Fstoppers Original Articles

It was the year that Osama Bin Laden was killed, Barack Obama was President, the Space Shuttle was retired, and "Game of Thrones" was premiered. Meanwhile 2011 turned out to be one of the most pivotal years in camera history, putting us on the path to where we are today. Here's what happened.

Whether as an alternative or as an add-on, a friction arm has so many uses for any photographer inside and out of the studio.

If you struggle with getting sharp photos, this is for you, and even if you are experienced, there might be a tip or two to pick up.

There's no denying that the Coronavirus has changed the world as we know it. The way companies and individuals act towards photography going forward is about to shift dramatically. Are you ready for this?

For months and months I was looking into buying a large format camera and really thought the Intrepid MK4 was the best option. I looked all over for a review on the camera without any luck. It’s starting to become clear why.

As tempting as it might be to allow the current work stoppage to push you off track, now is the time to focus even more on reaching your goals.

Our friends over at GuruShots, "The World’s Greatest Photo Game,” recently offered a challenge where particpants submitted their best images "Lit by Twilight." There were thousands of entries and 39.4 million votes throughout the contest but the top winners have been chose. See who won as well as the 100 top rated images below.

Birds are notoriously difficult to photograph, because they're flighty (pun intended) and far away. Fixed focal length telephoto lenses are great at cropping in close to your feathered friends, but the decent, sharp lenses are incredibly expensive. They also restrict your composition, which is why the Nikkor 80-400mm lens may just be the best bird photography lens in the world.

Fujifilm's X and GFX cameras and lenses are on sale at B&H. With dozens of items receiving some sort of special pricing, it's a great time to check out the product lines. Want to know my picks for the best deals?

Scotiabank’s Contact Photography Festival is one of the biggest photography festivals in the world. This year, in the wake of COVID-19, it’s going to be run online. If you’re looking for inspiration, this is where to go.

The writing is on the wall for film photography. It is a zero-sum game with only one end result – the extinction of film photography. Perhaps something will happen to change that but I doubt it.

I decided to compile a list of the best cameras outside of the "big three" manufacturers for all budgets that are currently purchasable brand new.

If you are new to photography, you are probably realizing you can quickly sink a lot of money into this pursuit, often unnecessarily. Here are five things you should actually spend your money on.

Although the current situation is far from what we used to know as "normal," I believe we will still have a chance to get to our daily routines. This time, we have to be more careful about a number of habits we may have been ignoring.

I recently picked up a Mint RF70, a fully manual camera designed to accept Fuji’s Instax Wide film. After capturing a few images with it over the past few days, I’m reminded of why I love instant film so much. Yes, it’s magical watching a print develop right in front of you, but that has nothing to do with why instant film is so exceptional.

We might be instructed to stay at home for now but it doesn't mean that the outside world has stopped turning. It has, actually, continued to thrive and has given one artist an idea for extracting and collating brief digital sceneries from web cameras all over the world to tell stories of isolation.

Even before the economic disaster of COVID, the camera industry was contracting. The software industry has adopted SaaS pricing, with Adobe Creative Cloud being the most recognizable example. That pricing model, or one like it, might be the next big change coming to camera hardware.

Whether you’re working remotely or recording videos for YouTube, producing a high-quality video can require some smart gear decisions. Your Macbook’s built-in webcam and mic are fine, but spending just a small amount can translate to a huge improvement in quality. Here are the essentials, along with recommendations at a variety of price points, to set up your perfect streaming and recording setup.

I think it is always wise to shoot in raw. The raw file format will store the maximum amount of image information. This can even be optimized when shooting with exposure to the right to make full use of the dynamic range of the camera. Although intended for JPEG photographers, a flat picture profile can have a benefit or raw shooters also.

No, you can't have the raw files. Go away.

Do you ever think that some approaches to creating landscape photographs go too far? At what point do we stop and say it's too much?

Have you ever gotten asked if your photos are high resolution or if your photos are a specific DPI? What do you say when you get a request that doesn't make sense?

Digital photo frames were hailed as a leap forward for presenting your images, a technology to go hand in hand with digital cameras. So, what happened?

Strange times provoke strange projects. I’ve become somewhat obsessed with my neighbors’ doors in our tiny French village. It's far from groundbreaking, but it's proving a lot of fun.

While most of us are sitting at home as non-essential personnel, many have come up with ways to keep the creativity flowing. Some are learning how to photograph wildlife, some leaning on their new love for macro, and some even testing out product photography for the first time. One photographer decided to test out some DIY options for products saving herself some money while she had the time on her hands.

We've started the new Youtube Channel "Fstoppers Live" and our first video is being filmed live today at 1pm eastern time. Please join us and don't forget to subscribe to our new channel.

