Fstoppers Original Articles

Whenever I am working with models on a shoot, I always have their best interests at heart. You may say I care too much about my models, but I am alright with that. No one badmouths a caring photographer. I have seen firsthand how some models are treated badly on set and it saddens me to see how bad attitude from photographers can ruin the photographer-model relationship and also lead to bad photos. Knowing how to build a relationship upon meeting your model and engaging in a photoshoot with the latter is a must and I asked a couple of models for advice to write this article.

If you take a look back at Ikea's marketing catalog used to showcase their new products and looks for the season, there was a time where they decided to use images displaying only the products and Ikea-styled sets with no human intervention or interaction. At one stage these images were computer generated and rendered to make a simulated environment look as perfect and clinical as possible.

You get what you pay for. In most cases, this saying rings true. However, there is another narrative playing out in the photographic world. This other, rather untold story has a central character getting much, much more than what they pay for. When it comes to portrait photography, clients are reaping rewards from photographers who are unwilling or too fearful to raise their prices. There comes a time when something other than a photographer’s livelihood must give.

Mike Kelley's Where Art Meets Architecture 2 Behind The Scenes continues today with Episode 5. In this episode we continue shooting the "tree house" from last week, and Patrick breaks Mike's rib in a go-cart.

It's October and this year has been one of my most productive years as a working photographer to date! I finished writing my second book this year (which will launch in August), I'll have taught over 30 workshops by the end of the year, my number of clients has increased exponentially, and my income has also increased as a result of that effort. How? Simply accountability and focused productivity. Over the course of the last year, I've worked on reducing my total "work time" by purposely controlling my productivity. Here are five methods that I've used to become exponentially more productive.

Spots on your images caused by dust on the sensor can be frustrating and hard to deal with, especially when you have lots of images waiting to be retouched. Although most recent cameras have built-in sensor-cleaning mechanisms, the dust inside your camera should be removed completely in order to prevent existing dust particles from clinging onto the sensor again and again. There are lots of products on the market, but which one you should choose?

Crushing blacks is a popular trend in Photoshop for achieving a more film-like matte effect that pairs well with vintage styling. It won't work with every image, but if it's a look you are after, photographer Mathieu Stern has put together a video suggesting three ways you can go about achieving and customizing the effect. In this article I will add on one more quick method in addition to the video which will give you plenty of options to play around with this effect and see which method works best with your workflow.

One of the biggest complaints I've heard about Fuji's new medium format camera, the GFX 50S, is that there are no leaf shutter lenses. Leaf shutters have long been a staple in some medium format systems, enabling flash sync at faster shutter speeds than we are used to with focal plane shutters. But, here's the thing: It doesn't make sense for the GFX 50S to support them. Here's my reasoning why.

Unless you’re a well established fashion and beauty photographer with the support of an agent or a plethora of business acumen, you probably aren’t going to make much money when you’re first starting out in the business. This is why it’s important to learn how to be scrappy and work with less gear if you’re working on a budget. In these lighting tutorials, I’ll show you three easy-to-replicate fashion and beauty setups that fit almost every budget.

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 2016, we'll be featuring a new photographer every month, whose portfolio represents both stellar photographic achievement and a high level of involvement within the Fstoppers community.

This week a new social network has really started promoting itself and seems to have amassed a fairly active user base, very quickly. Candid is an elegantly designed micro-blogging tool designed to focus discussion around specific topics rather than users, with the end goal of keeping everyone anonymous. The big question is, will it last or is it another wannabe network to be ignored? And most importantly, as photographers, is this a network that should be on our radar?

Not since the Canon 5D Mark II hit the market have we seen a camera series as a technology revolutionary as the Sony Alpha series. I’m speaking specifically about the a7S, a7S II, a7R II and the a6300. Let’s look at the a6300 for example, 4K video output, great low light capability, an awesome autofocus capability, frame rate options and lens options, all for under $1,000. All those options are packed into a camera that weights 14.3 ounces with a battery.

Spending countless hours on your client's gallery to present to them during the reveal means nothing if you cannot show them options to display. Creating the right line that works with your studio and brand to present to the client will increase sales, as well as referrals from that client. It is all about the workflow and how smoothly the process is during your sales session. (Codes for free gift at the end!)

Marketing your business and your creative work can be tough. Doing it in a small market can be even tougher. It can often seem overwhelming, but with some careful analysis and planning, you can maximize your opportunities. Having worked in sales and marketing for the better part of 18 years, I've picked up a few tips and tricks that I believe would help any photographer struggling to establish themselves in any market.

