Creating soft light can become an expensive pursuit. A large, indirect softbox will cost around $2,000 and the cheaper ones are often badly built, are small, or generally lack good light quality. Being a tight git, I set about finding a way to create high quality, soft light for my food photography, although this set up will work for pretty much all genres.
Canon released the 1D X Mark II last year, representing the next generation of its flagship model, a camera meant to be without compromise — top of the line capabilities, durability, and performance. As even consumer-level cameras reach sometimes stratospheric heights, the truly professional models have had to reach for even greater heights to continue to distinguish themselves. Read on to see where the 1D X Mark II fits in.
Five years ago, I made a video about creating time-lapses solely in Lightroom Classic using the Slideshow Module. It was an experiment in pushing the boundaries of what Lightroom could feasibly do, and over the years it has garnered over 175K views, which was completely unintentional, but a very welcome surprise.
You often hear film makers say, "Your video is only as good as your audio". Obviously video production goes a long way too but poor audio can completely ruin an otherwise great video. Until recently, DSLR cameras have been anything but great at recording audio. The on board microphones are noisy and prone to record camera noise. Plugging an external microphone into the line-in has also left a lot to be desired. So how should someone
There are questions regarding the church’s wealth in Russian which have recently received a lot of press due to a scandal over photographs of it's leader wearing an enormously expensive watch. The Russian Orthodox Church seemingly had editors doctor a photograph, on their site, of the leader Patriarch Kirill I, in attempt to obscure a $30,000 watch that he has claimed to not exist. The amateur shop job extended a black sleeve where there once appeared to be a Breguet timepiece but somehow managed to forget to remove the reflection of the watch.
If you've wanted to try macro photography but didn't want to outlay on all the special equipment necessary, you're in luck. If you're an iPhone user, SANDMARC has a 100mm Macro lens you can screw onto your phone, and I put it through its paces.
There is no perfect shoot, but here are some useful tips that could save you and your final images against possible mishaps. It is better to be prepared against various external factors.
There is a lot of bad advice online on how to make money as a photographer. Truth be told, I followed much of it and made a big fat zero. This is not because such advice is wrong, but rather because it is out of touch with what the market is in 2024. In this article, I will shed light on one of the worst ways to make money with your work.
Last week Lee Morris wrote an article outlining the community rating system and we have been flooded with emails. The most common question has been "now that I have a rating associated with my images, how can I get honest critiques and suggestions about my work?" Well today is your lucky day because this weekend Lee and I are going to examine 15 images submitted to us and break down what makes each image great and not so great.
Ever pulled the images off your camera, zoomed in to 100%, and been a little disappointed with the results? Ever had a hard time figuring out what went wrong? In this series, we’re looking at 11 common causes of poor clarity and how to address each. With a little practice, you’ll be able to glance at an image and know how to fix it.
Printing your photos is one of the best things any photographer can do for themselves. There are lots of reasons why you should be printing and it gets brought up here on Fstoppers all the time.
This will be short, because it has no reason not to be. If I've learned one thing in business over the past seven years of being a full-time professional photographer, it's that you should always, whenever possible, grant your clients some grace.
A little earlier this month we published a review of ACDSee Pro for iOS. Some people seem not to understand fully the purpose of being able to edit pictures on a smartphone, so to make it clearer, I decided to follow up with a tutorial. The goal is to show you the possibilities offered by ACDSee Pro but also give you some ideas on how to use such an app while on the go.
I fell into a canal in Venice with the ThinkTank StreetWalker HardDrive Bag on my back. I was walking too close to the edge while looking at the bridges and architecture, and how the water brushes up against them, when I stepped on a moss-covered section of the canal ledge. I slipped, hit my bum on the ledge, and gently slid into the canal. There was no splash, and my head didn't go below water, but the ledge was so slippery that I couldn’t get out by myself. I was floating in the canal for what was the longest 30 seconds of my life.
