A Day Out With the Little Owls

Wildlife photography has always been a passion for me. It's not something that pays the bills, but it's something that I love, and it is great for my own mental health. Recently, I was informed of a family of Little Owls in England, and the young Owlets had just begun fledging from the nest. I took the near three-hour drive down to the location and watched these beautiful creatures.

Creating Your Own Stock Photography Niche

Using your personal interests and hobbies can be a great way to create a stock photography niche that is both creatively and financially rewarding.

Taylor Tupy's Sand Studio Set Is Pretty Awesome

One thing I love about the Fstoppers Facebook Group is seeing all the amazing work our readers publish. Taylor Tupy is a pretty awesome fashion and editorial photographer based out of Minneapolis. In this video he shared on Facebook, Taylor brought in gulf coast white sand into the studio to produce an awesome effect. Taking your production value to the next level is probably the most important thing a photographer

Not Happy With Your Depth of Field? You Can Adjust It In Post

Of course many of us want to always nail a shot in camera, but sometimes things happen. Maybe it looked great on your camera's LCD, but entirely different once you got it on your computer. Maybe your sensor is too small and shallow DOF is hard to nail. It's for these cases that Aaron Nace at PHLEARN does tutorials like this one, where he shows how to adjust depth of field in post.

Samsung’s 4K NX1 Can Hold Its Own - Test Footage and Comparison to the GH4 and 5D MkIII

The recently released Samsung NX1 totes a promising list of specs: 4K video at 24fps recorded to the new H265 codec, 1080p at 60fps, 28MP stills, 205 phase detection AF points, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. However, none of that matters if what comes out of the camera looks like crap. Fortunately, Andrew Reid over at EOSHD got his hands on the new camera to put it through its paces and the NX1 turns out to be quite the performer. In his tests he compares footage from Samsung’s newest flagship body to other heavy-hitting video-shooters such as the Panasonic GH4 and Canon 5D Mark III, and the Samsung proved that it can hold its own with the big boys. Take a look at the footage and see for yourself.

How Can This Be?  An Image You Can Focus After You Capture It

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Today all the buzz in the photo world is coming from an unusual tech company called Lytro. A new camera called the Lytro Light Field Camera uses a groundbreaking new sensor design that allows more light to be recorded than normal sensor technologies. This in turns actually allows you to choose your focus point after you have taken the photo (click on the photo to the left). As of right now no major camera companies have picked up this technology for their own cameras, but worry not as Lytro is working on creating a small point and shoot camera that will feature this "focus later" sensor soon. Check out the full post for more examples of the images as well as some commentary from the Wall Street Journal. Do you guys think this is a good idea or a practical application of selective focusing?
Instacube: The Beautiful Pictureframe That Streams Your Instagram Photos

Just shy of their quarter of a million dollar goal on Instagram in under a week, Instacube is a concept that has caught tremendous attention on kickstarter. As the title suggests, Instacube is a picture frame that streams your Instagram feed to a beautiful portable display that is three times the size.

Never Get Photographer's Block Again With These Seven Strategies

If you constantly struggle to come up with new ideas for your photography work, then your career could be in serious trouble. Try one of these seven strategies to help you get that next big idea and keep those creative juices flowing.

Check Out This Behind the Scenes Footage of 'The Conjuring'

Today my Facebook Newsfeed has been bombarded with posts about people going to see 'The Conjuring'. Released today, the supernatural thriller is getting great reviews from critics and viewers alike. Check out this b-roll and behind the scenes footage of the movie. With James Wan behind the helm the camera work is nothing short of amazing.

Fstoppers Analog Reviews: Canon AE-1 Program

Creating beautiful and compelling imagery through the medium of photography is a difficult challenge. Capturing a scene as it unfolds is both art and truth in storytelling. Today, digital photography presents the effortless platform for image capture. Excelling technology allows anyone to pick up a camera and take excellent photographs. One might say the ease of digital imagery has opened doors across platforms. We’ve seen this paradigm before; we witnessed the introduction of gateway tools in the world of photography since the dawn of the medium, each time bringing in new and excited enthusiasts who will go on to redefine what it is to be a photographer. In 1981, well before the surge of digital technology, there was a camera that similarly ushered in a generation of photographers: the Canon AE-1 Program.

The Fujifilm Full Frame Camera Is Never Coming

With the success of both their APS-C and medium format lines, many have been wondering if and hoping that Fujifilm would eventually release a full frame camera. However, the company recently confirmed that they will never enter the full frame market.

