With 10 years of professional photography under my belt, I can confidently say directing models with ease is one of the most important aspects of the job. Yet, it is a skill that so many photographers struggle with. It’s one of those things that seems so simple, but in the actual moment, can be incredibly challenging.

Fujifilm announced the new member of its entry-level mirrorless series, the new Fujifilm X-A5 and the first motorized power zoom lens, the Fujinon XC 15-45mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS PZ. While the new X-A5 comes with new features such as Bluetooth image transfer, the new zoom lens is the lightest zoom lens that Fuji launched so far.

As an art director, I get hundreds of emails per week from photographers offering their services. When I received an email from Michael Ray, I was truly touched by the images he shot for Flashes of Hope, an organization where photographers go in and do pro-bono shoots at the local Children's hospital. These shots are gifted to the children and their families. I love the part about being able to do something nice for others as a photographer. Not too many professions have the potential of doing that. It is up to each and every one of us to decide what we want to do with this gift we were given. I spoke with Michael about this project, and here is what he said...

Since the beginning of time, humans have been drawn to the mountains. Naturally, if you’re a photographer and have a taste for adventure, the mountains seem like the best place to go shoot. Dramatic landscapes, beautiful colors, and natural majesty of the great outdoors is the perfect recipe for compelling imagery. However, we must prepare properly and to be aware of the dangers in these places because a mistake in the mountains could be fatal. If you take the time to research and know the variables that Mother Nature presents there is no reason your shoot won’t go as planned.

It's easy as a photographer to get caught up in having dozens of strobes and spending hours trying to get an image perfect in camera. It doesn't always have to be that hard, though, and in today's photography tutorial, I work through a mock advertisement campaign shot with just one strobe light.

Once upon a dark and stormy night, the chills ran up my spine as I clicked the mouse, seconds seemed more like minutes while I nervously awaited for the page to load. Ok well it wasn't that dramatic, however I'd be lying if I didn't say Horror Photographer Joshua Hoffine's work didn't give me the heebie-jeebies. A VFX friend of mine shared some of this photographer's work on Facebook and I immediately had to find out who this guy behind the scary photos was. I got a hold of Joshua after asking him if I could interview him and his process for Fstoppers. Then I almost peed my pants, being an old school horror film buff I was pretty excited to share some of his work! This guy puts some serious work into his scenes and it's not only something to be truly admired, however also pretty unique in the rat race of photographers now a days.

Fstoppers is happy to announce the next round of Critique the Community. We invite everyone to submit your best editorial and fashion images to be critiqued by Clay Cook. Please follow the guidelines for submissions below to ensure eligibility for your image to be chosen. We will be accepting submissions through Friday night, November 18 and will be offering feedback to a total of 20 pictures.

Apple has introduced a revamped Mac mini featuring the new M4 and M4 Pro chips, aiming to offer a smaller, more powerful desktop solution. At 5 inches square, the new Mac mini is the company’s smallest desktop yet, built around Apple silicon’s energy efficiency and a redesigned thermal architecture. This new model also represents Apple’s first carbon-neutral Mac, part of its commitment to reduce its environmental footprint.

Not many people are able to travel around the globe and play with photography and video. In this trip to China, Ryan Emond puts together some shots of a few beautiful scenes from China. For the shoot, he used both a Nikon D700 and a 5D Mark III along with some tools from Dynamic Perception to help with camera movement.

Adobe just announced the availability of its new CS6 software suite. Of course, Adobe's software solutions are absolutely necessary for just about every storyteller out there. Patrick gave us a quick look at Photoshop CS6's most awesome features a little while ago if you want to check it out (the new content-aware support is unbelievable!). While we're most excited about Premiere Pro and Photoshop CS6, read on for links to pre-order whatever you've been looking forward to!

It is a difficult time for wedding photographers in 2020. Wedding bookings, for the time being, have postponed or canceled. Many couples in the United States have shifted their wedding dates to 2021, leaving wedding photographers without thousands of dollars of anticipated income for the rest of the year. So, how can wedding photographers keep cash flowing into their business during COVID-19?

Since 2004, Lensbaby has been an industry innovator, designing outside-the-box creative lenses and accessories. While other manufacturers chase the expensive, high-tech, spec-fixated market, Lensbaby pursues something entirely different: helping artists find a new creative approach through unique effects delivered by fully analog products.