Recent Sponsored Articles

Fstoppers Reviews the X-Rite i1Studio Color Management Solution

Color calibration is a necessary step in getting the very best results in your photography, yet many photographers avoid it altogether, leaving the final color edits to their printing lab, and basically turning over the outcome of an entire session to a complete stranger who knows nothing about your editing style or desired end result.

Continued Learning: Taking Advantage of Skillshare Versus Traditional Learning

In general, we always discuss how our industry is changing and how we should do things differently to prosper. This is not only limited to our industry of photography: take the industry of education for example. Not all that long ago, college was considered the thing to do to be respected and move forward in your chosen profession.

You're Leaving Money on the Table

Stock photography is an industry that enables many photographers to make a good living. Though some photographers focus their entire career around creating stock imagery, almost every photographer has the ability to supplement their income with images they've already taken.

What Outsourcing to India Really Looks Like

If you are like me, you probably get numerous emails and Facebook messages from people in India wanting you to use their services for your image editing. While these individuals may give outsourcing to India a bad reputation, I’m here to show you what it’s really like at the reputable post-production service provider that is located in Mumbai, India: Pro Image Editors.

Easily Capture Everyday Items to Sell as Stock Photography

Have you ever considered the potential of the objects that sit in front of you every day? With the high demand for photos in social media and online marketing, your images of even the most simple items have value. Here’s how to capitalize on this and produce an easy portfolio of stock images to sell.

The Perils of NOT Using Royalty Free Music

So, you’ve been told time and time again that royalty free music is the way to go when it comes to selecting beats for your videos. But part of you can’t help but wonder about the alternatives.

Transform Your Existing Images With the Help of Adobe Stock

The sky usually plays an important role in shaping the mood and tone of the pictures you make while photographing outdoors. If mother nature doesn't want to cooperate and give you a desirable sky while shooting, a stock image could help save the day.

Fstoppers Interviews Celebrity Photographer Manfred Baumann

Manfred Baumann is a highly regarded portrait photographer specializing in working with the biggest names in Hollywood. Baumann has spent years developing a timeless style to his work that continues to be in high demand. Fstoppers chats with Baumann to get the low down on what drives both his creative process and how he built a strong business in a very tight niche.

Win a Trip to Montreal and a Once-in-a-Lifetime Paid Photography Assignment From ACDSee

In 2017, ACDSee started their Photographer Spotlight program to give back to their users by providing new opportunities to talented rising stars in the photography world. For 2018, the ACDSee Photographer Spotlight program is set to continue with the chance for a budding photographer to win a four night, expenses paid trip to Montreal along with a professional photography assignment from ACDSee. In addition to covering the expenses of the trip, ACDSee is offering a minimum of $1,500 for the completion of the assignment while in Montreal.

Using ACDSee Pro on iOS for Advanced Color Grading

In a mobile world filled with an endless selection of preset filters, there are surprisingly few options to employ more creative color grading that is driven by specific choice rather than by simply perusing a gallery of presets. ACDSee Pro for iOS is one of the few apps that look to bridge this gap with an array of powerful color grading tools that emulate the color grading freedom of desktop editing.

Frequency Separation Made Easy With ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2018

Frequency separation has long been a popular technique for skin retouching. However, for a lot of photographers new to photo editing, beauty retouching, and ACDSee, it can seem like a very difficult process. Within ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2018, the process has been made easier with the addition of an automated frequency separation tool.

Using ACDSee Pro for iOS and Mobile Sync to Edit and Manage Photos

In a market saturated with mobile editing apps, ACD System's combo of ACDSee Pro and Mobile Sync for iOS stands out as one of the best options for editing your photos on the go with features ranging from quirky filters to advanced editing functionality that can provide professional results. In this article, we will be taking a look at how you can leverage ACDSee's mobile tools as part of your editing workflow.

Building a Stock Catalog of Lifestyle Images Through Assignment Work and Adobe Stock

Building a stock photography portfolio and generating passive income can be one of the easiest ways a photographer can make money. However, creating a sizable portfolio that generates a worthwhile income month after month doesn't just happen overnight. Chances are you have already been shooting images suitable for stock without realizing it. With just a little planning and adjustment to how you see and approach assignments, you can turn your existing and future work into a growing stock catalog. Additionally, with stock sites like Adobe Stock built right into your Creative Cloud, submitting, tracking, and learning what sells is a relatively easy task.

