White House Photographer Pete Souza Releases New Book from Obama Era

When I photograph events, I do my best to become a “fly on the wall.” I try to stay out of the way, to be unobtrusive, to not affect what’s happening around me and just document what I see. To be a photographer in the White House and be a fly on those walls — surrounded by high stress, classified this and that, diplomats, dignitaries, tragedies, and achievements, while being charged with capturing all of it, 24/7/365 — would obviously be a job that would take all you’ve got. And to do it for not one, but two presidents? That’s nuts. But there’s one guy who did it. His name is Pete Souza.

[Gear/Contest] Best of NAB 2012

NAB 2012 has come and gone, and if you missed it, know that it was a heck of a show this year. Check out our list of the NAB 2012 products that made serious waves for practicality in both function and price, and then let us know your favorites in the comments section! We're giving away a free year of Animoto to one lucky commenter!

Tips for Removing Those Pesky Hair Ties From Photos

Anyone with long hair is generally seen around town with hair ties worn as a bracelet. I keep many in my studio even to hold back wardrobe pieces that are not form fitting. While the best option is always to remember to have your client remove them before you start shooting, there is always that small chance you forget and it isn't seen until a few frames into the session.

[BTS Video] Photographer Adrien Broom Storybook Themed Shoot

Featured on the Wednesday Rundown before, Photographer Adrien Broom takes us behind the scenes on another whimsical shoot. In this video, she's working with a PocketWizard MiniTT1® [For Nikon/ For Canon] and an AC3 ZoneController [For Nikon/For Canon] to control the power levels of an Elinchrome Digital 2400 and an Einstein™ E640 lights directly from the camera's position. Click the full post to watch the video.
Product Photography: How To Photograph A Beer Advertisement

Photographer Scott Bourke gives us a complete overview of how he took a fantastic product shot of a few bottles of beer. Scott uses a single flash and 4 reflectors to create a very professional looking image that any photographer (no matter how little gear they have) is capable of creating. As I have always said, photography is all about good lighting and good lighting does not mean expensive lighting. Let's hope that Scott is going to enter our BTSV contest. Check out the full post for the final image and a BTS diagram.
[Pic] Absolut Bus-Shelter Ad With One Folded Piece of Paper

It's pretty amazing what you can create by folding a piece of paper in a million different ways. I'm not talking about Origami - but a carefully orchestrated image of Absolut's limited edition "Absolut Purete" Vodka. Artist Simon Schubert used nothing but light and shadows by making over 1,000 different folds into the paper, each fold capturing a different shadow to illustrate depth and dimension. Click the full post to watch the full behind the scenes making of this ad.
BTS Videos Of Annie Leibovitz's Disney Dream Portraits

Last week Lee Morris posted a few behind the scenes images of Annie Leibovitz's latest Disney Campaign featuring Russell Brand as the villainous Captain Hook and funnymen Jack Black, Will Ferrell and Jason Segel as the hitchhiking ghosts from 'The Haunted Mansion' ride. Here are two behind the scenes videos of each photoshoot respectively.

Should You Get Published? An Interview With the Editors of Lucy's and Jute Magazines

In a recent article entitled "Why You Shouldn't Submit Your Photographs to Magazines," I discussed Vanity Magazines and how, in my opinion, they often fail to deliver enough value to justify the photographer's effort. As a result of that article, I've had the opportunity to talk with the editors of two of the more well-known and better-curated vanity, or submission, magazines, Lucy's and Jute, to find out how their work benefits photographers.

World’s First: Metz Mecablitz 52 AF-1 Flash With Touchscreen

One product got a lot of attention during the Photokina 2012 show. The new 52 AF-1 touchscreen flash from Metz (a world’s first). The flash unit will come in Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Olympus, Panasonic, Leica and Sony versions. The estimated price is around €250. Full specs and features can be found in the press release:

A Little Wholesome Tale of a Vintage Camera

Whenever my girlfriend and I see antique stores or vintage markets, our eyes light up. Her eyes are lit up with dreams of bone china tea sets and antiquated woodworking, whereas mine are bright with visions of a dusty Hasselblad in a forgotten corner, or spools of unprocessed and antiquated film. On a Sunday morning in sunny Englandshire recently, my lady-friend and I went for breakfast and on returning to our car, saw a small sign for a vintage pop-up market.

