Six Items You Can Skimp On

Photography can be an expensive game, but there are some bits of kit that you really don’t need to spend big money on. Here are six bits of kit you can skimp on.

[Vintage Gear] 93 Year-Old Lens Attached to a 5D

Photographer/film-maker Jason Bognacki successfully attached a 93 year old camera to his Canon 5D. It's a Piccolette Contessa-Nettel (1919) folding camera. Check out the results and see for yourself. The images are so much sharper than you might expect. What do you think?

Three Ways to Improve Your Photography That Have Nothing to Do With Photography

As photographers, we often pour endless hours into every possible method of learning to become better through the study of our craft, practice, and an ever increasing collection of supposedly quality redefining gear. In this dogged pursuit of photographic excellence, we often forget about the far more simple aspects of our lives that can have a tremendously profound impact on the quality of our work. By forcing ourselves to take a step back and focus on the foundational aspects of our selves that allow us to maximize our performance, regardless of the task, we are able to expand the potential of our work to new levels.

This Film Was Shot on an iPhone, but That's Not What Made It Impressive

Every once in a while an article pops up claiming a cool looking video or an image was shot on an iPhone. Often this becomes a stage for arguments between Apple and non-Apple fans. I decided to look at this film with a different mindset and hopefully you will appreciate it too from a filmmaking standpoint.

Why Tamron Is Currently My Favorite Photography Company

Tamron has become a brand new company in the last few years and has achieved both success and popularity with their newer lenses. They are using a philosophy different from many other companies, and it is why they are currently my favorite photography success.

Crafting a Scene With Reflectors

With reflectors being among the most basic of lighting tools in a photographer's arsenal you would think more people would understand how to use them properly. Sadly that doesn't seem to be the case. Rest easy though, Jay P. Morgan is on the case and comes at us again with a very solid explanation of how he set up precise light with nothing but reflectors. Well...and an insane amount of bubbles (which, by the way are not reflectors). More often than not I think photographers

Why Camera Specs Probably Don't Matter as Much as You Think They Do

After a string of gear-related articles extolling the benefits and/or drawbacks of buying a particular camera system, and before launching into another such series in the weeks to come, I wanted to step back for a moment and re-evaluate a question larger than whether or not any particular camera is worthy of its place in your camera bag.

Pro Camera Advantages: It's More Than Just Sensor Size

Discussions about entry-level, mid-level, and pro-level cameras often revolve around the differences in their sensor size or resolution. However, that's just one aspect of many that separate these types of cameras. Let's take a look at the other benefits that a pro-level camera brings to the table.

Beware: Bad Review Extortion Scam Targeting Photographers

There is currently a scam running rampant throughout the photography community and it has damaged countless reputable businesses already. The scam usually perpetuates from your contact form or direct email if listed on your website. Hopefully you won’t encounter this at all, but if you do here are some steps to protect yourself.

Vali Barbulescu Tries the New Fuji X100S

I have a soft spot in my heart for the Fuji x100s. I absolutely love when pros give it a chance in a working environment rather than confining it to the street like so many do. When Bucharest-based Vali Barbulescu got his hands on one that's exactly what he decided to do. Granted, any camera can shine in a large studio filled with top of the line lighting equipment but that's not really the point I mean to make. Embracing the restrictions of using a 35mm fixed-lens rangefinder when

Adobe's New Dehaze Tool Can Recover Incredible Detail

In case you haven't had a chance to play with Adobe's new Dehaze tool, Photographer Bimal Ramdoyal, a redditor with the handle "manual_mode", shared this before and after image he shot during a blizzard that he then processed through the new tool in Photoshop (also available in Lightroom). The results, needless to say, are pretty impressive.

How 30 Minutes of Freedom to Shoot a Sunset Went Hysterically Wrong

Last Friday was one for the record books. My son had his last travel soccer game for the team I assistant coach for at Fort Niagara in Youngstown, NY. The team played great and since it was our final game, we invited all the parents out on the field for a game against the kids after. Everyone there had a blast. As we began to run out of daylight I could see one heck of a sunset coming together. We actually had some of our gear with us since my wife wanted to grab a team photo. Knowing I have been itching to get out and shoot, she immediately told me to take her camera and go. Next time she may think twice.

