Fstoppers Original Articles

If your copy of Lightroom Classic has been painfully slow, or you're having trouble with images and adjustments loading in the Develop module it could be down to a few crucial settings. Tweak these and you could dramatically improve the speed of Lightroom, and your workflow.

Aside from the common zoom lens trinities and primes, which old lenses would you like to see revamped and redesigned?

Comet Neowise is probably going to be the most positive event of 2020, so here is how I immortalized this beautiful phenomenon.

Stop worrying so much about your skills, and learn to think creatively. That was my favorite piece of advice from photographer and artist Pauline Goyard.

I'm an Adobe Lightroom user, and although I love the way Lightroom Classic works, I think there's still a lot to be improved on. From historical hangups to advanced features designed for busy professionals, here are some Lightroom features I wish existed.

While the 1D series has always been Canon's flagship line, the 5D series is the camera of most working photographers. As the industry moves toward mirrorless cameras, the release of the 5D mirrorless equivalent, the R5, leaves us wondering: will we see a 5D Mark V, or was the 5D Mark IV the last Canon 5 Series DSLR?

It’s shocking in 2020 that you can go on to most electronics stores and still purchase a point-and-shoot camera for north of $500. Many of these cameras justify their high price tag by heavily advertising a “1-inch sensor.” Unfortunately, that’s not really a selling point when the 1-inch sensor never really lived up to its photographic promises.

It is advised to shoot raw, always. Although many think that is a wise thing to do, a lot of photographers still shoot JPEG only. For those group of photographers I have 10 tips for better photos, and it has nothing to do with raw.

Manufacturing a product range focused upon APS-C and full frame (FF) ILCs is one of those strategic decisions that seems set in stone. If Canon and Nikon think it's a good differentiator for consumers, then it must be an industry standard that is broadly followed by everyone. However, the camera market is more nuanced than this and has some surprising origins. So, what is the best strategy?

Earlier this year, there were two hyped comets that made headlines but did not live up to expectations. Then, in June, stargazers held hope that the third comet c/2020 F3 Neowise would deliver a show, and it has surpassed expectations as the best Northern Hemisphere comet in decades.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a considerable impact on the photography industry, and (at least in the United States), it is not clear when a permanent return to normalcy can be expected. Photographers need to develop contingency plans to deal with ever-changing conditions and scenarios as we move forward.

With camera companies rolling out mouth-watering specs at a breakneck pace, sometimes, it’s hard to know just when to pounce on a good deal.

Two 10-stop filters put through their paces side by side. Both advertise they do the same thing but are they really the same? In short, yes and no, but mostly no. You'll be interested in the reasons why.

Modern cameras often have a vast array of features, some more useful than others. There are some features that are less common than others that are still highly useful, however, and here are five that I wish would appear in more cameras.

Last year, I took a look at Astro Panel, a Photoshop plugin designed to enhance Milky Way and other astronomical images. At the time, I was happy with what it did, but the author had a security scheme that forced you to log into the app every couple of weeks, which I thought was burdensome and downright silly.

Despite being a 45 MP stills and 8K raw video monster, is there a reason why you shouldn't buy the new Canon EOS R5 mirrorless when compared to the rest of Canon's mirrorless lineup?

The buzz around Canon's announcements has been electric and, frankly, invigorating. But before you dive into that riptide of gear acquisition syndrome, you need to ask some hard questions.

Comet NEOWISE is one of the brightest comets to visit earth for some time and can be seen right now in skies throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Here are some of the best tips for photographing it successfully.

Is Pentax even still around? Yes? Who would have known? They need to go back to making the cameras that made them great in the first place: the K1000, 645, and 67 models.

Most of us gravitate toward a few key features in cameras: things like ISO range, continuous burst rate, etc. Here are five camera features I think do not get enough credit.

Sony has been pushing hard in the mirrorless camera realm for about seven years now, and they have undoubtedly made major progress both in terms of technology and market share. Still, Canon and Nikon hold a major advantage over Sony that if leveraged correctly can help them significantly in the long run.

The phenomenal video features of the Canon EOS R5 are mind-blowing, so how can the soon-to-be-announced Sony a7S III possibly compete? The answer might be simple: shoot 4K 60p — or even 4K 30p — without overheating.

Creating imagery that’s “brandable” is part of many working photographer's bag of skills but still takes some know how with lighting, posing, and while creating a human connection to excel at a high level with consistent results. Let’s dive into how we can make our commercial and branding imagery simply while also growing our network and earning new clients in the process.

One of the things that I see underutilized in both Lightroom and general computer use is the context menu, also known as the "right-click menu" to many. It's a great user interface feature that reduces the number of toolbar buttons that often clutter an application.

The new Canon EOS R6 and the R5 in particular have generated loads of excitement with their powerful feature sets. However, Canon also announced four new lenses alongside the cameras, and I think those are just as much reason to be excited.