How Douglas Sonders Processes His "Beard Series"

Douglas Sonders has been features a few times on this site with some incredible images and this series doesn't depart from that sentiment. This video walks you through the post production of his "Beard Series" and gives you some great insights into how to use some excellent Nik Software to create a beautiful high contract black and white image.

Six Editing Tips for Cleaner Nature Photos

In this tutorial, we’re going to make some quick and simple adjustments to a close-up flower photograph using ACDSee Photo Studio Professional 2020 and its powerful Develop Mode.

CFast Cards Hurting Your Wallet and Your Recording Time? "C-Box" Has A Solution

4K video camera systems are now quickly becoming prevalent in the market, and with even more on the horizon, it's a safe bet to assume that many filmmakers stepping up to 4K aquisition will be investing in peripherals and other accessories that are needed to capture and edit at that resolution. One of these expensive extras comes in the form of CFast 2.0 cards. Before shelling out for one though, check out a product that instead, lets you record to much less expensve SSD drives.

MyShoebox Launches Free And Unlimited Cloud Storage

MyShoeBox is a new photo storage and sharing site that just launched the other week. It is a free and unlimited storage and sharing site that can be viewed from anywhere. Like dropbox but for photos only.

Zoner Photo Studio X Receives Major Update, Continues Pressure on Adobe

Zoner Photo Studio X is a holistic solution to post-processing and file management for photographers, and yet it flies under the radar. Despite the fact its price is a fraction of Adobe's full suite, major updates to improve it are rolled out regularly, and this latest one adds a number of features.

A Closer Look at the Magic Stick-It Wrapper Cloth From Haida

There are times when you need some extra protection for your equipment, even if you transport it in your camera bag. A pouch can offer that extra protection, or you can wrap it in a cloth. Haida has created the Magic Stick-It Wrapper Cloth for that.

Why I Still Prefer Hot Lights to LEDs

There are numerous articles that are discussing the advantages and disadvantages of hot lights and LEDs. Knowing these, I want to share my opinion from a practical standpoint.

Mobile Access is Behind Adobe's 2014 Updates, Introduce 3 New iPad Apps

Adobe was very clear that the 2014 updates were mainly focused on what they have seen to be a rapidly evolving market: Mobile. Adobe is seeing a rapid pace of change, explosion of mobile, and a world that is continually and incredibly connected. But their software, for real-work at least, is still tethered to a desk. Adobe thinks this is a problem, and sought to solve it.

We Review the H&Y Revoring: A Look at Its Design, Practical Applications, and Limitations

What exactly can the H&Y Revoring do and how does it work? This unique type of filter from H&Y has definitely turned a lot of heads due to its unique design and how it solves a problem that generations of photographers (who use filters) have had for a while. In this review let’s check out how the H&Y Revoring works, what are its limitations, and what instances is it useful in.

Behind the Scenes: Garry Winogrand at Work on the Street

Garry Winogrand is considered by some to be one of the top American photographers of his, or any generation. His books "The Animals" and "Public Relations" are classics, and the number of rolls of film he took over his short life are staggering. When he died he left behind 9,000 rolls of developed and undeveloped film. I can't even imagine the costs involved in processing and scanning those negatives.

How To Use Custom White Balance to Create a Colored Background

Gary Fong takes 2 minutes to show us how you can trick your camera's custom white balance into producing a colored background in white environments. If you have some gels on hand you could play with this technique to turn out a multitude of colors.

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BTS of Carnivora Gardinum by Chris Field

Chris Field shot this amazing time-lapse video, but that’s not all he did; he also generously shared with us the BTS video, which is a dream come true for anyone who wants to see how others do it. Chris spent three months of shooting and over 80GB of images and video. As you may realize, putting all that footage together is a process on its own. On his website, Chris shares with readers all of the ups & downs of such an elaborate time-lapse shoot. It is absolutely mind boggling all that went into creating this video. Chris spoke to Fstoppers about the process in great detail.

The Most Detailed Video On Beauty Dish Lighting I've Seen

I've seen a lot of videos that attempt to explain why you would use a beauty dish over a softbox but I've always had a hard time understanding the subtleties. Jay P Morgan created a video that not only explains everything in great detail, but he also shows 3 lighting examples with each type of dish configuration. If you have always wondered about the magic of the beauty dish, all your questions will now be answered.