Fstoppers Original Articles

Painting is an art form. So are music, prose, and dance. No one argues otherwise. But photography, since its very inception, has had to justify itself as a legitimate art form.

To improve as a photographer, sometimes, it pays to stop worrying about what others are doing, and, instead, focus on what you do best.

If part of your business is capturing headshots, then this is for you. Even if you're thinking of adding it to your portfolio, it's worth checking these essential tips and tricks as, if you're a commercial photographer, you can up your customer's average spend by offering this essential service.

High-end retouching is normally done in Photoshop, so can similar edits be achieved in Lightroom without ever leaving the software? The following tutorial is based upon the tips and techniques provided in lesson 19 of Mastering Adobe Lightroom by Pye Jirsa and is only part of the 49 lessons available in the tutorial.

It's very easy to find information online about new cameras, news, rumors, reviews, and which camera you should be using right now. But there's far less information to be found about older cameras. Like many photographers, I find it interesting to look at the origins of photography and how far the science and technology in cameras has come in a relatively short period of time.

A new year brings thoughts of new beginnings and new opportunities. Resolutions are common this time of year. You undoubtedly have plans to join a gym this year, but why not also make a goal of working on a new photo project? There are several projects you might consider undertaking in 2023, ranging from those that require you to create something original each day to those that will be successful with a less frequent contribution on your part.

Around 2010, I upgraded computers and was very disappointed that I’d lost my CD of Photoshop. I was even more disappointed when I went to the store and remembered how expensive it was. Begrudgingly, I did re-purchase Photoshop.

Here are some tips and tricks that help make a wedding photography business successful.

Make 2023 a year of creative breakthrough. We all know the key to getting better is consistency. Doing something over and over again will eventually make you better at anything. 52Frames is a photography community that encourages you to improve by prioritizing consistency over perfection: a photo every week for a year. Photography, like any other skill, requires practice. It’s like going to the gym: you need a training plan, with clear goals and ways to achieve them.

While so many resources about both the technical and logistical sides of photography can be found in books and video tutorials, there are things that only time can teach. Here are some of the things I’d love to whisper to my younger self that might be of help to others as well.

Want to start the new year with a free tutorial from Fstoppers? All you have to do is help us choose our Photographer of the Year!

With AI being all the rage lately, I thought I would test run a plot generator story of Canon versus Sony. I put in some spicy adjectives and plotted the main storyline: the photographers cross paths at the Imagining USA Nikon booth, and I let AI write a plot that will have you both roaring with laughter and fuming with offense. Grab your popcorn, and enjoy a good laugh.

Along with only a few other luminaries of his generation, Gian Paolo Barbieri helped to create the foundations of modern fashion photography. By pushing fashion photography beyond fashion commerce, the depth of Barbieri’s images forces us to consider them as art as much as commerce. I had the chance to ask Barbieri a few questions about being a pioneer in his field and what it takes to create a legacy.

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 2022, 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.

Adding a finishing touch to your photos can be done in many ways. You can do it yourself, or buy presets online and uses the look someone else has made for you and many others. You can also make your own preset from unique post-processing in your favorite editing software.

I don't hide that I'm a Fujifilm fanboy. My last article described how it's the perfect system for me. I purchased two Fujifilm XT-5 camera bodies the day they were released and used them at weddings just a few days later.

Do different raw programs develop your camera's raw files the same? Do those programs treat various camera brands equally? Testing them side by side, the answer to both those questions is a definite no. Here's how Lightroom Classic stands up.

Today, let’s have a look at specs that really matter to the life of a photographer.

Nowadays, photographers who use APS-C cameras have a pretty good selection of third-party lenses on the market that are capable of professional results, and this is becoming especially true in the ultra-wide arena.

We look at what makes a successful backup system, the components, the ideal outcome, and how we test that all is working before the inevitable happens.

In a previous article, I shared my favorite way of dealing with an overcast sky in photography. Today, we will focus on the opposite: clear skies. Those can also be a challenge for landscape photographers. But there are ways to take great photos under such conditions, and in this article, we'll explore several of them.

It's a mystery how this little one-inch wonder remained unknown to me for so long. I finally discovered it when — bemoaning my fate to spend over two thousand on a Canon tilt-shift macro — a colleague suggested trying an extension tube.

Optimize and save a ton of space, speed up your computer, and make it easy to find your files.

Sometimes, loyalty is the gift that keeps on giving. Now, before a large sector of the reading audience skips straight from the title of this essay to the comment section to tell me I’m a fanboy or being foolish for proposing the idea that committing to one brand is sometimes a good idea, let me start off with a few concessions.

This is an excellent time of year for photography. Here are some tips for getting better photos to help preserve your memories of these celebrations.

I often hear people dismissing compositional rules, especially the Rule of Thirds. However, there is an excellent reason why rejecting them can often lead to failure. Therefore, adopting them will make you a better photographer.

