Photography Changes, Lighting Doesn't

Have you ever seen "How To" photography videos from the 80's and 90's? Most of these videos are so cheesy that it's hard to take anything of value away from them. In the video below Dean Collins teaches a workshop on the properties of light and instead of focusing on current trends, he sticks to the fundamentals. This video was shot in 91 but it is still completely relevant today. <
Three Tips to Find Your Own Style

As a photographer, you’re attracted to everything that catches your attention, which sometimes leads to a very disparate amount of files. When you observe your portfolio, you can’t get a sense of coherence from it. Here are three tips that might help you identify a pattern in your photography and find your style.

The Best Fstoppers Posts From October 2011

Your "Likes", "Tweets", comments and clicks all help us know which are our best posts of the month. And because we don't want anyone to miss any of Fstoppers' goodness we put "The Best of" in a monthly newsletter for you. So, if you missed anything this October check out the top posts of the month and sign up for our newsletter here

Why Framed Canvas Is the Preferred Method of Delivering Photo Prints

In today’s world of photography where we are spoiled with choices, selecting the ideal method for delivering photo prints can be a daunting task. With an array of options available, photographers often find themselves constantly in a dilemma of choosing the perfect print method that is not only capable of showcasing their work in the best physical form but also provides an exceptional experience for their clients.

Fstoppers Reviews the CRM Platform Bloom IO

If you've been running your photography business for any amount of time, you have quickly discovered that being successful requires you to spend an inordinate amount of time doing things that have nothing to do with a camera. Things you probably loathe. Suddenly, you find yourself needing to acquire skills in accounting, web development, project management, copywriting, contract writing, and countless other fields. A newcomer has entered the CRM space: Bloom IO, and they are on a mission to alleviate many of these burdens, allowing you to focus on what you truly enjoy.

[Video] "Lets Colour" Paints The World

Let's Colour is a worldwide initiative to transform grey spaces with colourful paint, and the results are quite incredible! This film was shot by Adam Berg over four weeks in Brazil, France, London and India. Every one of these locations has been transformed by a palette consisting of 120 different colours. The people in the film who rolled up their sleeves to transform their community with colour. I love this unity through art. Enjoy!

Memories of Overdevelopment and 9/11

On the morning of September 11th, 2001, many NY based photographers and film makers found themselves documenting one of the most traumatic events in American history, the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers.

Easily Age and Erode Objects in Your Composites With These Apps

Photographing toys can be a lot of fun, but they don’t always look like the most realistic subjects. Here are a couple of quick and dirty ways to add an aged, eroded look to your composited playthings to up the realism of your toy photographs.

Know Your Subject, Improve Your Photography

It's a phrase I've heard countless times, and I doubt I'm the only photographer to hear it: "Wow! Right place at the right time, huh?" Whether it's a photo of my children, a wildlife shot capturing a decisive moment, or a seemingly once-in-a-lifetime landscape, viewers often think we just got lucky to capture an incredible photo. In their minds, they only see how they would have gone about capturing that shot, which often is the simple three-step process of raise camera, point, shoot.

3000 + Hand Cut Pictures in Stop Motion

Every now and then you have to stop and recognize a piece of work not only for the creative thoughts put into it, but also for the sheer amount of effort involved in pulling off the project. Vu Hoang and a small team managed to come up with this clever stop motion music video using over 3,000 hand cut pictures stitched together in a clever guy meets girl music video. The final product was shot with a Canon 7D and Canon 17-55mm F/2.8.

Real-Time MLS Soccer Coverage With the Sony a9 III and PDT-FP1

Get an inside look at what it takes to cover an MLS soccer match at the Seattle Sounders, featuring Sony's flagship a9 III global shutter full frame mirrorless camera, and the PDT-FP1, an all-new portable data transmitter for creators.

Learning to Embrace Hard Light

Early in my photographic career, I was really into hard light in my photos, but at a point, I started opting for really soft, diffused light, that is until recently. I’ve recently revisited using hard light, and here’s how it has shifted my photography.

Free Workshop On How To Be More Efficient

If you suffer from self-diagnosed A.D.D like most creative professionals, then you need to tune into this free workshop with Jared Platt. From the moment you book the job to the final delivery of the images, Jared will show you efficient techniques that will help improve your workflow. This 3-day workshop starts tomorrow December 6th - December 8th at 9AM. As with all creativeLIVE workshops, the LIVE event is FREE.

Tourbox Elite: A Great Holiday Present or Something to Regift? We Review

The TourBox Elite is a popular device. It saves on switching between keyboard and mouse and scrolling through adjustment panels in software such as Lightroom and Photoshop. We discover whether it speeds up a photographer's workflow and is a worthwhile Christmas present.