New Year, New You: Accomplish Your Photography Goals in 2018 With Skillshare

The new year is the perfect time to look back over the past 12 months and celebrate your successes, but more importantly, to start growing from your failures. When you know your weaknesses, you can make goals for overcoming them. One of the best ways to strengthen your work is to learn skills focused specifically on your goals, which is easier than ever with Skillshare. And for a limited time, they’re offering our readers a special New Year offer of three months of Skillshare for just $0.99. Keep reading to find out how Skillshare can help you accomplish your goals this year.

How to Edit a Landscape From Start to Finish With ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2018

When it comes to landscape photography, preparation and using the right tools go a long way to get that perfect shot. Tripods, filters, or even drones can all take your image to that next level. However, many photographers don’t give enough importance or time to the editing process of their images. With software that combines multiple tools into one program and simplified non-destructive editing, ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2018 can make it easier to experiment with new edits on overlooked images and even save some of those over or underexposed captures.

How to Use Adjustment Layers in ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2018

Recently Fstoppers reviewed ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2018, the newest version of their all-in-one editing flagship. If you are not familiar with ACDSee’s platform, it is an editing suite similar to Capture One Pro or Photoshop, but also includes photo managing tools and quick editing capabilities similar to Lightroom. This gives ACDSee a unique combined platform that simplifies the average user’s workflow and eliminates the costly need for multiple programs.

From Photographer to Videographer: Using Adobe's Motion Graphics Templates

We’ve noticed the trend. Video is becoming the way most people communicate online these days. How can you as photographer use video as a tool to influence the personal brand you are constantly building, and how can you expand your product offering to clients? There are various types of videos you can focus on to produce, and the aim should be to make videos that you would like to make for a client. Therefore, it needs to be professional, and something clients might actually use as their marketing and advertising materials.

Fstoppers Reviews the Rocket Rooster Analog Film Bundle Lightroom Presets Collection

Most people are a fan of the film look, but actually shooting, developing, and scanning it can be a bit more hassle and money than many of us are willing to undertake. The Rocket Rooster Analog Film Bundle gives you Lightroom presets for many popular film stocks as well as a range of local adjustment brushes for avoiding the need to go into Photoshop. Check out our review of the full system here.

Photo Contest: Win BIG This Holiday Season

Our friends at ViewBug are proud to give away a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV in the creative landscapes photo contest. ViewBug is launching a new contest series called the Newly Shot Series; everybody wants to see your new photos. Only images uploaded recently are eligible for this contest, so keep uploading great new stuff. Increase your chances for awesome prizes and bragging rights doled out. Moral of the story - upload awesome images every month!

ACD Systems Releases Huge New Update for ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2018

Buying a new camera can be a very exciting thing, and most of us probably can't wait to see how good images from the new camera are compared to the old. The problem is whether or not your current raw editing software supports your new camera. Fortunately, ACD systems have released a great new update to their photo managing and raw editing software, ACDSee Photo Studio. The new Ultimate 2018 software is a fantastic alternative to some of the other raw editing platforms, and provides some very intuitive and useful file managing features. The latest update to this software further improves it and makes it a very viable option for working professionals.

How I Use Adobe Stock as a Professional Photographer and Art Director

Let's chat about stock photography. I've used stock sites for nearly a decade while working as a designer and commercial photographer with great success. Most of the options I used in the past left a lot to be desired, which is why last year, I switched over to Adobe Stock. I made the change for many reasons, but the most important was their integration into Adobe Creative Cloud.

Why Music Matters and Tips to Picking It

Picking the right music for your next video project can elevate your final cut or destroy it. The soundtrack is the beating heart of any video project, and you can direct your viewer toward an emotion or message based on your selection. Here are some tips to choosing the right music.

Get The 'Photographer's Toolkit' For Free: Black Friday Deals 2017

Where do you think most photographers struggle: being a creative or running their business? Making awesome imagery or establishing a pricing strategy? For many, it's the latter and that just sucks. For these reasons, PRO EDU has curated six photography management and workflow tools to create the “Photographer's Toolkit.” The toolkit is free from November 23–26 with the purchase of any PRO tutorial over $1. Included are essential software services from brands we trust with a total value over $1,200. You won't find this deal anywhere else.

How to Calibrate Your Monitor With the Datacolor Spyder5ELITE: Plus Holiday Deals

With the holiday sales starting this week it's the perfect time to start calibrating your monitor or upgrade your old device to a new one. Datacolor is offering some great deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. So pick up a new device and read through my walkthrough on how to use your new toy.

