After the hack today that took down some pretty major sites out there that we all use on a daily basis, I wanted to share some helpful information I've come across in the WordPress world. I myself have been hacked twice. Ever since moving my photography business website from a big company, I've finally been able to move on with my life.
I love taking ring shots. I usually take them during a slow time on the wedding day when there isn’t a lot going on. I have full control of where I put the ring, how I light it, how I pose it, and how I frame it. This leaves a ton of options to really get creative. So it confuses me when people just place the ring on a bouquet of flowers and call it done. These shots are not bad, but they are average. I already did an article on how to get away from the average ring shot, but I didn’t explain how to take one of my favorite ring shots. The ring silhouette.
The Neewer Flat Panel Reflector is a great tool designed for those looking for the benefit of something such as a V-flat or large reflector frame without the bulk of having to haul them around. The Neewer Flat Panel Reflector is basically a 3 foot by 6 foot wind sail that you can use as reflector or flag during virtually any shoot. At $69.99 the Flat Panel Reflector offers fantastic value for an innovative new light modifier to add to your arsenal.
You have probably heard it a few times: photographers raving about how Capture One is awesome for developing portraits from raw files. However, just like when I first installed it, you might not see any advantage over the current raw processor you are using. Then I found a few functionalities that made my workflow that much quicker and my images look a tad better before even retouching them in Photoshop.
You never know what’s going to happen in New York. Last week, photographic gold was struck in Times Square in the deep cavernous archives inside the Conde Nast building. Two thousand prints shot by Edward Steichen, one of 20th Century’s most influential photographers, were found after lying hidden for over eighty years. The story behind them, and of Steichen’s rise to photographic fame and acclaim, are almost too unbelievable to be true.
Our lives are collections made up of people and moments. Every day, there is a plethora of wisdom that passes by, but sometimes, you get one piece of advice that can change the course of your entire life or career. In this article, I share the five pieces of advice I've gotten over my eight-year career that helped shape me into the photographer I am today.
Lensbaby has been making creative effect lenses for SLR and DSLRS for many years, and maintain a high level of popularity among a wide range of photographers. They have three primary “looks” that they sell in their lenses: selected focusing, soft focus, and a “twist” effect (similar to a Petzval lens). Until recently, their lenses were only available in SLR mounts, but they have begun to offer mount options for mirrorless cameras as well. Their new lens, the Trio 28, combines their three classic optics into a single lens. Does it give you the best of all worlds? Let’s find out.
In continuing to bring you low cost or free resources to improve your photography, I’d like to introduce you to The Candid Frame (TCF), a podcast that features interviews of different photographers that’s been running since 2006. TCF is hosted by Ibarionex Perrello, a photographer, writer and educator based in Southern California. Regardless of what you shoot, I consider it one of the most outstanding resources for photographers. Did I mention it’s also completely free?
Modern DSLR and mirrorless cameras are capable of shooting razor sharp footage in spectacular 4k 60fps and up. But how do you give your footage a cinematic feel without purchasing pricey anamorphic lenses and professional cinema cameras? Fstoppers is here to help with five great hacks to achieving a cinematic feel to your video without spending a small fortune.
Even though we repeat it quite often, photography doesn’t have a steep learning curve. Actually, the curve looks different for every photographer. Still, it can teach us something.
Sorry for the delay this month folks! I was traveling the Inland Empire (Idaho). That said, it's time to answer the question many of you wait patiently for every month: Who impressed us with the best images uploaded to our Fstoppers Facebook Group? Which images brought the most discussion? Which images were mind blowingly stunning, but went unnoticed? Take a look, because once again you all proved just how talented you are.
As the northern autumn draws closer, bizarre little creatures pop up all over the temperate forest. On the forest floor, underneath hedgerows and on trees, alive or the ones who have fallen. Fungi are the cleaning crew of the forest as they take care of layers of fallen deadwood and provide nutrients back to the forest. Surely they are great subjects for macro photography. Like everyone else, I’m looking to find their reproductive organs: Mushrooms. They let our imagination run wild as these little toadstools hint of fantasy worlds when photographed in a certain way. This is how I recreate my own little fantasy world.
