The Complete Guide to Epic Foreground Bokeh

When talking about bokeh, the majority of the photography community instantly thinks of those nice creamy out of focus backgrounds. This is because most of the photographs we see only involve a subject and a background. Once you start to incorporate foreground elements though, you will quickly see that bokeh in front of the subject can be just as important and impactful as having bokeh behind the subject.

A Beginner’s Guide to Lightroom: Part 2

In Part 1 of this series, I explained the basics of how Lightroom works, the best way to import your photos, and the different options you have when culling your images. In Part 2, I want to show you the essentials of the Develop module. This module is the area of Lightroom where you can color correct, crop, straighten, sharpen, and perform several other adjustments as well.

Final Cut Pro X Is Now Free for 90 Days

Apple has announced that you can now test out Final Cut Pro X for 90 days, increasing the trial period from 30 days. In addition, Apple will soon be applying the same deal to its digital audio workstation and MIDI sequencer, Logic Pro X.

How Many Camera Bags Does a Photographer Need?

Every photographer needs a camera bag. Preferably one that not only protects the equipment, but is also comfortable to use. It has to carry at least a camera and a couple of lenses, along with the necessary accessories. Unfortunately, there is not one camera bag that is perfect for every situation.

Continuing the Legacy of the U.S. President's Photographer

The tradition of the White House photographers, now officially known as the Chief Official White House Photographer, was started by John F. Kennedy in January of 1961. A free press is responsible for accurate reportage and is essential to a democracy, though access can provide certain limitations. Having unprecedented access, where the press are typically held at a greater distance, the President’s photographer adds a level of transparency for the American public to engage and see the President working for the country within the context of current events.

Maybe Photoshop Can Really Work On The iPad

Many photographers already use a tablet like the Wacom Intuos to work in Photoshop. You would think that an iPad would be even better because you can touch the very screen that you work is on but it's not that simple. Due to a number of issues like lack of pressure control and the fact that your hand itself will "select" parts of the screen, the iPad never took off as a professional tool. That is until I saw this video.

Fstoppers Reviews the Western Digital My Passport Wireless Pro Hard Drive

Hard drives are cool again. What used to be just a repository for data has evolved into a multifunctional device that can store data, back up your memory cards in the field without a computer, charge your phone, and even act as a Wi-Fi hotspot. The Western Digital My Passport Wireless Pro can do all those things, making it an intriguing option for those of us who desire portability and capability in one device.

Sigma Announces the 24mm f/1.4 Art and dp0 Quattro Camera

Just announced by Sigma is the newest in their covenant Art series of lenses with the 24mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art. In the past couple years now, the Sigma Art lenses have been considered by many the best in their class in terms of sharpness, so the news of a 24mm Art has gotten photographers everywhere excited. Along with this announcement is the dp0, an update to their mirrorless camera systems.

First Impressions of the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 L III

One lens that is a staple in almost all camera bags of professional photographers is a fast, ultra-wide-angle zoom. Being a Canon shooter, the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 II found a place in my bag when I purchased it back in 2008, and I have been using it constantly for work ever since. However, it also was the weakest lens in my kit from a sharpness standpoint. But if I needed 16mm and f/2.8, it was what I had to grab. Until recently, there simply wasn't a sharper option available.

A Professional Web Designer Tells You Why Your Website Sucks

As creatives, most of us know the value of a strong internet presence and what that can do to boost brand recognition and our business bottom-line, but we don’t always know how to make the best of that presence. I spoke with a successful web builder and graphic designer to get a glimpse of the most important aspects of boosting web potential for photographers.

Let's Talk About Storage and Backups

What's the first rule of any working professional photographer? Backups. What's the second rule of any working professional photographer? Backups for the backups.

Adobe Plans to Make You Pay for Photoshop's AI Features, Even if You Have a Subscription

Photoshop's Generative Fill is possibly the single most talked about addition in the history of the program. This AI-powered feature allows users to add elements to a photograph not present in the original capture. Many creators love the feature. But that may be about to change due to a recently announced change in Adobe's pricing structure.

Behind The Scenes Shoot In Italy With Simeon Quarrie

As one of the writers here at Fstoppers I do quite a bit of scouring the internet trying to find the best 'behind the scenes' videos to share with our readers. Sadly much of what I see lacks content, rather it is most commonly just a music video of a photographer on a shoot. Fortunately, this video by Simeon Quarrie documenting his shoot in Italy is quite the opposite. Packed with great information and lots of tips this video is worth checking out. Read on to see a lighting diagram and some of the photos from the shoot.

