Strobe light

My good friend Diana Deaver just sent this video over that she recently helped created and I really love it. 8 of the top photographers in the area got together to shoot portraits of US veterans in Charleston and listen to their incredible stories. I believe Diana shot this video and her stills using the 5D Mark II. This photography exhibit will be open to the public on November 5th. Projects like these are really what make me love living in Charleston, SC. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmFDR3yhAKU

FashionPhotographyBlog.com brings us a great BTSV of Melissa Rodwell. Check it out to see what goes into large set design. Correct me I am wrong but she appears be shooting with a Nikon D3X and 85mm 1.4. <

Kelly Kline is a commercial and editorial photographer based out of NYC and Atlanta who has a fantastic portfolio full of top professional atheletes. In this behind the scenes video she has teamed up with MMA fighter Matthew Polly for his new book Tapped Out. This shoot is definitely a commercial for the Profoto Pro-8a Air Packs but also shows what is possible when you push not only your gear but your creativity to the limits. <

Beauty Confessional is a fashion based blog out of the UK but that doesn't mean that their tough motion photos shouldn't be appreciated world wide! I love what photographer Piers Vernon Kell has done with these images and the editing reminds me of something you'd see in a Hitchcock or Woody Allen opener. If you are looking to add a twist to your own photography or simply advertise your own creativity in a new fashion take notes from this video! <

Stefan Segers is a commercial photographer from the Netherlands. Although all of his website is in Dutch, he was nice enough to produce a behind the scenes video in English just for Fstoppers. Stefan explains from start to finish how he created the artistic look for the lastest Pajar campaign. I really love this straightforward behind the scenes video because Stefan's approach is pretty simple but very professional in it's final execution. <

FS reader Luke Avery just sent this video over to us and it's a great one. Check out all the work that goes into creating this 1 minute ad. View the full post to see the finished product. <

Lighting products can be extremely tricky. Especially if that product happens to be reflective. Check out this video from LearnMyShot.com and see how they choose to light 7 wine bottles. The video itself isn't a large production but there is a boat load of good info to be learned. >https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NicM0o87dPE<

Andreas Yannelos just threw his new video up on our forum and I thought it deserved a little time on our front page. Enjoy a quick look at his last photoshoot and then head over to his site and try to figure out Swedish. ><

Jay P. Morgan sent me this quick video tutorial he created a few weeks ago and I just remembered to post it. It actually works out well because Jay just let me know that he is doing a Photo/Video Seminar in Universal Studios back lot. If you happen to be California around November 6th I highly suggest checking it out. Check out the full post to see a second video promo for this upcoming seminar.

Electra Bike: Photo How to Video! from Jay P. Morgan on Vimeo.

David Jackson is a commercial photographer based out of Appleton, Wisconsin and this week he has released a personal project entitled "Circus". Dave puts a lot of effort into not only every detail of this shoot but also in explaining why it is important to shoot for yourself and not just for clients. You only book the types of jobs you already have in your portfolio and if you want to book something new down the road you really have to go out and shoot similar images for yourself first...and for free. This first video is a bit long and has few BTS clips but there is also a second less informative BTS video just for the shoot itself. Both videos are in the full post and if you want to see the final images check them out here. David also has a second post outlining in complete detail every element of the photoshoot which is really worth checking out here. Lots of videos, lots of posts, but a pretty cool concept.

Shear Chaos Salon Circus Shoot :: Technical Banter from David Jackson on Vimeo.

I just got off the phone with Jay P Morgan, a big production photographer out of California. Jay shoots usually entail big concepts and bigger set designs but in this video he keeps it relatively simple. Check out Jay's lighting scheme for this 50's style shoot.

50's Shot using a Beauty Dish & OctoDome. from Jay P. Morgan on Vimeo.

What does a guy have to do to find a high quality, informative BTSV around here? Apparently I have to start looking at videos that were released years ago. Here is a quick BTS Chase made over 2 years ago. We haven't ever posted it but if you have seen it, don't get mad at us; good BTSVs are hard to come by these days. ><

Rich Legg is a successful stock photographer, and he goes all out in this video as he tries to make the prefect stock photo of a movie theater audience. If you haven't checked out stock photography, I highly encourage you to sign up and test your skills. Nothing proves whether your photography is marketable or not like putting it up on a site like shutterstock or istockphoto. This video is great on how to light large groups and also how to efficiently gather model releases from a large pool of model.

Annie Leibovitz is perhaps the most well known photographer in the world and her work always stands out from the crowded world of photography. While her Louis Vuitton campaign with Sean Connery is a few years old now, there is still a lot of great information to be gained from the beach shoot. Using nothing more than a Photek Softlighter, Annie balances her ambient light well with her soft broad lighting to create a really awesome series of images. ><

Here is a very simple but totally informative video about splash photography. I cannot figure out who this photographer is, if you happen to know please post it in the comments below. <

Tomasz Tomaszewski is a photojournalistic photographer who often shoots for National Geographic Poland. It's quite amazing to see the depth of the images he has taken inside the harsh conditions of coal mines that feature dust, moisture, and poisonous gases. Equipped with just a Nikon D3, a few SB-900s, and a small Softbox, Tomasz has some of the most compelling images of people working on site that I have ever seen. Check out the final images here at http://www.tomasztomaszewski.com/gallery.html <

We get a lot of emails from readers pointing us to interesting photoshoots and many times the videos themselves offer very little insight into the mind of the photographer. Unfortunately this video has no such commentary from David Hobby but the good news is he has a complete article outlining how he shot this portrait of cellist Caleb Jones. Watch David as he uses his Orbis Ring Flash and Umbrella to get his signature look. He also does a great job making Caleb feel at home in front of the camera. Props to Erik Couse for using his iPhone 3Gs to capture something creative!

