An unknown couple shared a moment of joy when one of them dropped to one knee to propose atop Taft Point in Yosemite National Park on October 6. Photographer Matthew Dippel serendipitously captured the big moment in the gloaming, and now the search is on to find the mystery couple.
How important is it to have a graphic tablet and do I really need it? This is a question that I get asked quite often and wanted to elaborate on it. It may be that you've never tried one or perhaps you never got used to it and did not like the experience. Is that normal and how imperative is it that you get used to using one?
The DSLR has been called a dinosaur on the brink of extinction. It has been called old-fashioned, or even outdated technology. It is all because of the mirrorless cameras that hit the market a few years ago now. Let’s have a look at the differences between the two and find out if both systems can live next to each other.
A few months ago I got an email from Rhino Camera Gear asking if I would like to beta test their new slider. I didn't really know anything about this product and I quickly forgot about it until it showed up at our office a few days ago. I had no idea that this would be one of the most impressive products I've tested in years.
Wyn has been featured on Fstoppers quite a few times. Why? His work is outstanding. He comes up with some really cool concepts for shots. From using LED's on a basketball shoot to powder with Gymnasts. He does it all perfectly.
Lately I've been scouting locations for a calendar project I'm working on, and it got me thinking how little content I've come across online on how to go about it. Location scouting isn't really a science, there are a lot of ways to go about it, but there are a few simple tricks and tools to maximizing productivity in your efforts.
Dave Dugdale of LearningDSLRVideo.com just published this great demonstration of the differences between recording video in raw and H.264 formats using Canon DSLRs and free Magic Lantern firmware. The difference is pretty astounding to me, as someone who has only ever shot video in H.264.
Within the last two weeks, Nikon was seen filing a new trademark for the name of “Noct,” fueling rumors that it could relate full-frame mirrorless camera.
A recent spate of camera purchases has indeed improved my photographic skill, but perhaps not in the way you may be thinking.
In what is sure to be another blow to DSLR users, Canon is now rumored to be ending some of its more prominent lines, including the high-megapixel 5DS and 5DS R and its hugely popular 7D line.
As the artificial intelligence race intensifies among photography software companies, Boris FX is filling a completely different niche with their editing software Optics. With their latest release, Optics users now have access to their powerful Particle Illusion generator, which can create thousands of useful emitters like explosions, smoke, fire, and other particle effects. Today, we take a look at the new Optics 2022 release which is available as a plugin for both Photoshop and Lightroom, as well as a standalone application.
Back in the day (not all that long ago, in fact), the only memory cards you would find in a “pro”-level camera were Compact Flash. That all changed as SD cards started to get faster and faster. Speeds up to 95 MB/s were great for emptying out the buffer on machine-gun mode and writing 1080p footage, which meant that space in the bodies could be used for other things. These cards were great. You could dump 64 GB of images while you watched the evening news. Then came along UHS-II cards, and if you’re not using them yet, you should definitely add them to you list next time you're upgrading cards.
Last week we saw a few news worthy announcements from a couple of the larger photography portals. Livebooks went dark from their clients until the announcement was made that they are now under Wedding Wire and PhotoShelter released their new Beam portfolio service. It seemed fitting that a post be put together to compare and contrast a handful of the larger services and find out which are best suited for photographers needs.
I don’t often post about new gear on Fstoppers, but today I’m posting about an announcement Canon made a few days ago that kind of slipped under the radar. This week Canon unveiled it’s first 4K video production monitor, the very unsexy-sounding 'DP-V3010'. While no pricing information has yet been released, it’s due to go on sale first quarter 2014. Why should we care? Because it clearly lays a stake in the ground over what the future of video (and quite possibly stills) is shaping up to look like.
Style. The idea of finding your own voice and style has become an intricate part of growing as a photographer and differentiating yourself from the competition. It's not only a way to get work, but a way to be remembered in a field of talented artists. But, as a portrait photographer, I find that my need to make a signature image sometimes gets in the way of capturing the human being in front of me. I'm so concerned about making the image "cool" that it's almost as if the person in front of the camera doesn't matter. Today, that ends (I hope).
