Adventure Photographer Tim Kemple Gets Personal

There is great satisfaction in landing that amazing shoot with an A-List client, but even the perfect gig can sometimes leave us wanting more. Often the answer lies only within a project of your own conception. Adventure photographer/director Tim Kemple shares with us how he's fueled by personal projects, and why they are often more important than any paid assignment.

Using an SD and CF Card Simultaneously in your 5D MKIII Might Be a Bad Idea

Recently, Jeff Cable from Lexar published a blog post explaining a rather curious choice on Canon's part. It seems that the 5D Mark III was built with one very fast CF slot which supports the newer UDMA7 protocol and a standard SD card slot which does NOT support the high speed standard (called UHS). Without UHS support, the top speed that can be achieved by the SD card is 133x. Because the 5D MKIII defaults to the slowest memory card speed inserted in the camera, your CF speed could get short-changed by the SD card.

Will the Next iPhone Have a 64-Megapixel Camera?

It’s definitely not the 108 megapixels of the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, but 64 megapixels is a lot of camera to pack into the forthcoming iPhone 12. Rumors have emerged that Apple is testing various sensors for its next flagship phone, which would be quite the bump from the iPhone 11 Pro’s meager offering of 12 megapixels.

How to Constructively Critique a Photographer’s Work

As an aspiring photographer, it eventually becomes obvious that likes on Facebook or comments such as “Beautiful work Kiddo!” from your mother aren’t exactly providing an objective evaluation of your talent. Constructive feedback from others in your field is something that everyone can benefit from at times, even as a professional. The problem is, most of us don’t take criticism very well especially when it comes to something we’ve poured our heart into and may actually love on a personal level.

Photogenic Locations You Can Rent to Add New Dimensions to Your Photography

Fashion magazines, brand-name advertisements, and catalogs of all sorts seek out interesting locations to stage their photo shoots. Some are simply looking for controllable surroundings for privacy and security, but other productions are seeking something special to enhance their photos. Many locations, however, come with a price.

Animator Uses Custom Rad 1980s Nintendo Power Glove to Streamline Filming

If you were a kid of the 1980s like me and loved Nintendo, you absolutely remember the Power Glove. In fact, I think that was one of the only scenes I remember from the movie "The Wizard" starring Fred Savage of "The Wonder Years" was the debut of this badass piece of 80s tech. Fast forward to 2015. The animator of the Adult Swim show "Robot Chicken" has modified his Power Glove to control his stop-motion workflow. Woah, dude.

Eric Doggett Shows Us How He Makes the World's Best Holiday Cards

We've posted about commercial photographer Eric Doggett on here before. You may recall his popular post about how he put together his family's Back to the Future Christmas card. He goes out of his way to create some of the most creative holiday cards I've ever seen. Eric uses a creative arsenal including set-building, 3D modeling, Photoshop, photography, and graphic design to create unique one-off pieces for his clients. Read below to learn how he used ALL of these tools to create a fantastic Star Wars Christmas card.

Building a Fashion/Editorial Photography Business: Podcast with Clay Cook

Next up on our Tog Tools Jess and Stephen interview our very own Clay Cook on how he got his start in photography and how he's built an incredible fashion/ editorial photography business. Having first seen Clay's work right here on Fstoppers I was astonished by his clean, sharp style using seemingly basic lighting setups.

You Miss 100% Of The Photos You Don't Take - Even Von Wong Doubts Himself

I have been a fan and a friend of Benjamin Von Wong for years. I have seen him turn tech employees into athletic gods and seen him schmooze with the police while on a 13 hour photoshoot deep in a foggy forest. In my eyes, the genius that is buried in Von Wong's creative mind can do anything, and he always knows it. Well, little did I know, the man who once chained a model to a shipwreck to get the perfect shot, often doubts himself, much like all of us.

Fashion Photographer Sue Bryce Offering an Entire Day of Photo Critiques

Sue Bryce is among the world's best portrait photographers in the industry today. As part of her 28 days series on creativeLIVE, Sue Bryce is going to attempt to spend an entire day critiquing the work of other photographers across the world. Watch as Sue spends seven hours live, in an attempt to break the world record of most professional photo critiques in one day.

