The Dark Side Of The Lens

I remember seeing this video a long time ago and really enjoyed it. Maybe we thought it was not educational enough to post it but after watching it again I think it's worth sharing. For those of you who have not already seen this short story, the Dark Side Of The Lens is a poetic journey into mind of surf photographer Mickey Smith. The cinematography is outstanding and the locations are breathtaking. It's this sort of presentation that truly makes me appreciate what we all do as artists.
Surrealistic Light Painting Video Animation

It's all about light painting today. German collective group, Lichtfaktor took what we normally see in photographic form and made a dreamlike video animation for the brand dENiZEN™. Taking only five nights to film, this crew spent many hours planning and rehearsing the story line and, incredibly, no post production was needed once they were done filming.

How to Always Get Paid on Time

While the dream is to bill global giants for high-end work, the reality is that many photographers and videographers are often doing small jobs for tiny companies. Getting paid on time can be a bit of a battle, so here’s a system to try and advice to consider in order to make sure your invoices don’t disappear.

[News] Nikon's D4 Release Date to be Delayed

Nikon Rumors is reporting a delay in the shipping of Nikon's D4 and are citing firmware issues as the cause. So if you've been eagerly awaiting your February 16th pre-order, sucks to be you. But hey, what's an extra month's wait for one of the best cameras ever? The delay seems to be global, so don't expect yours to ship until March 15th. That just means more time to save your pennies. Pre-order yours now.
Fstoppers Reviews the Billlingham Hadley One Camera Bag

In my experience, I find that luxury bags can be a polarizing issue among photographers. Some see absolutely no reason to spend hundreds of dollars on cameras bags; however, there are many that simply won't settle for less.

Photography Business Makeover Workshop With Jasmine Star

Starting tomorrow January 9th, wedding photographer, Jasmine Star will be doing a different type of workshop. Hosted by our friends over at creativeLIVE, Jasmine is doing a 3 part series over 3 months on how to completely start your photography business from scratch. Be sure to tune in on January 9, February 13, and March 6 to learn how to rebrand and recreate your photography business.

How to Take Photographs From a Helicopter

About a year ago I was drinking in a bar in Leicester, England. I got chatting to a gentleman who I sort of recognized from various events I'd attended in the past. After a few drinks, I discovered he owned a helicopter. At this stage, I was a bit worse for wear and thought it would be a grand idea to ask if he'd like to fly me above our hometown to take a sunset cityscape. We agreed, in our inebriated state, that this seemed like an excellent idea. So, just a few days later we met again (without beer) in a field; Me with my camera and a sickness in the pit of my stomach and him with his helicopter. We were all set for our flight.

Photography Workshops in Your Town: Impossible?

When starting out in photography, the number one obstacle I encountered was finding opportunities to learn from mentors. Research is pretty clear that the fastest way to shortcut the 10,000-hour rule, that is, the rule made famous in Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers," which says it takes approximately 10,000 hours to become a master of your craft, is to use a mentor in your field, shortcutting by learning from their mistakes. My problem, which is likely yours as well, is that educators didn't come to my town. El Paso, Texas, with its 700,000 population, didn't seem very attractive to the teacher circuit. So, how do you change that?

EA Sports:  FIFA 2010, Fans, And A Lot Of Paint

Earlier in the week I posted a video featuring commercial photographer Monte Isom photographing comedian Colin Kane. We'll it turns out Monte has been filming great behind the scenes videos of his photoshoots all along. In this video Monte shows you not only how he created the fun ad campaign for the EA Sports FIFA 2010 video game but also how he secured the job in the first place! It's really great to see photographers like Monte having a good time on their shoots and also showing exactly how they took a concept, pitched some images, and ultimately won the bidding war to secure a high end project. If only every photographer would be so open with sharing their success stories we might have more videos like this. Monte gives some exclusive insight on the shoot and the final image on the packaging in the full post.

Monte Isom EA Sports FIFA World Cup 2010 behind the scenes advertising photo shoot from monte isom on Vimeo.

Another Film Bites the Dust

A few days ago, Fuji unfortunately announced the end of one of its finest films, Reala 100. I've used it myself exclusively for a particular project -- very recently, in fact -- but now that the 120 format is kicking the bucket (35mm already did a while back), it's time to say goodbye to another film that will be remembered for its superbly accurate rendition of color.

Via Phoblographer

And The Three Wedding Tutorial Winners Are...

The contest for our tutorial How To Become A Commercial Wedding Photographer just came to a close an hour ago, and the final 3 winners have been randomly picked. These three lucky readers will get a pre release copy of the Digital Download as well as a free copy of our new light modifier as soon as it is released sometime this year. Read on to see the winners

Canon Announces the RF 200-800mm f/6.3-9 IS USM Lens

Canon has announced the RF 200-800mm f/6.3-9 IS USM, a powerful zoom lens for wildlife, sports, and nature photographers that offers a wide range of focal lengths at a reasonable price.

