Photography News

Stay up-to-date with the latest news within the photography industry. Here we feature new photography gear announcements, creative conferences, and other interesting headlines related to the world of photography and filmmaking.

Check Out the Latest Professional Drone Offerings from Yuneec in the Brand New H920 and H520

As many people are aware, DJI pretty much owns the market in aerial drone photography for both personal and professional uses. Though the world of drone manufacturers is actually far more diverse than many might think, one brand, Yuneec, caught my eye and has become a favorite since I have been flying their Typhoon H. It's exciting to know they are releasing two new drones, the H920 and H520.

Develop Your Film with Ease at Home or On the Road with Lab-Box [Updated]

Developing your own film might be the cheaper (and more amusing) way to go, but with all the preparation and lab space required, that simply hasn't always the best option. Ars-Imago's Lab-Box hopes to solve these problems in a small, light-proof container that enables you to develop your own film at home or even while traveling – yes, it's that easy and compact. The best part: it's not all that expensive, either.

Sigma Releases All the Full-Frame Lenses We've Been Waiting For: 135mm f/1.8, 14mm f/1.8, 24-70mm OS, and 100-400mm OS

Today is the day that Sigma fills out its Art-series lens lineup to offer what could easily be considered everything you'd really need since its most recent release of the 85mm f/1.4 Art. Four new full-frame lenses cover the gamut from an ultra-wide, ultra-fast 14mm f/1.8 Art, a similarly fast 135mm f/1.8 Art portrait lens, to the wedding photographer's favorite 24-70mm f/2.8 Art and sports shooter's 100-400mm f/5-6.3 Contemporary "compact" super-zoom. If you've been waiting for that next Sigma lens, odds are it's one of these.

Nikon Experiences 'Extraordinary Losses,' Will Restructure Company

Nikon recently released a set of reports detailing severe financial difficulties for the camera company. As a result, they will be cancelling the release of a new line of premium compact cameras and the company will undergo major restructuring in an attempt to make it profitable again.

Nissin Introduces the Air10s, Its Latest Cross-Platform Flash Transmitter

TTL, HS, and HSS have pretty much become a standard across the flash industry today. Every manufacturer is releasing new units on a regular basis with more features than any photographer could ask for or even need in. Following the trend, Nissin just announced a new TTL transmitter, the Air10s.

The Jollylook: A Quirky Cardboard Camera for Instant Photography

Have you ever thought: "I have some cardboard lying around, I bet I could make that into an instant camera"? No? Then you're not Oleg Khalip and his team of cardboard camera constructors. They launched the Jollylook, a vintage-folder looking camera on Kickstarter on January 31, and it has already beaten its modest $15,000 goal by over $200,000.

The New York City Drone Film Festival Is Only a Month Away

The third annual New York City Drone Film Festival will be held on March 17–19, 2017. The Festival will consist of aerial cinematography seminars, beginner/intermediate/master classes, Day of Drones at the Liberty Science Center, drone expos, flight demonstrations, drone building programs, FPV racing, and last but not least, a red carpet event and film screening.

Make Your iPhone 7 a Better Camera with These New Offerings from Moment Lenses

Moment Lenses has been on the scene of mobile photography for a few years now and truly separates themselves from the crowd of phone lens attachments in many ways. First, their products are of damn good quality. Having shot with my Moment Lens since their first Kickstarter a few years ago, it's been a great addition to my bag of tricks while out and about shooting. Today, they are announcing their new Kickstarter to help build the next line of incredible products including a new 18mm lens, as well as a battery case and basic photo case.

Sony Announces FE 100mm f/2.8 GM and FE 85mm f/1.8 Lenses

Today, Sony has revealed two new prime lenses joining their full-frame outfit with the FE 100mm f/2.8 GM and FE 85mm f/1.8. The focal lengths of these two lenses are highly popular for portrait photography. The FE 100mm f/2.8 GM is aimed towards imaging perfection, while the new FE 85mm f/1.8 offers a more affordable and lightweight 85mm option in the Sony full-frame lineup.

Behind The Scenes of the 2017 Pirelli Calendar

So many photographers dream of shooting the Pirelli Calendar, but so few make it. German Photographer Peter Lindbergh shot the 2017 edition, and he’s probably someone we can all learn from. There must be a reason as to why he is working with all the big names in the cinema and modeling industry. For those like me, who love watching other photographers at work to learn, you must watch this hour-long behind the scenes video of his work for Pirelli.

