Using manual exposure is considered professional use by many photographers. Sometimes, it is even considered the only serious way of using a camera, giving you full exposure control. But is this true, or is manual exposure just old fashioned?
Using a new camera for the first time is exciting. Before you take your first photo, it's wise to get most of the basic menu settings correct. After that, your quest for perfect customization can begin. The steps I describe in this article can help in this process.
If you've been paying attention to Sigma over the past five months, you know that they have been producing better and higher quality lenses than ever before. I personally have been extremely impressed with the pro-level glass that Sigma is producing, with few complaints during testing. Recently, their new lens lineup has piqued a significant amount of interest from you readers, so we took a few minutes to sit down with Sigma and pose some of your burning questions regarding their new lenses, the business, and what we can expect in the future.
Becoming a skilled photographer is a journey that requires dedication, practice, and a willingness to learn and grow. Whether you're just starting out or looking to take your photography to the next level, there are several key steps you can take to develop your skills and expand your creative horizons. Let’s explore some of the most effective strategies for growing as a photographer, which have helped my own personal journey.
UPDATED: Canon representatives have confirmed they have no current plans for an announcement in the United States. Canon Japan and Canon China both outed the anticipated EOS M2, but there hasn't been (and won't be) any such announcement from Canon USA. The EOS M was met with a rather tepid response stateside when it was first announced, and even after firmware updates and a price drop, it hasn't had much traction.
There’s so much more to black and white than the simple removal of color. We must understand both color and tone, plus their relationship with the world of monochrome. Here are 10 tips to help you become a better black and white photographer.
The freelance lifestyle can be both creatively and financially rewarding but it does also come with a few hidden pitfalls that need to be avoided at all costs. If you want to minimize your chances of failure it is well worth having these 10 things in place long before you take the leap.
Besides being an excellent photographer, Blair Bunting (who you may remember from our Lamborghini Aventador video) is an avid aeronautics hobbyist. He recently had the opportunity to photograph a U.S. military F-16, which was an honor in itself. But when he was offered the chance to fly in the jet, the experience was once in a lifetime. Check out the GoPro madness!
The Insta360 Titan has to be the most aptly named 360 camera on the market in many senses of the word. Size, image quality, price tag — take your pick. The Titan delivers on its name in all of those ways, but is it worth it?
ON1's relatively new to market Photo (RAW) 2017 has pushed their first major update into beta which Fstoppers managed to get our hands on for an early review. In December, we took a look at the original launch of Photo (RAW) 2017 and were impressed by many of the features but ultimately felt that it did not offer enough benefit to recommend switching to over existing raw editors. With this latest iteration ON1 has promised a series of impressive new features that it feels will launch it into contention as a top tier raw editing tool.
One of the most appealing genres for photographers is black and white. Although we are long past the age of black and white being the only "real" medium of photography, there is still artistic appeal behind such images. In this article, I will share some of my favorite tips for better black and white images.
The newly released Sony a7 III body is now available for pre-order. With 4K HDR, up to 120 fps 1080p 100mbps recording, the latest autofocus updates, and 10 fps stills shooting, what's not to like?
Fire Flight is a promotional music video featuring the dancers from The Phoenix Dance Theatre in Leeds, England. The project was shot on the Phantom Flex camera at 1,000 frames per second. Director Greg Clarks' idea was to shoot the dancers at a high frame rate and drop in CGI fire to give them the look of being set alight. The video features the Phoenix dancers, directed by the Uber Agency, produced by Ink Films and VFX & Fire from VTR North.
We can all be a little shy: it's not the easiest thing to go up to a stranger and start taking pictures or strike up a conversation. Adam Marelli had an interesting post on his blog called, Can I Take Your Picture, How to Talk to Strangers, in which he discusses how most people are okay with being photographed if you just take the time to talk with them. He even argues that you should always talk to a stranger you're about to photograph first. But are there exceptions?
