The Atlantic's science writer, Sam Keen, recently looked at a study that compared posing in portraits. He found that in a disproportionate number of images the subject was turned slightly to the right. Coincidence? He thinks not.
Maybe it’s nostalgia or maybe it’s a design classic. Whichever way you look at it, the Nintendo Game Boy and its camera accessory have achieved cult status among photographers and gamers alike thanks to the distinctive lo-fi digital images it creates.
Freelance photographer is a term widely used inside our craft. Yet what does it truly mean to be a freelancer? And more importantly, what aspects should you take in consideration in order to make freelance photography work to your advantage?
Instagram appears to be testing a new layout on select user accounts across the globe, as users wake up to find a big change to their Instagram home feed.
A great coffee table book not only makes for a thoughtful and memorable gift, it acts as a sort of cultured ornament for visitors to flick through while you fetch them drinks. Here are 10 (technically 13) of my favorites.
I'm not a big fan of ultra-wide angle lenses. Shooting at 12mm usually requires that you get really close to your subject and create weird, warped-out-looking images, but I was recently hired for a job that required a wide field of view. I ended up buying three lenses to find the right tool for the job.
Jared Polin of froknowsphoto.com recently shot a concert for Macklemore of Thrift Shop Fame. Jared shot the concert with a GoPro strapped to his Canon 1D X so you could really get a feel for what a photographer does first person. Commentary was recorded over the video so you can hear what he was thinking while he was shooting.
Let me start this by making it clear that I am all for innovation and unique ideas. Useful products and powerhouse entrepreneurs shape the world we live in. The Beastgrip is certainly unique and if you're looking to turn your phone into an SLR, go for it. The thing looks like it would do well in the phoneography arena. Perhaps some of you will want to
The state of California is simply unmatched when it comes to beautiful, picturesque imagery in the United States. As the birthplace and home of timelapse photographer Hal Bergman, it was his goal to compile as much of the visual wonders California has to offer in to a tight four-minutes time. His newest video, aptly titled “California,” combines four years of filming in to a marvelous treat for the eyes that any citizen of the world can appreciate. Beyond the video, Hal also speaks to Fstoppers about the behind-the-scenes work and equipment used in the making.
What is the value of a photograph? What is the right price for an hour of your work? Those are questions we tackle on a daily basis. Each of us has a different pricing structure depending on the type of job, overhead costs, difficulty, length and reputation. Two years ago, photographer Shantanu Starick decided to abandon the idea of money as a form of compensation and went with the unique concept of shooting for trade, and made/spent no money since. Instead of asking for X-amount of money for each job, all he asks for is a place to sleep, something to eat, and transportation.
Retouching can vary from photographer to photographer. But it can also vary depending on the genre you are shooting. I know it does for me. My wedding retouching is far from being as refined and time-consuming as my portrait retouching. When dealing with hundreds of pictures, you have to find techniques that get you close to a perfect result, but as quickly as possible. One thing I had trouble getting my head around was maximizing my dynamic range in my wedding pictures without stacking multiple raw developments. That was until I made a lucky mistake when sharpening an image using a high pass filter.
One thing I’m sure all band photographers, like myself, question all the time, is the necessity for the Three Song Rule limit at live concerts. Is it still as necessary as promoters and agents make it out to be, or is just because it’s become the norm over years?
External monitors are vital pieces of kit in any videographer's bag, but what about using that big screen you carry around with you already? Here is how you turn your iPhone into an external monitor on the Panasonic GH5.
Fujifilm has dropped photographer Tatsuo Suzuki from their team of X-Photographers following outrage in response to his in-your-face style of shooting.
I've used a ton of different microphones over the years, but Rode's latest creations are two of the cheapest and feature-rich mics I've ever used.
Lightroom preset maker DVLOP and photo educators SLR Lounge have launched a new take on AI photo editing with their project called Impossible Things. Entering the relatively new, yet increasingly competitive world of AI photo editing, Impossible Things promises to be the fastest and easiest AI photo editor.
