If you've ever wondered how you can begin transitioning from part time photographer to completely supporting yourself in your business, then you have probably considered shooting senior portraits. Sal Cincotta is an excellent photographer, and he is an even better businessman. This weekend Sal is sharing his knowledge behind building a successful Senior Portrait business on creativeLIVE (July 6-8). As always, the live broadcast is free to stream as it happens live.
I bet most of you never heard of the term "Scanography" before, but its ok, I just learned about it a week ago. The idea of Scanography is using a regular paper scanner as a camera, and take pictures of whatever can fit in or around the scanner. The results are somewhere between scary to magical. Check out the best Scanography photos found on Flickr!
Over the weekend I asked our community members if they would like Lee and I to give critiques of some of their work. The response was huge, so we have picked 20 random images to look over and give our honest opinions and suggestions. I never thought being this brutally honest would actually be quite fun and productive.
Imagine someone were to ask you to count the number of photographs you see from the moment you open your eyes in the morning until the moment you close them again that night. Between looking through your own work, as well as the various social media and news sites, the number of images we expose ourselves to is probably well over a thousand.
Photoshop CC has long been Adobe’s flagship and most recognizable creative product. This marks the first time the software will be available off the desktop in a full-fledged and purely touch-optimized package since Adobe originally released Photoshop 1.0 nearly three decades ago.
Being in the industry, I know how valuable a photograph is and what it means. It contains memories that can be cherished for years and passed on to generations. We look back at these memories and they are priceless. Often, we wonder if the general public truly feel the same way, especially considering how little some people are willing to pay for quality work. Here's a story that caught my attention about the value of a photograph that really touched me. Photographer, Jeanine Thurston, received a letter at her doorstep on July 2nd of 2011. Jeanine writes: “There will be no portrait photos in this post. This letter wasn’t mailed – it was at my doorstep when I got home a couple months ago. I read it, I cried, and read it again – probably a hundred times by now. It wasn’t easy to read – and honestly, as much as it validates what I do for a living – I wasn’t sure I was going to share it either – Until today, when a past client said that my print prices were too expensive. If you choose to read through the letter, you will know why I’ve finally chosen to share it.” Check out the full post to read the letter that moved her to tears and let me know what you feel about it.
Howdy everyone and welcome to the Wednesday Rundown. I hope today finds you stuffing your face with some type of grilled meat and taking a break from your daily grind. Today we have two great studio shoots. We also have a video off the beaten track, a BTS on the Macy's firework show. Check out this short documentary and see what it takes to make the visual lighting show. If you have a great and informative video you want to see in the Wednesday Rundown please shoot me an email jerrit@fstoppers.com .
The Nik Collection, a set of seven photo editing tools, has just received a version number update. Version 7 brings with it primarily speed and workflow improvements, but is that enough to justify a whole new upgrade? In this review, I’ll discuss the new features, improvements, and even a surprise missing feature of this venerable editing suite.
Applications are open for grants worth over $3,500 in gear for up to 3 Black photographers and filmmakers based in the U.S. via companies Peak Design, Sony, and BorrowLenses.
Oh man, less than two weeks until Christmas and you STILL haven't finished shopping. It's ok everyone, we're in the same boat. That's why we are continuing to update our Holiday Gear Guide to reflect the best gifts between $200 and $500 so you can make a big splash with some amazing stuff stuffed in those stockings.
As photographers, we sometimes tend to make tight compositions and make the main subject in the photo take over a large area of the frame. We feel that if its important, we need to focus on it, make it apparent and zoom on it. Sometimes, zooming out or stepping back and making your main subject take only a tiny area of the frame, can do magic to your images. Check out these great images of minimalism found on Flickr.
Earlier this year, Fujifilm released the 16mm 2.8 R WR (AKA the 16mm 2.8). A compact prime lens for their Fujifilm X system. I got to play with it for about three weeks and there is a lot to love, but it isn't without its imperfections.
Woodland photography works best during foggy days. It helps to simplify the often chaotic forest environment. Soft sunlight early in the morning or late in the evening can also create a beautiful mood for your woodland photos. But what if you have neither fog nor the right light conditions? You can create those yourself, as I show in this article.
As children we’re taught that sharing is the way to go, but too often it feels like photographers forget that basic lesson. It’s a common debate that comes up: do you share your settings and locations?
