Fstoppers Original Articles

An unusual Soul Service Station in the desert. Long streaking stars. Surreal light painting. We take you behind the scenes to reveal how you can also create photos such as this.

If you’ve been following along, you’ve probably started noticing something funny: SEO isn’t actually about being clever. It’s never been about outsmarting the search engines—it’s about being clear. You’ve started naming and uploading your images with intention. You’ve updated your homepage to say what you actually do. You’ve stopped tossing overused keywords into the void and started speaking your clients’ language. Google is beginning to understand you. And maybe, just maybe, so are your ideal clients.

For landscape photography, summer is a curse. Harsh, bright light and blue skies give some photographers nightmares. They stay inside and read Fstoppers articles. Probably. No one really knows—they keep so quiet. Maybe they should read this article, because summer just so happens to be a fabulous time of year to grab a camera and wander into town for a spot of street photography.

The number of times I’ve been called to a restaurant, hotel, or food manufacturer to photograph food on location, with only tired-looking tables or bar tops to work with, I can’t count on two hands. Or fresh white linen with nasty big creases. I think that’s even worse. Luckily, V-Flat World has the answer with DuoBoards.

One of the most debated topics in landscape photography is the role of editing. While some photographers firmly believe that an image should reflect the reality of the scene, others see post-processing as a critical creative tool that allows them to express their unique vision. The central question becomes: where do we draw the line between enhancement and deception?

Increasing the ISO for low-light photography has recently become less of an issue for various reasons. Nevertheless, if you want to capture action, you should understand it to achieve better photos.

I love attending any free photography-centered event that offers refreshments and shooting opportunities. Most of these events go all out to provide a unique shooting experience, complete with everything from balloons to dancing bears. Leica loves to be different, and it's no surprise that they took a different approach—one more focused on community—for their recent celebration in New York City.

Landscape photography has become boring. How many more photos do I have to scroll through on social media of the same old locations? Those must-have photos of the red houses in Hamnøy, Lofoten; the waterfall at Kirkjufellsfoss, Iceland; the lone tree at Buttermere in the Lake District. It’s like looking through a schoolboy’s stamp collection. Every kid has exactly the same stamps because they’re the easiest ones to find and buy with your pocket money.

Have you ever felt torn between staying true to your creative vision and jumping on the latest wedding photography trend? As a wedding photographer, it’s a dilemma I face daily. With the market constantly shifting—especially in a destination like Tuscany—it’s tempting to follow the trend of the moment. But what if I told you that blindly following trends might be the very thing that's holding you back from reaching your full potential as a photographer?

Eighty years after the end of the Second World War, and in commemoration of VE80, I’m sharing a never-before-seen collection of images taken by my grandfather during his service as a British Army mechanic.

Star trails are magical. They show the apparent movements of the stars over a long period of time, a result of the rotation of the Earth. And even better, they're easy to photograph and process in Adobe Photoshop!

By now, you’ve started making peace with the idea that your gorgeous photography isn’t enough on its own. You’ve added a clear intro to your homepage. You’ve started naming your images like an adult. You’ve even braved the back end of your site to fiddle with some alt text. That’s huge—give yourself a high five. Now let’s crank it up a notch.

Pushing your camera's ISO is often a necessary evil in photography. Whether capturing the ambiance of a dimly lit wedding reception, the sprawl of the Milky Way, or the split-second action of wildlife, higher ISOs let you get the shot. The trade-off, however, is digital noise—that grainy, color-speckled texture that can obscure fine details and degrade the overall quality of your images. There are now several contenders vying for a spot in your noise reduction workflow, but which one truly delivers the cleanest results without introducing new problems?

We’ve all been there: You plan the "perfect shoot." You check the weather (a million times). You pack your gear with the precision of a surgeon preparing for an operation. And then... the universe shrugs and says, "Ah, you know what, not today."

