Hyperfocal Distance Made Simple: Forget the Charts and Calculators
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The majority of landscape photographers tend to prefer keeping the entire scene in focus from back to front, using smaller apertures to maintain greater depth of field. Using this simple technique, any photographer can quickly find the hyperfocal distance, or the focusing distance at which a lens, given any aperture and focal length, will produce the greatest depth of field.

What We Discovered by Posting 30 Videos to YouTube in 30 Days
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For our New Year's Resolution, Lee and I decided to attempt to post 30 new videos to our YouTube channel throughout the entire month of January. We were not only curious if we could find the drive and motivation to complete such a feat, but we also were curious what sort of traffic, advertising income, and excitement it would bring to Fstoppers.com. Here is what we found out.

Why Now Is the Best Time to Go Pro
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The world has never been more uncertain in our lifetimes. However, now is a perfect time to start up as a professional photographer. And as a pro who started in the last recession, let me explain why.

The Rarely Discussed Reason To Shoot Raw
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There are endless articles and videos discussing the pros and cons of shooting in raw versus shooting in JPEG. I’ve long been a proponent of raw for the editing capabilities, but what's more important than file sizes and editing? Longevity.

Speed Light Comparison: Can You Spot The Differences?
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Let’s be honest, there are a lot of advantages to using speed lights. They are light, portable and they run on batteries. Speed light modifiers that accompany them are also usually quite light and portable as well. But speed lights do have their draw backs and they can be a real pain to use when you encounter issues, such as a painfully slow recycle time between flashes and a lot less power then you need on a bright sunny day. If you have a love hate relationship with speed lights then this article might just have a solution for you.

From Google Maps to DJI Inspire: How I Find Places to Shoot Aerial Photography
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After about two years of doing aerial photography, I have decided that I will share one of my little secrets for finding a location to shoot. A lot of people tell me that my aerials are really cool, but not too many ask how I find these places. It is funny to answer and say I use Google Maps, but honestly that is the truth and it's the one and only thing I really use when looking for something new to photograph with my drone.

You Are Responsible for Improving Your Photography
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Photography, as with any creative pursuit, requires the creator to have their hand in the process for the results to shine. Countless Facebook ads, online workshops, and even our camera companies would have you believe that they if you just buy that next magic bullet, everything will change for you. If they are to be believed, swiping your credit card just one more time is the key to making great images. Rubbish. It’s time to break away from that thought.

Canon Announces Three New Mirrorless Lenses
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Canon is showing no signs of stopping, with three new mirrorless lenses hitting the market, each with impressive features: the RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, RF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM, and RF 600mm f/4L IS USM, each with quite interesting features.

How a Photographer Captured His Own Marriage Proposal
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Couples spend a lot of time, effort and money to make sure their wedding day will be captured the best way possible - after all it's one of the most important days in their lives. But what about another major life event, like the proposal itself? Most times, unless it's meant to be a viral proposal, the proposer is not thinking of documenting it and the moment will never be shared or shown to family and friends. Wedding photographer Richard B Flores proposed earlier this week, and he knew he wanted to have this memory documented forever.

What We Can All Learn From The Beautiful World of Cinematographer Mattias Koenigswieser
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Whether we shoot stills, video or both, better utilizing light is probably the single quickest and most effective way to boost the quality of our work. I recently came across the beautiful work of cinematographer and DP Matthias Koenigswieser. If you love to shoot natural or ambient light and want to see just how beautiful applying lighting to achieve a natural light look can be, you’re in for a treat.

US Airways Stole My Laptop and Won't Replace It
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On a flight from Philadelphia to New York my girlfriend was asked, as she boarded the plane, to "check" her carry on bag and put it below the plane because there was no longer any room in the bins in the cabin. When she arrived in NYC she was asked to retrieve her bag at baggage claim. Once it was apparent her bag was not showing up, the baggage department said that her bag would be delivered to her the next day. When she received her bag, her laptop was missing.

Three Critical Things Your Photography Website Better Get Right
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We photographers are notorious for having terrible websites. Hiring a professional web designer isn’t always in the budget so sometimes you have to figure out how to do it by yourself. Here are a few tips that most people completely overlook when building their own website.

How One Photographer's Open Letter Made a CEO Change Their "Work For Free" Policy
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Have you ever applied for a gig online through a place like Craigslist, Mandy, or even Facebook, only to find out that it is a no-pay job, and they want to own exclusive rights to your images? I know I have. Jared Polin came across a similar posting from Live Nation, notoriously known for having a "Work for Free" policy, and he decided to do something about it– which actually got a response, and might create a change in that policy.

