5 Final Steps Before Completing Any Retouch

Having a process is one of the most essential keys to success in art, design, and photography. In this tutorial we will look at what to do after we have completed all of the major changes to our portrait retouch. In the beginning of our retouching we will commonly address larger issues like blemishes, distractions, tone smoothing, dodging and burning, and color corrections. But, after completing the major steps of our retouch, what are the finalizing steps in our process? Let's take a look at the five final steps you should follow before completing any portrait retouch.

Fstoppers Reviews the Pulse Camera Remote

Picture this: you and some friends are on a week-long backpacking trip in Alaska, and it’s a frigid 20 degrees Fahrenheit outside. You really don’t want to get out of your sleeping bag. Luckily, before you got in it, you went out and set up your camera with a incredibly lightweight remote that you can control from your phone so that you can take photos of the aurora without leaving the tent. If you want to be able to do this, and for only $100, you should check out the Pulse camera remote by Alpine Labs.

Canon Patents a Huge Range of Remarkable Lenses

Canon has been quite aggressive in developing and releasing RF mount lenses, and it looks like they intend to keep pressing forward, with over a dozen new patents showing plans for some pretty incredible options.

[News] Major Canon Video Announcements -- 1D C and C500!

Canon unloaded a ton of news this morning. Apart from specifically releasing specifications for the EOS 1D C (Cine) DSLR and the C500, they're also apparently working on a few other things, including four lenses and other 4K cameras -- the C300 was definitely just the beginning. Full specs and tons of photos after the jump!

My Four-Step Photography Backup Workflow

Creating and maintaining backups of our data is essential in the business of photography. There are countless articles out there about the importance of backup, and anyone who has lost precious data will feel that need acutely. Data loss is not a question of if but a question of when. We need to take the necessary steps to prepare for that loss. How we do it, and the tools we can use are about as varied as the types of photography we all do. Today, I'll run you through my workflow.

The Best DSLR Video Alternatives

We all love big sensors, affordable glass, and cheap camera bodies, but is DSLR videography a dying breed? If so, what are the alternatives that we should be looking at?

Book: Quavondo's Photography Lighting Techniques with Images and Light Set-Ups

From lifestyle to celebrities, Quavondo is a photographer that has a wide range of talent. He has a great ability to shoot many genres and do exceedingly well at it. Even prior to meeting him, everyone who knew of him would ask him how he would light his subjects, no matter what he shot. It seemed so effortless in execution but very appealing as an end result. Recently, he released a book with these answers.

An Easy Exercise to Improve Your Photography in 2024

Do you feel stagnant in your work? As someone who has transitioned to shooting professionally, I have found that growth within my own work has continually become more difficult. Doing this exercise helps me every time; it doesn't matter your skill level, and it applies to all genres of photography.

Photographer Searches for Mystery Couple Captured in Amazing Yosemite Photo

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.

Is A Graphic Tablet Really Necessary For A Photographer To Have For Retouching?

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?

Mirrorless and DSLR Cameras Can Live Next To Each Other

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.

The Rhino Slider Evo Is the Best Slider We Have Ever Tested

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 Wiley Shoots Gymnasts In An Awesome Way

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.

Taking it on the Road: Location Scouting 101

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.

A Great Demonstration Of The Difference Between Raw And H.264 Video

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.

What Is a UHS-II SD Card and Why Would You Want One?

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.

Optics Allows Photographers to Add Particle-Based Effects to Their Photography

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.

Which Online Services Are The Best For Photographers?

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.