We've all been there at one point, watching an in-depth Photoshop tutorial to help hone and develop your skills. But if you're not fortunate enough to have multiple monitors, it can be a real pain in the ass going back and forth from the video and Photoshop to follow along. Isn't there an easier way to do this? Introducing the new Fluid Browser app.
Perhaps it's only my opinion but I believe that one of the fastest ways to fail in business is to try to do too much, for too many people. Right behind that is producing a product that nobody wants, but we'll get to that beast later. When I talk with photographers looking to go pro, the first thing I ask them is what they intend to shoot. A solid 80% of the time their response is something like "well, some weddings, family portraits, maybe kids, and seniors too."
Ultra wide-angle lenses are a staple for landscape photographers but most cannot accept a regular threaded filter due to their protruding front glass elements. As such, photographers need to use a filter box which clamps to the outside of the lens and holds a large glass filter in place. Thus far lenses like the well received Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 have not had many options. That is until I got my hands on this new filter system from NISI.
Following on from the release of the EOS R a few months ago, rumors are circulating that Canon is about to announce a new, full-frame mirrorless body: an entry-level, single card slot model, potentially called the EOS RP, and priced at $1,600.
Point and shoot. That's how many people think about modern photography. A lot of things we take for granted today developed in the 1800s, including photography. Exposures took days until Louis Daguerre invented his daguerreotype process, which reduced days to minutes and produced clearer, more detailed images. At about the same time, the Victorian Period began with the ascension of Queen Victoria to the British throne. Disease was rampant and mortality rates were high, especially among children under five years old. Arguably, these were contributing factors to the unintended birth of portrait photography.
The fallout from the recent election has been tantamount to a natural disaster and shows no signs of slowing down quite yet. To say that Donald Trump has had a mixed reception would be somewhat of an understatement, but as a positive person -- whose vote didn't see them on the winning side -- one might feel compelled to initiate Operation Silver Lining. In the face of adversity there is usually one opportunity for the (hardened) photographer: journalistic coverage of events.
Undoubtedly, audio is one of the most important story telling tools in cinema. Improper use or overuse of sound can dramatically affect the impact of the viewing experience. After the recent release of Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, there has been a lot of buzz about the 'mix being muddy'. Many theater goers are reporting sound issues; that the booming sound effects are too loud.
What causes blur? It seems a simple enough question, but in pursuing the answer to this, I've ended up becoming a firm believer in quantum efficiency. So where did this journey begin?
Having completed what proved to be one of the most challenging shoots of my career, I was then faced with the task of editing and compositing the images. Due to my inexperience, getting the results that I wanted using Photoshop proved to be a steep learning curve. Here’s how I went about it.
We all have our pictures online. But do we have a picture that defines who we are as a professional and what we do? In this competitive world where your digital presence is a business card, what difference does a professional portrait make?
In a time when older cameras and lenses are getting new updated versions left and right, one of the best things to see is when the piece of gear gets an entirely new purpose. This is definitely something that no one expected from the new Sony f/4 telephoto lens.
RAID is often times one of the most misunderstood topics that photographers don’t take advantage of. So often I hear horror stories of photographers losing images or irreplaceable data from crashed hard drives. I’ve made a video explaining a few popular RAID options and a strategy to ensure your files never get lost.
When a D1 collegiate athlete becomes a photographer, you should watch out. Zach Ancell is a commercial sports photographer from Portland and has been shooting for almost 10 years now. As any self-respecting creative, he does his own personal projects between the commercials he shoots. Pan"Tone," which is one of Ancell's recent shoots caught my attention, and he kindly agreed to share all we want to know about the set.
How do you spot a good retoucher from a novice? It's in the skin. Sure, that’s an oversimplification, but one thing that separates the best from the lesser is how they treat skin.
Every day there is an unreadable amount of content that purports to tell you how to achieve success in everything from Instagram to business, but there's one important ingredient that is often missed out. And it's inconvenient.
Not all of us chose to live in New York, Paris, or London, but that doesn't meant that we can't be professional photographers.
As consumer-level and professional drones become more and more capable, filmmakers are increasingly turning to them for the unique perspective they offer and as a way to augment existing work. Building on this, PolarPro has just released 12 new cinematic LUTs specifically for DJI's most popular models.
This is one that will grab many fans’ attention. Is the Japanese giant just weeks away from announcing a 50mm f/1.2 GM? How much will it cost and will you be placing an order?
