How I Photographed Two Racing Cars With Only Two Strobes

An agency I work with for product photography hired me to photograph not one, but two race cars. I had already photographed motorbikes, but cars was going to be the first time. With cars the problems are almost always bigger: the surfaces are bigger, the reflections are bigger, the areas to be illuminated are bigger. Everything is bigger.

Nissan Shoots Their Cars Miniature Style

To put a little twist on filming one of Nissan's most recent car commercials, the crew involved shot everything on a miniature scale by using a few different RC vehicles. Check out how the team tried to preserve some of the standard elements that you might see in a car commercial. The group gets quite creative in building customized camera mounts to keep the best angles.

Olloclip Announces New 4-in-1 Lens for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus

Mobile photography accessory maker Olloclip have debuted their new 4-in-1 Photo Lens for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The new 4-in-1 lens has been redesigned to work with both front and rear facing cameras, and adds a few other new features.

[Business] Last Minute Tax Write Off Ideas For The Professional Photographer

Well it's the end of the year again which means those of you who run a photography business are probably thinking about tax write offs. We have been getting a few emails about this topic so we put together a little list of some expenses you might want to take care of before the end of 2011. Now many of our readers might not yet support themselves with photography, and that is okay; but at some point down the road you will want to consider how to spend your income so you can maximize the growth of your business. If any of our full time photographer friends have any other suggestions or resources, please leave them in the comments so everyone can benefit from your experience.
How Do You Balance Family Time While Establishing Your Business?

Work hard. Create personal work. Blog. Be active on social media. Pick up the phone. These (any many others) are tried and true ways to promote yourself and your business while you're trying to get noticed in a sea of other artists. But what happens when life gets in the way of your success? How do you balance taking care of your family while giving photography an honest to goodness shot?

[Interview] Pulitzer Winner and Celebrity Photographer Brian Smith

Name a celebrity. Yep, go on. Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, Zooey Deschanel, Ben Stiller, Samuel L Jackson. How about an athlete? Serena Williams, Jeff Gordon, Shaquille O’Neal. Brian Smith has worked with them all. I recently sat down with Brian for an Fstoppers exclusive interview and he was glad to share his insight, techniques, and advice with us. Check out the full post for the entire text.
Mastering the Rain Shot: Lighting

Rain during a couple’s portrait session can be hugely annoying for a wedding photographer. A dramatic rain shot can be the silver lining, but only if you’re fully prepared, especially on the lighting front.

Fitness and Adventure Photographer Rob Hammer Finds Success Through Personal Work

Rob Hammer knows all about stories, adventure, and experience. He is a San Diego-based commercial shooter. He has worked for many clients such as Nike, Adidas, Foot Locker, and Under Armour. If you have a chance to follow his Instagram feed, you'll probably find images of him backpacking in a foreign country, photographing old barbershops in the Midwest, or hiking up a mountain with his friends enjoying a cold beer. He lives the life that he photographs. I believe that shooting what you love will ensure you to always have a steady stream of good clients. But when you are photographing your own lifestyle, the possibilities are endless.

New RED Monochrome Video Beast

Even if we’ve barely been able to set our eyes on one, we still all love the RED camera, don’t we? Well RED just announced a new monochrome-only version...

Learn to Love Your Images

Have you ever felt unsatisfied or disconnected from your photos? It’s important to know we all go through this and these are a few things you can do to help.

Fstoppers Reviews the Autel EVO: Too Little, Too Late

The world of drones is dominated by DJI but other manufacturers try to propose alternatives. After weeks of intensive use, here is a detailed review of the Autel EVO in comparison to the Mavic Pro.

[Gear] Before the Pro Stuff, A Few Last Words for the Little Guys

We're all waiting for the Nikon D800 and Canon 5D Mark III -- no question. It's around the corner, but this week, if you're looking for a new point-and-shoot or mirrorless camera, we have plenty of those: the last few manufacturers are 'catching up' on the mirrorless front. So here's an overview of what happened this week, and cross your fingers for February 7th!
Understanding Fine Art Photography With Leigh Schneider

As photographers, we often find ourselves at exciting places such as concerts, parties, and sporting events. Many photographers spend hours of their day working with other people. It is common to see photographers interacting with people and asking the people they are photographing to move a bit to the left or to position their hands differently. On the surface, it might seem that photographers are extroverts who love being out and about.