Since the days of film, medium format has been far from reach for many photographers. Even working professionals can have trouble justifying the high price point of these systems: when used, they can be $8,000-10,000. Medium format film bodies, while cheap now, were always several thousand away from even the most exorbitantly priced 35mm bodies. Factor in the inconvenient size of just about every medium format camera ever, and it's easy to put the idea of working with these monsters far from mind.

The mixing brush tool is one of the most underutilized tools in portrait retouching. When used correctly, the mixing brush tool can be used to blend blotchy skin together, fix makeup in areas where a makeup artist may have missed applying makeup, etc. Here is a quick introduction to using the mixing brush as a portrait photographer.

Sean Lotman photographs the people of Japan's streets and beaches. One of the main reasons he shoots film is because he shares a darkroom with his wife, Ariko Inaoka. For him the advantages of physically printing the images has it's advantages, he can lay them out on the floor, rearrange them and figure out what the project is about and where to take it. You can do the same with the digital photography workflow too, but I must say, it's something I have never done.

Are you a photographer or videographer who loves to write? Fstoppers is looking to hire several creative professionals to write for us. If you enjoy reading Fstoppers and think you may have something to offer, we want to hear from you!

Audi took advantage of Monday night's presidential debates with its "Duel" ad spot. Nearly the entire clip plays in reverse, allowing the chronology of the true story and how the action unfolded to the point at which you began to unravel itself in an action-packed scene. The rewound clip -- fit for a 007 film -- features quite the production, complete with excellent, blockbuster-born sound effects to sell every punch and shattering glass shard. But it doesn't take much studying to see this was hardly as easy as rewinding an otherwise-normal action sequence: it took great audio to create this spectacle.

Last week I picked up Intellytech's version of a flexible LED panel. It's crazy thin, light, and portable. How does it stack up against a regular panel?

Last week, the plethora of photography announcements from Photokina was incredible. One product that was introduced, but got barely any attention, was a new strobe from Impact, the Venture TTL-600. It personally stood out to me as something I could possibly add to my own kit immediately if it does what it says it does and more importantly, does it reliably. So right now, it currently sits at the top of my list of new gear to try out.

Where Art Meets Architecture 2 Behind the Scenes continues today with episode four. In this episode, we rent an incredible home in Beverly Hills to live in and photograph for four days.

Many people have interesting stories of how they started photography; I do not. One of my chief motivators for starting was being a part of a car community in which a few members used to take macro photographs of insects. I was fascinated by the detail and intricacies of things I'd previously ignored, and so, I bought a cheap second-hand DSLR with a kit lens and a macro filter. After establishing that photography was the expensive mistress I'd always dreamed of, I decided to buy a proper macro lens and sought out advice on the right purchase for me. Then I bought the wrong one.

For a long time as a photographer, I did not have access to a studio nor did I have the necessary lights to help create a studio setup indoors. And let’s not talk about renting studios! So, in absence of a studio, I came up with one easy way to create the studio feel, which you will find is pretty cheap.

Lightroom is sometimes underutilized during post-production and IPS (in-person sales) during a boudoir reveal. Here are some tricks to increase the speed of your IPS sessions in order to move fluidly through the sales process and increase the number of clients who upgrade to your next collection.

Where Art Meets Architecture 2 Behind the Scenes continues today with Episode 3. Normally, our BTS episodes include some educational content, but this episode is for entertainment only. In this episode, we leave all of our gear behind, and Pye Jirsa from SLR Lounge takes us all out in his race car.

Stabilizing a video camera used to be a heavy, cumbersome, and expensive task. Today, with the help of smaller cameras and electronic gimbals, stable 4K footage has becoming increasingly affordable and compact. DJI has taken this idea to the max and created a handheld stabilized camera that can shoot 4K raw footage.

Fstoppers has worked hard to bring you valuable educational content from incredible photographers like Peter Hurley, Mike Kelley, Dylan Patrick, Elia Locardi, and Joey Wright. Now we're asking for your help! We at Fstoppers are preparing to create our next premium photography tutorial which will probably cost around $300. We would like to know from the Fstoppers community which genres we should focus on and who it should be with. Would you take a quick one minute survey to help us out?

Believe it or not, the iPhone is a professional choice for many videographers today. If you're looking to stabilize your iPhone's video footage, we've found one of the cheapest and most convenient options available.

We all love big sensors, affordable glass, and cheap camera bodies, but is DSLR videography a dying breed? If so, what are the alternatives that we should be looking at?

Recently, I took a trip to Wichita, Kansas to see my sister get married. I packed up my camera, a few flashes, and my tripod for this trip with hopes of doing some photoshoots while in town. My two kids came out with me for this journey, and we ventured around the city.

