Fstoppers Original Articles

There is an entire generation of memories currently trapped in VHS and unless we act to rescue them, these may continue to languish there. Years of video footage are stuck in these old tape formats that are usually relegated to a bookshelf somewhere in the house or stored in a box in the basement. They remain largely forgotten until moving time or a major spring cleaning operation.

The mirrorless versus SLR debate is the most hotly discussed topic in photography circles. One of the main reasons given for sticking to the SLR system is the superiority of the optical viewfinder (OVF). Over the past couple of years, I’ve started to question this point. In this article, I explore the areas where an electronic viewfinder (EVF) offers an advantage over on OVF.

I have no doubts there will be lots of people who are familiar with this item, but for those who aren't, this little tip could drastically improve your quality of life while traveling with your camera.

I'm sure you have a beautiful portfolio as do most professional wedding photographers, but have you ever stopped to think what may be wrong with showcasing such a filtered representation of your work to potential clients?

With the continued introduction of new lenses, bodies, and roadmapped development, do Nikon’s F and Canon’s EF-mount lenses have a future?

Up until a few months ago, I had an elitist view and was of the opinion that my editing process on my 27-inch iMac was the “best” way to edit a photo. But smartphones have changed the game dramatically. Here I've shared some reasons to help you consider including or switching to your phone for your editing workflow.

Boudoir photographers shoot in all types of lighting. Some prefer bright and airy while others tend to be more moved by the moody and darker looks. There is a creative style just in-between with harsh lighting that can be interesting to shoot and to edit.

Where once information and advice was sparse, it's now abundant. With that come sits own problems in identifying that which is worth retaining, and that which is worth discarding. This is the greatest advice for up-and-coming creatives I've ever heard.

Every once in a while an article pops up claiming a cool looking video or an image was shot on an iPhone. Often this becomes a stage for arguments between Apple and non-Apple fans. I decided to look at this film with a different mindset and hopefully you will appreciate it too from a filmmaking standpoint.

As a professional photographer, I can quickly become disenfranchised by my working life while watching Internet photographers living the Casey Neistat life. Here are eight things I didn't expect.

Photography is all about time. It's the only visual art that is able to hold a single moment and fix it for our lasting consideration. To make that happen we as photographers must be keenly aware of both the slice of time that we are capturing and the all the time which leads up to that important moment. To do this well we must look into the future.

The benefits of having your own blog are myriad, and for all intents and purposes, there is an unlimited amount of information on why. However, the main obstacle isn't "why," but "how".

In the photo industry, women don't always get the credit they deserve. So here are 12 amazing female wedding photographers that you should be following, but probably aren't.

The other day, a few guys on my team and I cooked up some new content for the 2018 Skypixel competition. Turns out we weren't able to submit them fore a silly reason that mainly took place on our end.

Fashion photographer Christopher Cavanaugh was brought on for this photo project that took place in Los Angeles by creative director Terrel Mullen as a collaboration project to expand both their portfolios. It expanded their portfolios and expanded our appreciation of what can be accomplished from behind the camera.

One type of question we see on social media and photography forums again and again is the “do you prefer this or this?” or “which image do you like best out of this set?” These sorts of questions are completely meaningless as they disregard the most important part of the decision: the photographer’s intention. What were you trying to achieve?

Photographing interesting people will forever be a love of mine. But photographing a person who is unambiguously an expert at his craft while he works was all kinds of fascinating.

While I use many different tools throughout the course of a day, there are a few that I have found to be indispensable to my business. Oddly, they don’t have a whole lot to do with photography. Yet, having them in my life allows me to be more productive and stay focused on what matters most to me: photography.

What's the point of your photography? And how do you engage viewers with your images more? I reached a stage where I struggled to clearly answer these questions but then I implemented a few very helpful techniques evident in these images that really helped me define my photography.

As photographers we often see the world through our cameras — literally. If we aren't holding a camera, we're often planning or imagining a photo. The drive to compose and take photos shapes the way we interact with the world. Has this compulsion ever ruined an experience for you?

The concept of a one image portfolio is difficult to imagine. But what if you had to only display one image? Which image best represents you as a photographer?

Continuing on our serialization of a photography themed short story, here is Part 2 of "In the Blink of an Eye." If you didn't manage to read Part 1 last week, then catch up to find out what Charlie Sydcup videoed during a trip to the City of London.

In today's video we take you behind the scenes in our new Fstoppers studio and show you exactly how we built and designed our latest video set. We will show you all the microphones, cameras, and lighting gear as well as our thought process in tackling this empty canvas of a room.

In an industry where supply is abundant, saying "no" to work can feel both counter intuitive, and suicidal for your business. The truth is, it has quite the opposite effect.

