Social Media Etiquette – The Do’s And Don’ts Of Online Interaction

Whether you’re a fan of social media or not, it’s definitely here to stay and constantly evolving at lightning speed. It’s completely changed the fabric of how we (photographers) do business: from publicizing images to marketing tactics and communication, our daily life is inundated with a constant barrage of notifications and a conditioned head-down-to-phone routine. Unfortunately, if you aren't using social media to its fullest, then you may be left behind.

This Beautiful Lightning Storm is Really a Miniature Fake

Lightning is hard to photograph. You have to have patience, solid timing and a general acceptance of the possibility of getting soaked. If that doesn't really resonate with you there's always the route that Matthew Albanese chose. Rather than go through the stress, waiting and danger of shooting an actual lightning storm he

Are You Ready for the Summer Milky Way?

It has been gone since fall, but the galactic core of the Milky Way is back and rising up in the early morning. Spring is a great time to learn how to photograph the Milky Way in the Northern hemisphere, so you can have your process perfected and be ready when the galactic core reaches peak altitude in July and August.

Nissin Introduces the Air10s, Its Latest Cross-Platform Flash Transmitter

TTL, HS, and HSS have pretty much become a standard across the flash industry today. Every manufacturer is releasing new units on a regular basis with more features than any photographer could ask for or even need in. Following the trend, Nissin just announced a new TTL transmitter, the Air10s.

Behind the Glass Presents Retouching a Fashion Shoot with Pratik Naik (Part 1 & 2)

Go behind the scenes with one of the worlds top high-end retouchers, Pratik Naik, in this two part video as he walks us through his process of working with a model shot by David Geffin. Exploring the fine line between retoucher and photographer you can see his passion for what he does and the understanding it takes to capture the photographers vision perfectly.

Capture One Tips: Moving a Lightroom Catalog to Capture One Is Easy: Here's How

Making the switch to Capture One from Lightroom is easier and quicker than you think. There’s this perception that given the two pieces of software are from different companies, moving your Lightroom catalogs to Capture One is some arduous and protracted process, that you’ll have to start from scratch with all your images, re-edit, re-rate, and create whole new folder structures. But that perception is not reality.

You Need To Start Using Facebook's Best Feature More Often

As an admin in a few photography Facebook groups about once a week I receive a private message from someone complaining about another member in the group. While I can appreciate the complaints and am sorry to hear about the situation it really is not my right to ban people from a group because of a personal feud they have with someone or because another group member doesn't like what they are posting. Instead, I always recommend using the best feature on Facebook that far too many people are not yet using: block people.

The Canon EOS RP: Cheap and Cheerful, Assuming You Don't Shoot Video?

With Canon’s latest announcement causing a few waves, many people — myself included — are getting a bit sore from sitting on the fence. The EOS RP will no doubt sell a bucketload, but is it the right camera for you? It might be cheap as chips but I won’t be advising anyone to buy it. Here’s why.

Do Your Sky Replacements Look Crap? Here Are Some Reasons Why

One definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results. When it comes to sky replacements, if you're repeatedly making the same mistakes and forever unhappy with your results, these tips will help you.

Instagram Introduces Threaded Comments

If you're an avid user of Instagram, you know one aspect that leaves a bit to be desired is the commenting system. Happily, Instagram has revamped that system by introducing threaded comments.

A New Astrophotography Plug-in and Some Thoughts on Topaz Plugins for Astro Work

For astrophotographers who use Photoshop, here's some interesting and some good news. A just-released plug-in called APF-R (Absolute Point of Focus) can do wonders for your images. Astrophotographer Christoph Kaltseis has developed APF-R in order to achieve high-resolution, ultra-sharp images that still look natural. As astro-imagers know, trying to sharpen point sources like stars can result in ugly halos and other unwanted artifacts.

Peter Hurley's New Tutorial Illuminating The Face Is Now Available

It's been 3 years since Lee and I flew up to NYC and filmed The Art Behind The Headshot with Peter Hurley. Today we are so excited to announce our latest collaboration with arguably the best headshot photographer in the world. Our new tutorial has been named Illuminating The Face and it's finally available to the public. We're also offering an incredible discount.

