The Unlikely Portrait Hero: We Review the Viltrox 13mm f/1.4 Lens

The Viltrox 13mm f/1.4 lens is a thoughtfully designed super wide-angle lens for Fujifilm X-Mount cameras. Featuring a physical aperture ring, compact design, and solid construction, it is an excellent option for Fujifilm users. In this article and the accompanying video, I will share my experience using the 13mm primarily as a portrait lens.

Apple Launches a Thinner MacBook Pro With OLED Touch Bar

Since 2012, when the Apple Retina MacBook Pro’s introduction set a new standard for laptop displays and did away with the DVD drive, not much has changed in the way of your standard laptop — especially for Apple. Four years before that, Apple simply moved to the now-ubiquitous unibody design. But after well over a year since the last refresh, Apple is back with a generational update that millions have not-so-patiently awaited. It’s about time. Let’s jump right in with the newest features of the latest Apple MacBook Pro range.

35mm, Medium Format, Large Format: Which Should You Choose?

If you're just getting into shooting film, one of the first decisions you'll have to make is what format you'll be shooting. If you ask around, you'll get many varied responses as to the advantages and disadvantages of shooting 35mm, medium format, or large format, but I wanted to make an article that shows some basic advantages and disadvantages of each medium as well as a photo test to give you some concrete comparisons of the same subject.

Freelance Festival Photography May Be at an End

Los Angeles festival juggernaut HARD announced yesterday that there will be a total media blackout for the HARD "Day of the Dead" event. This along with other festivals cracking down hard on photographers may spell an end for freelancers.

[Funny] The Best Nikon D4 Unboxing Video Ever

Yesterday we got a call from LensProToGo.com and they told us that they had gotten in the new Nikon D4. Both Patrick and I bought the camera but it isn't due to show up before Monday. LensProToGo said they would over night the camera to me so that we could get a head start on reviewing the camera and now I will be able to shoot a real wedding with it tomorrow. This is the unboxing video of our first Nikon D4.

The Crucial Role of Composition in Photography: Unlocking the Power of Visual Storytelling

Composition is the backbone of photography, the artistic element that allows photographers to convey their vision and create captivating images. It is the arrangement of elements within the frame and the deliberate placement of subjects, lines, shapes, colors, and textures that bring harmony and balance to a photograph. In this article, let's delve into the importance of composition in photography and how it serves as a powerful tool for visual storytelling to help your own photography level up.

BTS: Building An Architectural Interior Photograph From The Ground Up

In today's post, I'm going to walk you through how I build an architectural photograph from square one. We'll discuss composition, lighting, staging, styling, and posing models in an architectural interior in order to create the image that the client has in mind. Despite appearing as a rather simple image, this shot took over an hour to finish on location with multiple steps and a lot of pre-visualization.

Photoshop Tutorial: How To Extract A Model With Flyaways From A Backdrop

Photoshop, it's either a scary program or a fun one, depending on how much you understand it. There are times where it just becomes a nightmare. Specifically, extracting a model with flyaways from a backdrop. There are indeed many methods to do so. Here's one more that really gives us a good solution.

Mentorship and the Illusion of Originality: An Interview With Portrait Master Ivan Weiss

I had the fortune to sit down recently with London-based photographer Ivan Weiss, whom I consider one of the great portrait artists of our time. Weiss’ unique body of work has been featured by Canon UK, Affinity Photo, Vogue, BBC, and Forbes, among others, and he also leads the Portrait Track in Peter Hurley’s Headshot Crew, where he mentors other photographers. Our conversation focused on the illusion of originality in art, mentorship, and why you need to “stay on the bus” in order to reach your full potential.

The Wednesday Rundown 4.25.12

Howdy and welcome to the Wednesday Rundown. This week we have a great line up of videos coming your way, from locations at the beach to a vast open field. Are you making behind the scenes videos or tutorials videos and would like them posted on Fstoppers? Well this is where to get started, shoot me an email, facebook message or even a tweet @jerrit of your video and we will look into posting it here.

