Photoshop Brought Back My Grandfather
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In November 2015, my mom came up with some old photos of my deceased grandfather, which were negatives printed on film. She said that she had asked several photography studios if it was possible to get normal prints from the printed negatives, but the answer was always no. As those were some of the only photographs left of him, she had kept all of them with a hope. Years after, it was my turn to try. The process to get some decent prints and move my mom to tears was ever so easy.

Focal Length And Your Portfolio
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I recently parted ways with my Nikon Z 24-200mm f4-6.3, not because it's a bad lens and not up to the job, but simply because it didn't fit in with my portfolio. Or should I say didn't feature heavily in my portfolio, if at all.

The Five Photoshop Default Options You Should Change Right Now
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Photoshop offers a ton of customization opportunities, letting you configure and alter it to fit your workflow. While the default options are a great starting point, there are five preferences I’d consider must-change for the best experience. Want to know how you can make Photoshop work better for you right away?

Submit Your Best Images that Deserve to be Printed and Win a $795 Album [UPDATED]
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[UPDATE: A winner has been chosen. Congratulations to Verginiya Yancheva for getting 48 upvotes for her image! Check out her winning image below.]

We are teaming up with Moleskine and MILK to give away one of their new Leather Albums (valued at $795), and YOU are all judges! Submit your images, and the Fstoppers Community will upvote their favorite image which they believe "belongs in an album." There are just two simple steps to enter!

Five Creative Habits Every Filmmaker Should Adopt
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It’s common knowledge that to master a craft you have to practice it every day. As Twyla Tharp says in her classic book The Creative Habit, “I’ve learned that being creative is a full-time job with its own daily patterns… The routine is as much a part of the creative process as the lightning bolt of inspiration, maybe more.” But what does that mean for filmmakers whose craft is so macroscopic? A film takes years. It includes writing, casting, financing, producing, editing. So how, exactly, do you practice filmmaking?

What is Camera Shake Reduction and How Does it Work?
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Adobe Photoshop’s new feature “Camera Shake Reduction” has been has been carrying a ton of hype, likely due to the publicity Adobe has been putting behind it since last year (and more recently just a couple weeks ago). However, what it actually is and how it works is somewhat misunderstood. Many were prepared to hate the program, thinking it a panacea for all bad, blurry images. It’s not the all-healing-blur-fixing-magic-of-the-gods some of you might think it is, but it’s still really flipping amazing.

Dave Hill Shoots The Ford Fusion Ad Campaign
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This is a very cool video from Dave Hill as he shoots the composite images for Ford Fusion ad Campaign. This is a definitely a complex shoot and it's great to get a behind the scenes look at the way Dave works.

New Tutorial Shows You How To Make Money From Your Photography
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This week, I was able to watch Karl Taylor's "Making Money From Your Photography" tutorial. As a young photographer, I learned a ton from this three-hour tutorial and believe that any photographer, regardless of age or experience, could learn something new.

Testing Diffusion Materials with Jay P Morgan
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Have you ever wondered how different diffusing fabrics affect the quality of light that you shoot with? Jay P. Morgan from the Slanted Lens walks you through the different diffusion materials by Rosco. He explains how the different fabrics can lessen the stops of light and how it can affect your color temperatures and look of your shoot.

Fstoppers' Featured Guest Blogger: Jeremy Cowart
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As I mentioned at the beginning of the month, we are going to have guests stop by to write posts, just for you, our FS readers. Some of these well known and accomplished members of the photo industry will be here to get something off their chests. Others to plug something. Some to teach and others to entertain. This month we are happy to bring you Jeremy Cowart and he wants you to think about something. Jump into the full post to see what's on his mind and be sure to check out all that his links have to offer. Thanks for this great post Jeremy.

Is This the Most Ostentatious Leica Ever Released?
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Leica has announced the launch of the M10-P White, an edition of the stealthy M10-P that is definitely not inconspicuous. If the color isn’t enough to raise an eyebrow, the price probably will.

Do You Honestly Make Photographs?
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Each and every one of us is looking for appreciation. Showing our images to friends and family, most of us hope for a nice comment or feedback. Professionals are even dependent on their clients’ excitement and recommendation. How far do you tweak your images to reach that?

Barcelona's Top Five Photography Locations
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In the lead image above can anyone mention who was inspired by Gaudi's rooftop sculptures in Hollywood? For first time travelers to Barcelona these are my five favorites photo spots. I am expecting many readers to add their best spots that are not on this list. Please make sure to Google pin your exact locations in your comments. Much like my recent post on Tokyo I would love to see lots of sharing especially less popular locations.

Behind The Scenes on a Trash The Dress Session
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Remember Justin Wojtczak? If not, make sure you watch this video of Patrick surprising him with the news that he won the Fstoppers 2011 BTS Contest. Well Justin is back with his latest behind the scenes video. In this BTSV Justin takes a bride into a creek in the woods of Georgia and shows us how to shoot on a budget.