Have you ever considered creating an accurate and detailed 3D model from 2D photos? Probably not, it's incredibly difficult. Now, if you try to do it on a truly massive scale and have a huge castle as your subject, it makes it almost impossible to do by hand. The guys at Pix4D took it as a challenge to their software and not only modeled the outside, but also the inside of the castle, all in one interactive 3D model. To prove that it can be done by anyone, they decided to use only consumer cameras (GoPro, DSLR and a Mirrorless).
As a headshot photographer, it's your job to make sure your clients look their best. However, taking the perfect studio headshot isn't just about lighting and composition. It's also about understanding your client's needs and making them feel comfortable in front of the camera.
Five years after the original Pocket Camera release, Blackmagic Design just unveiled a long awaited successor with insane specifications such as internal 4K 60 raw recording. Here is what we know.
Commercial and fine art photographer Jan Gonzales was commissioned by Fujifilm Global to create a series of images using the GF 250mm f/4 telephoto lens for the Fujifilm GFX system.
If you’ve been following the recent news about Panasonic, it’s possible to believe that the sky is falling over at the camera division, only to find out directly from the company it’s not, but then – reading between the lines – realizing it probably is a bad situation either way. A large, 4/3-sized chunk of the photo community is probably asking how it got so bad – didn’t the company just come out with the killer Lumix GH5?
I’m always fascinated when a photographer uses their talents for a greater cause than themselves. SlickforceGirl is a commercial and creative pinup brand that helps raise awareness for women’s causes and breast cancer. I recently had the opportunity to review creator Nick Saglimbeni’s Mastering Lighting series, and I wanted to sit with Nick to discuss his SlickforceGirl campaign and how he uses the techniques taught in Mastering Lighting within the campaign.
In February, Sigma announced a cadre of new lenses including a 24-70mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM ART and 14mm f/1.8 DG ASM ART. Sigma now has revealed prices along with the opportunity to pre-order. At reasonably competitive prices for both of these new additions to the ART line it suggests they will mimic the quality photographers have come to expect from ART lenses over the past few years.
It might feel like the world is crumbling around you, but while you're indoors, you may as well get some learning under you belt.
Current Luminar Neo users are in for a treat the next time they open the app, which has quietly hit version 1.8.0. Some of the updates are evolutionary, and there's the usual gaggle of bug fixes, but there are some really nice updates here that will please Neo users.
Nikon will officially announce its new Z mount full frame mirrorless system in a few days while Canon and Sony are expected to follow with major product release. Meanwhile, DJI should unveil a new version of the Mavic Pro.
We all know and love the classic round Bokeh we get when shooting in shallow depth of field. It adds depth and interesting effects to the final result. The round Bokeh is a result of having a round (kind-of) Aperture blades, but have you ever thought what will happen if you change that Aperture shape? By adding a piece of thick black paper to the front of the lens and cutting a shape in it, you can shape your own Bokeh. Instead of round Bokeh, you can have stars, hearts or even your name as a Bokeh. Check out these cool examples showing some of the different looks you can get by just using a piece of paper (or cardboard/plastic).
As the year draws to a close and photographers around the world obsessively check the tracking info for their eagerly awaited Peak Designs tripods, why not distract ourselves by taking some time to reflect on the best new books to hit the educational photography market this year?
Ask any photographer what lens you should purchase for landscape photography, and the answer is almost always a wide angle. But let's challenge this conventional wisdom. Is there a strong case for using telephoto lenses in landscape photography?
NASA New Horizons spacecraft has officially arrived at Pluto and the Kuiper belt after a decade in space. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden stated, "Once again we have achieved a historic first. The United States is the first nation to reach Pluto, and with this mission has completed the initial survey of our solar system, a remarkable accomplishment that no other nation can match." Accomplishments aside, these are the clearest images we have ever seen of Pluto.
I suspect that many of you can relate when I say that Flickr will always hold a special place in my heart. When I think about the photo-sharing platform founded in 2004, I am filled with nostalgia of a time when things were simpler and arguably better for photographers looking to share their work and find a community of like-minded creatives.
Getting videos exported from Premiere Pro and uploaded to Instagram is not the most straight forward process. To help with this, I’ve created three export presets for you to use. These include Landscape, Square, and Vertical aspect ratios. To install and use the presets, follow the steps below.