Whether you're an established wedding photographer or aspiring to be, here are some truths about wedding photography that will make you say "yep" or "I had no idea!"

Whenever I bought a new lens, I always added a UV filter to it. It was obvious to do so, and I never gave it any thought. But there was a moment that I stopped adding that sort of filter and I never looked back since. Does a UV filter still have any benefit, or is it a waste of money? Let’s find out.

The pain of losing a loved one never leaves you, only dulling with time. We now have a plethora of photos that record ourselves, but memories are more emotionally powerful. So how do you remember what they looked like, their visual "essence"?

Today, Luminar 3 has been updated to version 3.02, and the company, after glitches in version 3, is moving toward being a solid Adobe Lightroom competitor.

The mirrorless tsunami is well under way. We have a wealth of full-frame options with new mounts, smaller flange distances, vastly improved EVFs, and smaller bodies. Given the dent that this is already putting in DSLR sales, what’s the next step? Sony already has a well-established range of crop-sensor mirrorless bodies, but will Canon and Nikon follow suit?

Have you ever wondered what went into creating a moody fashion shoot? In this article, go behind the scenes of a fashion shoot I did using a darker aesthetic and mood.

If you're struggling to get the likes, followers, and comments you'd hope for on Instagram then there may be a few things you're doing wrong on the social network. There are definitely a few tricks that can help you grow but also a few things you should avoid at all costs.

“Let’s go to New Zealand!” Ka-ching, that’s a pretty chunk of change to shell out, but travel has become comparatively more affordable than ever before. If you are considering extended travel to invest in your landscape photography, you can save a ton of money without turning vagabond.

Since's Instagram's inception, there have been countless arguments by creatives for and against the social media platform. Here are three reasons why you should get on and stay on Instagram.

Photography is a medium in which — for the most part — a moment is intended to be immortalized. But a recent study of memory and cognition coming out of University of California further explored that under certain conditions, taking a photo of an object made it more difficult to recall than merely looking at it, and now, no one is quite sure why.

With most website traffic overwhelmingly coming from smartphones, a client is going to ask for portrait content sooner or later. How can you avoid the major pitfalls?

Since's Instagram's inception, there have been countless arguments by creatives for and against the social media platform. Here are three reasons why you should get off and stay off Instagram.

You may know how to photograph your subject in a certain light situation, you may know how to compose your photograph to create additional drama, but do you allow your true emotions and feelings shine in your work?

My landscape photography relies on a formula. As a photographer attempting to create images with artistic vision, this realization frightens me. This article explores six steps for breaking out of formulaic photography.

When shooting beauty, there is a lot to keep in mind. How does the makeup look? Is the lighting clean? In the background clean? How is the model's expression? Learn my own process and join me behind the scenes in shooting a male beauty story with the Fujifilm GFX 50S.

As with any creative medium, there are blips of unfortunate comedy. Photography has had more than its fair share, and let's be honest, many of us have tried them. So what are the worst fads of all time?

One important setting can drastically affect your computer monitor’s accuracy. It’s important to check, but is almost hidden in the menus.

Canadian creative Jordan Manley is a master of capturing artistic, storytelling moments in the outdoors through both stills and motion. Find out some tools of the trade and learn what makes him tick.

It’s clear that there has been a tremendous upswing in the number of photographers across all markets. But also with that trend has seen a staggering number of people jumping into teaching and selling workshops.

When it comes to flash photography, there seems to be a constantly recurring question: manual or TTL flash? So at the end of the day, which one should you really be using?

Pricing was the area of professional photography I struggled with the most in the early years. However, it was far too recently that I realized I had a fundamental error in my approach to pricing and value.

Let go of the fear and leave your logo and watermark off your images. You will get more work and recognition because of it.

I recently spent time working alongside Alice Prenat, the portrait photographer behind the elegant Parisian studio, Portrait Madame. After her talent was discovered by Sue Bryce, Prenat launched an upscale brand and studio in Paris, where she celebrates the "everyday" woman.

At some point we will all get stuck. We will all feel like we’re not developing as creatives. These ruts can drive us down or they can be a wake-up call to do something different. How we handle them determines how we function as creatives afterwards. In this article, we’ll discuss the power of doing something different.

I am always looking to improve my work and increase my efficiency and my open mindedness to try new methods isn't always rewarded. However, applying one psychological principle for habit building has proven effective.

As many of you know, Lee and I recently moved to Puerto Rico, and with that move, we are having to completely redesign our new studio space. In today's video, we tackle our in-home network and wireless Internet connection. Surely the limitations in Puerto Rico will prove to give us trouble... or will it?