Shoot for What You See, Not the 'Correct' Exposure

There are times when achieving a balanced exposure across your entire image is ideal, ensuring that you don't lose the details in your shadows and highlights. But, some of the most interesting images do not follow that rule whatsoever, and you should try shooting that way too.

Wacom Announces Two New Cintiq Interactive Pen Displays

Wacom just announced the impending release of two new Cintiq interactive pen displays to their line of tablet/monitor hybrid products- a widescreen HD model as well as a widescreen HD touch Cintiq. In case you didn't know, the Cintiq is like an art board as a monitor, allowing you to use the popular Wacom pens directly onto a screen rather having a separate tablet.

How to Get Bookings From Your Photography Website

Most clients today look at a digital portfolio rather than a printed book. Granted, the higher up the ladder you go, the more it leads toward print, but for the vast majority of us trying to make a living from photography, digital is king. Here are some tips on how to get bookings from your website.

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With great photography comes great responsibility. Taking photos can be fun, yet challenging at times, especially when you hit a creative rut. Remember, you don't need the most expensive camera or years of experience to have fun and create amazing images.

A Beautiful Aerial View Of The Serengeti Taken With A Remote-Controlled Drone

Will Burrard-Lucas is a professional wildlife photographer who took aerial footage of life in the Serengeti. His BettleCopter drone took to the skies and captured a variety of life that was beautifully captured. From the primal feeding instincts of a hyena to the group of hippos lazily spending their afternoon submerged in water, this video is worth a watch.

Adobe Rush Video Editing: Is It Any Good?

I spent a Sunday in Paris with a friend, Jason Boone, who's made a video about Adobe Rush and what makes it such a good video editing tool. It has been presented as being easy, syncs over Adobe Creative Cloud and has a lot built in to make you a more productive editor. This video shows whether that's true.

Fstoppers Reviews the Wotancraft Scout Camera Bag

More and more photographers are starting to adopt a minimalist approach to their photography gear. What this means is that users want and need smaller bags that accommodate their gear. Having a small camera body and a couple lenses is almost useless if you have to let them rattle around in larger traditional camera bags. Fashioned after WWII army backpacks, the Wotancraft Scout shoulder bag has the looks and size to fill this need, but does it have the functionality to stand out in the growing market?

How Wildlife Filmmakers Are Getting Closer Than Ever Before

In the last few years, advances in technology have allowed for filmmakers to do some pretty amazing things. With the accessibility of cameras like the Go-Pro, the gap between amateur and pro is narrowing. Enter award-winning wildlife filmmaker John Downer and his quest to push the remarkable. Filmmakers are putting these high-resolution spy cameras in everything from fake rocks to swimming ducks and to motorized piles of snow... and the resulting footage is remarkable.

Fstoppers Reviews the Advanced DVLOP Film Emulation Preset System

While there are plenty of companies that offer film emulation presets, not all of them are created equal. In order to get things perfect, DVLOP has teamed up with Jose Villa, one of the most popular film photographers in the industry.

How To Add Sunlight To Your Overcast Photographs

I'm sure many of you have heard the saying "overcast skies make for amazing photos". While it's true that soft overcast light is usually more flattering on people's faces, it can also make your photos super boring and even gloomy. So what can you do with your bag of tricks to spice up a photo session during cold, rainy, or overcast days? Damien Lovegrove explains how you can use a "dingle" (or more commonly a Cookie) to bring some pseudo-sunlight into your portraits . This clip is from Damien's Speedlight Mastery DVD and he does a great job explaining this super useful technique that can be applied to many of your own shoots at almost zero cost. Next time you see those interesting shadow patterns while thumping through your girlfriend's fashion magazines you can imagine the dingle that created them!
Stop Acting Like 'Photoshop' Is a Verb

"Is that Photoshopped?" We've all heard it; we might have even said it at one time. But the reality is that it's a ridiculous question in the first place because "Photoshop" is not a verb. Perhaps those asking the question are simply asking the wrong question, because quite frankly, it shouldn't matter whether Photoshop was used or not.

"Snap Focus" Pulls Focus On DSLRs Using Bicycle Brake Levers

Filmmaker Brandon David Cole recently started a Kickstarter Campaign for an interesting new product called the "Snap Focus". This device uses brake levers like those found on bike handlebars to add tension through an interchangeable gear system, turning the focus rings of DSLR lenses, effectively creating a very quick rack focus adjustment. Check out Brandon's Kickstarter page for more details on this sweet looking focus puller.

What It Takes to Score American Sports' Biggest Assignment: Super Bowl 50

Your headache from over-drinking (either in celebration or in deep depression) may be wearing off, but for those that had to photograph Super Bowl 50, that headache began days before the big day. The preparation for covering the game took its toll on those that enable us look back on it this week. Fstoppers caught up with ESPN photographer Andrew Hancock to get a look into the gear, setup, and planning to cover the most important event of America’s favorite sport.