[Gear] Camera Bag Padding that Eliminates Velcro

TrekPak on KickStarter is one of the lastest funding projects aimed at photographers. A innovated design that allows owners of large camera bags and pelican cases alike, easy adjustments of compartment space without having to fight with velcro inserts.

Sony's FDR-AX1 Digital 4K Video Camera Recorder Hits Market at $4,499

Advertised as the "first consumer 4K camera by Sony," the FDR-AX1 is now available for pre-order at a (consumer friendly?) price of $4,499. It shoots 3840 x 2160p video at 60 fps on a 1/2.3" Exmor R 8.3MP CMOS Image Sensor through a Sony G Lens with 20x optical zoom. Sony says it has packed technology developed for their professional video cameras to create a compact, easy-to-operate 4K consumer model that's designed to make 4K video and professional-quality audio available to the masses.

How Your Smartphone Can Benefit Your Photography

I never really used to take photos on my phone; in fact, I used to be really against it because I never thought the camera was good enough to capture what I wanted. Of course, it's great to always have a camera on you so you can take a photo, which makes the smartphone one of the best tools around. With today's technology, these cameras just keep getting better, and I am finally beginning to use my phone's camera just to work on my composition and angles when I see something of interest.

I Hired a Copywriter and Why You Should Too

You’re not a writer, so stop trying to be one. For the past 10 years I’ve struggled with the same thing, and that's website copy. I finally put that burden to rest and hired a copywriter. Here's why you should too.

5 Photography Hacks Under $100

As a photographer who constantly experiments with new ideas and techniques, I have been busy playing around with some unconventional things that you may find in a photographer's kit.

Serif Releases Affinity Photo for Mac

Serif launched the beta version of Affinity Photo a few months ago, and it impressed many retouchers. Very robust, not so costly, and quite stable despite its young age, the beta version had everything to seduce amateur photographers and retouchers, as well as professional. It had a couple of functionalities lacking, but Serif was listening to the community and made the software even better. Why do I write everything like it is in the past? Well, because today the stable and official version is here. Affinity Photo is available on the Mac App Store.

The Brand New MeFOTO Air: First Impressions

The idea of a travel tripod causes hesitation. On one hand, you have a size that makes bringing a tripod on location no longer a physical strain. On the other, these tripods tend to be thin, causing them to be less sturdy than larger, thicker tubed tripods. The key to a good travel tripod is striking a balance of size and strength. For the past few years, MeFOTO has been the leading brand in travel tripods with their wide selection of sizes. Their introductory line of tripods offered everything from tabletop height to a full size 64" tripod. With their newest release, they seem to be pushing the boundaries of how small a tripod can really be.

Pricing Guide For The New Year

It is the time of the year when we look back at the past 12 months and decide what worked and what didn’t work in our businesses. This is the most common time of the year to re-vamp pricing for the upcoming season.

I Tried Newborn Photography and Quickly Realized How Hard It Is!

Having seen many beautiful images of newborns in the past, when I recently became a father for the first time I was keen to get some images of my newborn daughter. Unfortunately, the photographers I wanted to use had no availability, so I thought I'd try it myself. It was an interesting experience.

Why I'm Naming My Second Born Carl Zeiss Jr. | BTS With Zeiss Lenses

I don't think there is anything sexier in the lens world than the Zeiss 28-80 T2.9 Compact Zoom Lens. Its robust cine-style housing and calibrated focus scales make pulling tack sharp focus a joy. What is lacks in affordability it drastically makes up for in the most epic of lens performances you can find. If you have the option to rent this on your next shoot, don't think twice. Make sure to check out the Carl Zeiss showreel below as well.

What's Is the Best Choice: Cropping or Stitching a Panorama?

The first thing that comes to mind when panoramas are mentioned is an extremely wide field of view. Often, you need multiple photos to cover such angles. A panorama can also be achieved by a crop. Which method should you use for landscapes? Cropping or stitching?