Four years ago I purchased my first set of studio strobes in an attempt to learn how to shoot portraits like the ones I saw in my favorite print magazines. Having shot most of my portraits using available light at f/2 and under, I thought this would translate over easily when I switched to shooting with strobes. As I snapped my first frame and realized that even at the lowest power setting on the strobe the image was overexposed, I set out to find a way to be able to accomplish the effect. The answer was high-speed sync.
When starting out in photography, one of the first things we hear about is the rule of thirds. We then venture out into the world, lining up our subjects onto imaginary intersecting lines. When we get home, we open our images into Lightroom and find that the crop tool is already set up to help us maintain this rule. But as we advance in our photography careers, we start to find that there are a lot more ways to compose an image. Luckily for us, there is a somewhat hidden option to change the overlay of the crop tool within Lightroom.
The Blackmagic Cinema Camera isn’t new, but when it was first introduced it created such a buzz that actually getting one’s hands on the new video camera proved difficult. Though Blackmagic has since pumped out the Pocket Cinema Camera and the 4K Cinema Camera, the original 2.5K camera is still quite the looker. I wanted to know, would it be possible to transition from my beloved DSLRs and over to the Blackmagic, which boasts some rather impressive specs, without much trouble?
Now that the furore (or lack thereof) following the Sony a9 II announcement has subsided, rumors are starting to emerge regarding Canon’s forthcoming sports and wildlife flagship, the much-anticipated 1D X Mark III. An alleged leak suggests that the new camera will shoot at 30 frames per second, but of course, the details are a little thin.
Nikon has officially announced the newest addition to their lineup of DSLR cameras, the D810A, designed specifically for astrophotography. The camera appears to be a modified version of the D810 camera announced last June, but with a few new features that are designed with astrophotography in mind. Soon to be the only camera of its kind on the market, the D810A will likely be the camera king of astrophotography.
I have always been a firm believer that the best camera is the one that is with you. Images are about story and feeling, not megapixels and dynamic range. When a moment happens, you want to be ready. Buttons, menus, confusing UI and accessories just delay a photographer from capturing those moments right at their peak. The less switches, buttons and taps your camera takes to get ready to take the shot, the better off you are to be ready to take the shot.
Canon has announced development of the next iteration of their flagship camera: the 1D X Mark III.
Marc Donahue from Permagrin Films keeps popping up with new and interesting timelapse or GoPro projects– and his latest work features the gorgeous city of San Francisco. Using unique motion timelapses, Marc and his team put together another amazing piece of work. Marc shared some insight on the production, and we've also got some behind the scenes video too so you can see how it was made.
One of the Holy Grail quests for astrophotographers is the search for dark skies. Few of us are fortunate enough to live in ideal dark skies, but most of us are mobile enough to get to somewhere better than the center of an urban area.
Everybody wants a clean and organized desk, and this is possible even if you use a lot of tools for editing. This docking station might be a good option if you like to keep things simple.
I bet you've always wanted to hold the crispiest glass yourself. Kai Wong is here with his selection of the ultimate lenses for Nikon full-frame cameras. Well, we have a couple of lists ready to compare Wong's choices with some other usual suspects. This is some expensive glass, and perhaps not surprisingly, most of the lenses in this list are prime lenses in the 50-100mm focal range. However, we've also compiled a list of our top choices according to your subject. But let's start by checking out Kai Wong's latest video.
Have you ever looked at a picture of a dish and been embarrassed? It could be that a sliver of drool escapes from your salivating mouth. Or you could be a crowded place and looking at a food shot causes an embarrassingly loud rumble from your stomach. Looking around and pretending that it wasn't you won't save you. The food photographer and stylist have done their jobs. They have made you hungry. So how did that do it?
Transform boring, wide scenes into dramatic and intimate close-ups with a telephoto lens that brings you into the photo, focusing on the fine details.
During our 2014 Fstoppers Workshops in the Bahamas students had the privilege of watching 10 successful photographers share their top photographic techniques. Commercial and celebrity portrait photographer Michael Grecco taught classes on environmental portraiture and sexy swimwear photography, so of course we thought it would be awesome to tag along as Michael explained some of the tips that make his portraits so unique.
