Fstoppers Interviews One of the Creative Industry's Hardest Working CEOs

There's a lot more to creating unique and edgy content than keeping a camera fixed to your face. From eating scrumptious tacos and filming rock-busting, high-horsepower off-road race trucks in Baja, Mexico to cruising the scenic Rubicon Trail in the Sierra Nevada creating content for some of the motorsport industry's biggest names, it's all in a week's work if you're Matt Martelli, the creative director and CEO of one of the fastest growing media companies on the U.S. West Coast, Mad Media.

How to Take Great Images in Bad Weather

Landscape photography is largely dictated by the weather you experience out in the field. Many times, we don't get the conditions we hoped for, which can be especially challenging after investing time and money into a photography trip. These are five things you can do the next time you're in unfavorable conditions to walk away with great images regardless of the weather.

How to Add Some Energy to Your Product Photographs Using Creative Gels

Shooting product photography can either be a tedious task or it can be a fun and rewarding one. Likewise, looking at product photographs can either be boring or it can enlightening. Using gels to modify the light in your product photographs can be an easy way to add some energy to your images.

3D LUT Creator Gets a Very Welcomed Update With Powerful New Features

One of the many reasons I love this great color grading tool (as I've already written about) is that the creator, Oleg, is very good at listening to requests and creating or adding new features, while fixing minor bugs along the way in a much more responsive manner than what I've seen from the big companies. I'm happy to see the new 1.42 update released today.

We Review the Elinchrom THREE

Elinchrom has a pretty wide range of lights on offer, but their newest edition fills a gap in their lineup that users will be happy to see.

Compare and Despair: A Photographer's Guide to Positive Thinking

You’ve just wrapped up a shoot and excitement begins to swell in you as you prepare to review your pictures. You hope that just this once, you can walk away with deep satisfaction at the end result. However, to your dismay, just as you are preparing to review the pictures, you catch wind of a notification to view someone’s new Instagram post. That of which due to how polished it is, makes you look at your own work with despair. The spark you once felt for it is now gone.

Photographer Fights Copyright Infringement With Photography

Photographer Ryan Doco Connors recently found one of his images being printed on a t-shirt without his consent. Sugar Factory, the company selling the shirt, claimed that since the image was changed 40% (I have no clue where that number comes from) it was no longer considered his photo. Instead of suing, Ryan fought back with a few new photos and lucky for us, he shares all of the lighting details. This is exactly how The Stolen Scream story started... Hopefully this isn't the beginning of something much bigger for Ryan.
Stop Motion Video Created With 2335 Prints

Stop motion videos are becoming increasingly more popular as digital cameras and software make them easier to create. Dave Wallace decided to make things quite a bit harder when he shot 2335 images, had them printed out, and then shot them a second time in picture frames on the wall. It took hours of work but the finished product is well worth the time. Check it out in the full post.
[Pics] Planets Caught Inside Of Water Drops

I thought I had seen pretty much every type of water drop photo over the years, then I stumbled upon these. Markus Reugels is a floor installer in Marktsteinach, Germany as well as a part-time photographer. Markus has created a way to reflect images into water drops while capturing said drops in midair.

Ever Wondered What Challenges Astronaut Photographers Face?

In the last few years, us earth-bound humans have been blessed with stunning still images and breathtaking timelapses that were taken in outerspace. Veteran astronaut-photographer Don Pettit was at the recent SXSW event, and spoke about the challenges of capturing images in space.

Hasselblad Masters 2023: Enter for a Chance To Win!

Hasselblad is making a comeback with another edition of Hasselblad Masters, a competition aimed at showcasing the world's best photography across diverse genres. Read on for details!

Networking Tips and Resources For Photographers and Videographers

We all know the term, and as cringe-worthy as it can sound, it doesn't negate it's importance: networking. Along with "entrepreneur," the word "networking" gets thrown around a lot in today's millennial-run world full of social media highlight reels and "try-hard" antics. But networking, in the purest sense of the word, is an absolute necessity in our industry of creative entrepreneurship. There are opportunities around you that you will never be privy to unless you start cultivating genuine relationships with the creators in your extended circles. Not only that, but there is a vast pool of resources and knowledge that you could be tapping into.

Fstoppers Interviews National Geographic Cinematographer and Photographer Renan Ozturk

North Face athlete. National Geographic Adventurer of the Year. Painter. Cinematographer. Filmmaker. Whether climbing first ascents or hanging off cliffs to film hallucinogenic honey hunters, Renan Ozturk's bio reads like that of five people. Fstoppers was lucky enough to interview this talented creative. Find out all about him and his process here.

Creating Inspiration for Conceptual Imagery

At some point, all creatives fall into ruts where it’s difficult to imagine new concepts. Unfortunately, inspiration doesn't always present itself. Sometimes we have to create it. Below is a list of practices I follow.

Irish Photographer Mistaken for Gunman

A photographer in Ireland who was out for a stroll with a tripod at night was mistaken for a gunman by a passerby, who called the authorities. A manhunt ensued. And he had no idea.

The Wednesday Rundown 11.16.11

Howdy and welcome to the Wednesday Rundown. This weekend I had the chance to sneak into an old abandon mental hospital. It was pretty crazy how easy it was to simply open the door and enter. I didn't even have to get by a fence to get into this place. I was inspired to find some photo shoots done in this type of environment. Enjoy! If you have a video that you think we might like to post, please click on "submit content" above.




Fstoppers Reviews the Portabrace BK-1HDV Backpack, Currently $99 From B&H

After enough time in the broadcast industry, it's hard not to have a soft spot for Portabrace. They are incredibly well made. However, outside of generic television and news gathering, I would say that Think Tank, Lowepro, and Pelican are the top dogs. I never found a Portabrace bag suiting my needs entirely, nevermind that they can cost a small fortune — until now. I managed to pick up an amazing backpack for just $99 after instant savings from B&H.

[Video] Behind The Scenes - OK Go's Music Vid "Needing/Getting"

By now most of you have probably seen OK Go's music video for "Needing/Getting", either during the Superbowl or from the millions of people who circulated it across the web right after. They just released the first in a series of behind the scenes videos that show how they made this awesome ad, check it out!
The Fstoppers FlashDisc Is Available in Canada For Tonight Only

The photography megastore B&H has purchased 50 FlashDiscs from us as a "test run" and they just went on sale minutes ago. B&H will ship anywhere in the world (if you are wiling to pay the shipping costs) but shipping to Canada is particularly reasonable. Jump on this before they sell out in a few hours.

Photographing a Soldier’s Heart: The Most Important Images I’ve Ever Created

I’ve pondered posting this article since I started writing for Fstoppers over a year ago, but it never seemed right. I thought about sharing the story on Veteran’s Day, on Memorial Day, on either the anniversary of my friend’s birth or of his death. None of these timings ever seemed right. Maybe that’s because it was still so fresh in my heart. Maybe I felt like it was too personal to share. But I figure it’s a story that needs to be told, especially on the heels of President Trump’s signature on an order that aims to improve mental health options for our brothers and sisters returning home from the “playground of war.”

New Retouching Academy Beauty Retouching Contest

The Retouching Academy has announced a new contest, open to beginner and experienced enthusiast skill levels. Download the contest image file and submit your best retouch by May 15, 2018 for a chance to win some great prizes from Wacom, Capture One, and Retouching Academy.