If there are multiple objects that make up the subject in your photo, it can be wise to consider the rule of odds. An odd number of objects makes the image more interesting compared to an even number. As always, there are exceptions to this rule.
Is CineStiil’s new 400D a replacement for Fujifilm’s legendary Natura 1600 film? Many devotees of Fujifilm’s high-speed color negative film would find this an absurd proposition, but bear with me.
So much is done as computer graphics these days that I've grown to really respect photographers who still want to truly make an image. Last week Fstoppers twitter follower Patric Bergkvist asked us to take a look at an image he made, and I'm glad we did.
If you're familiar with Fstoppers, you've certainly have heard of Pratik Naik before. As a contributor to Fstoppers for years now, Pratik has been able to share his own retouching secrets that help make him one of the biggest names in the retouching community. Following his recent trip to Seattle to host a Creative Live series - one of the most watched to date, I was able to meet up with him and talk about his upcoming projects and his path as a world class retoucher.
There are often things that are helpful to workflow, no matter how minor they are. One of my favorite customizations to a new install of Photoshop is the cursor customization. When watching a tutorial and I see the instructor clicking through a menu instead of using a shortcut key for something as simple as duplicating a layer, I can understand the reason why. When demonstrating to people, it's valuable to slow things down and make sure they understand. It may seem subjective to flat out say that changing the cursors is the best thing to do, however I believe that once you try it you will agree.
One of the biggest hits at a wedding reception (or any event) is the photobooth. It’s an area where guests can gather around and make ridiculous faces, dress in silly props, and have an overall great time. When running a photography business that shoots events, we are always asked if we offer photobooth services, so I think it's a natural evolution to want to incorporate one into your packages. When I first found the booth from Photobooth Supply Co, it instantly stood out from all the other options.
The first and only waterproof sports drone, complete with a 4K camera and waterproof remote control, has launched after acquiring double its financial requirement on Kickstarter. As well as flying, it can submerge itself into water.
Sony released the a7 to great fanfare and that one camera has received a plethora of well-deserved awards. Did I say one camera? How about three cameras.
In an age of ultra sharpness and perfect optical balance, our technically brilliant images can often lack charm. So in this tutorial, I'll show you how to use retro lenses on your modern digital camera for photographs that have a lot of character and harken back to the days of film.
Every photographer needs a good website; that's a given. What isn't so obvious is should you have a contact page? What about a photo on your bio? Is it best to have multiple galleries or everything on one landing page? Today Lee and I review a few websites to show you what does and doesn't work when displaying your work.
Today I figured I would try and sow a little truth into the mess that has become the camera phone market. Numbers inflated for PR rather than quality have been put front and center with today’s launch of the Nokia Lumia 1020. As a stance on this whole issue, I really don’t have much of a dog in the fight. Yes, I have spoken for Apple and like the iPhone, but this post does not find its roots in fanboyism. This is a preventive measure for the sanity of professional photographers everywhere.
The wedding photography and videography industry, just like many others, has taken a massive hit during the pandemic. Are you going to persist through this, or are you thinking of giving yourself a change of direction?
Rumors are swirling in the photography world about Canon's plans to release four new fast prime lenses in the first half of 2024. According to sources, Canon is developing four new L-series primes that will give photographers faster glass and improved performance for shooting in low light and creating beautiful bokeh.
Have you ever wondered how photographers capture bullets flying in mid air? Or get that perfect lightning strike in the middle of the day? Well the newly redesigned Nero Trigger will help you do just that. Short of the creative jolt you get when you upgrade from pop-up flash to a full off camera flash set up, I'd say that this is one of the biggest creative boosts I've gotten in a long time. This is a piece of gear worth having if you need to get the creative juices flowing again.
![[Fstoppers Review] The Best Portable Audio Recorder For DSLR Video](https://cdn.fstoppers.com/styles/med-16-9/s3/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/best-portable-audio-recorders2.jpg)
![[News] Photoshopping the Truth (scandalous)](https://cdn.fstoppers.com/styles/med-16-9/s3/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/wtc.jpg)
