Brands big and small, new and established, are heavily investing in Instagram influencers to market their products. This has opened up a relatively new market for the working videographer, and here are my top seven tips to the production of Instagram-friendly video ads.
I recently had the opportunity to have dinner with Alex Merriman, the Director of Photography with the UFC. I got to geek out with him about mixed martial arts, and the technical side of filming and promoting the fastest growing sport in the world.
In this behind the scenes video, Jay P Morgan shows us how he combined natural light and strobes to get that perfect shot while on location. First, he starts by determining where the sun is going to set on the horizon by using the very handy iPhone app, Sunseeker. For this project, he was shooting stills as well as video, which can get a bit tricky. Using a Kessler Crane he was able to get the video shots just before sunset. After the sun started setting he pulled out the strobe lighting; two Hensel Porty L 1200 kits. If you enjoy this video be sure to check out some of his other...
As photographers, our friends, relatives, and significant others sometimes despair at trying to find what may appeal to us and be within their holiday budgets. We may casually let them know that we are super excited about this new gadget that will "really" improve our photography if we only had that one newfangled gizmo. Whether it’s a brand new piece of kit or something that’s been in our bags sitting from a few years ago, we still need to learn what that "new" tool can do.
Moment is known as one of the best lens manufacturers for smartphones. They are now releasing a couple of new exciting accessories to help you shoot cinematic videos with your smartphone, including a 1.33x anamorphic lens.
If you have been reading Fstoppers for the last year, you may have noticed our post about Wave Accounting for desktop use and how it offers free invoicing, receipt creation, accounting, and more. Now, Wave has just announced their release of an official iPhone app so you can create invoices and more on the go. This app, in my personal opinion, is the best way to create invoices and get paid by clients.
Elinchrom has entered the world of LED lights, debuting the ELM8, a continuous light source compatible with the variety of Elinchrom's light shapers.
Known for their well-built camera backpacks that cater to photographers and videographers who take their kit on outdoor adventures, F-Stop Gear is unveiling the "Shinn," a backpack that has an impressive 80 liter capacity. Made specifically for cinematographers with large camera kits, it's been field tested on expeditions around the world, and is now ready to be made available for everyone else.
Shooting a panorama is quite simple in concept, but there are a few tips to follow that should give more consistent results. Whether you have never shot a panorama before or you're well versed, there may be something in here for you.
There were lots of preconceived notions I had for being a professional photographer. Some were right, some were wrong, and most were somewhere in-between. But there were aspects that I hadn't even considered.
Images shot after sunset, using natural light, can be among the trickiest to post-process properly. This guide provides a walkthrough of my post-processing steps for a recent night shot, and introduces a number of techniques I find essential for optimal night photos.
Markus Andersen is back at it again on the streets of Sydney, Australia… but this time he has teamed up with fellow street photographer Elif Suyabatmaz of Istanbul, Turkey. The pair of photographers has just wrapped up a three year long project titled Mirrored where they responded to one another’s images by presenting a similar viewpoint from their respective nations. The final collection echoes the differences and similarities within the Australian and Turkish cultures through the mirrored interpretations each photographer presents.
Sean Goebel might only do photography in his spare time while working on his PhD in Astronomy, but that hasn't stopped him from licensing work to the likes of Canon, the Discovery Channel, and others. A quick watch of his timelapse works, including Epochs and Mauna Kea Heavens and it is easy to see why. His latest timelapse project is included here, along with a brief look into its creation.
Beware, those with gear acquisition syndrome. Blackmagic Design has just dropped the price of their URSA Mini Pro 12K to $5,995.
G-Technology updated its lineup today with the introduction of two eight-bay storage arrays made to be easily transportable. From enterprise-class hard drives for robust performance to handles on top of the units that let them be more easily moved from studio to car, to set, and back, the G-Speed Shuttle XLs are the ultimate on-the-go editor's dream direct-attached-storage system.
The new year is right around the corner. While many are rushing to buy things for Black Friday, I am waiting patiently for January and February. There are two reasons behind this choice: financials and availability. But enough about timing. Here is the gear I will upgrade in 2024.
On January 17, 2023, the Oversight Board issued a decision advising Meta to revise its policies on freeing the nipple. Here's what that decision actually says.
Vimeo just released their new "Enhancer" feature today which offers over 500 Instagramish filters to add to your videos. For a limited time all of the filters are free, but soon the site will be charging $1 to use the filters, which you will be able to try before you buy. Click through to the post to check out a snazzy before and after GIF and for the super secret link to Vimeo's new Enhancer.
Recently, there has been a push to have photographers keep their shoot locations secret, as park administration and others are asking photographers not to geotag their images. I don’t agree, and think this practice is counterproductive.
The photography world is veritably inundated with learning options, and it can be nigh impossible to wade through them all to find what's worthwhile. So, when Skillshare offered me the chance review their platform, I jumped at the opportunity. Here's what I found.
Drones are probably the hottest gadgets in the photography industry this year. We see them being used for commercial aerial shoots, for news coverage, for wedding photography and, well, just for fun. The guys at 'Earth Touch' recently decided to see if they can create a drone that instead of going up to the sky, will be able to go down under the water. After planning on paper, they executed their idea and built a fully functional underwater 'drone' submarine. Check out the BTS and the final result.
Arca-Swiss is set to show a gaggle of new products for large format photographers at Photokina next week. From ball heads to cameras, there is kind of a lot to go through. That said, let's take things one at a time.
Architectural Photographer Chris Luker creates thoughtful images of buildings and locations, and really digs deep to communicate the details and context of the place. In a very thoughtful and informative video, Chris describes his thoughts and process for trying to translate the “language of architecture.” There’s some really deep thoughts here, Jack Handey would be proud.
Last year, I came up with an idea. A far fetched idea though it may have been, it was something I really wanted to do. I wanted to combine all of the things I love into one project, and make it a reality. Those things were photography, helping those less fortunate than myself, physical printing, travel, traditional cultures, and the sharing of knowledge. The culmination of these would be both a hardcover and a softcover book. The publication of the results would be self-published using funds from a Kickstarter campaign. It might seem like a crazy undertaking for one person, but it's very doable if you plan it right.
The photography industry and it’s consumers would both benefit from introducing the predominant mobile phone sales model.
Last year, the photography accessory company Gura Gear purchased the struggling brand Tamrac and ever since has been hard at work to revitalize the company through adding more employees and building new facilities as well as starting from scratch with product design and branding. Now, the brand has announced that Gura Gear will drop its own name in favor operating as Tamrac, and the new Tamrac G-Elite series of backpacks will carry on what Gura Gear began.
Best suited for the those that run light on camera gear, the Lowepro StreetLine BP 250 is a great looking pack that has just enough features to be called a camera bag at all. Its unique collapsable interior pockets allow for a couple photography items to be stored securely, otherwise it’s free-for-all with what you choose to throw inside. This well-made bag is not without issue, however. Check out what works and what doesn’t in this review.
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