Embrace Photography Culture With Meetups

What if instead of settling in on yet another evening of editing that overwhelming avalanche of photos, and half heartedly watching Netflix in your pajamas, tonight you excite your palette with a tasty libation while rubbing elbows with a group of like-minded photography enthusiasts. I don’t know about you, but I’m sold.

How to Create Legacy With Your Photos: Talking With Gian Paolo Barbieri

Along with only a few other luminaries of his generation, Gian Paolo Barbieri helped to create the foundations of modern fashion photography. By pushing fashion photography beyond fashion commerce, the depth of Barbieri’s images forces us to consider them as art as much as commerce. I had the chance to ask Barbieri a few questions about being a pioneer in his field and what it takes to create a legacy.

Seven Ways of Giving Your Images Meaning

Every technical and compositional skill you have in your toolbox cannot give your images meaning. Of all the considerations, putting meaning into an image is probably the hardest to achieve. It’s an esoteric thing, but it can help lift your photographs from the mundane to extraordinary.

A Bold Paper With Bold Texture Makes for a Beautifully Unique Print

When you're looking to print something that can really stand out and be unique, you may be wanting something more than a traditional matte or glossy paper. That's where Moenkopi Washi Unryu 55 comes in with a gorgeous texture and feel for your fine art prints.

Top 10 Takeaways From The Client's Perspective by Andy Baker of NatGeo

Two years ago I shared something called The Client Blog. It was started by Andy Baker, Group Creative Director for the National Geographic channels. Andy has been writing, editing, producing and Creative Directing promos and print ads for the last 21 years. Andy decided to start the blog as more of a personal creative project and it's been going strong the past two years. He's grouped his ten favorite takeaways he's learned from being on both sides of the table.


The Sartorialist:  Documentary on Street Photography

Scott Schuman runs a really popular fashion blog called The Sartorialist, and the whole idea is that he takes timeless looking images of fashionable people in cities around the world. A few days ago we ran a viral story on Vivian Maier who may have been the greatest unknown street photographer of her era. I thought this short documentary on Scott might be interesting to those of you who enjoy taking spontaneous images on your own city streets. It's easy to get wrapped up in gear and fancy lighting with 'modern' photography but ultimately it's your subjects that really makes an image. What better way is there to test your own craft than to take just a camera and lens and hit the streets? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5NgG5koPZU
Redefining Success: What Truly Makes a You A Successful Photographer

Success in photography is a fairly vague metric. Some measure it by the number of followers on Instagram, others by ratings on photography forums, and some people by the gear you use. However, none of these three things mean success. In fact, a photographer who shoots on the latest gear, gets 5-star ratings on forums, and has a million followers is not necessarily successful. Here is what an actually successful photographer is.

Henri Cartier-Bresson:  The Father Of Modern Photo Journalism

Many photographers first pick up a camera and head out to the streets to capture people in their own city. Well before there are studio lights to consider, models to coach, wardrobes and makeup to style, or locations to scout, there is only a photographer and the streets. Henri Cartier-Bresson is perhaps the earliest and most well known street photographer. Born in France in 1908, Henri created "surreal" images that would later become known as a photojournalistic approach to photography. His most well known publication, The Decisive Moment, features historic images from both the East and the West during his coverage of Gandhi's funeral, the end of the Chinese Civil War, and the liberation of Indonesia from the Dutch. In this short documentary, Henri describes his ideas on portraits and photojournalism and how he thinks subjects are best approached. I love the psychology of photography presented in this video; what do you guys think?
[News] Nikon’s 2011 Small World in Motion Competition: Changing the Way You Look at Breakfast

You'll never look at your breakfast the same way again, thanks to Anna Franz's 1st place winning entry of Nikon's 2011 Small World in Motion Competition. Unlike the second place and third place winners that use widefield fluorescence microscopy and darkfield thechniques, Anna's work is done using a straight up reflected light source. See all three videos here.
The Wednesday Rundown 1.11.12

Howdy and welcome to the Wednesday Rundown. We are still posting all the contest entries that were sent in. This week we have a dirt bike fashion shoot and the BYU Gymnastic's team poster shoot. Just as the rest of the videos have been, these are unique and very well done. There's always something we can take away from these videos and apply to our own work. If you have a video that you think we might like to post, please click on "submit content" above.
GoPro Announces Details On Their New Professional Virtual Reality Camera

At this point, you've probably heard that the Virtual Reality revolution is coming. Seemingly every week, big companies are making announcements about dipping their toes into the 360 video technology game. For example: Facebook purchased the class-leading virtual reality headset company Oculus, Samsung released their GearVR headsets that work with their smart phones, and Nokia announced their stereoscopic professional VR OZO camera.

