added with each update. As a beginner to the program, it can get a little overwhelming on where to start learning all of the complex elements. In this, video you will see 10 of the features you need to know.   

Phase One Releases the IQ1 100MP and Two New Blue Ring Lenses

As Photokina is kicking off, almost every brand is releasing new products. The Danish medium format manufacturer is no exception and is introducing a new digital back, the IQ1 100MP, along with two new Blue Ring lenses and Capture One 9.3.

Princeton Research Makes Selfies Look Like They Were Shot With Portrait Lenses

What if you could change the focal length of your lens in post-processing? Princeton has figured out how to take a regular selfie and warp it to look like it was shot with a portrait lens. Their research allows for all sorts of possibilities, but above all, it’s fun as hell to play around with. 

Animator Imagines Instagram on Windows 95

Everything about this short video by Russian designer Misha Petrick fills me with desperate nostalgia for the 90's. Some people will mock Windows 95, but for me it was a coming-of-age operating system. The first computers I built myself ran Windows 95. Windows 95 is how I discovered Weezer.

10 Best and Worst Features of Photoshop CC

Photoshop can be both a blessing and a curse. Undoubtedly, for many of us, it is a necessity to create the kind of images we desire. Like every piece of software, however, there are things that make our life easier and things that drive us insane. Nathaniel Dodson from Tutvid has made an extensive video exploring the top 10 things he hates as well as loves in Photoshop CC. 

Watch the First Full Lesson of 'Photographing the World' for Free

Last year we teamed up with Elia Locardi, one of the most followed landscape photographers in the world, to film "Photographing The World: Landscape Photography and Post-Processing." This is a 12-hour video tutorial on landscape photography, and today, we are releasing the first lesson for free. 

How To Reduce Your Dropbox, Google Drive, and iCloud Storage Space and Save Cash in the Process

As photographers, we have a never-ending, ever-perpetuating growth of photos piling up on our hard drives. Inevitably, whether that work is professional or personal, our photos end up taking space on cloud storage accounts that we keep upgrading whenever we reach the limit. But what if you could cut the size of these files in half without losing any visible quality?

What’s New in Adobe Premiere Pro 2015.3

Adobe has released Premiere Pro CC 2015.3. The new welcomed features are something I haven’t yet seen implemented in any other NLE. If you use Premiere, here is a look at what’s new, and if you’re not a subscriber, this might make you consider switching. 

Phase One Releases Capture One 9.2

Phase One just announced Capture One 9.2 making the already excellent raw converter even better. This new iteration adds support for a few new cameras, but most importantly comes with a bunch of fresh features to improve professional workflows. The primary goal of this new version is to make professional photographers’ lives easier.

 

No More Rush To Get Back To The Computer: Invoice With Alto

Have you ever been in a situation where you needed to send an invoice to a client, but you were not home? Maybe you are out on another job, shopping, hanging with family, at a friends, or in the other room watching TV. Hopefully you aren’t doing that last one, but Alto is here to help us out.

Does Photoshop and Your Scanner Stop You From Copying Money?

I've always heard that Adobe Photoshop will not allow you to import pictures of U.S. currency because you could potentially be using the software to "copy money." Today I ran across a video that also claims that all current copy machines will not copy currency due to a hidden pattern on the bills. I decided to put this to the test. 

The New Upright Feature in Adobe Camera Raw and Lightroom

Adobe has launched their latest update to Lightroom and Photoshop in the 2015.1 update. In the Adobe Camera Raw module and Lightroom, they have developed a new feature that is something photographers in the travel, architecture, and cityscape photography industry will really find useful. It can actually change some of your old previously unusable images into great images. 

Five Features I Wish Adobe Lightroom Had

Adobe Lightroom was a game changer for me when it was introduced. I used to spend hours in Photoshop tweaking this and that, creating actions to batch a set of images I had shot, and output different resolutions from the giant PSD files I was working in.

Review: Adobe Spark Puts Easy, Professional Content Creation Into Everyone’s Hands

Let me get to the point: Adobe Spark could be the company’s biggest release yet. For veteran Adobe users, it might not seem as exciting as a new Creative Cloud update; but the combination of its ease of use, ingenious functionality, and truly professional results give it the potential to aid far more people than Photoshop ever will — no, really.

Pratik Naik and Modifying Color with 3D LUT Creator

For those of you who don't know who Pratik Naik is, you're missing out on an extremely talented and witty retoucher with immense talent. Known by many as Solstice Retouch, his work is seen around the world in many a marketing campaign and commercial work.

Adobe Lightroom Versus Capture One for Fuji X-Trans Sensors

In the comments section of my last article, I remarked that "I always liked the rendering of X-Trans files on C1 more than Lightroom anyway, so maybe this is just the reason I need to make the switch back." A longtime contributor to the comments, Pete Miller, asked if that was indeed the case. Good question!

5 Things That Could Ruin Skin, And How to Fix Them! with Lindsay Adler

Lindsay Adler is a high end fashion photographer and educator. She has been named one of the top ten fashion photographers in the world, so when she shares her insight, it’s probably best to take notes. In this free one hour webinar, Adler goes over five things that can ruin skin, and how to fix them. 

Custom Cam: The Best Professional iPhone Camera App Yet

Videographer and photographer Daan van de Westelaken was on a quest to find the perfect camera app for his iPhone. It's one thing to have all the features you want, but it's another thing to also not have the features you don't. Frustrated, he created his own, and after using it for almost a week, I'm hooked. It's certainly a tour de Force Touch.