Joey L. Reviews Three Portable Lighting Kits for Traveling Photographers

Joey L. is a photographer best known for his stunning personal work creating portraits of the peoples of Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, and other exotic places of the world. He uses studio lights on-location to achieve his unique and dramatic look for his portraits of these exotic people. Consequently, he is frequently asked about what lighting gear he takes with him for those kinds of shoots. Recently, Joey made a video and blog post outlining three major options for portable studio lighting for photographers with varying budgets who want Joey L.-esque studio lighting on the go.

Looking For a Sizzling Location to Shoot? ShotHotSpot Will Hook You Up

In my work, I do a lot of traveling for shoots and one of the most tedious and difficult parts of going to a new place to produce a shoot is the location scouting. There is a reason that people can turn location scouting into a lucrative profession. It is very time consuming, costs money (gas) and is constantly changing (because of season, construction, whatever).

The 120-Year-Old Argument Against Gear

Alfred Stieglitz’s influence on photography is incomparable. Hailed as the "father of pictorialism," he not only helped define the movement but helped forward photography’s place in a broader art context.

Joey L. Creates Indoor Blizzard For Unique Portraits

One guy in our industry that continually impresses me with his execution of beautiful environmental portraits is Joey L. One concept he has been wanting to shoot for sometime is some portraits of "artic explorers" but rather than fight with the elements of the weather he pulled it all off in studio. Read on to learn how it was done and what equipment was used.

Add Motion to Your Portraits Using Shutter Drag With These 10 Steps

We call this the "environmental shutter drag portrait." A shutter drag portrait is a portrait that uses slow shutter speeds to capture the motion around the subject. This technique is best done in a big grand scene full of action and detail. The eye-catching nature of these shutter drag portraits makes them perfect for impressing clients and serving as the highlight photo for every album and event. Today, I'll be walking through 10 easy steps on how to photograph your own shutter drag portrait.

How The Sun Sees You - Ultraviolet Camera Shows A Different Side Of Skin

Photographer and Filmmaker Thomas Leveritt had a radical idea: find people on the street, film their faces with an ultraviolet camera, and show his subjects the not-yet-visble changes to their skin. The participant's reactions range from shock to laughter, but it is obviously that no one had ever seen their face in this light.

The Two Most Important Traits of a Landscape Photographer

This article is about two traits you need as a landscape photographer if you want to take photos that stand out. And I'm not talking about a good eye for composition, love for the outdoors, or an adequate fitness level to reach the photo locations you want to photograph. Those are also important. But there are two key characteristics you need as a foundation.

Demystifying High-Speed Sync

High-speed sync has been around for quite some time now, and has mostly been limited to speedlights. With Profoto’s recent adoption of the technology into its B1 and B2 Series lighting systems, they are signaling a change that has the potential to bring some much needed relief to the strobist community. This signal hopefully means the beginning of the end of flash sync limitations with DSLR cameras.

100 Women Pose Nude in Art Installation [NSFW]

"Everything She Says Means Everything" is the name of Spencer Tunick’s latest art installation. 100 women gathered together in protest and for art in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention.

The Best and Worst Photography Products I've Purchased

The photography world is chock full of products meant to make photographers think they will instantly improve their work and take dazzling shots. Some are obviously better than others. Here are the best and worst pieces of photography gear I've purchased.

Would You Buy a Full-Frame Camera If It Had No Viewfinder?

With sensor prices dropping and leading manufacturers keen to get consumers on board with their latest mirrorless offerings, increasingly budget-friendly options are expected to emerge. However, would you buy an affordable camera that is cheap because it doesn’t have a viewfinder?

Fstoppers Reviews The Griffin PowerMate

It’s no secret that I have an unquenchable, near fetish-like lust for buttons and sliders or anything really that makes image processing akin to playing some freaky, incongruous musical instrument one might find in the Mos Eisley Cantina. This year, at CES 2014, Griffin announced an updated version of their PowerMate - an all-purpose, aluminum knob that will be wireless and wonderful and not out for a few more months. Luckily, there is a pretty great (and relatively inexpensive) wired version available now.

Magnum Photos Is Selling Images of Alleged Child Sexual Abuse on Its Website

The archive of Magnum Photos features numerous photographs of child sex workers, many of whom were photographed without their knowledge. Several of these photographs are sexually explicit, featuring nudity and encounters with clients. These images may constitute acts of child sexual abuse.