Breaking Down the Visual Effects of Brett Ratner's "Hercules"

Earlier this summer we saw the release of Brett Ratner's "Hercules". The movie was a mild success despite critics' anticipations. Recently Milk VFX and Double Negative VFX houses have both released breakdowns of how they created the visual effects for the movie. Mike Seymour of Wired walks you through a detailed featurette on how Double Negative created the numerous creature effects for the film. In the second breakdown we get to see how Milk expanded the world in the movie with set expansions, matte paintings and other special effect touches.

Why Instagram Should Hide Follower Counts and Why It Never Will

Instagram appears to be in the process of rolling out a surprising change to its platform: hiding the number of times that a post has been liked. While the internet giant claims that it’s making the change in to help us focus on the thing we love, the truth is different. If it really wants to improve things, it should go one step further and hide follower counts too. You can be sure, however, that it never will.

New Company Storytag Wants to Give Wedding Albums a Written Dynamic

Albums are a big seller for wedding photographers, and for good reason. Brides want a physical memory of their day they can pull down off the shelf for years to come. But Storytag founder Nikki McKenna believes there is room for improvement when it comes to albums. She thinks that adding a written story element can really change the power of an album.

Check Out This Unique Etch A Sketch Camera

Martin Fitzpatrick has built one of the most interesting cameras we've ever seen: one that displays the captured image by drawing it on an Etch a Sketch.

How To Create An Easy Street Photo Session

Clay Enos is a laid back photographer who is probably most well known for his portraits from the movie The Watchmen. Today he is taking his portrait photography to the streets and doing something most of us would find pretty intimidating by asking random people to pose in front of his white backdrop. Making people feel comfortable with you in a short amount of time is a crucial skill to have as a photographer, and Clay does a great job explaining how you can do this on the street with a relatively short 50mm lens. Now some people might not consider this real street photography but it's definitely an easy way to capture spontaneous images with a studio look.
Behind The Scenes With Wolfe Air And Their Incredible Flying Camera Platforms

Last week I posted a gorgeous video from Wolfe Air - their promo reel for aviation cinematography, and explained a bit of the process behind it. This week, I've found and put together a few videos which detail how they equip their planes and helicopters with some of the most advanced camera technologies available, and it's pretty mindblowing. In these videos, Wolfe Air loads up a Learjet with

Profoto Shows Off the B1s in Location Portraiture with Brian Marcus

Profoto just released a video showcasing their popular B1 units on location with wedding photographer Brian Marcus. Marcus shows how he uses the lights through new York with ease, obviously taking advantage of the size and weight of the B1 heads. This particular video focuses on the NIkon TTL Air remotes that were just released.

[Pics] Hot Blondes Using Pepper Spray on Cops?

Ok, maybe this didn't happen in real life but this is how editorial Photographer Tyler Shields recreated the image taken of the Occupy U.C Davis protesters. His photo project, titled "Occupied," features two models in their skivvies, giving a bunch of police officers a mouth full of pepper spray. What do you think? Is this a good interpretation of what's going on or is the fact that he used two hot blondes to get his message across clouding your judgement? Click the full post to see the rest of the photographs from his latest project.
Fstoppers Interviews Legendary White House Photographer Pete Souza

Pete Souza needs little introduction. As the Chief Official White House Photographer for President Obama and an Official White House Photographer for President Reagan, Souza had the crucial duty of documenting innumerably many historical moments, a job he did with an empathetic touch that has made his work the model for many aspiring photographers. I recently had the chance to speak with Souza about his work, his approach, and his new film.

How to Venture Successfully Into Wedding Photography Today

Wedding photography has changed vastly over the years. And as much as there is a growing potential for newcomers, there is also an amassing amount of challenges that one has to encounter. It is wise to have a clear understanding of the industry before taking the plunge.

Interview With Underwater Photographer Elena Kalis

Elena Kalis's underwater photos are incredible. I have seen many photographers try this and it just never seems to turn out right. There is always something about the shots I wont like but that could easily just be me being picky. However, when it come to Elena Kalis's underwater photography, I cant look away.

Maybe All You Needed Was a Good Crop

"Get it right in the camera", correct? But sometimes you can't and sometimes you won't on purpose, but it works out only if you know how and when to crop!