There's something absolutely wonderful about holding a piece of film fresh out of processing. The feeling of accomplishment, that indescribable rush of holding something you created in your fingers makes the difficulty of dealing with the medium worthwhile. However, once you're done processing the film, the next phase begins. Scanning can be, to put it lightly, a royal pain. From dust-spotting to tweaking color and levels, there are challenges that must be addressed. This is how I do it!

Shooting weddings can get to the best of us. Maybe it's when we were waiting for all of the family members to come together to take a big family photo in the middle of a wedding reception. Perhaps it was one of those moments when your bride turned against you. Or maybe, the lifestyle of a wedding photographer just became too much. Whatever it is, I think all wedding photographers have had frustrating times in their career.

Saying that you're "just a photographer" can be one of the most self-deprecating things that you can say as a professional. Those three simple words can destroy your credibility even if you're just trying to be humble about chasing your passion.

When I first started photography at 15 years old, I didn’t know anything about organizing a team. I would bribe my younger sister into being my model for the afternoon, pulling clothing from her wardrobe and doing the makeup (really badly) myself. I was worlds away from the average fashion photography set, which typically involves a team of agency represented models, a professional make up artist, hair stylist, set designer, wardrobe stylist, and assistants. This is how I conducted my photoshoots for years, and after a while I realized that I needed to expand.

There was a time when file limits were considered near impossible to reach ceilings. Each was designed many years ago for photos made by cameras with single-digit resolution. Times have changed, and unfortunately the formats have not. We now are faced with file size limits that are becoming more and more restrictive as cameras collect bigger and bigger chunks of data with every photo.

Often, I get asked how a shot was done underwater due to the objects that are with the client. Recently, I started using GoPros to obtain behind the scenes footage to help better explain positioning and lighting on various sessions. "The Archer" was one image that caused most people to ask: "Did she really shoot the arrow at you?"

Earlier today, DxOMark released their evaluation of the Canon 5D Mark IV, concluding that it has made notable strides in sensor performance. Anecdotally speaking, I can corroborate their results based on my time with Canon's latest generation of bodies. For years, many have bemoaned the company's sensors as lacking in dynamic range and being generations behind those of Nikon and Sony, but it seems now that they have essentially caught up to their rivals. However, for the everyday work of photographers, the story is a bit more complicated.

Earlier this year Fstoppers teamed up with Miami-based swimwear photographer Joey Wright to produce a full blown tutorial on all things related to swimwear photography. All in all, Joey's tutorial Swimwear Photography - Lighting, Posing, and Retouching is 8 hours of on-location photography and 12 hours of Joey's full postproduction workflow. Today we are releasing a short 50 minute excerpt from the tutorial as well as the included raw file so you can follow along at home.

Inspiration time. These guys are the cream of the crop on 500px at the moment. Note that this selection of landscape photographers doesn’t necessarily reflect my own judgment. It’s based on an average of 8 past articles on 500px ISO titled: “This Week in Popular: Top 25 Photos on 500px This Week.” Of this initial group, I have selected only landscape photographers, and here are their most recent works. Let’s go!

I'm guilty in being the one telling myself that if I had the gear I wanted, I would go out and shoot the projects I wanted to shoot. So nothing happens until I actually buy the gear. What you and I know is that it's not the gear, it's the person, the patience and the will to do great work that makes your photography a force to be reckoned with. And I've realized that the photographs I look at most, of my own and photographers I admire, are the candid images of models in the greenroom before they go out on the catwalk, or the model I'm shooting for a test, where the moment between shots appear and capture her walking to my instructed area.

Where Art Meets Architecture 2 Behind The Scenes continues today with Episode 2. In this episode we photograph a $15 million home in Venice Beach.

If like me, you’re tired of those overprocessed portraits shot during golden hour or at sunset that crowd your online portfolios or your Instagram feed, then perhaps you should consider rising early for your portrait session.

For the last 10 days, I have been on easy street. Floating on a cloud. My photography life expertly hacked. Thanks to a Facebook video, my single biggest frustration with my Nikon D750s has been alleviated.

When touting the many virtues of film, people frequently mention the power of negatives in the highlights. But what does that mean, exactly, and how does its strength compare to its digital brethren? To find out the differences, I shot a demanding subject with both digital and black and white film, severely over and underexposing. How did they stack up against each other? Read on to find out!

Some things are too good to be true. But every now and again, the world offers you an opportunity to feel like you got the lucky ticket for two on an all-expenses paid vacation to Disneyland. This isn’t quite that good, but I don’t know many people who would say, “No,” to a free iPhone, let alone one that can make you money. Here’s how you can have cash left over after upgrading to an iPhone 7…

The iPhone 7 has been announced and the rumors were true; they've removed the headphone jack. Now you'll need an adapter to use your standard headphones. This is probably fine for the majority of iPhone users but it's impractical for me.