Lasers Will Damage Your Camera Sensor, Says Sony

A few unfortunate photographers have found out the hard way that lasers can permanently damage camera sensors. Now Sony has listed the warning on its website, hopefully preventing further accidents.

Fstoppers Review: Plugable's Thunderbolt 3 Drive

A well-devised digital storage system should be one of the most crucial considerations for every digital creative. With larger and larger camera sensors constantly emerging on the market, we find ourselves needing to accommodate and functionally access enormous raw and video files. Like many photographers, I face a near-constant search for the perfect storage solution. This month, a new Thunderbolt 3 SSD by Plugable is emerging on the scene, and I have a feeling it is going to change photographers’ and videographers’ workflows in a drastic way.

The Difficulty With Knowing When to Upgrade Photography Gear

With a seemingly endless stream of new camera gear announcements rolling out on what seems like a daily basis, it can be difficult to separate what features you need from those that just sound good on a spec sheet. So, how do you know when to pull out your hard-earned money?

Fstoppers Reviews Pixelmator Pro: Not the Photoshop Alternative You're Looking For

In late November 2017, Pixelmator Pro was released to those eagerly awaiting a new photo editing solution on the Mac. Whether it was to finally escape the never-ending Adobe Creative Cloud subscription fee, or for those just getting started in photography and looking to get their toes wet, there was a good amount of hype and excitement leading up to its release. One month later, here’s my early impressions of Pixelmator Pro.

Is This The Best Large Octabox Design Yet?

Today on our new Fstoppers Live channel, we had the chance to interview Vasyl Nykolyshyn, the owner of Raycrown accessories, about a brand new shoot-through octabox concept he has designed. Not only is this light modifier wind-resistant and easy to build and break down, but it can also be used off-axis as a large soft light and on-axis as a massive ring light. Let us know what you think!

Photographers Have to Sleep Sometime

Who knows how many new videos and articles are put on the line each day talking about the gear you should own as a photographer? And, more importantly, when was the last time that you read an article about gear that promised to get you closer to the action, help make you more energetic, and it can charge all of your batteries too?

Five Posing Ideas for Couples Shoots

Do you always resort to the same poses time and time again during your couples shoots? Need new poses for your arsenal? Check out these five ideas for your next couples session.

Why You Should Thank Adobe for Creating Photoshop

A long time ago, in a galaxy far away, Adobe Photoshop had yet to be created. OK, I am being a bit dramatic, but Adobe is celebrating 25 years of Photoshop. Watch this video to truly appreciate how easy we have it in our digital age.

iPhone Magazine Covers, and Why it Doesn't Matter

Every couple of months it seems like there is a new story about how a magazine cover was photographed with an iPhone. Magazines like Bon Appetit, Elle Australia, and Billboard have opted out of the realm of photographers using traditional, professional gear, and into the realm of gear used for taking snapshots and selfies. For each announcement, there are thousands of photographers grinding their teeth and shouting, "this is nothing but a publicity stunt!" But is it? Maybe it's time for the photography community to face the truth: it's not the gear that matters.

New AI Technology Can Animate and Bring to Life a Human Subject From a Still Photo

Researchers have managed to create a new AI technology which possesses the capability to bring a human subject within a photograph “alive.” The tech, which looks like something from a futuristic sci-fi movie, is able to make lift a person from the photo, and have them walk, run, sit, and even jump forward out of the photo in 3D.

Leonard Nimoy & Pharrell Williams Explain What It Means To Be An Artist

The Reserve Channel is consistently one of the best resources of inspiration and interesting content for creatives. We've featured the Emmy-nominated show Capture on Fstoppers several times. Today we bring you another of the Reserve Channel's shows, the always fantastic ARTST TLK. In this episide, Pharrell Williams sits down with Leonard Nimoy to discuss photography, the character of Spock and what it means to be an artist.

The Real Versus the Beautiful (Part 5): The Power of the Visual Story

Leaving the car, mountains, and solid ground behind, we get into a small airplane to do some landscape photography over Western Australia with International Fine Art Photographer of the Year Scott Jon McCook, not only to cover more ground while we’re at it, but to gain a rather unique perspective of the landscape and the story behind it.