Tamron Announces New Ultra-Wide and Tele-Zoom Lenses

I'll be the first to admit that even though I've used them, I've never owned a professional-grade Tamron lens. I've stuck with Nikon through the years based on a probably-unfounded feeling that Nikon cameras would work better with Nikon lenses, and also because I really like the five-year warranty that comes with them. I may have to change that philosophy soon, though, because there have been some great third-party manufacturer lenses released in the past few years. Tamron has just announced two new lenses. Will they be up to snuff, or is it all talk? Here's what's new.

Huge Discount on Apple’s Pro Apps for Students

In a smart move from Apple, they’ve opted to compete with Adobe for the hearts of students. For $199, you’ll be able to pick up $630 worth of software. Here’s how it works.

Stairways That Take You Back to the Future

Balint Alovits is a photographer based in Budapest, Hungary who created a showcase of Bauhaus and Art Deco caracoles. He calls them "Time Machines." He assures me that these stairways really exist and that they aren't computer generated. He found their location online at first, but then developed a special sense, knowing if he saw the ornate front doors or large glass paneling, there was a good chance there was a special stairway inside too.

Former White House Photographer Pete Souza Is Still Working for the American Public

Pete Souza has been extremely active on his new Instagram account to the extent that even CNN has taken notice. The former White House photographer for President Barack Obama, Souza's visual political and social commentary are arguably as relevant as ever. His activity and media recognition underscores the power of social media, especially when there’s a tremendous following and story to go with it. His most recent posts make note of current events including refugee camps, specifically of ethnic Albanians displaced from Kosovo, and Supreme Court Associate Justice Nominee Merrick Garland.

Instagram is Beta Testing a New 'Albums' Feature

It looks like album uploads will soon be coming to Instagram. The photo sharing app appears to be playing around with a new feature that will allow users to upload multiple images in a single post. The Verge, Droid-Life, and Philip Chang on Twitter have all confirmed the presence of the new (albeit buggy) feature in the latest beta version of the Instagram app for Android devices.

Buy a Profoto B1 or B2 and Get a Free Air Remote

Just earlier this week, I was writing about going over x-sync speed with your flashes. This ability is a true game changer for any photographer who relies on artificial lighting. Between February 1st and April 30th, Profoto is running a sale that can make that step up a bit lighter on your wallet.

ONA Releases Brand New Line of Camera Gear for Minimalistic Photographers

ONA, the premiere camera bag and accessories company born out of New York City, has progressively released unique and well made photography gear for nearly seven years with great success. They have just released and announced a few new products that are in line with the more affordable sector of their product lineup that all seem very interesting for anyone looking to keep minimalistic with their gear organization.

Shutterstock Announces Creative Trends of 2017

As a photographer or videographer, keeping up with creative trends in the industry is an important part of continuing to build business. Shutterstock just released their creative trends report for the upcoming year, and it's chock-full of useful information.

Adobe: Creative Suite Is Dead, Long Live Creative Cloud

Do you remember Adobe's Creative Suite or CS? Yes, it was that family of Adobe applications that served creatives well for quite a long time. We used to buy perpetual licenses for applications from the Creative Suite, which felt like you really owned something. You paid and it was yours. Well, Adobe says you can't do that anymore.

Vaginas Are Beautiful: A Photo Project

The best creative projects will leave a permanent impact on someone, whether that's the photographer, subject, or viewer. The best projects will move the world. Renowned sex and relationship expert Layla Martin set out to help women feel more comfortable in their own skin by showing them and their partners pictures of their genitalia, and the results are remarkably powerful and moving.

Hasselblad's Master Awards 2018 Now Open for Entries

Competitions are fantastic to push yourself and create the best work you’ve ever produced. It’s also a great way to compare your imagery to others and see how you could improve your craft. Broncolor announced their NextGen contest for photographers under 30 a few days ago, and now it’s Hasselblad’s turn to open their traditional Masters Awards 2018.

The Strobist is Back!

David Hobby, more commonly known as the Strobist, is back for another season of education, critique, and creativity with the community. This time around, it looks like we're taking a deep dive into colour and other more advanced concepts related to lighting. David's tongue-in-cheek delivery and exceptional knowledge of light make for an entertaining and highly educational read. I, for one, will be following along with great interest.
Creating Still Life Images with No Photoshop Retouching

Karl Taylor is a name you’ve probably heard of if you look for photography videos on YouTube. He’s been working with big brands such as Hasselblad and Broncolor to create comprehensive content helping beginners as well as advanced photographers. In his latest video, he shows us how he created a beautiful lighting setup yielding photoshopped-like results.