The Making of an Industry Standard: An Interview with WANDRD
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There's a sort of running joke between the Fstoppers writers about the number of bag reviews we've published in the last couple months, and we've certainly caught our share of flack for it in the comments as a result. Despite all that, having had a chance to sit down for a brief interview with the people at WANDRD, I think we may have a new industry standard on our hands. If there's ever been a bag worth getting excited about, this is it.

Do we Need to Travel to Take Better Photographs?
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Imagine a spectacular, rugged landscape. Pine forests that stretch for hundreds of miles, vivid lakes and countless waterfalls. This is central Norway; bear country. While I am packing my camera bag for a two week photography trip honeymoon to Iceland, I relive a memory that answered the question if we really need to travel for better photographs.

[Sports] Sports Illustrated Director Of Photography Steve Fine Talks Photo Editing
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If you are a sports fan, you are going to love this interview. Grover over at Photoshelter recently interviewed Sports Illustrated Director of Photography Steve Fine. Steve's job is to pick out the absolute best "super selects" from a handful of sports photographers and publish those photos in record time (sometimes within hours). I recently met Steve and what I found interesting about his job is not only the insane amount of work that goes into finding the absolute cream of the crop photos but also how important Steve's eye has to be to tell the story of each game in only a handful of frames. With SI, their photo team winds up with dozens if not hundreds of great images but only a very select few can be published to represent the final theme of the game. The following interview is pretty long but definitely worth checking out, especially if you are interested in knowing how sports photography or wired images are used to create the magazines we see on newsstands daily. Enjoy!
Wait Finally Over? Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L II Shipping Soon
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Canon faithful, the wait appears to finally be over for the 24-70mm f/2.8 L II, which is expected in stock September 13. The original 24-70 L, arguably one of the best telezoom lenses for Canon, has been sold out for quite some time in expectation of this new lens.

Phottix Answers Wishes by Building-In Wireless into Mitros Speedlight
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Remember the Phottix Mitros speedlight? I loved this flash, and I wasn't the only one. Despite some complaints regarding the interface, generally there was only one other disappointment: no built in wireless receiver for their Odin transmitters. Phottix has now built them in, wiping aside the only place of complaint and making the Mitros+ instantly a speedlight you should seriously consider.

3 Reasons Why Continuous Lighting Is a Good Choice for Portraiture
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For decades, color slide film was the industry standard for commercial and editorial work, and the speed of the film was typically 64 or 100. It was standard practice for a portrait photographer to use a high-powered strobe to illuminate the subject. Today, a digital camera can produce clean images at high ISO settings and allows the photographer to forgo strobes and instead illuminate the subject using lower-power continuous light units.

Bridal Portraits: Thinking Outside the Box
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Although I've been shooting weddings for years, I've always done bridal portraits as a "day of" service. In Colorado, there wasn't much of a market for bridal portraits before the big day. Now that I've moved to North Carolina, it's an entirely different ballgame! Pre-wedding portraits are big business down South. So, how can you separate yourself from the pack? Well for starters, take advantage of the fact that you now have one resource that isn't on your side on the actual wedding day: time.

[Video] The 5d Mark III and The Jaw-Dropping, Head-Scratching Sport of Radball
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Canon France has just released what has got to be the most interesting promo video for a new camera in some time. Not only do we get a sneak peek at the video quality and capabilities of the 5d Mark III, but we also get a look into the sport of Radball: something I can only describe as "soccer meeting BMX meeting Urban Outfitters."

Should The Term "Plus Size" In The Modeling Industry Be Banned?
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Recently, American plus size model, Tara Lynn, graced the cover of Elle Spain's November issue. You can see that she did an amazing job from the cover shoot. However, every time the term "plus size" is used, I see more and more people become upset. Do you think the term should be banned or is it necessary for differentiation purposes?

The Good and the Bad of Outsourcing Your Photography Editing
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Outsourcing is quickly becoming a standard practice. More and more photographers are using outsourcing services full time, while others are using them during the busy part of their season. While outsourcing has become more common in the industry, there are still some questions as to it’s worth. Photographers not familiar with the service see ups and downs to incorporating this type of service, and sometimes it can be hard to see which side wins. After my last article reviewing ProImageEditors, people wanted to know if it was worth it.

Behind the Scenes of Killing Kennedy for National Geographic
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Tonight on the National Geographic channel, they are premiering the movie Killing Kennedy, which is a movie based on Bill O'Reilly's New York Times best seller. If you've ever wanted to be transported back in time to be able to witness a moment in history, this is your chance. We have an in-depth behind the scenes view from Joey L. and Andy Baker, the Creative Director at National Geographic.