Recently I went to New York City to do a week of headshots. As many of you know, part of my cinematic style involves shooting outdoors, but flying from Los Angeles to New York City to put this on meant I couldn’t rely on the weather. Figuring out how to translate the look and feel of my style indoors was the only way to make it a success. As I’ve had many questions about how to make this look happen inside for those that can’t always be outside, I decided to share my own experience with you.
Almost four years ago I began a new journey in my photography career. At the time I was still bartending part-time and concentrating on building the headshot side of my business, when hospitality photography came and slapped me upside the head. As it goes with most other good things, it all started over a few drinks with a friend, and has spiraled into a full second stream of income from photography.
Photographers are creative entrepreneurs. As creative entrepreneurs, most of us aspire to monetize our craft and make a living as artists. In order to run our businesses efficiently, it’s important to have tools and systems in place. If you’re a single person operation, it can be overwhelming at times to think about all the things that go into running your business that aren’t “photography,” including but not limited to marketing, bidding, invoicing, making phone calls, sending emails, networking, upgrading equipment, and higher education to name just a few. Without systems, it’s easy to get off track.
Let’s talk about the newest software from Skylum called Luminar AI, editing software that is powered by AI technology.
Exactly one year ago today MagMod flash modifiers launched their first Kickstarter project and quickly became a household name in the photo community. Photographers all over the world enjoyed the slick design, ease of use and ability to modify light from their flash using the MagMod grids and gels. Today, MagMod launched a new Kickstarter project introducing their new MagSphere and MagBounce flash diffusers.
In 2019, every camera on the market, from action cameras, to 360 cameras, to Interchangeable lens cameras, has WiFi. Unfortunately, that means that every camera requires its own app to make work wirelessly.
The wide-angle lens is very well known to be “the” landscape photography lens. That being said, it can be a little hard to figure out how to use it in the beginning. Here are five tips.
Were you wanting to do some HDR work in Luminar Neo? It's about to be offered as a paid extension. HDR Merge compiles multiple exposure-bracketed images into a single HDR image. It can merge up to 10 photos and deliver an increased level of color enhancement, making the final result look as close as possible to what the eye sees. HDR Merge is scheduled to be released on July 28, and the preorder starts today.
In a dramatic scene from "Interstellar," the space crew was nearly overcome by a massive wave on a distant planet. Take a look behind the scenes to see the filmmakers and actor Wes Bentley discuss the lighting and composite work required to produce this daunting visual effect.
As a professional photographer, I use quite a lot of different gear to make my photographs, from cameras to lenses, to tethering stations and solid state drives, and lights. In this series of articles, I will tell you exactly what gear I use and why, starting off with cameras and lenses.
Researchers from Saarland University in Saarbrücken, Germany have proposed quite an awesome attachment for the standard DSLR that would bring the power of a Lytro and more to the cameras already in the marketplace. Their design proposes a configurable, removable camera add-on for high dynamic range, multispectral, polarization, and light-field imaging called the KaleidoCam. And it works.
Sony is said to be releasing six new E mount lenses in the next 12 months. Given the size and quality of the range of Sony glass, what do you want and what do you expect? And what do the likes of Tamron, Zeiss, Sigma, and Rokinon/Samyang have planned?
The Nokia Lumia 1020 was met with a lot of skepticism, and sparked yet another battle in the megapixel war. But for a cell phone, it's hard to deny that the photos look pretty darn good. Now when you think of National Geographic you think of incredible photographs of rarely seen places and people.
Phottix has been steadily working its way up the ladder when it comes to reliable and affordable photography equipment. Much like Yongnuo, Phottix started in the marketplace as somewhat unreliable, but in recent years has done a lot to turn that around. Introduced a few months ago, the Phottix Luna collapsible beauty dish caught many an eye as a perfect answer for beauty lighting on the go. But the question remained: does it produce the same results as a real beauty dish?
Photography's expensive. Bodies, lenses, filters, software: it all adds up. But what about tripods? Do you really need to spend big on them to get what you want?