[Video] Need Tips On How To Light An Interview?  Watch This Video

Well it's Christmas Eve here in the US and many of you are about to have a blast opening up some cool photography gadgets (or I hope so at least). But in the meantime, Eve Hazelton created a really thorough video on how to light an interview or one person scene easily and effectively. Eve is the director of photography for the film Underwater Realm which we've feature a ton on Fstoppers (check out their great BTS videos here). Her work is so helpful that Philip Bloom featured an interesting article on this video over on his blog. Check it out if you prefer an image breakdown of lighting instead of the video format. Hopefully you guys can start using some of these techniques in your own videos especially if you ever submit to our Behind The Scenes Contests down the road.
Mirage Boardshorts' Bullet Time Ad

FS reader Luke Avery just sent this video over to us and it's a great one. Check out all the work that goes into creating this 1 minute ad. View the full post to see the finished product. <
Sigma Announces Pricing and Availability of New DP1 Merrill

Sigma Corporation of America has announced that the Sigma DP1 Merrill compact digital camera will be available in the United States in mid-September for the retail price of $999. Check the specs, read the deets, and decide if you're going to grab this nifty little beast.

Sound Advice Tour Review - Probably One Of The Best Workshops I’ll Attend This Year

The Sound Advice Workshop by MZed is one of those workshops that, until you go and attend it, you don’t realize just how important it is. The Sound Advice Tour does something I don’t know that anyone else is doing – offers up a wonderful, engaging in depth way to take from beginner to advanced audio practitioner and set you up to manage all your audio needs in a way that is informative, fun and rewarding

Adobe Develops Guide To Move From Aperture To Lightroom

Last month, Apple announced that they were ceasing development of the beloved Apple Aperture. While the software is still usable and available for purchase and download, it has a timeline on how long it will work, as new camera profiles will no longer be supported. Fortunately, Adobe has made the transition a little easier, with a simple transition guide.

Fstoppers Reviews the HEX x Misshattan Ranger DSLR Sling Bag

I’ve never been one to consider style in my bag purchases, but if that style comes at no extra cost, then, why not? That’s certainly the case with the new HEX x Misshattan Ranger DSLR Sling, a different take on the company’s regular Ranger DSLR Sling.

Tune Into Canon's Announcements Today

The internet and photography circles are abuzz with anticipation for Canon's big announcement today. See you there at 08:00 ET.

Using Historical Reenactments to Test New Equipment

Evaluating new gear is always an exciting part of any photographer's day. Here's a great approach to testing the gear, while not potentially upsetting paying customers, yet maintaining a realistic shooting scenario.

BTS Of Barbie's 2012 Fashion Collection Photos

Last year we posted a behind the scenes video of the 2011 Barbie fashion shoot and it was a massive hit. This year Mattel has once again teamed up with designer Robert Best and photographer/videographer Paul Jordan to create another amazing collection. The attention to detail in the clothing, set design, and lighting is staggering. Check out the full post for the images.

New Year, New You: Accomplish Your Photography Goals in 2018 With Skillshare

The new year is the perfect time to look back over the past 12 months and celebrate your successes, but more importantly, to start growing from your failures. When you know your weaknesses, you can make goals for overcoming them. One of the best ways to strengthen your work is to learn skills focused specifically on your goals, which is easier than ever with Skillshare. And for a limited time, they’re offering our readers a special New Year offer of three months of Skillshare for just $0.99. Keep reading to find out how Skillshare can help you accomplish your goals this year.

Smallest Stop Motion Video Ever

Nokia chose to do something pretty cool for their newest commercial. They decided to create the smallest stop motion video and record the entire thing with their new phone. Check out the BTS below and the finished product in the full post. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTbzSiwbRfg<
[BTS] The Wade Brothers Film "House Of Fly 53"

This is a pretty cool time lapse of the production of the Wade Brothers shoot "House Of Fly 53". It's a pretty interesting concept that incorporates both a 10 minute video and a series of images used for print and web advertising. The incredible part of all of this was that both the video and stills were shot at exactly the same time, which saved production and talent costs.

Zhiyun’s Crane-M3: An All-in-One Gimbal With Unique Features

Zhiyun is no stranger to interesting camera stabilization options, with past products featuring innovative designs that put a twist on the traditional “stabilized stick” form factor of gimbals. Their latest launch, the Crane-M3, brings a number of firsts to the Crane lineup and just might reinvent how content creators approach rigging up a video setup.

Fstoppers Photographer of the Month (June 2021): Nuria San Román

The Fstoppers community is brimming with creative vision and talent. Every day, we comb through your work, looking for images to feature as the Photo of the Day or simply to admire your creativity and technical prowess. In 2021, we're featuring a new photographer every month, whose portfolio represents both stellar photographic achievement and a high level of involvement within the Fstoppers community.

Storygami: The Evolution of Online Video?

It's been 7 years since Google spent a whopping $1.65 billion on the video sharing website YouTube. Although many questioned the potential of the popular video sharing site, Google’s decision has proven to be a good one. YouTube now hosts an impressive 450,000,000 monthly visitors. To put this into perspective, Vimeo is the 8th biggest video hosting site with just under 17 million unique visitors per month. With companies like YouTube controlling the market, it’s hard to imagine much optimism for a small startup company hoping to compete with these video giants.