What can photographers learn from an award-winning illustrator? As it turns out, quite a lot.

For videographers, being able to keep to a budget can make or break your project or business. All too often, though, saving money means cutting corners and sacrificing quality. Want to know a way to reduce your costs and still create a well-crafted product?

The millennium was yet to dawn, but 1999 saw Bill Clinton acquitted, the Columbine massacre, the world's population hit 6 billion, and "The Sopranos" debut. Lance Armstrong won his first Tour de France, the Euro came in to circulation, Napster was released along with Internet Explorer 5, and "The Phantom Menace" and "The Matrix" were first screened. But why did it also see the birth of the DSLR?

Apple recently announced that they will soon begin a two-year transition away from using Intel chips in their computers to using in-house ARM chips instead. How will this major paradigm shift affect creatives who use Macs for their work?

This entire summer, I have been trying to include elements of water in many of my photoshoots. In today's behind the scenes video, I team back up with Krystal Xamairy and attempt to photograph her in a pool using a fish tank and a few strobes. The results are pretty interesting, to say the least.

Canon has just announced their brand new mirrorless cameras, the EOS R5 and EOS R6 (Thursday, July 9th, 2020), and the R5 especially seems to blur the lines between mirrorless and cinema quality thanks to its huge specs.

Have you watched any old television shows lately? Have you noticed anything strange about them? In watching an older show recently, I was surprised by just how many shots are blatantly out of focus.

No matter whether you’re using an older crop sensor DSLR, a newer full frame mirrorless, or a vintage film camera, you can most likely get a ton of resolution out of your photographs with this one trick.

Hard drives fail, computer programs get corrupted, and companies have data losses from time to time. If you rely on Adobe to keep all your files and settings safe, then you may be in for a shock if things go majorly wrong. Make sure you have the following four items manually backed up while you still can.

There definitely is not a single road to success but coming from the 40-year experience of this veteran advertising photographer, there are definitely things you should keep in mind for a successful career.

With a holiday where people are expected to gather in large groups taking place during a global pandemic, I went a different way for my Fourth of July weekend.

Many photographers buy and sell gear at a steady pace, always looking for some interesting new lens or body to try. I am no different, and I have bought and sold my fair share of gear over the years. I have come to regret selling one specific camera and lens, though.

If you’re like me, you’re one of Instagram’s billion active users, and if you’re a photographer, it’s a natural choice to have a presence on the platform that has been synonymous with photography over the last decade. Instagram, however, doesn’t seem to care about photographers — only users. Should that change? Can it?

2020 has been an unprecedented year both for the camera industry and the world at large. What will the landscape look like five years from now?

If you've been into photography for a while, whether you're frugal or easy going with your money, you will have likely bought and sold equipment. Well, which piece of equipment do you wish you hadn't sold?

Going head-to-head with one of Sony’s best value lenses is a tough proposition, but Viltrox is taking it on with the 85mm f/1.8 FE STM II. This updated version is starting to appear on shelves and at just $400, it’s a very appealing prospect for those on a budget, especially when you consider that it might one day magically morph into an f/1.6 lens.

In striving to become a better photographer and business owner, I’m always trying to learn more about how others have found their way to success. I recently had the chance to speak with Natasha Gerschon about her journey. Gerschon was more than happy to share.

It's easy to pick up bad habits in anything you do, and photography is no different. Here are seven that you ought to check for and make sure they haven't crept into the way you work.

Whether you’ve worked with Photoshop for years, or are new to the program and want an updated approach to cloning, healing, and editing out distractions and issues, there’s been a number of updates that have challenged the old paradigm of editing in these situations. Want to know the new approach you should be using?

At the time this article was written, roughly 35 million Americans were unemployed. Many of the businesses where they once worked do not expect to be able to fully reopen, even after being given the green light by governmental authorities.

Working as a photographer is not all doom or gloom; in fact, there are some really great moments along the way. What has been your favorite memory along the way?

Have you seen people with those small digital cameras or smartphones, holding them at arm’s length, and viewing the LCD screen while taking a picture? As a serious amateur photographer, you don’t want to takes pictures this way. I have six good reasons for using live view screen when photographing from a tripod.

Olympus was once the doyen of the photographic industry, with the OM range beloved for its svelte lines and high-quality manufacturing. Revitalized by mirrorless in the digital era through its collaboration with Panasonic, their OM-D range is iconic. So, why were they bought by the private equity fund Japan Industrial Partners — specialists in restructuring — and what are the portents for the future?

While many drone owners focus on aerial video and photos, there’s one often overlooked item on the spec sheet that your shiny new Mavic can also do: 360 photography, from the sky.

Like many new photographers, Kelly Robitaille started by taking photos of her children, but she would become well known for a striking visual style that is anything but typical.