Selling Stock Photography as a Wedding Photographer

Finding ways to earn passive income as a photographer is invaluable. In this field of work, our businesses often require a large amount of direct hands-on time. Selling stock photography, especially when you have the ability to simply upload images you have already taken in a minimal out of time, can add a great deal of value. The online tools that are available today allow you to turn photos that would otherwise have been worthless, or stored hidden on your hard drive, into pieces of art that have real monetary value.

How to Switch From Lightroom to ACDSee Ultimate 2018: Part 2

In a previous article, we discovered how we could transition from Lightroom to ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2018 by importing old catalogs. We also discovered the different files management options and tools ACDSee Ultimate 2018 has to offer. With this second and last part, we are going to go through the main photo editing tools you’d use in Lightroom and see their counterpart in ACDSee. If you are making the switch from the Adobe solution to ACDSee Ultimate 2018, be sure to read this article.

How to Switch From Lightroom to ACDSee Ultimate 2018: Part 1

A couple of weeks ago, I reviewed ACDSee's latest photo editing software release and even said it could replace Adobe products in many ways for Windows users. It was only wise to back that statement up with two complementary articles, this one being the first, showing to Adobe users how they could switch from Lightroom to ACDSee. In today’s write-up, I’ll concentrate on bringing files from previous Lightroom catalogs into ACDSee and also on how to manage your pictures in ACDSee Ultimate 2018.

Learn Anything and Everything About Photography With Skillshare

The photography world is veritably inundated with learning options, and it can be nigh impossible to wade through them all to find what's worthwhile. So, when Skillshare offered me the chance review their platform, I jumped at the opportunity. Here's what I found.

Five Must-See Tutorials for Editing Audio in Premiere Pro

If you shoot photos on a professional level, there’s a chance you also shoot video. If you shoot video, there’s a chance you edit. And if you edit, there’s a good chance you have to work with audio at some point. But, it may not be something you know a lot about, especially if you are just getting started with editing video.

Replace Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom with this App: Fstoppers Reviews ACDSee Ultimate 2018

Earlier this year I reviewed ACDSee Ultimate 10. However, ACDSee just released the 2018 version of their flagship photo editing software and thus it’s time for an update. The brand new iteration promises to offer a more efficient workflow, layered editing for advanced retouching, vastly improved performances, and new tools for photographers to edit their pictures better than ever. Let’s see how this translates in the real world!

Photo Contest: Win Your Choice of Canon 5D Mark III, Nikon D500, and More

Our friends at ViewBug are proud to present the Earth First contest series. These contests awards top-end gear that was lovingly used by another creative individual. Providing high-quality, pre-owned prizes puts less strain on the planet, and allows ViewBug to offer even bigger prizes. Classic win-win!

Learn to Master Cityscapes Like Dubai Photographer Daniel Cheong

If there is one type of photograph that you could call universally appreciated, I would say a properly executed cityscape ranks right up there at the top. While New York City often comes to mind when you think of skyscrapers and iconic views, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates now makes a very strong case for being the most amazing city to photograph in the world. Of all the photos coming out of Dubai on a regular basis, I'd say Daniel Cheong's are hands down the best of the best. He is ready to share his skills in an upcoming class on September 8 put on by 500px called "Shooting and Stitching Vertical Panoramas." Best of all, the class is free for 500px premium members.

[UPDATE] Oprema Jena: New Zeiss Biotar 75mm f/1.5 Joined by Biotar 58mm f2

An updated version of the Biotar 58mm f2 will join the already announced Biotar 75mm f1.5, as the first two pieces in Oprema Jena’s lineup of modern remakes of classic lenses, the company announced today. Oprema is offering 58 people the chance to get the Biotar 75 and Biotar 58 – both originally produced by Carl Zeiss -- as part of a special rewards bundle in the current Kickstarter campaign for the Biotar 75. The 58 Biotar 58s will be pre-production models with serial numbers between 1 and 58. A pledge of $1,999 USD would allow someone to get both lenses at $2,500 less than the combined projected retail price for the lenses. The Biotar 75 is expected to go on the market next summer at a projected retail price of $2,499, with the Biotar 58 following by the end of 2018 at a projected retail price of $1,999.