The Nikon 200mm f/2 VR II: The World's Best Portrait Lens

The Nikon 200mm f/2 VR II is one of those lenses you always read about, but short of running into a professional sporting event, an affluent amateur, or Ryan Brenizer you just don’t see them. They’re rare and they’re expensive, but besides the obvious lust factor of the lens, is it any good?

Some of My Favorite Photos Are Perfectly Imperfect

Sometimes, there are camera misfires or shots that just barely missed focus. Other times, there are other incidents where an image falls short of technical perfection but still finds a way to my list of favorites.

The Real-World Nikon D850 Camera Review in Ireland

Recently, Nikon released the D850, which is the latest upgrade to their high-megapixel DSLR line of cameras. Like the models that preceded it, the D850 stands as one of the most groundbreaking cameras in terms of image quality, speed, and resolution. I wanted to take this new camera for a test drive and see just how significant these upgrades actually are. Welcome to Ireland, everybody; this is my personal D850 review!

Panasonic GH5 Review Vs Sony a7S II and Nikon D750

While I was in Dubai a couple of weeks ago at Gulf Photo Plus, I was able to play with a pre-production Panasonic GH5. I compared the GH5 to the Nikon D750 (our current video camera of choice) and the Sony a7S II.

Will the DJI Ronin-S Be the One-Handed Gimbal King, and Should I Wait for It?

At CES 2018, DJI released details of the Ronin-S, a one handed gimbal system with modular add-ons for creative filmmaking. This is already a crowded market, with Zhiyun-Tech and Moza offering some of our favorite options, but given DJI’s proven track record of building top class gimbals, should you wait for the Ronin-S before investing in a new one-handed gimbal system?

Lingerie and Corsetry Photoshoot with Karl Taylor (NSFW)

Before we get into the meat of this video, I've got to warn you...it's long. Like nearly 20 minutes long. That said, if you'd prefer not to gawk at the model and get to the parts that will truly help you with your photography, I have them listed out below. Despite it's length this may be one of the better BTS videos I've come across in a while. I say this because it's not often that a photographer will actually

Do I Really Need to Explain My Photography?

There is a trend growing in the photography world. The trend is to accompany photographs with explanatory text. I am not convinced this is a good thing. What do you think?

An Intro to Photographing the Planets

Aside from the Perseid meteor shower, the summer hype is on for viewing Saturn. Indeed, Saturn is a great target for visual observers, especially if it’s your very first view through a telescope. But for astrophotographers, it’s a tough target. A bit of an easier target is Jupiter, which is “following” Saturn across the summer sky.

My Top Five Prime Lenses in the Fuji X Photography System

The Fuji X system has become widely known for its high quality lens system. Amongst MILC systems, it has the widest variety of any system. This is quite amazing considering the system is also one of the youngest. Fuji have tapped into their years of knowledge in lens design to create some spectacular lenses at reasonable price points. There are so many wonderful lenses in the system, but these are my top five.
Foxes, Whistleblowing, Cancel Culture, and David Yarrow

If you haven't seen the tempest growing in Wyoming, a fox named 15M was euthanized this week because of its growing habituation to humans. You might be asking, why is this news on a photo-centric site? Throw in an as-of-recently much-maligned, world-famous photographer and maybe you're interested?

How Shooting With a Mirrorless Camera Made Me a Better Photographer

Gear cannot make you a better photographer. This statement is said over and over and I actually really believe it. But despite believing this statement to be true, I also believe that switching to mirrorless has made me a better photographer.

James Day Pulls a Wedding Day Stunt to Blow His Couple's Minds

As a photographer, there’s only so many things you can do on a wedding day to bring a little something extra for your couples. James Day was hired to shoot his sister-in-law’s wedding and in doing so, he decided he was going to push the envelope and deliver something they never imagined possible.

How To Make Snow in Photoshop with Custom Brushes

Setting aside the runny noses, forget the frozen fingers and the frostbitten toes, and the winter season can lend itself to some pretty magical photos. Personally, and I’m sure many of you will agree, it’s hard to find a willing subject and convince myself to drag my gear out when there is a blizzard. The truth is, if I could create a life-sized snow globe studio with central heating, I’d be a happy man. Well, I found an alternate solution.