Have you ever felt your photography takes a backseat when you're with others? I booked a solo overseas trip to reconnect with my photographic passion without the constraint of expectations or fitting in with the needs of others. This article might be the push you need to go on your own solo journey of discovery.

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 2025, we're featuring a new photographer every month, whose portfolio represents both stellar photographic achievement and a high level of involvement within the Fstoppers community.

Think prime lenses are still unbeatable? Think again—modern zooms are challenging everything we once believed about the best lenses.

Dedicated video cameras and even hybrid cameras now offer a plethora of formats for shooting video, but what is the difference between 4:2:0, 4:2:2, and raw, and how will it affect your footage? A grasp of the technical details can be helpful in making an informed decision about which format to use.

A few years ago, I first heard about the retouching software Retouch4Me when one of our readers asked me to review it for the Fstoppers Youtube Channel. I immediately fell in love with the software and added it to my workflow. This year, they have added some features we have all been waiting for, so let's look at what is new with this powerful skin retouching software.

Your entry into photography might feel like a massive ocean of techniques, gear choices, and social media comparisons. Most people talk about shutter speed, aperture, ISO, composition, and basic post-processing. Those topics matter, but they don’t reveal the quieter corners of the craft.

You’ve got the camera. You’ve got the talent. You even have a slick little website that screams “I take this seriously.” So why does it feel like you’re shouting into the void? Spoiler: it’s not your work, it’s your SEO (or, more accurately, the lack of it).

Photography is a notoriously expensive hobby, but lack of funds doesn’t have to stifle your creativity. Here are great alternatives to expensive gear and annoying subscriptions.

You can’t argue that the world of film is making a comeback in a big way. This begs the question: Is shooting film an artistic and bold choice or just a trendy throwback?

In a world that sees more and more travel every year, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find places that aren't crowded and haven't yet been photographed from every possible angle. But those places still exist; you simply have to search harder.

Landscape photography often carries a widespread myth—the belief that bad light equals bad photos. Many photographers, especially those starting out, follow the conventional wisdom that only certain times of day, particularly golden hour, produce the best images. This belief has been perpetuated by social media, tutorials, and even some photography experts. But here’s the truth: the myth of “bad light” is limiting, and it’s holding you back from expanding your creative potential.

You may have heard you should shoot in raw, but why use a format that's bulkier and takes more work? Let's explore the benefits.

When it comes to creative portraits, sometimes the simplest things can make or break your vision. Likewise, there are times when small details in a scene can give your portraits that little something special.

Photography has always been about capturing light to preserve moments. For over a century, that meant exposing a roll of film and then disappearing into a darkroom or waiting for a lab to develop the images. It’s easy to forget how different this process was before digital cameras came along. In the 1970s, the idea of instantly seeing a photo on a screen felt like science fiction. Yet it was in this era of film and chemicals that a young engineer quietly built a device that would change photography forever. What follows is the story of how the first digital camera was invented and how it transformed the way we take and share photos.

Adobe MAX is a gathering of photographers, filmmakers, and designers who want to see the latest innovations the company is working on and learn from other creatives who have mastered using the company’s software to fulfill their creative vision. There was no stated theme for this year’s event, but it was apparent to me that Adobe is making an effort across all its platforms to reduce tedious tasks in the creative workflow.

Five years ago, I humorously "leaked": a rumor that Canon was about to release the RiP, a camera with a vertical sensor designed for Instagram influencers. Sadly, the RiP never came to market, but the concept may have inspired Fujifilm’s intriguing new camera.

The business value of social media can’t be overstated, but not everyone wants to vamp in videos—the common path to stardom. Luckily, you don’t have to, says Janis McGavin, director of marketing and social media for the Los Angeles Center of Photography. “How do I know this?" she said. "I’ve done it.” She took the LACP’s following from zero to 18,000 followers (and growing) without appearing on camera. If you follow a few basic principles, you can expand your audience and your business without stepping in front of the camera (and even more if you do).

Skylum is rolling out a spring update to their popular AI-based editing program, Luminar Neo. Users should start seeing the update today when they launch the application.