In photography, the term leading lines is a compositional technique used to draw a viewer's eye to the subject of the photo. These lines can be created by any object in the scene like a road or path, a fence or railing, a distant object like a mountain, and any other structure that creates a real or imaginary line in your image.

A lot has changed from the previous version of ACDSee. It has new tools and powerful AI features. If you are looking for Digital Asset Management, developing, and editing tool, the ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2023 may meet your needs. Here's a workflow introducing you to and guiding you through the main features of this dynamic software.

Adobe ruled the waves for image processing. However, evermore people are jumping that ship in favor of alternative methods. Most have similar functions, and each has its advantages and disadvantages. If you are thinking about changing, here are some alternative combined digital asset management, photo development, and editing options.

Certain tools, including lenses, are often intended to be used in specific ways. However, by working in an unintended manner, you can create something unique and unexpected.

When I was working in the photo industry in the late 90s and early 00s, Nikon was king. Canon was already a close second or even considered the leading brand, depending on which photographer one spoke with. Both companies offered a robust selection of lenses, advanced camera bodies, and excellent autofocus systems. And then there were the outlier brands, like Minolta, Olympus, and Pentax, all who made some wonderful cameras, but were not nearly as popular as tools for professionals. Minolta was, perhaps, one of the most adventurous camera makers.

There are a lot of ways for a photographer to make a composition. Although some won’t like to accept it, the rule of third often fits quite nicely. But no matter what you use as a basis for composition, we always use negative space. Most of us just don’t realize it.

With Adobe just releasing their latest iteration of Lightroom Classic, I thought now might be the time to look at how to optimize and speed up Adobe's favorite image management and editing application.

ACDSee is becoming a household name in the photography industry. The latest software from the company boasts a whole host of incredible new features.

Today, I’m taking a look at the new Sony FX30, the latest entrant in Sony’s cinema line.

Lightroom is full of powerful tools for all types of photography. None of them are as effective as radial filters to create dramatic results like these.

Here are 20 quick, essential tips on how to keep your photography business running and up to date in an age where technology changes day to day.

We cannot live without our phones. Furthermore, phone apps that access your photos can be a lot of fun. However, they have a dark side, and maybe we should start to be more cautious about using them.

A question to ask yourself before composing your landscape photos is: what's the subject? Having a clear answer to that will help you create good photographs. But there are situations where no matter how you position your camera, some elements in the frame will distract from the main subject. In this article, I share editing techniques you can use to alleviate that problem.

ChatGPT has been a breakthrough moment for some industries this past week. It can literally turn ideas into reality, but is it good enough to create motion graphics in Adobe’s After Effects?

Santa's coming! And for many photography enthusiasts, that means gear! For the luckiest amongst you, it might mean lenses and bodies. Others might be looking forward to a Loupedeck Live or Simplr Strap. That stuff is fantastic, too. For me, though, wedding photography is my job, and I don't ask Santa for gadgets because I buy them when needed. Instead, my family now usually asks: "which book do you want for Christmas?"

The rule of thirds is the first thing that is taught about composition in photography. It seems to have some similarities with the golden ratio, but in reality, it’s something completely different. Let’s have a closer look at the history of these so-called rules to get a better understanding.

High School, the new bio-series about indie-pop sensations Tegan and Sara, provides a strong example of how filmmakers can use visual language to help to tell their stories. I had a chance to talk to cinematographer Carolina Costa about her work on the series.

Heritage sites around the world are definitely worth seeing for yourself and photographing. A way to start your list is by visiting and exploring Siem Reap.

There are several timeless photography debates that are fun to engage in but will probably never be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction. There’s film versus digital, zoom lenses versus primes, small compact minimalistic camera versus fully featured monster-sized pro camera, and of course, continuous lighting versus strobe lighting. This article will not seek to determine whether strobes or constant lights are better for portraiture, but we will take a deep dive into how one photographer used continuous lighting on a recent celebrity shoot.

Do you take your camera for a walk? In this second article on that topic, we will be considering why it is good for you and your photography in ways you might not think, why you could leave the telephoto lens behind, and how to improve at photographing animate subjects even with a shorter lens.

The demand for images is higher than ever, and yet, the security of many photo jobs is in more peril than ever. One of the hardest-hit genres of the last few decades has been stock photography. Is AI going to kill the genre entirely?

Walking photography should be a genre of its own; it is the most popular form. There are simple things you can do that will ensure you come home from your walk with better photos than before. This is the first of two articles looking at ways to improve those images.

Have you ever seen images and wondered how they create an editorial look that you just can't seem to recreate? It's clean, it's crisp, it may be edgy or sleek... you can't quite put your finger on it, but whatever "it" is, you want it for your work. Here are a few tips, from composition to post-production, that will upgrade your images and give you a more professional look.

After a year in my bag, it's time for a recap of the first 12 months with the best camera I’ve ever owned.