7 Tips for Photographing Fireworks this 4th of July

Smell that? It's the once yearly aroma of cut grass, processed meats and the aftermath of a lit firecracker. And as the sun sets on July 4th, you're probably gearing up for an evening of fireworks to celebrate America's independence (unless you a reading this in one of the hundreds of other countries around the globe and then it's just 7/4 and a regular weekend).

Is Your Photography Website Ready for Google's Mobilegeddon?

On April 21 Google officially launched an important new algorithm which prioritizes "mobile ready" websites over those which are only formatted for desktops. The consequence, of course, is if you have a website that's not mobile ready, you should be prepared to see a dramatic drop in your search engine optimized (SEO) traffic. For many of us, as photographers, we also manage our own websites and find that SEO traffic is very important in getting our product out to a potential customer.

Recreate the Look of Your Favourite Image by Matching and Toning Colour in Photoshop

Inspiration spurs creativity and it is often you find a photograph or artist that influences your practice. In this Photoshop tutorial Ben Secret helps you recreate the look and feel of an image by matching contrast, tone and saturation. With these brilliant tips get a handle on colour and tone through imitation, but then have fun adding your own unique style.

LG gram: The Lightest 17-Inch Laptop in the World Is a Photographer's Dream Come True

When you photograph in a studio you have the luxury of having an abundance of electrical power, access to bigger monitors, and grip equipment for your computer devices. The newest 17-inch LG gram is a compact-body laptop in the 15.6-inch class. It weights only 1,340 grams and allows you to have a similar experience not only in studio, but also on location.

If You Love Photography Don’t Become A Professional

The dream of becoming a professional photographer is extremely common. It looks like a glamorous gig, but it’s not as simple as getting paid to take photos. Becoming a pro photographer also means becoming an entrepreneur, and that’s way harder than learning how to shoot on M.

Casey Neistat's New App Beme Released Today

Hearing the name Casey Neistat gives mixed reactions from people when I bring him up in conversation. Some people think his work is a gimmick, or can't get over that he smashed a perfectly good Canon with an axe. Personally, I am a huge fan of Neistat, because whatever he's doing, it's working. Throughout his daily vlog, Neistat has hinted at a new app that he and his team have been working on for the past year, and today is the day it went live. Meet Beme.

Fstoppers Reviews The New Pocket Wizard Plus III Radio Triggers

Today, Pocket Wizard has rolled out the newest in their line of wireless flash triggering devices: the long-awaited update to the industry-standard Pocket Wizard Plus II, the Pocket Wizard Plus III. We at Fstoppers have been playing with them for awhile, and we're here to give you all the details, including an exclusive video look at the new Pocket Wizard Plus III. Continue to the full post to see it all. [Pre Order The Pocket Wizard Plus III Here]
How Photographer Bobby Bruderle Created A G-Eazy Music Video Made Of Magazine Covers

Bobby Bruderle is an incredibly talented photographer that has turned his love for light and storytelling into film making. Bobby is a friend of mine and that I've seen grow his career in a matter of a few years. His name is one to remember. When he shared his new music video for the popular vocalist G-Eazy, I knew I HAD to interview him about how he came up with the idea and how it all came together.

Secrets Beyond the Phase One XF And IQ3 Back Announcements

This week, Phase One announced a brand-new camera platform, the Phase One XF, and three new IQ3 digital backs. Every photo media outlet in the world has the press release and various levels of speculation and information, all focused on those two main announcements. Here’s the thing: it was only one of a half dozen announcements Phase One made, and some of the best announcements are getting obscured by the announcement of their body and backs. Read on to see some of the other exciting stuff they have coming out this week.

Avoid These Five Photo Editing Mistakes

Photo editing is a powerful tool that allows you to transform your images in many ways, from enhancing the atmosphere in a photo to increase of image quality. However, common editing mistakes can negatively impact the final result. In this article, we'll explore five of those.

Photoflex Releases An Official Statment On The Sudden Closing Of Business

Some of you thought that my post last week about photography accessories brand Photoflex suddenly closing its doors without warning after 30 years of business was a possible April Fools' joke. I wouldn't blame you since it seemed to be annouced late in the day prior to April 1st and they seemed to be a fully-functioning business right up until the final moments. I did email Photoflex to inquire about more information and they did just send back the following press release:

Hyperreality: The Anatomy of a Composite Landscape Shot

Have you wondered how the landscapes in advertising photographs always seem to be perfect? How on can they possibly get the perfect shot on every assignment with the weather being as unpredictable as it is? Well, while this isn't true for every photographer, most have quite a lot of photoshop trickery at their disposal which allows them to shoot components of a final shot at different times and then assemble them later in post. This post is going to give you a complete walk through of how I shot and combined two elements to create the shot you see here.

