5 Tips for Taking Awesome Portraits of Musicians

Capturing portraits of musicians is one of my favorite things to do. As a musician myself, I think that I have a unique perspective that helps me to connect with my musician clients. Working with other creatives always makes for an inspiring portrait session, and finding novel ways to incorporate an instrument into a portrait is a fun challenge. In today’s article and accompanying video, I will give you five tips that have helped me create engaging portraits of musicians.

Freefly Kicks A** at NAB: MIMIC Kinetic Controller, New ALTA Drone, WEDGE Lens Controller, and MōVI XL

If you don't own one, then you're currently drooling over one of Freefly Systems' MōVI systems (we know the feeling), which have gained incredible acclaim as cheaper and more nimble Steadicam alternatives. This week at NAB, Freefly introduces not one, but four completely new and exciting products, apparently striving for the industry's continued droolworthiness.

Do You 'Take' or 'Make' Photographs?

An interesting debate around word choice among photographers is the question of whether one "takes" or "makes" photographs. There are compelling arguments behind both choices. But which is correct?

Why We Should Return to Places in Landscape Photography

Landscape photography brings us to the most beautiful places all over the world and there are so many of them out there, that it is impossible to visit them all in one lifetime. There is no obvious reason to return to places we have visited already, but as a pro landscape photographer with more than 30 years of experience, I do it again and again, returning to places for photography.

This Unique Time-Lapse of Austria Will Blow You Away

Over five terabytes filmed over the course of two grueling years, A Taste Of Austria is comprised of over 600 time-lapse clips intricately woven together through creative clip transitions. Time-lapse movies often take themselves entirely too seriously, focusing on the dramatic through epic song choice and long drawn out pans. This short video incorporates creative use of sound coupled with quick and calculated cuts to give the viewer a sense of a fast-paced guided tour through the spectacular European countryside.

Blackmagic Announces the New URSA, a Camera with an Interchangeable Sensor

Blackmagic has announced a new camera, the URSA. It has multiple accessories built in, including a massive 10 inch fold out on set monitor, large user upgradable Super 35 global shutter 4K image sensor and internal dual RAW and Apple ProRes recorders. It also has a swappable sensor, so you can choose EF or PL lens mounts, or even a broadcast video sensor with B4 mount, or even upgrade the camera in the future.

Fascinating Jarred Landscapes by Photographer Christoffer Relander

Ansel Adams once said “you don’t take a photograph, you make it.” I have always thought that what he meant by this quote was the process involved in reaching the final image. It has never been about clicking a picture simply, but it involves the creativity the photographer pours into his image. And creativity and sensibility also are what transpire in the beautiful conceptual project of Finnish photograper Christoffer Relander, titled “Jarred & Displaced.”

Nikon Drops First Z 9 Preview Video

As Nikon shooters worldwide await with bated breath the announcement of the brand’s flagship mirrorless camera, Nikon has dropped a first look preview that gives us a clue as to their priorities.

Make Your Ricoh GR III More Versatile With a NiSi Master Filter Kit

If you’re looking to add some versatility to your compact Ricoh GR III set up, a NiSi filter system is a fantastic choice. In this article, I’ll tell you about the Ricoh GR III Master Kit and why you might want to carry this super-lightweight bit of kit in your bag.

Does Canon’s New RF 70-200mm f/2.8 Lens Have a Focusing Problem?

Multiple customers who have recently purchased Canon’s new RF 70-200mm f/2.8 lens for full-frame mirrorless cameras are reporting that it consistently focusing just in front of the subject using autofocus, raising questions over whether Canon may have to issue a recall.

Elinchrom Announces a New Skyport With Hi-Sync Capability

Recently, the game of artificial lighting, including flash, has started to change. LED lights have become more common, but also TTL and HSS have become available to studio strobes, not just hot shoe flashes anymore. Today, it is Elinchrom's turn to join in this new era. The Elinchrom Skyport celebrates its 10th birthday this year, and over 400,000 units have been sold since its launch. However, it was time for an update. But Elinchrom did not just update the Skyport, they made a whole new version introducing a range of hi-sync products.

Ricoh Is Developing a new Pentax Flagship APS-C DSLR

Ricoh has announced the development of a new flagship APS-C Pentax DSLR to be launched in 2020, with a preview of the camera being shown soon at the Pentax Meeting 100th Anniversary Special in Japan.

Where Will You Be for the Geminid Meteor Shower?

This week will have one of the most amazing astronomical events of the year (besides that continent-crossing solar eclipse this past August). The Geminid meteor shower is streaking across the sky this week on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. If you didn't know or maybe just forgot, it's time to make plans to get to a dark sky area for a once a year celestial show that many astronomers call the best meteor shower of the year.