Drugstore Chain CVS Health to Ban Retouched Images

Drugstore chain CVS Health announced today that it will stop using photo manipulation in the promotional images for its store-brand makeup and will require all other companies to follow suit by 2020. Companies that continue to use manipulated imagery will have their adverts labeled by CVS to help customers understand that the photograph has been altered.

When Will Instagram Tell Us How Much Money It Makes From Your Stolen Content?

Earlier this week, Instagram published a blog detailing information on how its algorithms work and why transparency is important when it comes to building trust. With that in mind, when will Instagram tell us how much money it makes from allowing the millions of possible copyright infringements that happen every single day?

Behind the Scenes of a Jewelry Lifestyle Photo Shoot

Last week I did a photo shoot for Leo's Wisdom, which is a company that makes handmade, high end jewelry. The purpose of the shoot was to provide the client with product shots and lifestyle images for their promotional needs. Their mood board for the shoot was filled with images depicting lush locations and high society. But we were shooting on a rainy day in Columbus, Ohio. So we made lemonade.

Review: The Saal Digital High-End Photobook for Professional Photographers

If you have ever imagined your very own photography coffee table book, this review will probably get you designing it straightaway. Saal Digital, a German photo printing company offers the High-End Photobook, which, at least on paper, has all the bells and whistles you would like to see in a book containing your finest work. I’ve put the book to the test to see if the quality lives up to the claims made on their website and the Instagram advertisement that led me to them.

Your First Editorial Photography Assignment: Part 2

Welcome back to this series on editorial photography. Last week, we discussed the basics of preparing yourself for your first editorial assignment and shooting individual frames in a variety of different ways. There were a couple of questions in the comments, which I will be addressing in next week's post. This week, we will focus on multiple frames and making them work together. Specifically, we'll be looking to tell a story using multiple photographs.

PressPausePlay, A Documentary Every Creative Should Watch

10-15 years ago, if you were a talented creative person, there was a very good chance that you would never be discovered. Without the push from a big record label very few people would every be able to hear your music. Unless you could sign with a producer you would never be able to raise the millions necessary to make a movie. The internet has changed all of that; and you no longer have an excuse.
How's It Hangin? Win JOBY Straps!

Do you wish your strap was more comfortable? Still using that uncomfortable strap that came with your camera? Well our friends at JOBY have launched a new camera strap line including the revolutionary UltraFit Sling Strap and the 3-Way Camera Strap. The comfortable UltraFit Sling Strap allows fast access to every shot and hands free-stability when on the move.

Is the Rotolight Neo the Ultimate Portable Video Light? Fstoppers Gets an Exclusive Hands-On Preview

This week I was invited to the head office of Rotolight in Pinewood Studios, London to check out one of their flagship products, the Rotolight Neo. This is an LED light that can mount to your camera or can be used off camera using boompoles or light stands. This constant light source that can run off six AA batteries claims to be industry leading in areas such as brightness and color accuracy. But at $399.99, is it a worthy investment?

What You Need To Know About Facebook Advertising

There are more than a few ways to go about advertising on Facebook, and with Facebook’s increased attention to paid advertising you need to know what you’re spending your money on. Here are the 3 best ways to advertise on Facebook that you want to make sure you’re doing.

[Contest] You Choose The Most Epic Photo From Flickr

Two weeks ago we announced our latest Flickr contest sponsored by our friends at ClickPixx. The winner would receive a 30 x 40 inch wrap print to mount on their wall, and we thought a fitting contest theme would be "Epic." We narrowed down the entries to these top 9, but couldn't decide which one we liked the best. So we're leaving it up to you. Fstoppers of the world, vote for your favorite Epic image!

The No Forced Smile Approach to Special Needs Photography

"Say cheese" might be one of the most common things you think of when it comes to standard portrait photography. In the days of mall studios or even class pictures, this phrase is something we can all attest to hearing at least once in our lives. With more modern day photography, there has become less and less forced smiles and bribery in order to get that perfect image.

Instagram Stories Now Has the Potential to Help You Go Viral

Snapchat is fun and all, but Instagram is better. Well, in my eyes, Instagram is better for a few reasons, and I quickly deleted the face-filter app that took up just shy of 1 GB of space on my iPhone because I felt Instagram's version of stories had the greater potential. One of the largest reasons I see more potential in Instagram Stories over Snapchat is the virality and reach my Story can have. Today, Instagram announced they will be adding people's public stories to the Explore page, which will essentially let them be seen by more people. If you have not caught on, this means there's more potential for my stuff to go viral.