Dutch Rail's Controversial Instagram Victim Photography Taken Down

A Dutch rail company that created controversy after posting images of clothing belonging to victims of rail disasters has taken down the photographs. Captions detailing the accidents and describing the deaths or serious injuries of the wearers were in stark contrast to the account's positioning, described as a "fashion line."

How to Modify a Lubitel 2 TLR Lens for Use on Canon EF

Photographer J. David Buerk was sitting around one Sunday morning with his Lubitel 2 TLR with plans of making a disassembly and cleaning tutorial when he decided to try to retrofit the lens to his Canon gear. This simple project takes advantage of the beautifully unique 75mm f/4.5 lens.

Survey Says: American Weddings are Too Damn Expensive

Every year, The Knot compiles statistics from thousands of weddings in their annual Real Weddings Study, and we get to learn all sorts of things about the ins and outs of what makes up a wedding in America. While there's plenty of interesting statistics, such as how 83% of couples used a smartphone in planning their wedding, the marquee stat is cost, and for the past five years that number has crept onwards and upwards to a brand new record that's just insane when you compare it to the average wedding in Europe.

We Are Giving Away a $4,500 Sony a9 Mirrorless Camera!

UPDATE: 3 Days left to enter! Yes, are giving away another camera to a lucky reader! Fstoppers has teamed up with our good friends at SLR Lounge and the album design firm Fundy for one of the most exciting contests of the year! On June 15th, one of our lucky readers will win a brand new Sony a9 mirrorless camera... and no, we aren't entering our own contest either! There are 7 easy ways to enter and if you do all 7, you can gain up to 23 individual entries to increase your chance of winning. We have the juicy details in the full post below and make sure to BOOKMARK THE LIVE EVENT HERE.

The Sensible Minimalism of Mauritian Photographer Karen Pang

How do you recognize a talent? How do you predict if someone in the photography industry will become a good professional when they are just starting? Is it the level of the aesthetics you see in someone’s work, a sense of perfect balance in their compositions, their speed of mastering technical aspects of certain art, or do you just feel it in your gut? It might be an amalgamation of all, but the young Mauritian Photographer Karen Pang sure has it all, and I feel privileged to have spotted her right at the start of her career and watched her growth throughout the years.

Best Way to Get a Deal on a High-End 4K Display? Buy Apple's New 5K Retina iMac, Shipping Today

For those who don't follow Apple news (who are you?), Apple announced their rumored 5K 27" Retina iMac today. While we're sure options can drive the price up, the new iMac starts at a lower price than many of the decent 4K displays sell for on their own: $2,499. With shipments beginning today, there's no doubt this is the best new deal in the Apple Mac lineup.

Great Way To Improve Your Street Photography

French photog, Philippe Echaroux, has really gone above and beyond with his guerrilla style street portraits. In this video he hits the streets with 4 crew members and made this short video of how he approaches strangers, gives them a quick description of what he's doing. If they want to take part, Philippe then signals his crew and they very quickly style the subject, light them and even throw up a nice background on a stick. The images turn out really nice, and I would love to see more people thinking bigger and more outside the box like, Mr. Echaroux, when it comes to street shots. Enjoy!

Handy Tips for Outdoor Couple Photography

As a wedding photographer, outdoor couple shoots are undoubtedly my favorites. On the big day, it gets overwhelming with little scope to get planned shots. We tend to go with the flow. For this reason, outdoor couple shoots are a treat to any photographer as it offers a lot of time and space. Here are my two cents on how to make your outdoor couple shoot an enjoyable and a memorable one.

7 Ways to Find Amazing Reflections for Your Photo

We often try to avoid reflections in our photos. That’s why we use polarization filters. But reflections can also make your photos more interesting. In this article, I have some advice on how to find and use amazing reflections for your photo.

Mamiya Leaf Credo 50 Brings the Newly Famous 50MP CMOS Sensor to Virtually Any System

Following in the footsteps of the Hasselblad H5D-50c, PhaseOne IQ250, and Pentax 645z comes Mamiya's 50-megapixel CMOS solution, the Leaf Credo 50. Available with PhaseOne/Mamiya DF, Hasselblad H1/H2/H4X/500-series, and Contax 645 mounts, the Leaf Credo 50 opens Sony's latest medium format sensor to a greater range of systems still loved by many. But is it cheap?