Studio

National Geographic recently released this video of the creation of one of their cover shots. While there is no exact date on it, I'd bet that it was shot sometime in the early 2000s or late 1990s guessing from technology being used. Some real ingenuity was at work here, as evidenced by the custom-built pneumatic jaw, the hand-cast Tyrannosaurus skull, and not to mention what appears to be at least ten cameras all triggered at the same time via laser in an effort to capture the decisive moment.

As photographers, we are always in search of that new unique lighting modifier to add to our bag of tricks. I recently saw this video on Strobist where Amber Gray claims her Broncolor Para FB could actually reduce the amount of post production on her models. That statement seemed a bit bold when I first heard it; usually I credit a great makeup artist for awesome skin texture rather than a specific light. I've never used a ring flash

We get asked to show our lighting for our Fstoppers Original interviews all the time but it seems like we always forget to shoot our lighting schemes. StillMotion just released a killer video that shows how they light interviews with key, fill, hair, and background lights. By using Profoto's new HMI lights with Air remotes, you can easily change the output of each light without moving from behind your camera. Of course all of this still applies to still photography as well.

The Canon 5D MkIII and the Nikon D800 are two of the hottest cameras on the market right now. In this video commercial photographer Nathan Elson joins up with The Camera Store's Chris Niccolls to see how these two cameras stack up in the image quality department. Enjoy!

We get a lot of Kickstarter projects emailed to us and sometimes they are interesting and other times they look like a desperate plea for money. We usually don't feature such projects but today I'm making an exception. Benjamin Von Wong has been featured on Fstoppers probably more than anyone else. This year he plans to goto Europe to produce inspiring photoshoots but at the same time film informative behind the scenes videos. Hopefully this post will

Here's a behind the scenes video from Toronto photographer Finn O'Hara. It was for a recent cover story about Toronto smokers in a magazine called The Grid. O'Hara explains that the story is "a confessional tale of the stigmas faced by smokers every day in Toronto, and what it takes to finally kick the habit. To illustrate the commitment of a winter smoker, we enlisted a

Pye Jirsa from SLRLounge.com recently sat down with Peter Hurley for an exclusive interview. Peter talks about his history as a photographer, his DVD, his favorite gear, business techniques, and PH2. Peter is a huge character and as always he makes the interview a pretty entertaining watch.

If you enjoy looking at fashion images, then the photography duo Sofia Sanchez & Mauro Mongiello should be on your radar. They are ranked as among the top fashion photographers on Model.com and it's easy to see how their work stands out within one of the most saturated fields of photography. In their latest campaign shoot for clothing designer Anna Sui, Sanchez and Mongiello have one of the simplest lighting setups ever: just a single gridded Profoto head.

If you grew up during the late 1980s through early 1990s, then you can remember the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Using a combination of action figures, about 60 hand-drawn backdrops, and over 4,000 individual images, director Kyle Roberts pays tribute to this classic cartoon with a stop motion animation. This is one you won't want to miss.

Good friend of Fstoppers and Commercial Photographer, Monte Isom, takes us behind the scenes on his latest shoot with world class boxer, Sergio Martinez. Click through to the video to check out his lighting placement and setups. Enjoy!

Shot with the Red MX Camera, director Andrew Huang created this incredible short film about the gaps between people and the way those gaps are filled. Solipsist is the antithesis of human connection. This video had me glued as the models swayed back and forth in a Yin & Yang fashion, often times co-creating each other.

If you are a beginner in terms of lighting, or looking for some quick and simple light setups, then Don Giannatti has you covered. Don (a.k.a. Wizwow), recently posted some videos on his website showing 8 different light setups, as well as the differences between certain light modifiers.

Fstoppers.com has featured some great behind the scenes videos over the years and showcased amazingly talented professional photographers in our Fstoppers Originals series. Recently Patrick and I were invited to Scottsdale, Arizona to expose the secrets of commercial photographer Blair Bunting. When Blair invited us down to Loft 19 Studios, his idea was to shoot something big, expensive, and one of a kind.

Hasselblad Master, Joao Carlos, was featured on the Profoto Blog last week for his free falling studio images. That's right, studio images. Not underwater images. I met Joao in NYC last fall at PDN PhotoPlus and fell in love with his portfolio right away. He always lights his subjects with a minimalist approach and his workflow is powerful and consistent.

By now, most of us have at least heard about the box-office hit known as The Artist. In case you haven’t, it’s a near-silent film that was met with critical appraise and even managed to win a few Oscars this weekend. In this video, we get a sit-down chat with the writer and director of The Artist, and a behind-the-scenes look at the production of the movie. As a casual movie fan, I can say that upon my first viewing,

The response Peter Hurley's downloadable tutorial The Art Behind The Headshot has been receiving over the last few months has been unbelievable. Peter's technique has changed the way so many photographers approach working with models, and it's apparent by his facebook group that photographers of all skill levels are taking the best headshots in their portfolios. So we have decided to release one free lesson from the DVD for those of you who might still be on the fence. Peter's knowledge is expensive sure, but it's guaranteed to change the way you shoot headshots for the rest of your career. We believe in this so much that if you don't think your headshots are any better after watching 4 hours of Peter's instructions we will give you your money back guaranteed!

I've always been a huge fan of Annie Leibovitz's work. I hear she's one of the hardest photographers to work for - as it probably should be. She can make even Lady Gaga, Queen of Eccentric, look elegant for Vanity Fair's January 2012 issue. While this video doesn't explain much about her lighting technique or how she achieved each photograph, watching Annie behind the scenes is always a treat. Most of her lighting situations in this video are very simple using only a Photek Umbrella and a diffusion cloth attached to it.

This striking image (pun intended) was shot by Blair Bunting for a Deadliest Catch ad for Discovery Channel. Curious to know how he did it? Well, luckily for us, his assistant Paul Morton filmed the whole thing, and Mike Maez was kind enough to edit it down into a digestible and inspiring video. Do not worry, it did not take any knocked out teeth or injured sailors to get the job done, but rather a couple of Pro-7a units and 3 high powered leaf blowers. Have a look and see for yourself!