The Biggest Misconception About Starting a Photography Business
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The journey that a photographer takes in turning an enjoyable pastime into a full-fledged career is a common path that that describes the origins of many photography businesses. With limited business experience, hobbyists-turned-entrepreneurs often make incorrect assumptions about what makes a photography business successful. There is one particularly common misconception that holds a lot of photographers back in the early stages of starting a business.

Westcott Announces the Ultimate 10-in-1 Omega Reflector
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Just when you thought the basic 5-in-1 reflector couldn't get any better, Westcott has announced their new 10-in-1 Omega Reflector. The unique design of the Omega allows you to use it like a ring light, a gobo and a flag rather than just your boring old traditional reflector. At 38 x 45 inches, the Omega offers your typical black, white, silver, gold and 1-stop diffusion surfaces. However, what makes the Omega stand out is its removable center frame on each surface that allows you to shoot through the reflector!

High Speed Photography Made Easy
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One of the reasons I love working for a magazine is that it forces me to be a Jack of all trades. While Automotive Photography and Portraits are my focus, Product Photography, Event Photography, Documentary Photography and any other discipline you can think up will also present itself from time to time and I'll have to adapt. The image above is the perfect example of the daily challenges I face as the Photo Director of RIDES Magazine, we needed something high speed and I had a day to teach myself how to do it. Here's how I did it.

Five Tips to Help You Slow Down and Improve Your Photography
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Slowing down while taking pictures is not always an easy thing. For those of us that learned with digital, the idea of shooting only a limited number of frames per session seems unthinkable. However, doing with what we have, and pressing the shutter only when we are sure to have a picture we are going to appreciate, is a very refreshing approach. Having just recently started shooting film, here are five tips I could give a digital portrait photographer to get better results, spend less time working, and slow down a bit.

Incredible Time-Lapse Shows the Time Consuming Labor Behind Stop Motion Animation
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The calendar is about to turn over to 2015, and in my feeble mind I just assumed we were so advanced, that all of those new high-budget animation films were created by using elaborate CGI. I envisioned a team of computer animators sitting in a dark basement with endless empty cans of Red Bull strewn about, working around the clock to animate the scenes on screen in their elaborate and complex computer programs. Little did I know, old school manual, and tireless physical techniques are still used to this day.

The Retouching Toolkit 3.1: The Best Photoshop Plugin Gets Even Better
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The Retouching Toolkit is, without a doubt, the best Photoshop extension I have tried yet. It helps streamline one's editing workflow, improves Photoshop's interface, and with the latest update, it's getting one step closer to becoming the only Photoshop plugin you could ever need.

How to Properly Use Light in Food Photography
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Most of my food photography is lit with only one light source and after a few years of taking a special interest in shooting food and drink, I know exactly where I want the light to be and why.

Bentley's New Ad Is Shot with the iPhone 5s - Seriously!
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Intelligent Details is the new ad / documentary that Bentley Motors commissioned. It was filmed throughout New York and highlights what inspires Luc Donckerwolke, Bentley's Director of Design, and SangYup Lee, Head of Exterior Design. At around the 3:16 mark, you'll be treated to a behind-the-scenes look at how the film was created. Their YouTube channel explains, "Intelligent Details was filmed, assembled and edited using the in-car connectivity and entertainment platform."

This Uplifting Video Resonates With All Landscape Photographers
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Filmed and edited by Nejc Miljak, “Before You Wake Up” is a short production that casts a strong motivating monologue aimed at landscape photographers around the world. Alongside its message, the video portrays an awe-inspiring adventure into nature as photographer Janez Tolar captures images sunrise to sunset. The combination of these makes this semi-ethereal video too good to pass up sharing.

11 Ways to Improve the Sharpness of Your Images (Part 4)
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So much of photography is about capturing a moment, a place, a person, a glance, a tiny slice of history that is impossible to recreate. When we've only got one shot, we want to make sure we get it right. In this series, we’re examining 11 things that can lead to a loss of image sharpness, what causes them, how to recognize them, and what to do about them!

Fashion Photographer Chris Davis Shares His Tips On Shooting Male Models
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When you think of fashion photography, you typically think of women being the main subject. It's not without reason because female models typically dominate the fashion scene. When it comes to shooting male models in fashion, there's a lack of information out there for aspiring photographers. I reached out to my friend and colleague Chris Davis who was happy to share a few tips on shooting male models in specific.