New Mextures iPhone App Quite Impressive

Merek Davis today announced the release of the image enhancing Mextures app for iPhone. Over the last year iPhone photographers have downloaded Mextures textures more than 200,000 times directly from Merek Davis’ store and tagged 140,000 images on Instagram; now they have an iPhone app to more easily create and share visually stunning images. I have got to say that after buying and playing with the app this morning, this is one that you don't want to miss out on.

How to Safely Photograph the Sun

With long days and shorter nights, summer is a good time to consider getting into solar astrophotography. The Sun is also heading toward the active phase of its 11-year sunspot cycle and promises to make the Sun more interesting than the featureless cueball look of the sunspot cycle minimum. Solar astronomers use the count of visible sunspots as a measure of the solar activity, and sunspot cycle #25, as counted by astronomers, looks like it will be peaking sometime around 2024.

How to Build Your First Photography Studio

For a lot of us who are chasing a career in photography, we soon come to a bit of a pinch point. We have thrown all our money into cameras, computers, lenses, and lights, so our house is a mess of kit clutter. Here's how to build your own dedicated studio.

Pomodoro: An Easy Writing Technique

Recently, I was lucky enough to have a portfolio review with a photography agent. It was only my second review ever and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect — so when four agents from the one agency popped up in the Zoom meeting, I was a little intimidated. They were lovely and warm and welcoming though. I just wanted to knit them a hat.

How To Trick WhatsApp Into Sending Uncompressed Images

Having WhatsApp aggressively compress your images, strip out important metadata, and delete your handpicked color profiles is downright annoying for photographers. Thankfully, there is an easy way to trick WhatsApp into sending your precious images unharmed.

Take Your Portfolio To The Next Level With The Help Of A Model Scout

Do you want agency grade models in your portfolio but can't quite cut through the competition vying to test with the same talent? Do you want agency grade models in your portfolio but can't afford the agency rates? Modelling agencies are a fantastic source of top models but they are not the only way to acquire this elusive talent and build your portfolio very quickly to a professional standard.

Making A Long Term Timelapse Camera Box For Seasonal Timelapses

Timelapses aren't just for moving clouds and the northern lights (but they sure are pretty) but in fact their use for studying earth sciences is becoming a key part in learning more about our landscape and using the images to educate and inform the masses. I interviewed Forrest Pound of San Francisco based Kontent Films, who was tasked with building custom timelapse rigs to document parts of the Colorado River. He has shared this DIY project step by step, so read on to learn more.

Three Tips to Land a Photography Sponsorship

For many photographers, the holy grail of “making it,” as a photographer is a sponsorship. The truth is that it’s really not as difficult as it sounds, but to make it easier, I’ll give you three tips to landing your first sponsorship.

Fashion Photographer Amber Goetz

Stumbling upon a recent article reminded me that this is a question I wanted to ask here on Fstoppers. In my expertise and knowledge there is an absolute need for filters in certain industries of photography and if you're attempting a certain look. For instance a few friends of mine that also work for my wedding photography company do some off road coverage, for them I'd say it's pretty crucial to have a filter on their lenses to protect as much as possible as high speed off road vehicles and dirtbikes fly past them with the potential of tossing a few hundred rocks their way daily.

What Gear Travel Photographers Have in Their Bags

I’m going to be traveling soon. I’m going to Paris for a project documenting the city, its people and exploring its intangible nuances that emit emotion. Travel photography. I enjoy traveling, and I love photography. Can we put these two together? Yes. There is no other reason but the enjoyment of moving though the city that's got me excited.

Hands-On With the Newly Announced Sony a9: My Five Favorite Features

Earlier today, Sony announced the a9, a revolutionary mirrorless camera with a spec sheet that at first looks like it's full of typos. Did they really mean 20 frames per second? Is it actually 693 phase-detect autofocus points? Continuous burst raw capture up to 241 frames? But sure enough, the a9 delivers on it all. After spending a brief time getting familiar with the new camera, here's what made me most excited about using it.