Lightroom 5.2 New Features Now Available

Lightroom released their lastest update today (5.2) which added some new features, addressed some bugs introduced in previous versions and added additional camera raw support as well as more lens profiles. Here's a break down of what has been added and fixed.

Bad Clients and How to Spot Them

I remember the excitement of wanting to start and have a thriving wedding photography business. I remember how my heart would skip a beat whenever I’d get a new photography inquiry regarding my services, and I remember how desperate I was for any type of wedding photography gig. I also remember not knowing how to price myself, being scared that if I charged too much, clients wouldn’t want to book me. Or if I told a client no to a request, they’d find another photographer. I look back on the first few years of my business very fondly, but I also remember a few times that being a wedding photographer made me want to crawl into a hole and hide from the world forever.

McCurry's Work Teaches a Portrait is All About The Connection

Steve McCurry is one of the most iconic portrait photographers of our time. His photo of the Afghan Girl one of the most recognized images in history. Now in Italy there is an exhibition of McCurry's work from over the last 40 years being featured at the Villa Reale di Monza. In this short 5-minute video not only do we get to see how the art installation came together while preserving the history of the Villa but we also learn some incredible advice from McCurry himself on being a successful photographer.

Is a Canon EOS R7 APS-C Mirrorless Camera Finally Coming Next Year?

Canon has done a pretty impressive job quickly building out the RF mirrorless system to provide equivalent cameras and lenses for their EF counterparts, but one item that has been conspicuously missing is a high-level APS-C camera akin to the popular 7D series. It seems that will likely change next year, though, with at least one RF mount APS-C camera coming to the market.

Fstoppers Reviews the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC HSM Prime Lens

Sigma, hot on the heels of the outstandingly successful 35mm f/1.4 Art lens, has been releasing and announcing new lenses in their Global Vision realignment like crazy. Recently they released the 30mm f/1.4 lens for APS-C cameras, and I had high expectations for it after being told that the president of Sigma was aiming it to meet the performance set by the 35mm. So did it?

Adobe Updates Photoshop With Three New Features, Most Notably "Perspective Warp"

The Adobe product manages and developers that I have spoken to praise the new Creative Cloud process mostly for the ability to instantly update users with new features and stability enhancements. While we have seen a plethora of updates that mostly contain "bug fixes" over the past few months, Adobe has finally given us three new features for Photoshop to get excited about: 3D printing integration, linked Smart Objects, and what is most interesting to photographers, Perspective Warp.

UPDATED: Is World Press Photo Photoshopped?

Photojournalists prepping images for competitions often walk a fine line between the enhancement of a photograph and outright alteration. Swedish photojournalist Paul Hansen, winner of the 2012 World Press Photo Award, has denied that his winning image of two dead Palestinian children in a funeral procession, is a forgery. A forensic image analyst named Neal Krawetz came forward on Monday with an allegation that the image is a composite, an egregious manipulation that may invalidate the award. Yesterday, World Press Photo issued a statement verifying the authenticity of the image.

Fstoppers Answers - What is Your 'Can't Live Without' Lens?

In our newest segment, we've turned to the public to ask some of our writers about working in the industry as professional photographers, and invite all of you to participate in the discussion. Last week, we asked about our favorite light modifier, and the week prior, about commercial photography. This week, we ask "Your camera is suddenly only able to mount one lens. What is it?"

The World's Most Advanced Thunderbolt Dock - iVanky VCD10

If you're looking for the largest Thunderbolt dock on the market with double the bandwidth of every other dock (80gbps), the iVanky VCD10 20-in-1 dock is probably your only option. It's expensive, but I'm happy to say, it actually works.
Instagram Shuts Down Prominent Bot Service

Score one for authentic interaction. Today, Instagress, a prominent Instagram bot service, shut their doors after being "requested" to do so by Instagram.

The First 10 Things You Should Do With a New Camera

Did your dreams come true this holiday season? Are you holding a shiny new camera, eager to mount a lens and run out to start shooting? Before you do that, be sure to read this list of 10 things you should do to make sure you maximize your experience with your new camera.