BASE Jumping For Pirelli's Annual TV Commercial - Behind The Scenes

Pirelli, known on this site mostly for their (NSFW) Calendar Photoshoots, also creates their TV spots with a high-level approach. Literally, this behind the scenes video shows the setup and production needed to capture skiers BASE jumping off of a huge cliff. How do Pirelli tires fit in? Check out the final cut of the completed video and you'll see how it all comes together. Spoiler Alert: They throw a car off of the cliff too!

How National Geographic and BBC Filmmaker Bertie Gregory Captures Animal Behavior

From an early age, Bertie Gregory was sailing, surfing, swimming in the ocean. He was always outside, taking in nature. When you spend that amount of time outdoors and in nature, you gain an appreciation for it by osmosis. Even in England, a place not known for wildlife, he was able to appreciate it.

Steven Holleran Uses New Canon C700 Full Frame Camera to Film New Movie

Steven Holleran has been interviewed for the Fstoppers before … twice, actually. But, with good reason: His approach to cinematography and his work behind the lens is constantly pushing the boundaries of creative, thoughtful filmmaking. Read more to learn of Holleran’s most recent accomplishment.

PolarPro Launches Professional QuartzLine Filters

Well known in the drone world for its accessories, PolarPro announced a new series of filters called QuartzLine for photography and video applications. Here is a quick preview and unboxing of these filters.

Sign Contracts Electronically for Free with SignNow

When I need to send a contract out to a bride or other photography client I never have a stamp. Which makes the document sit on my desk till I finally force myself to swing by the post office (which is never a happy place). Well now there is a website that can help you bypass the mail and hopefully speed up the contract signing process.

Father and Son Project 'Small Steps Are Giant Leaps' Photo Series

Almost every photographer has created some sort of personal project in their time. In fact, many photographers’ work is comprised entirely of personal projects. Rarely though do I see projects that are truly personal. I mean that in the sense of their projects having a real emotional connection to the photographer that easily shows through in their images. Small Steps Are Giant Leaps, a father/son project started by photographer Aaron Sheldon and his son Harrison, is one of those projects.

2019 PhotoPlus Expo Round Up

The 2019 PhotoPlus Expo was held this weekend at the Javits Center in New York City. This year’s edition was full of several changes, both exciting and concerning.

New Panoramic 35mm Camera from Jeff Bridges and SilvergrainClassics in the Works

I'm a sucker for panoramic cameras. Over the last decade, I've shot on my share, having spent more than I should have on a collection of various bodies. They've followed me to space shuttle launches, riots, out the back of aircraft, and to the White House. But as the world shifted to digital, the number of functional panoramic film cameras out there in the wild has dwindled, driving the prices through the roof.

Urban Shepherds and Medium-Format Film: The Photography of Stefano Carnelli

Stefano Carnelli is an Italian photographer living in London and Berlin, shooting socially-engaged, documentary images on medium-format film with a particular interest in the relationship between people and landscapes. His recent project, “Transumanza,” explores the lives of shepherds and their flocks in the Po Valley of northern Italy, examining how their historic traditions have changed in response to globalization and an ever-shifting landscape.

edelkrone Releases New Motorized Portable Camera Jib

Continuous static shots in videos can get stale pretty fast. Adding clean, smooth motion pans into your video work has gotten even easier with the latest camera jib release from edelkrone.

Photos from the Fantasy World of Marwencol

Mark Hogancamp suffered a brain damaging assault that left him having to relearn how to live. Lacking any memory of his past and being cut off from adequate health care for recuperation he created his own miniature fantasy world as a form of art therapy. The photographs created out of the narratives of Marwencol (his fantasy world) are creatively realistic and have resulted in the creation of "Marwencol", a documentary movie (available on Netflix). You can click here to see some of the photos and a link to Marwencol.

This Simple Flash Mistake Is Ruining Your Images, Here Is How To Fix It

In the past ten or so years, one of the most common features flash photographers started using is HSS. However, HSS can ruin your images when it comes to freezing ability, consistency, and light output. In this article, I will show just how HSS can be a detriment to your images and what you should do instead.

[BTSV] Contest Entry: Transcend (informative/entertaining)

"The last thing we want to see is another music video." "The last thing we want to see is another music video." "The last thing we want to see is another music video." No matter how many times we say it, we get submission after submission of uninformative videos where people take some footage, drop in some music and send it along. Not the case with Caleb's first ever BTS video where he shows you, in painstakingly long detail, how he got his ethereal final image. He even made me chuckle a bit but lied to me when he said "...the next ten minutes.", cause this vid is 32 minutes long. :) Get those contest entries in kids.

Add Depth to Your Photos Using Mixed Lighting

If you’re a wedding or event photographer, it’s likely you’ve come across mixed lighting situations, and understanding how to work with or around it is crucial. If done right, mixed lighting can have a flattering effect and can add visual interest and depth to your photos.