Behind the Scenes - Caleb Jones Photo Shoot from Erik Couse on Vimeo.

As Lee has posted earlier, this week we are going to continue to feature some of our favorite BTS videos from the FS Contest. Austin, TX based photographer Sans Talbot really raised the bar on the contest when he filmed the shooting of his visual concept "Spitfire". This video is great on many levels but what I really love is the effort Sans puts into educating other photographers on how they too can get other creative professionals involved in their photoshoots. Sans also goes into great detail about how he combined multiple images to create one large file for his final rendering. Enjoy. <

We knew there were going to be a lot of last minute contest videos submitted but never would we have thought this many of you would have waited until the last minute. I want to thank everyone for participating but I'll give no sympathy to those who lost lots of sleep this weekend trying to meet deadlines ha! Sean Armenta's BTS video is the latest of the last minute entries, and in it he shows how you can create clean and professional beauty shots just like you seen the pages of women's magazines such as Elle, Vogue, and Glamour. All of this was also done with just one light which should help those of you on a budget. Check out Sean's website as well since he has some amazing photos in his portfolio!

Sean Armenta | One Light Beauty Setup from Sean Armenta on Vimeo.

Mark Lebryk decided to try something a bit different for his BTS contest entry and we are glad he did! Mark worked together with his client Ultrasun USA to show what goes into shooting product photos for a website. In a nutshell, Mark takes over 100 photographs of each tanning bed, retouches each one, and then renders them into an interactive 360 degree web presentation. Check out Mark's video and be sure to head over to Ultrasun USA to view the final products online.

The bar has officially been raised. Thomas Woodson and Grant Lankford just submitted an amazing BTSV for the contest. This video has it all; it is fun to watch, it is informative, and it has fantastic final images. The most exciting part to me though is that they did all of this with just 1 strobe and a bed sheet! These guys are both in College (Thomas looks like he may be in 5th grade) with minimum gear and yet they managed to created one of the most compelling BTSVs I have seen in a very long time. Feel free to ask them questions below and check out Thomas' detailed forum post about car photography here.

Behind The Scenes Corvette Photo Shoot from Grant Lankford on Vimeo.

I am really enjoying this quality images from low quality gear thing that has been going on around here lately. Check out Studio 54 shooting with just 1 light.

BTS - Entry Level Gear from Photo54 on Vimeo.

Let me begin by saying that this BTSV is not very informative. I usually only post videos that will help others learn but I must make an exception. This video is the most beautiful behind the scenes video I have ever seen. As creative professionals this video should be inspiring to us all on so many levels. Who would have thought that you could turn a simple photoshoot into a work of art. Thank you Richie Thomassen, you have given me something to aspire to. It is time to step up the video production of our BTSVs. Oh, and I almost forgot; the photographer is Wynn Ruji and his car portfolio is fantastic.

Jaguar XJ | Behind the Scenes from Richie Thomassen on Vimeo.

Ok, not REALLY, but that was the concept for the shoot. I like this BTSV for 2 reasons. First, he has a concept. So many photographers just take headshots of girls and forget about coming up with any sort of idea or theme for the pictures. Lorand Peli planned this shoot out before he ever started and it shows. The second reason I really like this video is because the finished pictures are high quality. I have seen a few contest submissions where the concept is fantastic but the finished product falls short. Enjoy this BTSV while trying not to feel dirty with all of the "interesting camera angles." <

This week we are going to be featuring some of our favorite BTS videos submitted to our Behind the Scenes Contest that ends this Saturday! When this video from photographer Klaus (if he really even is a photographer) was posted on our Forum, it sparked up a lot of dialog. It may not be the most complicated photoshoot or even the most educational but it is the most fun and entertaining photoshoot of all of the contest entries. Photography and photographers need a sense of humor and this video accomplishes just that. Hope you guys enjoy and make sure you have your videos completed and posted by Saturday night! <

Doug Howell just submitted his BTSV for the contest. This video is short but it packs in the technical details! It's great to see the making of a real advertisement from start to finish. Please remember to give Doug some feedback below. ><

Benjamin "Von Wong" just submitted his BTS contest entry that was shot by Eric Bindman. This is our first large production entry and is defiantly an inspiring watch. The pictures can be seen here and I must say, they are quite stunning. I think Benjamin may have easily won this contest if he had given more technical detail about the shoot itself but hey, I am not going to be the judge. Please remember to give Ben some feedback by commenting below, he made this video to help all of us. <

Nathan Smith and Chris David had a shoot lined up with the Rydell Belles, a local roller Derby team. Nathan didn't have a video camera or professional editing software but he managed to create a BTS video anyway. The final images may not blow your mind but the video should be a huge inspiration because Nathan created this with his iPhone 3gs and iMovie. Half way through this thing I realized that I was captivated by a totally informative video with no audio and terrible video quality. This is a great example of how good editing can make up for a lack of gear. Great job guys. >https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPnurfSOJ08<

Mike Sisk of FX Studios just sent this video over to us. He used falling paper to make his background a bit more interesting and appeared to tether his camera to his iPad to review his shots. Cool idea!

Flying Papers - BTS from Fx Studios on Vimeo.

It's rare that I watch a BTS video that gets me all excited but Cole Barash has done it. This video reminds me of what Fstoppers is all about because I am once again inspired. When you think that it has all been done before it's nice to be reminded how wrong you are. Check out the final shots from this fantastic shoot here. Please remember to comment below and give this photographer some love. ><