10 Tips for Turning Pro in 2020

If your goal for 2020 is to become a full time professional, make sure that you start doing these things now.

Fstoppers Reviews the Zeiss 32mm f/1.8 Touit Lens

Carl Zeiss (Now just named Zeiss) has always been considered the premium brand for lenses in the photography industry. With their high ticket price and extreme build quality, Zeiss had always been reserved to the biggest (and richest) names in the industry. Well now they're trying to maintain that brand image, while moving into the mirrorless systems industry. But how does their latest 32mm f/1.8 lens hold up?

Behind the Scenes of Canon's 'Rhythm of Life'

Canon has recently come out with their short film, "Rhythm of Life' showcasing their new line of cine lenses. Shot with the Canon C500 director, Dean Hargrove and cinematographer, Steven Poster ASC, explain how the different cine lenses affect the footage and change the color and feel of your shots. The BTS video was shot with the Canon C300.

In Search Of The Perfect Portrait – Exclusive Interview With Mark Seliger

Mark Seliger is one of the top portrait photographers in the world. His career spans thirty years and in this time he has photographed some of the biggest names in music, politics, business and entertainment. Interviewing him was fascinating. Who has inspired him? What would he say to his younger self if he could go back to when he was just starting out, and which photographer would he choose to take his portrait, if given the chance?

Sigma's New 35mm f/1.4 Pricing Released, Available Now

Sigma has just released the pricing of the highly anticipated 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM lens, something we have all been curious about since we first heard about this lens. It's available "immediately" for $900 MAP. Given the release of the Canon 35mm f/2 less than 48 hours ago, it is going to be hard to not to compare these two lenses.

9 Tips for Negotiating with Clients and Successfully Estimating a Project

My studio receives client inquires anywhere from once per week to several times a day. Obviously not all of these inquiries turn into paid work, some are a downright waste of time. Dealing with client inquiries is not my favorite pastime, but if everything goes to plan, at least a few of them get me behind the camera and end up paying the bills. Here's a few things to keep in mind when making initial contact and responding to client inquiries.

Watch the City of Barcelona in Jaw Dropping Super Speed "Flow-Motion"

It's extremely easy to produce mundane timelapses, which is why amazing work like "Barcelona GO!" produced by filmmaker Rob Whitworth gets me so jazzed. This timelapse/hyperlapse done in "flow-motion" (what Rob calls his fast-moving short films) is simply stunning.

Landscape Photography Design Part 1: Composition Primer

Landscape photography is the often stigmatized genre of it not communicating anything other than display of beautiful imagery at best. In this epic arc series, I strive to provide an integral resource for working on your own landscape images. We’ll cover planning, shooting, and post-processing, and talk about anything from composition to colour theory. And for the more advanced photographers, we’ll include the use of shapes, tropes, and negative space to aid in compelling visual storytelling. This week: A composition primer.

Posing for Passion and Purpose by Marvell Smith

Utah's photographer of the year, Marvell Smith did a presentation in front of the Utah County SMUG group about posing and gave some great golden nuggets that all of us can apply to our own work. The video quality is not the best but the information is extremely useful and worth checking out. Smith, of Vellvet Images, has a way of working with couples that create pictures that tell stories. A true professional! If you want to jump ahead to get right to the section about posing start the video about 30 minutes in.

What is Your ‘Photographer Type’ and Why Does it Matter?

As photographers, we’re a diverse bunch — this crazy industry is home to an array of different personalities. But many of us fall into specific patterns of behavior that affect the success of our businesses.

How to Improve Your Photography By Exploring New Genres

We’re often told that we need to focus our photographic efforts on one genre and that you shouldn't try to be an expert at everything. While I agree that you need to target your marketing at a specific photographic field, many people take this advice far too literally. They disregard other genres and miss out on a tremendous amount of valuable knowledge that can be obtained through the exploration of genres outside of our comfort zone.

The New Facebook Profile Videos Are Great for Your Photo Business

Facebook is rolling out a cool new feature that will become a lucrative sales and marketing tool for photographers. Profile videos are here and they can help your photography business stand out, whether you're a travel photographer or a portrait and wedding shooter. Read on to see how it works and how your business can make smart use of these 7-second profile video loops.

Stop Over-Thinking; Simply Getting Started Is The Key To Success

Remember that time you planned a business and it worked out perfectly? Neither do I. Starting a business, any business, is a daunting task. The reality however is that most of us overcomplicate the starting process and do some severe damage to our business before it ever takes off. Let’s put things into a bit of perspective.

We Review the Profoto A2: A Speedlight on Steroids or an Underpowered Monolight?

Profoto is busy developing their A series line of flashes. Just look at the recent focus the company has put out on the Clic modifiers, notably, launching the Clic softbox, which we reviewed some time ago. A few users commented that the A1 series flashes will be too weak to be used under certain settings with the Clic softbox, which got me wondering if there is a more powerful flash coming along soon. There was: the Profoto A2.

Five Things I Learned From Photographing My First Weddings

For the longest time, I avoided shooting weddings at all costs. I personally thought they were something photographers only did to make money and that no one truly enjoyed them. But as I developed more and more as a professional I started getting the itch to just try one, just to say I could do it. Soon after, I got in touch with my contact that worked weddings and lined up a job as a secondary shooter the following week. When it was all said and done, those four hours were possibly the most fun and challenging times I’ve ever had with a camera.

The Photographer's Pixel Problem

Have you ever gotten asked if your photos are high resolution or if your photos are a specific DPI? What do you say when you get a request that doesn't make sense?

Sigma Is Producing a High-Resolution Camera With a Unique Sensor Next Year

Sigma just introduced the fp, a remarkably small full frame mirrorless camera, but it seems the company is only just getting started. Next year, they'll be releasing a high-resolution mirrorless camera that takes advantage of a niche sensor technology that produces very sharp images.

Sony Giving Up on Electronics?

Sony's electronics division isn't doing so hot. In fact it is apparently losing money on nearly every gadget it sells. If you're surprised at this, don't worry, you aren't alone. You may even be asking yourself what else they do. They have motion pictures and music but those endeavors have only contributed $7 billion to the company’s bottom line over the last decade. The electronics division has managed to lose a cumulative $8.5 billion in that time. So where do their profits come from?

Fstoppers Exclusive Interview - HoldFast Gear Founder Matthew Swaggart on Photography and Entrepreneurship

The whole idea of what a camera strap should look like and how it should perform changed when the MoneyMaker hit the scene just a few years back. Gone were the days of tactical black nylon. A new era of stylish form and function began when Tulsa, Oklahoma based wedding photographer turned entrepreneur Matthew Swaggart founded HoldFast – a luxury line of leather camera gear and accessories.

DJI's Most Unique Product Yet

We currently know DJI as one of the leading drone companies in the world. Recently, DJI has been releasing consumer products like the Osmo Pocket and Osmo Action, but their latest product is called the RoboMaster S1.

How to Deal with People Asking Questions While You Fly Your Drone

I'm sure a lot of us drone people have been here before, where in the middle of a flight when we are deep in focus or trying to pay attention to our drones as they hover in the sky, someone walks up to you and begins playing 20 questions. I can't tell you how many times this has happened to me, but I can say that it has been one of the most distracting things when I'm flying. I am working on the best way to avoid this sort of problem and would love to share a few quick tips for anyone else who has a similar problem when they fly.