500px Launches Worldwide Photographer Listings Called 'Directory' and Announces Partnership with Adobe Stock

Popular online photography community 500px launched a new global photographer directory that allows consumer and business clients to search for photographers of all disciplines and locations around the world to fulfill their custom imagery needs. Already 50,000 strong, the service is open to any photographer and allows for listings under multiple genres of photography.

B&H Takes a First Look at the Fujifilm GFX 50S

They compare the usability to that of the X-T2 but with a larger sensor. The camera boxes a 51.4mp Bayer sensor and not an X-Trans sensor like you will get in the X-Pro and X-T camera line-ups. It looks well-built, just like what you would get from Fujifilm, and it looks usable in many photographic environments, in studio or on location.

Researchers Record 'Photonic Boom' at 100 Billion Frames Per Second

We've all heard of sonic booms, which occur when the shock waves produced by an object traveling faster than the speed of sound accumulate to produce a giant pressure wave, but what about "photonic" booms? Researchers have just shown that indeed, light exhibits the same effect, and they used a camera that records 100,000,000,000 frames per second to show it.

Vimeo Launches Review Pages

Vimeo launched the upgrade to their Profile Pages a couple of weeks back and they aren't sitting back. They just came out with Review Pages, based on team and client collaboration. It's a space for notes that can be made at certain points of a video.

Leica Announces the M10

The Leica M10 is the latest iteration of digital German rangefinders. The M10 features a similar 24MP CMOS sensor to that of the M-P (Typ 240), expanded ISO performance from ISO 100-50,000, an improved viewfinder, new three-button back panel design, and more for a discount over the Typ 240.

edelkrone QuickRelease One: A Solution to the Mounting Plates Chaos

Tripods, jibs and sliders; they all require an attachment mechanism for our cameras and different brands provide different mounting plate standards. A small company, edelkrone, based in Czech Republic claims to provide one universal piece of gear that allows to attach your camera to any mounting plate.

Agricultural Drones Will Be a $2.9 Billion Industry by 2021

As the farming industry continues to modernize and turn to automation, the role and importance of drones are exploding in the industry – so much so that the agricultural drone market is supposed to quadruple in value in just four short years.

Here to Stay: KitSplit Buys out CameraLends

It looks like Gear-Sharing could be here to stay after KitSplit announced they are buying out San Francisco based CameraLends. This will likely lead to a more reliable and capable rental service that bypasses regular rental houses. Will this be successful? Would you trust the system?

You'll Soon Be Able to Shoot Log Video on Your Smartphone

Your smartphone is about to take another step toward becoming a professional videography tool. Filmic Pro will soon be releasing an update that will include a log mode, increasing the app's versatility and capabilities all the more.

Photographers Under 30, Here Is Your Chance to Work With Broncolor Gear

It’s become a tradition: every year, Broncolor offers select young and talented photographers a chance to access some of the best strobes and light modifiers for free for two years. The lucky ones are chosen through a competition called "Gen Next," which is now open for 2017.

Preorder Fstoppers Newest Tutorial, 'Photographing the World With Elia Locardi 3'

Fstoppers is heading back out on the road with Elia Locardi to film the latest installment of "Photographing the World." This time time around, the gang will be heading to the Alps, Dubai, and a few countries in South America as they explore even more advanced landscape techniques and post processing. Now is your chance to sign up for early bird access to Elia's new tutorial and to watch a sneak peek video of Elia's crazy travel lifestyle courtesy of Smugmug!

Royal Photographer Lord Snowdon Dies at Age 86

Antony Armstrong-Jones, more commonly known as Lord Snowdon after he married Princess Margaret, the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II, passed away peacefully on Friday at his home in London. He was 86. Snowdon was one of UK's most famous and most respected photographers for more than 50 years. He was already an established fashion photographer when he married into royalty, but after that he became somewhat designated as the official photographer of the royal family.

MotoCrane, the World's First Universal Automotive Camera Crane System

I initially dove into the world of cinema and photography because of my passion for the automotive world and the arts. I have had some plans for more video work with cars in action but I always wanted more than action camera footage that’s stationary on the vehicle. Even with a jib and other equipment, I wanted more production value out of my work. Really, what I had in mind was a vehicle camera crane system.