What You Need to Know to Time-Lapse the Solar Eclipse

The eclipse is coming. You know the one — it’s been the topic on most photographers’ lips for weeks. Have you thought about how you’re going to shoot it yet? On August 21, 2017 (this coming Monday), North America and some parts of South America, Africa, and Europe will get to experience one of the most spectacular sights available to us down here on earth: a solar eclipse.

Morten Rustad Is Letting You in on His Sunset Time-Lapse Secrets

You may have heard Morten Rustad’s name being bandied about alongside words like “time-lapse,” “Norway,” and “that’s-so-fricken-cool.” That last one might not be an actual word, but you catch my drift. Morten’s pretty good at what he does, and he’s teamed up with film equipment company Syrp to let you in on how he does it.

Are You Calibrating? Switch to Spyder5ELITE+ From Any Brand For Only $139

Datacolor’s Spyder5 series of products is their latest in calibration tools to help digital artists make sure they are always seeing the most accurate colors on any monitor display. There are three models to choose from: Express, Pro, and Elite+, with the Spyder5Elite+ version receiving a large software update last year. Now Datacolor is making it even easier to get a better calibration for your workflow by offering discounted prices when you upgrade to their Spyder5Elite+ model from any of their previous models or competitors products.

All-In-One Screen Recording and Video Editing for Windows: Fstoppers Reviews ACDSee Video Studio 2

Many Windows users have been looking for an alternative to ScreenFlow and there might well be one available on the market. It’s called Video Studio 2 and it’s designed by ACDSee. Whether you are an online educator, a workshop teacher, or you’re simply looking for a way to record your screen and quickly edit your videos, this solution is without a doubt one you should be looking at.

Fstoppers Reviews Invoice Templates From InvoiceHome.com

If you're a full-time photographer, or have been in the game for a while and are making consistent money with your camera, there's a good chance you've got a pretty solid invoice system set up (if you don't then you need to!). But, if you're one of the hundreds of thousands of photographers out there that are still doing this part time, as a paid hobbyist, or even only getting paid for the occasional gig, then invoicing can be a real irritation. InvoiceHome.com is actively addressing that issue with their online invoice template service.

How to Take Stock Photos That Sell

I’ve been making money from stock photography for about 10 years now. I very rarely set up a shoot, or go on a trip thinking “I can’t wait to take stock images and make money from this,” but I've managed to recoup some money I've spent on trips over the years. Although I don't shoot stock full time, there are a few things that I do to make sure that every shoot I do gets me at least a few nice stock-style images that I can try and sell.

GuruShots Photo Challenges: A Photography 'Game' to Get Your Images Seen

Did you ever play those "hot or not" games, where you were given images of two people and you clicked on the one you were more attracted too? Well, GuruShots is not really like that, but it is a photography community that's based around a similar concept of voting for images you like. Currently, you even have a chance to have your work exhibited at the Usagi Gallery in New York City.

How to Edit Pictures on Your iPhone Using ACDSee Pro for iOS

A little earlier this month we published a review of ACDSee Pro for iOS. Some people seem not to understand fully the purpose of being able to edit pictures on a smartphone, so to make it clearer, I decided to follow up with a tutorial. The goal is to show you the possibilities offered by ACDSee Pro but also give you some ideas on how to use such an app while on the go.

Fstoppers Reviews VSDC Free Video Editor — A Great Place to Start Your Video Career

I recently wrote about how photographers should be seriously looking at the medium of video as a skill that should be in their repertoire. Hopefully, some of you were inspired enough to start capturing your own moving images and now you're ready to edit the footage. VSDC Free Video Editor could be just the piece of software you've been looking for.

The Good and the Bad of Outsourcing Your Photography Editing

Outsourcing is quickly becoming a standard practice. More and more photographers are using outsourcing services full time, while others are using them during the busy part of their season. While outsourcing has become more common in the industry, there are still some questions as to it’s worth. Photographers not familiar with the service see ups and downs to incorporating this type of service, and sometimes it can be hard to see which side wins. After my last article reviewing ProImageEditors, people wanted to know if it was worth it.

How to Retouch a Portrait From Start to Finish With ACDSee Ultimate 10

The traditional workflow to edit a portrait from start to finish usually requires a few different apps. But why complicate things and not just try and rely on one single software to get to the final result? Last month I reviewed ACDSee Ultimate 10 and thought it’d be a good idea to follow up with a tutorial showing how far you can go by using exclusively this photo editing solution to retouch a portrait. Discover all my steps and see how this alternative could perhaps suits your workflow better than your current one.