How to Make Instagram Stories Easier and More Engaging

When making Stories for Instagram, it's not always ideal to chat straight into the camera, and speaking while presenting a single photograph or a webpage that you've created can be fiddly. These simple tricks make the process a lot easier, and simplifying the workflow, making it more enjoyable.

Top 10 WeeklyFstops: Monochrome

The theme this week called for "monochrome" photos and the people delivered. There a number of eye-catching photos but the selections stood out from the crowd and lacked color in a good way. Be sure to check out the new bonus group selected from the Fstoppers community.

Photographer Travels The World By Trading His Photo Services

Without spending a dime, Australian photographer Shantanu Starick has successfully completed 187 trades, traversed five continents and remained on-the-go for the last 29 months. Inspired by the "sharing economy" Starick has made a full fledged living out of travel and photography with a project he calls The Pixel Trade. Starick has photographed hotels, restaurants, coffee shops, weddings and more in exchange for the basic essentials, transportation and anything else that he needs to survive.

[Pics] Liquid Art Photography that is Nothing Short of Hero Like

Photographer Markus Reugels displays hero like resolve and creativity when it comes to his ongoing series titled, Refractions. Managing to capture amazingly clear liquid art images that almost seem supernatural one can only imagine how much time and patience he has to put into each shot. No wait, you don't have to imagine because you can see for yourself in the full post.
Hasselblad Launches 'Rent a Hasselblad'

Hasselblad have been a bit of an obsession of mine since I first saw the 500C/M. It's such a beauty and I will one day make the leap and buy one. However, the new Hasselblads are a financial commitment tantamount to a high end vehicle or a house deposit. It's a shame for me as the Hasselblad H5D Multishot is perfect for the commercial work I do, but not quite worth being homeless for. Hasselblad are stepping in to the rental arena to offer direct rentals at less eye-watering financial outlays.

Broncolor and SEVEN BTS - The Art Is Piano

Hopefully I can stop the negative comments before they start and tell you that yes, this video is a giant Broncolor ad. However, if you can get past that and look at the lighting and resulting images there is definitely stuff to learn. That said, let's dive into the story behind the session. Swiss pop-star Seven wanted to have a piano in unusual location for this newest album images. That unusual place ended up being the “Grimsel Pass” on the Swiss Alps at over 2100m above

Inquiries: No-Pressure Methods to Gain Solid Clients

About ten years ago I was buying a new vehicle. I went to three different dealerships. All three sales personnel had very different approaches in their technique for sealing the deal. While I was not a sales person myself at the time (life prior to being a photographer), I understood the behavior. This is the same in the photography business, and there is so much to learn from all three approaches as to why you may or may not be gaining clients from inquiries.

Slow Motion Music Video Shot In One Take

The guys over at FROKOST FILM / FEIL FILM put together this awesome music video for While You Slept. Watch the behind the scenes video on how they shot this epic video in one take. The shot took 18 second to film, which translates into three and a half minutes in slow motion. "Havoc" was shot in one take at 300 fps using a Red Epic with a 75mm master prime. It takes a lot of comunication and planning to get this right, and the end result is quite impressive.

Amy Toensing Photographs the Oldest Culture on Earth

At 60,000 years old, the Australian Aboriginal culture is the oldest, longest-running culture on Earth. Amy Toensing photographed them for National Geographic, lending her intimately deep sense of storytelling to the sad and tragic history of their culture and the bond they share with their land.

Adobe Announces Ability to Capture and Edit Raw DNG Photos in Lightroom Mobile

Adobe has announced the 2.5 update to their popular Lightroom Mobile app. The new update adds the ability to shoot directly to Adobe's open source raw file format, DNG, avoiding the compression and data loss inherent in standard JPEG files. To capture in DNG, users will need a device running iOS 10 that has a 12 MP sensor, such as the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, and iPad Pro 9.7. When available, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will also support capturing in DNG format. The latest update is available in the App Store at the time of this writing.

Selling Stock Photography as a Wedding Photographer

Finding ways to earn passive income as a photographer is invaluable. In this field of work, our businesses often require a large amount of direct hands-on time. Selling stock photography, especially when you have the ability to simply upload images you have already taken in a minimal out of time, can add a great deal of value. The online tools that are available today allow you to turn photos that would otherwise have been worthless, or stored hidden on your hard drive, into pieces of art that have real monetary value.

Fstoppers Reviews the Mavic 2 Pro and Zoom Drones

The DJI Mavic 2 is probably one of the best portable drones to ever hit the market. Compared to the previous Mavic Pro and the Phantom 4 Pro, this drone is nothing shy of a complicated decision.