[Deals] Canon USA Instant Lens & Speedlite Rebates

Canon USA has launched a new instant Lens & Speedlite rebate program. It’ll run from November 27, 2011 until January 7, 2012. Check out the full post for full details then head over to B&H to capitalize off these rebates.

Sigma Unveils Latest Compact Camera in the DP3 Merrill

Sigma has unveiled the latest iteration of their extremely powerful compact camera series in the DP3 Merrill, a 46 megapixel monster with a 50mm f/2.8 macro lens (a focal range equivalent to 75mm on a 35mm SLR camera) and Sigma's signature Foveon X3 sensor. It includes an advanced user interface and the capability of seven-frame continuous shooting. It is designed to be paired with its DP Merrill predecessors, the DP1 and DP2, as a complete compact camera tool set.

Learn How to Quickly Add and Manipulate Realistic Snow to Your Videos in After Effects

Through Premiumbeat.com's Vimeo channel and blog, motion graphic designer Kevin Gater did the world a huge favor by recently providing a tutorial on creating realistic, falling snow with RED Giant's After Effects plug-in. There are a ton of settings in After Effects, let alone in the RED Giant Trapcode Particular plug-in, that would take forever to navigate; but Gater does a great job going through which settings to ignore and which ones to pay attention to so you'll know exactly what to tweak for your needs. Thankfully, in 15 minutes, you can be ready to add great snow effects for the holiday season or that high-mountain horror short with just a few careful clicks.

[Contest Submission] Dramatic Portraits Of The University Of Indiana's Track And Field Team

There are just less than 7 weeks left to submit your behind the scenes contest video. Submissions are starting to come in and it's amazing what our readers are doing through their photography. As the video submissions come in we are going to feature the standouts here on the front of Fstoppers. In Zach Hetrick's behind the scenes video, he shows how he created commercial sports portraits of The Hoosiers's track and field team. Zach takes some time at the beginning to talk a bit about the lighting setup he used and shows how you can give your group shots a punch with some nice light thanks to a few Alien Bee monoblocks. Leave your comments below if you have any questions about this shoot or simply want to give some friendly support to Zach. You can check out all the entries on the BTS Contest Forum Thread, and remember to get your submissions in early so we can share your work on the front of the site.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1 Mirrorless Camera Review

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1 is a fine camera, if unassuming. But that quality might make it something you’d really enjoy using -- it’s a certain stealthy quality. At the very least, you’ll want to give this one a second look.

[BTS Video] Red Bull Gives Cameras Wings To Film 3D Motocross Commercial

Red Bull no doubt has some of the best sports video work I've ever seen. In their latest sports commercial, the energy drink company takes to the skies as they film 2x Women's Motocross Association Champion Ashley Fiolek. Ashley, who has been deaf since birth, has been making a lot of noise on the women's circuit, and she has become an inspiration to fans of the sport world wide. The video features some interesting camera angles with much of the footage coming from cable suspended camera. Everything was filmed in 3D to give the POV shots a bit of kick as Ashley soars through the air. Check out the behind the scenes video below and then click on the full post to watch the final commercial.
Sports Beauty- A Slow Mo Compilation by Gregory Villien

Gregory Villien is a true renaissance man when it comes to media. I was not only blown away with his compilation of slow motion sports clips, but after visiting his website, it's clear he's a man of many talents. He's got a collection of his own photography, music, designs, and other projects. This guy dabbles in it all.

Composing Underwater Images

I recently co-hosted a Webinar on underwater and wildlife photography with my fellow Fstopper’s writer, Mike O’Leary. During that half hour general discussion a participant asked for advice on composing an image underwater. While composition underwater can be a little tricky at first, I’ve put together a short list of things to keep in the back of your mind when you are first getting started.

Critique the Community: Submit Your Family Portraits Now

Our next episode of "Critique the Community" will feature family portraits. We will choose anything from kids in a studio to whole family groups outdoors; so, feel free to include a wide range of pictures. Please get in your submissions by Friday at noon (EST) and you'll have the chance to have your image critiqued by the Fstoppers team. For this episode, we will be giving feedback to 20 pictures. To qualify, you must follow the submission rules below.

David Griffin On How Photography Connects Us

Below is a fantastic TED Talk given by David Griffin, the photo director of National Geographic. David gives us a unique look at how Nation Geographic's images come to be and he also explains the power of photography in general. As David says, even the most average amateur photographers will take a few amazing pictures in their lives.