Real or Fake? Image of Canon 135mm f/1.8

An image has surfaced of a Canon 135mm f/1.8 L IS lens, and it is a gorgeous creature. Though there is supposedly a patent placed by Canon for a 135mm, is this the lens or just an excellent rendering?

Do What You Do Best - Outsource The Rest!

Sometimes the one thing holding us back from bigger and better things is actually ourselves. Yes you CAN do everything, but SHOULD you? Many successful photographers have found ways that they can specialize their jobs within their own businesses so that they can do what they love and do best, and outsource the rest.

A Glimpse Of Shooting Commercial Ads With Hot Lights

I was a little on the fence whether this video was good enough for the front page of Fstoppers or not. Although there is no technical information in this video, I think the final photos by Thomas Vassort are outstanding and should inspire us all to raise the bar on our commercial style shoots. I really love the aviation vibe Daniel Hechter went with on their Spring 2011 clothing campaign. It appears most if not all of these images were shot using natural light along with hot lights or HMIs which is probably a lighting style few of us have used. It also appears these were all shot on a regular old Canon DSLR (somewhat rare for campaigns like this). Check out the final photos in the full post.
Why It's Important to Know Your Value as a Photographer

In the world of professional photography, the value of our work doesn’t always line up with our client’s budgets. But as tempting as it is to take the money and run, holding firm can often be more profitable in the end.

Nikon D600 Officially Announced!

Whether or not this is the camera for you, the Nikon D600 (early BH preorders here) is certainly one of the most anticipated cameras of the year and, just in time for the holiday season, is sure to be in many of your hands by the new year. All the specs, the price, and opinions after the break.

Fstoppers Reviews HEX DSLR Sling and DSLR Backpack Camera Bags

HEX is a creative brand, and photographers are creative people. Just like we as photographers want our shots to be our own, we want our camera bags to have a unique look. That's just what HEX did through design, aesthetics, and protective elements - they designed HEX camera bags for the modern photographer. We reviewed the HEX DSLR Sling and DSLR Backpack; here's what we thought.

What Must Camera Manufacturers Do to Challenge the Smartphone?

Cameras just aren't good enough at processing photos — witness the inexorable rise of the smartphone which leverages adequate hardware and clever software to produce images that look as good as those from a high-flying $2,000 camera. What can manufacturers do to remain relevant in today's market?

Canon Announces Updated Rebel Digital Cameras | T6s & T6i

Canon announced the addition of two new DSLR cameras to its EOS Rebel lineup: the EOS Rebel T6s and the EOS Rebel T6i. Featuring a newly developed 24.2 megapixel Canon CMOS imaging sensor, both cameras deliver the highest resolution available amongst EOS models with an APS-C format sensor. Both cameras feature built-in Wi-Fi and NFC capabilities.

Which Camera Manufacturer Has the Best Logo?

You buy a camera as a purely functional object: you want to produce images, and it is the tool of choice. Yet, as photographers, we become brand loyal partisans, identifying with the manufacturer. So, who has the best logo?

Nebo Motion Control Slider is Super-Portable and Lightweight

There is no denying it: there are a lot of motion control devices and even more slider options out there. With the success of Kickstarter, it seems like we get a new awesome idea every week and it can be hard to keep up. That said, I was recently pointed to the Nebo Motion Control Slider and decided to share it with you all because it's actually pretty cool despite entering a very crowded market.

9 Free Tools To Produce Your Next Photo Shoot

Eventually, as we progress in our commercial photography careers, we will become a part of sizable shoots with producers attached. Your first shoot with an experienced producer will feel like flying first class for the first time; you will never want to go back.

Lowepro Brings Active Pros New Backpack: Photo Sport Pro 30L

Lowepro has been quiet for a few months, but recently announced their new Photo Sport Pro 30L AW bag, inspired by the original Photo Sport Pro AW series. The latest back-packin' pal is set to offer the active, outdoor photographer a lightweight, comfortable, supportive and flexible daypack that fits pro-sized gear plus lots of extras.

The Vital Ingredient Necessary for Your Success in Photography

The more time that passes in which I am a professional photographer, the more I distill the various components that have a hand in success in this industry, revealing which are vital and which are posturing as important. Here is a component that I would consider one of the most important, if not the most important.