Recently I felt a bit let down when looking at my work. It seemed to me like I had not improved much during the last year and that I had hit a plateau. Then when asking friends, fellow photographers, and other people from the industry, everyone told me it was just in my head. Creating new things day in and day out is quite difficult, but creating new things that are better each time you shoot is even harder! Sounds familiar? I know for a fact that most photographers have felt like that at some point in their career. We all have periods in our lives where we feel disappointed with our work. That same time when we also start looking at others work and wonder why we are not better. But all we really should be doing is looking at our work to see how far we have come and how we could get even better.
Where do you place cameras to capture someone taking a 400 foot plunge into a rocky abyss when you can't get to the bottom? On the person falling of course! The popular YouTuber Devin Graham is up to his usual hijinks, but this time with a little help from some friends. If you enjoyed his Epic Rope Swing video, then you'll definitely want to check this out. Final video inside!
Over the last few years, there have been a number of significant burglaries. Sadly, another has occurred, this time at Calgary-based store The Camera Store, with over $27,000 of stock missing.
As the holidays draw ever nearer, retailers are ramping up their discounts, trying everything they can to attract consumers before the close of the year. For many photographers, this represents a prime opportunity to upgrade their gear, whether they need front-end tools such as a new lens or camera body, or back-end items such as a new computer to speed up their workflow. Of course, with new gear, comes new challenges.
A still image of food will make you hungry, but there is something about a food video that can take that hunger to another level. There are aspects of the cooking process that just don’t translate as well in the still form as they do in video. Claire Thomas has taken these delicious moments and developed a style that showcases them in short 30-60 second videos. I contacted Claire to find out how she developed her style and what inspires her to make these mouthwatering shorts.
The documentary "MILE... MILE & A HALF" has been featured before, with it's dazzling visuals and informative insight into creating art while on a long backpacking trip. This film took 2 years to produce, and it's finally complete! The creators have shared a clip just for the Fstoppers audience, and they have also answered some questions on the production of their film.
I did it—I made the jump to medium format. This was quite some time coming, as I had been talking about it for about a year. The difference is huge, and what a fun camera it is. More about the Phase One in this review.
Back in 2010, I was commissioned to do a photo of some spices for a family friend. I had never done anything like that, so I wanted to do a good job, and invested in my first off-camera flash setup. It was daunting at first, but I’ll never regret dipping my toes in the water and starting to learn about one of the most important things about being a freelance photographer: learning to control light.
British channel Sky Arts runs a segment called The Unspoken Truth where several celebrities offer their opinions and insights on a variety of topics. They recently tackled the question of whether photography is truly art or if perhaps it is over rated and should not be considered an art form at all. Their answers might make you a tad uncomfortable.
The claim is that in the next decade video game engines will be used in the film-making process to eliminate post production altogether. Lucasfilm is making this statement in light of rapidly progressing video game technology. Both CG effects companies and game developers essentially use the same sort of techniques to produce what they do, especially when it comes to motion capture. So why not
Modern cameras often have a vast array of features, some more useful than others. There are some features that are less common than others that are still highly useful, however, and here are five that I wish would appear in more cameras.
Since the end of the Korean war, North Korea has been a closed nation. So closed, it is often referred to as the world's most reclusive nation. It shocks and delights the world almost every day with propaganda and anti-propaganda that peppers our news reports. It's a place that heavily regulates visits and the activities during those visits. Each tourist requires special permission and a guide that sticks to them like glue to visit anywhere in the nation. On top of that, you have to pick from a list of government approved locations, you can't just go for a walk or cycle the highways. So, what possessed Slovenian-born, London-educated, Matjaž Tančič to take his already difficult 3D workflow into a place that restricts movement and photography so much?
Panasonic have just announced the Panasonic Lumix G9, a high-end Micro Four Thirds camera that is photography focused. Similar in size and spec to the video feature rich GH5, Panasonic describe the G9 as their ultimate stills offering.
A staff photographer for the Department of Energy was recently fired and is now seeking whistle-blower protection after he leaked photos of Secretary of Energy Rick Perry meeting with a major coal mining CEO.
"Big Magic" has changed my approach to photography, and art in general in more than one way. I rarely urge anyone to do anything; I think it’s too intrusive. But this time I do. I urge you to read this book like it’s The Bible. Here's why.
Landscape photographers use polarizing, neutral density, and graduated filters of all types for effects they would consider pivotal to their work. Meanwhile, however, the Internet has been beating up UV and other clear types of filters, bringing to light that "UV filters protect your lens" is a falsehood. While even the best UV filters might shatter in an impact, Sigma has developed a brand new filter type called the "WR Ceramic Protector," which is actually supposed to absorb, bend with, and mitigate shock from an impact.
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![[Story] The True Value Of A Photograph](https://cdn.fstoppers.com/styles/med-16-9/s3/default_images/default-image.jpg)