Give your eyes a destination and a route to get there. Our job as artists is to find a place we want to direct the viewer’s eye to, find a way to direct them there, and then to show them what it is we want them to see. Everything else is just visual clutter.

You don’t need a passport. You don’t need a model. And you sure as hell don’t need permission. What you do need is your camera and a little curiosity.

Some photographers view the craft of photography as a creative pursuit that enriches their lives on a deeply personal level, while others are motivated by income or social media attention. Some are driven to use their cameras to effect change. Self-proclaimed “dogtographer” Kaylee Greer is one such person who uses photography to tell the story of shelter dogs in search of a loving home.

Photographers know that working smarter means more time snapping shots and not being stuck behind a screen. But for newbies, finding an editing style can feel like a never-ending puzzle. Luckily, The Presets Room is here to save the day—offering quick, pro-level edits so you can spend less time clicking and more time creating.

I’m obsessed with color. Like, deeply. Bold tones, dreamy palettes, warm hues—color is one of the main reasons I fell in love with photography. But that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the raw emotion and timeless feel of a strong black and white photo.

In my previous article, I wrote about the basics of aperture. Once you have got to grips with that, there is more information that's really useful to know.

Culling is an essential part of a photographer’s workflow. However, sorting through thousands of images takes up precious time and focus. This article looks at how AI-assisted tools like Imagen’s Culling Studio help speed things up without losing creative control.

The recent launch of the Fujifilm GFX100RF has stirred quite a debate in the photography community. Many Fujifilm fans were frustrated by the decision to equip the camera with a fixed f/4 lens instead of a faster option like f/2.8 or even f/2. This backlash got me thinking: does a faster lens always make a camera better? And more importantly, does it help us produce a better image? The more I think about it, the more I realize that the obsession with wider apertures might not be that beneficial for visual output, but rather for bragging rights that often overlook crucial trade-offs.

As photographers, we plan our shoots. Anyone photographing outside will check weather, sunrise or sunset times, and try to understand anything else that might impact getting a good image. But do you ever plan to fail?

In recent years, some of the world's cheapest lenses have made appearances in the world's most expensive movies. Several scenes in "Batman" (2022) and "Dune: Part Two" (2024) were filmed using re-housed vintage Soviet optics first produced in the 1950s. Surprisingly, these lenses—actually defective copies of optically superior German Zeiss designs mass-produced in Soviet factories—are cheap and plentiful and can be obtained for under $100 apiece. So why are major movies being shot on cheap lenses?

Street photography has grown hugely in popularity over the past couple of years. For me, it’s become one of my favorite photography genres because it’s easy to do, a lot of fun, and so accessible. Most of us live in or near a large town or city, so a spontaneous outing is feasible without planning. I like that. And you don’t need a lot of fancy, expensive gear.

In my first portfolio review, my critic was drawn to the cat photos, “because I know how hard that is,” he said. I didn’t let on that it’s not so hard. I volunteer at a local shelter and have learned a trick or two. And it turns out that best practices for cats also apply to dogs, horses, birds, and, come to think of it, people.

The idea of traveling with just one camera and one lens wasn’t something I decided on a whim for my most recent trip to Hong Kong. If I am being honest, it was mainly inspired by Leica’s design philosophy, Das Wesentliche, or "the essentials," when I read about it a few months back.

There is more to know about aperture than many realize. There is also some hogwash spouted by some. So, by getting to grips with more than the fundamentals, one can more precisely control how your photographs look.

Have you ever found yourself with many snapshots of buildings and architectural features of a city you visited while traveling? Perhaps you looked at these photos thinking they're just ordinary snapshots. What if there were a way you could transform these photos into architectural fine art pieces using Photoshop?

In photography, as in life, the things we curse as impediments can sometimes turn out to be blessings in disguise. With careful observation, good timing, and a little luck, embracing this often challenging aspect of landscape photography can really raise the impact and emotional depth of your images.