I've been out of college for just 8 years now and in my mind I am far from being "successful." I'm not going to pretend that I know what it takes to become successful, obviously I'm still trying to figure that out, but I've made enough mistakes to know what not to do. This is my list of the top 5 ways to never become successful.
Flickr has been acquired by SmugMug, and the official date for the switchover is looming. Here is why now might be the time to back up everything, reach out to all your followers, and maybe think about deleting your account forever.
It’s ironic, really. Instagram is the world’s largest social photo platform, yet photographers are constantly subjected to their photos being posted and re-grammed without a credit or tag in sight. Here’s why.
Since we learned about the surprising new f/11 super-telephoto lenses about to be released from Canon, we assumed that they would be affordable. Little did we know just how cheap they were going to be.
There are countless ways to spend money, especially when you're starting out. Camera companies do a very good job of selling you gear, some of it you’re not even sure you need. Here are 5 things I wish I bought when starting out in photography.
As someone who has been making landscape photography videos since 2017, I have had my fair share of cameras to allow me to get the job done. I am also someone who doesn't jump onto the latest and greatest tech the moment it comes out. Instead, I normally wait until I can pick a unit up secondhand, long after it has proven its worth and capabilities. This, however, has now changed due to the latest release from DJI, the Osmo Pocket 3.
Taylor Swift has come under a lot of fire in recent months regarding some of the restrictions and limitations in the contract photographers are required to sign when shooting her "1989 World Tour", but Mickey Osterreicher, the general counsel for the National Press Photographer’s Association, just announced via a statement to Poynters that the seven-time Grammy winner has agreed to revisions to her contract that will hopefully make it more palatable to media members.
There are endless instructions and formulas out there you can choose to follow when working towards becoming a photographer. To say that it's overwhelming is an understatement. I know all too well how easy it is to let the discouraging cloud of options cause you so much anxiety that you fail to accomplish anything in a day. Our time, money, and attention spans are limited, but you do not have to let this stop you from following your dreams. I know, there's a lot of tutorials to watch and gear to purchase, but it's what you do every single day that will take you farther than anything. So, here's what I do, and I do it obsessively.
Since the birth of social media, almost every business, public figure, and of course, creative, like us, are discovering new, interesting ways to engage with their following to portray value. In our industry, engagement and creativity in garnering it is very essential because of the abundance of noise and content that exists in the social media world. By constantly looking for new ways to engage with their fans and projecting value to clientele, there are always innovative ways to fill the gap. With that being said, there’s a new kid on the block and its name is Snapchat.
Recently, news broke that Canon is likely planning a significant firmware for the EOS R5 later this year, including a high-resolution pixel-shift mode. Now, it appears that mode may offer a whopping 400 megapixels of resolution.
Today, I’d like to discuss a camera that I’ve talked about once before. After my initial glowing review, how has the Canon EOS R5 held up after six months of operation in the real world?
Sigma has built a solid reputation for its commitment to innovation and excellence in its ever-increasing range of photography lenses. The Contemporary series offers a very high-quality glass and price-friendly option for all photographers.
With such good deals currently available on the Sony a7 III, buyers are faced with a tough decision: should you take advantage of the low prices to grab yourself a deal, or is it better to hold off until Sony releases the shiny new A7 IV next year?
Every year, I compare the newest iPhone to my daily professional camera and always receive feedback that after compression and scaling, you lose too much detail to be able to tell the difference. So, this year, I've taken the next step by having the images professionally printed on metal and asking random strangers if they can guess which photo was taken with a phone.
Photographing architecture, real estate, and interiors requires significant planning and preparation. There are some essential pieces of gear that will cover most of what you will need for most shoots, and having them can make or break the task.
Nikon mirrorless fans will be pleased to hear that the company is planning at least a dozen new lenses for the next 12 months, greatly expanding their lineup and filling in both some popular and premium options.
Capture One has been known amongst high-end retouchers and commercial photographers for quite some time, the main reasons probably being its powerful tethering and color editing tools. Wedding photographers seem to think Capture One is not tailored to suit their needs. At least, that is what I thought. After a full year using only Capture One to process my raw files, I wanted to share with you why I stopped using Lightroom.
Modern cameras and lenses are small marvels of consumer technology, and over the years, we have seen all sorts of features come and go along the journey to today's products. Here are three features that never quite caught on that I wish would come back.
As a photographer, focusing on improving your craft is one of the most important things to do. Money can buy the latest equipment, but it can't buy you knowledge of how to use that equipment.
Beyond the most obvious upgrades such as more pixels, bigger ISO numbers, and auto focus, has anyone noticed that the general feature set of DSLRs really doesn't change very often? I certainly have! There have been, in my opinion, obvious things missing from DSLRs for years that would make me a very happy camper if added. DSLR makers pull out your notepads!
Sex and stripping seem to go hand in hand, but in this edition of the A to Z of photography, I cover the acclaimed work of fashion photographer Bob Carlos Clark, "Shooting Sex" and then delve into the technical details of the photo finish.
By now it’s common knowledge that when shooting film, it’s important to not underexpose to hold on to shadows, and for digital it’s key to save the highlights. I’m going to advocate, however, that with modern digital sensors, it’s prudent to shoot underexposed all the time.
As photographers, we often are bogged down in what gear to buy, what lens to choose, what has better specs, and so on. To everyone's satisfaction or disappointment, these things will only make a marginal difference in most cases. As a photographer, you need to have more skills than gear. I am here to tell you the five most important ones.
Since's Instagram's inception, there have been countless arguments by creatives for and against the social media platform. Here are three reasons why you should get off and stay off Instagram.
Yay! You're doing something creative.
We can all probably remember the moment when we first realized that we could create cool stuff. That moment when we looked at something we'd made from scratch and not only were we not disappointed by what we created, not only were other people impressed by what we created, but we actually liked what we'd done.
Wolfe Air is a company that specializes in creating air to air footage for airlines, big-budget movie productions, the military, and private commercial clients, and they recently released their updated reel, which is absolutely mindblowing. Not many people think about what might go into these shots, so as the Fstoppers designated aviation photography dork, I've decided to write up a reader's digest version of how they're made.
If you’re anything like me, you like to save as much on gear as possible. As expensive as gear is, there are some things I suggest you should not go cheap on. This list consists of stuff that is long-lasting and will not go out of date quickly.
Last year Sony released the a9, the pinnacle of mirrorless camera technology. Since then I have not stopped hearing about this camera. I know I'm late, but I finally got my hands on one, and I was able to play with it for a couple of weeks. How does it compare to my Nikon D850? Let's find out.
A “lifestyle blogger” is trying to explain her actions after facing a backlash online for having a photographer friend document her motorcycle accident. The images drew particular criticism for appearing to have product placement with bottles of branded water placed in shot.
There are a couple of composition rules for photography that often work great for landscape images. These rules are used for placing a subject in the best possible location in the frame. It can be difficult to find a clear subject, though. I believe Gestalt Theory can help in this regard.