What A Life Change Taught Me About My Photography Career

Our lives and our art are interconnected. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking you can improve one without the other. Sort of like thinking you can spot reduce belly fat in the gym. Most people would love to get rid of a little here or there, but the actual fact is that reducing body fat is a global adjustment. Crunches won’t accomplish anything until you look at your overall diet and fitness from head to toe. A similar realization allowed me to take control not only of my fitness, but my life, and, as a result, my career.

Canon Announces Three New Compact Cameras: The G5 X, G9 X, and EOS M10

Canon's latest cameras are compact, but pack a punch (maybe). While some might be compelled to ask themselves about the reasons behind releasing the lackluster EOS M10 at all, the G5 X and G9 X both fit well into Canon's high-end compact lineup with interesting features that might draw the casual shooter looking for something a bit more spectacular than le quotidien.

Your Photography Is Political

We live in times of turmoil. The old fixed orders of the post-World-War-II globe have lately been called into question in new and unexpected ways. People are more engaged in politics than ever before during most of our lifetimes. Photography has always been a very political art form, and not simply in the obvious ways. You may not think that your images are political because they do not showcase political issues. But even if they don't do that, they still say something in the political sphere. As we all struggle to be the best photographers we can be, none of us should forget that, when taking and making images, we always also make statements.

XnView: The Image Viewer That Gets My Vote

In any random sample of photographers, you can bet that Adobe's Lightroom and Photoshop will be up there vying for honors as image viewers. But what alternatives do you have? Here's my vote.

How To Use Multiple Flashes To Photograph Buildings From Outside

Strobist has an interesting article by architectural photographer Mike Kelley. Usually exterior shots of homes and buildings are simply too large to effectively light with speedlights or big power packs. The tried and true method of capturing a great looking exterior shot is to turn all the lights on in the building and wait for the ambient sky light to match the build's artificial light. In the behind the scenes video below, Kelley shares his "selective lighting" technique and how it can be combined with multiple exposures from a small Canon 430EX to produce a sort of hero shot for publication. Click the full post for the final images.
Save $500 on This Incredible Camera

Summer is here, and with it has come some incredible savings available to you. Our friends at BH Photo are currently advertising this brilliant camera with $500 off.

Does Brand Loyalty Mean Anything to You?

A few of the major players have recently released cameras that are attracting quite a bit of attention. The Canon EOS R, the Nikon Z7, and Fujifilm’s X-T3 are all great for their intended purposes. But are new releases enough to keep you loyal as a customer?

Photo Throwdown Debuts Their Brand New Reality Photography Show

Photo Throwdown just premiered their first show today, and I can’t be more excited to tell you about it! This is only part one of their two part first episode where photographers Jennifer Rozenbaum and Chris Fain go head to head in New York City. There they receive challenges to try and win so that they can get one up on their competition. Just when they think they’ve got it all figured out, out comes a REFOCUS that will be twist things more than an M. Night Shyamalan movie ending.

Samsung Announces the NX1, a More Serious Camera with 28MP and 4K Video

Samsung has been trying to hit the digital interchangeable lens camera (ILC) market for some time, slowly clawing their way to #2 in market share in the US. That said, they haven't done a lot to impress professionals. I had a sense they were going to release something special at Photokina, and the NX1 doesn't disappoint. With a 4K video shooting APS-C sensor and newly announced 50-150mm f/2.8, Samsung is taking aim at more serious photographers.

"Inspired Light" Combines Light Painting And Automotive Photography

Patrick Rochon is a world-reknowned light painting photographer who recently produced a project with Infiniti, where he used their cars as paintbrushes themselves, in a manner of speaking. This video shows off what is possible when a skilled artist is given the reigns to create compelling images of vehicles, and has the support of a technical and creative team. And to top it all off, the really cool part is that everything was done in camera– there was nothing digitally added.

Photo Studio Ultimate 2021's Color Wheel Tool Will Change the Way You Edit Color

ACDSee's brand new edition of Photo Studio Ultimate has arrived on the scene and offers a powerful new tool to revolutionize color editing in your photography workflow. With plenty of fantastic new features, upgrades to old favorites, and a few time-saving innovations, this software is a strong contender in the world of photo editing.