New Adapter Makes Your Lenses Wider, Faster and Sharper!

Impossible, right? That's what I said too when I ran across Metabones' new Speed Booster today (currently only available for pre-order). One important thing to get out of the way first off though before you get as excited as I did... this adapter is currently only available to convert from EF, ALPA and Leica-R mounts, to Sony NEX and Fuji X mirrorless cameras.

Complex's Shots Fired With Zack Arias

Complex Magazine has started a new video series on their blog called Shots Fired. For their debut episode they feature Zack Arias and follow him through Atlanta while he does his street photography thing. I have to give so much respect to Zack (and really all street photographers) for going out and boldly shooting photos of total strangers. The thought of getting in an awkward conversation/confrontation with a total stranger is not something I think I would enjoy.

Google Earth Engine Takes Time-lapse to a Higher Level

Check out these time-lapse selections from Google Earth Engine that run from 1984 to 2018. They're an epic way for photography and time-lapse to show the massive changes that have occurred to our planet within the span of a lifetime.

How to Stop Shooting Images That You Don't Care About

Are you trying everything and still failing to feel genuinely proud of your photographic work? Do others around you influence what you shoot and why? Let's take a look at if you have fallen into this self-destructing trap without realizing it!

Getty's 'Sexiest Fans' Gallery: Is the Outrage Justified?

You may have read an article about how Getty removed their "sexiest fans" gallery due to receiving backlash from social media. What's interesting is Vogue Magazine posted a similar type of article about men, which didn't seem to receive much in terms of outrage. Is it more offensive to objectify women than it is to objectify men?

Adobe Shows Off Dehaze Tool in Upcoming Lightroom Update

Despite what you think of the pricing model, everyone should agree that the Creative cloud system is great for the ability to receive rapid updates to the Adobe product line. Shown off last night, is the latest tool being developed by Adobe, allowing you to add and subtract haze into your photos using a built in Lightroom slider called Dehaze. This powerful new tool, should add a new level of creativity to your photos with ease.

NEC PA301W 30" Monitor w/ SpectraView Review

NEC is synonymous with high-end displays. Everyone knows they produce great monitors for professional imaging applications. But if they know that much, they also know they’re quite expensive. So why should you pay thousands of dollars for the PA301W 30” monitor when you can get one for a few hundred? What’s the difference? And is it worth it? Let’s find out...

The Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Art May Finally Be on Its Way

There may be no lens in the world more eagerly desired and anticipated than the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Art. Sigma's wildly successful Art series of lenses have been a huge hit with their great optical quality and highly competitive pricing, leaving photographers practically begging for a portrait lens. Now, it looks like that wish may be coming true.

How to Use a Negative of an Image to Improve Your Retouching

Great retouching is all about small details. They often make the difference between a well-retouched image and a world-class retouched image. However, seeing some of the details can be tricky. Especially when you are on the go and retouching on a laptop screen that doesn't offer the precision of a well-calibrated screen with a large color gamut. A couple of months ago I showed you a trick to see more details than what your eyes might see on an image by using a solar curve. In today's article, I am going to show you another technique that I often use to clean up small details. It is so easy you might end up wondering why you did not think of it before.

Stunning Photographs Of A Human Tower Competition

David Oliete has shot some amazing photos at the Concurs de Castells, a biannual human castle building competition held in Tarragona, Spain.

Oliete's position, along with the colorfully adorned participants make for a unique perspective of the event. The photographs showcase some of the astonishing feats of human determination that goes into building

Advice for Shooting Black and White Photos

We look at the world in color, even when we want to shoot black and white photos. Color can be very distracting in that case. Thanks to digital photography it is possible to change the world into black and white before you take the picture.

Security Expert Warns Against Making V-Sign in Photos, Claims Fingerprints Can Be Lifted From Social Media Pictures

Displaying a “peace” V-sign when having a picture taken has become a staple pose for many in recent years. However, a new Chinese cybersecurity expert is warning that advances in camera phone technologies could mean the public is uploading photos to social media in high enough quality for it to be possible to “extract enough detail to make a perfect copy.”

How Social Media Is Changing the Creative Industry

The rise of social media over the past few years is undeniable. It’s come to shape our habits and behavioral patterns, as well as redefine social norms. So, it’s inevitable that the creative industry has been influenced too; but in a world where our brand’s worth is often dictated by our follower count, just how important is mastering social media to any creative trying to make it in the industry in 2015?

Adobe Introduces Technology Previews and Advanced Search Capabilities for Lightroom on the Web

I've started to embrace the mobile and web sides of Lightroom a bit more. The ability to access my catalog on the go, easily create and sync collections to show to clients, and cull and make basic edits while standing in line at the market has been a great boon in convenience for me. Adobe seems to be embracing it too, pushing ahead with the introduction of a useful and rather neat feature today.