If you haven’t been keeping up with your photography Instagram marketing, now’s the time to revisit. Instagram marketing can be incredibly fruitful for photography businesses. To make it work for yours, you must understand how to use Instagram productively. Let’s start off with some statistics…

Like most of you, I'm cooped up at home other than occasional forage for groceries. As a landscape photographer in Arizona, there's plenty of landscape, but I'm doing my best to abide by the stay at home rules. So basically, the landscapes are in one place, I'm looking at 4 walls.

This week I spoke with professional motorsports photographer Drew Gibson to find out what 10 things he couldn't live without in his camera bag. With clients such as Aston Martin and Top Gear, Drew certainly knows his way around motorsports photography.

What do you do when all of your contracts for the year are canceled in a matter of weeks? Regardless of how well-drafted your contract is, do you consider damage to your reputation when you think about holding clients to dates and payment schedules?

It’s going on day number 587 of being confined to my home during social distancing, or something like that. And while this experience has turned life upside down, it has also reminded me of a thing or two.

If you are new to photography, you are probably realizing you can quickly sink a lot of money into this pursuit. Here are five things you should avoid wasting money on.

Recent updates to Lightroom Classic have brought a new level of control over local adjustments: Range Masks. Within this, the Color Range Mask allows you to be clumsy with your adjustment brushes while targeting very specific parts of your image. Here’s a detailed look at how it works.

I know a lot of us can't go outside right now to shoot panoramas due to quarantines and self-isolation, but perhaps you have some panoramic shots you took months back on a trip somewhere, buried away on a hard drive in the cupboard. Now's a good time to dust them off and get to work!

When it comes to DIY hacks, there are some absolute beauties out there that demonstrate the wonderfully creative imaginations that people have. It’s no different when it comes to photography, and these hacks I’m going to share with you today might be some of the most outrageous you’ve ever heard.

Fujifilm makes some of the most interesting and beloved cameras on the market, with a range of unique designs and features. Here are three of my favorite things about Fujifilm cameras.

The draw to lower your prices will be just as strong as the economy is weak, but while that may be good for new business volume, here’s why you should stay firm on existing business, even as rescheduling occurs. Don't know how to handle that? I also have a few tips for what to say to your clients to avoid falling into the trap of discounting services to the point of driving yourself further into debt.

You're a professional photographer using cameras to make a living, and you suddenly end up with no cameras in your possession. What do you do?

Life as we know it has suddenly changed, and most of our businesses have ground to a near stop. Many of us were left scrambling to figure out how to keep some sort of work coming in. But when you primarily photograph people, yet your state has issued stay-at-home orders, you really have to explore ways to carry on.

Nearly every modern camera has different metering modes to measure the amount of available light. It is possible to measure the average across the image, or just a part of the image. Do you use all of these metering modes? Or is it better to limit the use to only one?

Mary Bel is a single mom of 2 teenage kids, works full time, and finds a small glimpse of love, through self-portraiture.

Lightroom is a great piece of software, when it works. In my case, it's an essential piece of my workflow for photography. Unfortunately, it's got some major quirks. Some can be particularly frustrating to solve — here's 3 weird tricks that helped when I ran into an issue.

We are currently locked down in Puerto Rico, and it's literally illegal for us to go outside to take photos, but we found an old lesson we filmed in Alaska that was never released.

Landscape photography can become an addiction — including your photography gear. When is the right time to give in to the urge of trying something new — and what's important in the beginning?

When most think about maternity photography, the visual is light airy looks with flowers wrapping the soon to be mother. However there have been many changes in the way photographers are shooting this genre and many photographers want to break the stereotype.

I used to clean my cameras and lenses before every shoot. Now that washing my groceries has become common place, cleaning my camera gear has taken on new meaning. This isn’t likely to change any time soon – even if the world opens back up. How are you dealing with this?

It was the year of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, iTunes, the final Concorde flight, and the invasion of Iraq. George W. Bush was President, and Tony Blair Prime Minister, whilst Serena beat Venus at Wimbledon and the Devils won the Stanley Cup. In cinemas "Matrix Reloaded," "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Finding Nemo," and "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" first aired. But what happened during 2003 in the photographic world?

With the outlook of the coronavirus finally starting to look a little less ominous, people are beginning to think about life in a post-coronavirus world and reflect on how this time has impacted the world of photography.

So far, the year 2020 has been tumultuous, to say the least. And our country now faces a tough new chapter in the Coronavirus pandemic: the controversy over reopening non-essential businesses. You may find yourself asking: When should photographers return to work?

If like so many of us you find yourself at home with a lot of time on your hands, consider using that time to experiment with different art papers and print some of your favorite images from your hard drives.