Photography Clients Are Still Willing To Pay A Premium For Unique Work

Last summer we flew Mike Kelley, one of my favorite architecture photographers, to Charleston for 3 weeks to film the 8 hour tutorial How To Photograph Real Estate, Architecture and Interiors . Mike's technique of light painting and compositing is so polished and time consuming that I assumed no Realtor would actually want to pay for it. I was wrong.

Photographer Takes on a Nerve-Wracking Project: Headshots of Fellow Photographers

Dani Diamond is a talented portrait photographer based out of Connecticut and is also an active member of our Fstoppers Facebook Group. His headshot work is impeccable and eye-catching. Recently Dani has started a personal project coined simply as "The Project." His mission is to find fellow photographers from around the world, take their headshots and challenge his craft under the scrutiny of his talented peers.

A Dell Update Bricked My Computer

Unfortunate things happen with computers all the time. I understand that. But when a recommended Dell update bricks a Dell computer, I expect Dell to fix it.

Steampunk Meets Retro With the Fuji X-T5

With Fujifilm's latest release of the X-T5, I knew it wouldn't be long before brackets and mounting rigs would begin appearing online. For my own cameras, it's always been Smallrig brackets due to the build quality and considered design. So, after purchasing the X-T5, I went directly to their site to see if any were available and promptly purchased one, but that's not all they had available.

How To Make A Steadicam From Two Old Hard Drives

Do you have any old hard drives kicking around? If you fancy yourself a bit of a DIY'er you might be pleasantly susprised at what you can make out of those old storage devices! Youtube user, Rulof Maker, shows us how to make a Steadicam out of 2 old hard drives and a few pieces from the hardware store. How's that for a fun spring project?

Eight More Things About Being a Photographer I Wish I'd Known Earlier

When I wrote "Seven Things About Being a Photographer I Wish I'd Known Earlier," I wasn't expecting such a strong response. I had far more than seven things I wish I'd known, but I tried to trim the fat and keep the article lean. Well, I liked the fat. So, now I'm compiling the trimmings into their own article, although I don't mean to infer that these eight are less important than my first seven; they aren't. I also can't guarantee there won't be a further set in the future. Make of that what you will.

Fstoppers Reviews the Fujifilm X-T20 Mirrorless Camera

Fuji’s latest little brother, the Fujifilm X-T20, has hit the streets and I’ve finally managed to get my hands on one and put it through its paces. It’s a great little camera with some noticeable improvements and a few of the same flaws as its predecessor. It feels like Fuji has really tried to differentiate their double-digit line this time and created an interesting option for those not needing all the additional features of the X-Pro2 or X-T2, but possibly wanting a more consumer-oriented camera. Let’s dive right in and take a look.
Putting Together A Photoshoot Part I: Moodboard And Concept Development

When we first start out on any sort of endeavor, be it creative or otherwise, we all most likely begin same way: a head full of ideas, but a distinct lack of understanding and experience of how to achieve them. Over time, through the benevolence of others, and many hours of Youtube tutorials, our ability catches up and we reach the place where creativity meets experience

Travel Backup Photography Kit

With some lengthy upcoming trips for personal work, I have been doing some research into ways to keep my photographs and video footage backed up in the field. One of these trips involves a three-week stint in remote villages. A particular concern on this trip is data loss; so, I have been working to create a backup system that is durable and can run without access to mains power. Today, I will share my solution with you.

Canon Maintains Its Position at Number One

Canon Inc. has just announced that it has maintained its position as the global market leader for interchangeable lens digital cameras (DSLR and Mirrorless) for the 17th consecutive year (from 2003 to 2019).

Do This To Get Perfect Prints

Some time ago, I wrote an article about soft proofing in Lightroom and Photoshop. It's an essential step in any professional printing workflow. Today, I show the additional steps required to create perfect prints.

Lutify.me Cross-Platform LUTs Are Now Even Better in Lightroom and Camera Raw

A little while ago I showed you a fantastic LUTs pack, called Lutify.me, compatible with most photo and video editing including Capture One, Lightroom, Premiere, and Resolve. However, since Lightroom has been updated, it’s now even better than before with much better integration with both the CC and Classic CC versions.

Bought a New Lens? Here’s the First Thing You Should Do

Whether you just bought a new lens from a reputable vendor or snagged a deal off an auction site, you’ve got to test it. Fortunately, you don’t need a crazy, dedicated setup just to check out your gear. In this guide, I’ll run through how I’d test a newly acquired lens in about 10 minutes, all without any fancy gear.

We Can Expect New Gear From Nikon This Week

While some manufacturers have been releasing gear at a breakneck pace, Nikon has been quite quiet the last few months. It seems they are finally waking up, though, with a lot of lens announcements rumored to come this week.

Glyn Dewis Shows You How to Save an Almost Unusable Image

In this valuable tutorial Glyn Dewis takes a quick snapshot and shows you how to pull detail from highlights and shadows to make it a beautiful image. Dewis mentions some great workflow tips and tricks in Adobe Lightroom as well as how to bring your image over, non destructively, to Photoshop camera raw.

Don't Crop Profile Photos on Facebook

Don’t crop those photos when using for them for Facebook profile photos. Why would you want to if you don’t have to? It doesn’t show the full image in all its wonderful glory. That photo was picked because it’s one of your best works, or the model’s favorite photo, or the best portrait that person has, and so forth. Why not show it in its entirety? Don’t crop those photos!

Photoshop CC 2015 Liquify Ligthen rendering issue

Adobe just updated a couple of their CC applications, one of which being Photoshop. Amongst the new features, it was almost inevitable that a few bugs would show up. One that can be quite annoying is the liquify tool lighting or rendering problem. But there is a quick and easy workaround.

Five Ways to Improve Your Photography

Almost all of us want to improve our photography. Regardless of whether you are a hobbyist, aspiring professional, or if you have been a pro for several decades, there's always more to learn. Creating better images should always be at the forefront of our mind. It doesn't matter where you are in your photographic journey or what genre interests you, here are five things that I think can help to improve your photography.

How to Become the Best Headshot Photographer in the World

After a four-hour trip to London and only being able to catch whatever sleep I could during the uncomfortable journey down, I met with Peter Hurley and immediately felt welcome. For those of you who don't know, Peter Hurley is a headshot photographer based in New York City. Hurley once had a career as a model and was also part of the U.S. Olympic sailing team. He is known for his clean, white background headshots and for coining the phrase "squinch," which has now become relatively mainstream thanks to news channels and shows like Orange is the New Black. To many, Peter is known as the best in the business and this may be true, but, what is Peter actually like to work with?

Which Nikon Z Midrange Zoom Is Right for You?

With the release of the Nikon NIKKOR Z 28-75mm f/2.8, I thought it would be a good time to take a look at the current list of options for photographers of all types.

The L-Bracket; A Piece of Metal That Will Always Be a Part of My Camera Body

Once I bought a Manfrotto pistol-grip-upside-down ball head, with the typical Manfrotto camera plate. After a while I wanted something more robust, and I choose for an Arca-Swiss compatible ball head from Kirk Enterprises, and a matching L-bracket. The latter was one of the best choices I made.

Don't Throw That Old Phone in a Box, Repurpose It

If you are much like me, you are getting a new phone roughly every other phone generation. This was leading to an abundance of old hardware collecting dust in a box, so I finally decided that I would put them to use. These tips may not bring back that new phone excitement, but they could perpetuate their usefulness and save them from the island of misfit gadgets.