Your Desire to Create is Stifling Your Creativity

Photography is tough. There's no doubt about that. The gear and the numbers are the easy parts. These can be practiced, learned, and applied over time. Creativity is at the core of what we do as photographers and that's the tricky part. Jose Rosado's article here on Fstoppers talks about bridging the creative gap and pushing through challenges. Today, we're going to talk about something a little more introspective. Receptiveness.

SEO Tips for Photographers Using WordPress

In this article I will share with you some SEO tips for those of you who are using WordPress as their content management system. For visual learners I have created a quick video tutorial that will walk you through the steps in this article.

Leading Chinese Drone Company DJI Aquires Hasselblad

While nothing has been announced officially, multiple outlets including Fox Business and Luminous Landscape have reported that DJI has bought a majority share of Hasselblad. Although Hasselblad hasn't really been Hasselblad since 1996, the latest acquisition leaves many photographers scratching their heads. Why would the top drone company want to buy a camera company known now for its medium format, digital still image cameras? Aren't drones used for shooting video? Is DJI getting into the surveillance game? So many questions, so few answers.

Incredible UNL Basketball Portraits By Wyn Wiley

Alright, just when I thought he couldn't do anything more amazing, he proves me wrong, way wrong. If you have seen any sort of sports portraits, they usually do something different then your normal portrait. Adding cool lighting effects, lots of post work ect, not Wyn. His story for this shoot is a must read and great advice for anyone wanting to blow away their competition in their town. The way Wyn went about getting this all organized, shot, and edited is a pure masterpiece.

Manfrotto Releases Six New Carry-on Roller Bags for Camera Gear

If you travel with gear, you know one of the most important rules to follow is to carry on all the cameras and lenses and pricey equipment you can. The expanded line of Manfrotto's Pro Light Reloader carry-on trolleys are designed to meet these needs of traveling creators.

Keeping That Photographic Fire Burning During The Winter Slump

We all have that time of year when lethargy seems to run rampant by pulling our desire to keep creating great photos to the ground. For Vancouver, where I live, that time is right about now. Vancouver was carved out of the middle of a rainforest, which means we have a rather aggressive rainy season. It is pretty common to go weeks without even seeing a hint of sun. During this time, the motivation to shoot seems to wash away. As photographers, we need to take this time to toss several new logs on the fire and re-ignite that passion that is threatening to slip away.

Fstoppers Reviews the Sigma 180mm f/2.8 Macro Lens

Specialized lenses are tricky things. Since they are built for a set of specific purposes in mind, they really need to follow through on that small list of tasks lest they be discarded as an unnecessary expenditure. That is a lot of pressure to make an outstanding lens, so how did Sigma fare with their new 180mm f/2.8 macro? Is it a good addition to your lens collection?

‘Treasures of Zakynthos’ BTS Videos Showcase the Joys and Challenges of Time-Lapse Production

Polish cinematographer Maciej Tomków’s “Treasures of Zakynthos” is a beautiful, award-winning time-lapse that highlights the titled Greek island. Going far beyond only filming for the final project, Tomków also took the time and care to create incredibly well-done behind-the-scenes videos that give a true sense of what production is like shooting epic time-lapses. If you’re passionate about photography or videography, you’re going to love these "Behind the Time-lapse" creations.

The Gatekeepers of Photography

Attempts to network with fellow photographers often fall short. Many of us act as professional “gatekeepers," defensively sharing little or no information.

[Video] Pennsylvania Photographer Versus The Law

Some of you may remember the post from a few weeks ago titled Photographer Vs. Security: The Ultimate Showdown. Well, it looks like yet another photographer has been harassed and decided to make light of the situation. Jason Macchioni, a Pennsylvania-based photographer, had a run in with police in his area and as is par for the course these days, tempers flared. Check out the video in the full post.
What You've Probably Overlooked Now That Your Hobby is Your Career

For many professional photographers the path to this life started off as a creative outlet. It was birthed out of a need to escape the day to day grind that came from an unsatisfying career, stress, or creative boredom and experimentation . You started slow and with every hundredth of a second the passion grew. Eventually you scoured the internet to try to understand how to make that ominous jump from safe, secure life into pro

Aerial Video And Night Photography Of The Spectacular "Fly Geyser"

Have you ever seen a photo of a unique place, but could never find exactly where it was located? For years, Justin Majeczky was aware of the existence of the Fly Geyser, but only after research and some smooth talking was he able to locate and document this unique phenomena.

Make Your Photos Look 3D With These Methods

Breathing life into your photographs can make the difference between an average shot and a masterpiece. But how can we bring life into a flat piece of paper? Depth is all you need.

Only Hours Left To Enter Fstoppers Biggest Photography Contest Ever

The first ever Fstoppers Workshop in the Bahamas is happening May 28th - June 1st at Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas and we want to give one of our readers the trip of a lifetime for FREE! We are actually doing 2 separate contests and they both end today, Friday May 28th at midnight eastern time.