Fstoppers Original Articles

If you believe the advertisements of smartphone manufacturers, the cameras of those devices are amazing and suitable for professional use. Sometimes (often?) these advertisements turn out to be fake, shot with professional DSLR cameras. But how good are those smartphone cameras really?

A few weeks ago, an online mob doxed a street photographer for taking candid images at a county fair. The incident raises questions about where we draw the line when it comes to invading someone’s privacy in a public space.

Contrast extraction is one of the most important aspects of visual processing. It plays a tremendous role in how we view images, where our eyes are drawn to first, and where they linger. In this article we'll learn a few simple tricks to create more engaging photographs — and why they work.

Just back in town after three consecutive assignments, I decided to take advantage of a lazy weekend to test out a few theories about my cameras.

We're coming to that time of the year again for yet another huge photography event. PHOTOPLUS in New York City is one of the largest photography events in the world, and each year, it seems to get bigger and better.

Insta360 promised a camera smaller than your thumb, but with unique capabilities. Have they delivered?

Making decisions about cameras and lenses is always difficult. Most of the time, we have to compromise. Finding out what you love about photography helps you making a better choice regarding your photography gear.

I mostly shoot non-ball type of sports like surfing, sailing, skate, motocross, and of course, my favorite the Monster Energy Supercross series.

One of the current cool types of shots are the so called "cinematic photographs." It's not the software filter that makes the photo cinematic or the black bars. Something else does it.

Language is a slippery thing. The meanings of words are constantly evolving. Add in the continuing leaps being made by the technology underlying photography, and it's no wonder that the language photographers use is in an almost constant state of flux.

If you have ever seen my camera bag, you will know it is full of relics from yesteryear. Recently, I purchased a ZEISS Milvus 100mm f/2M ZE Macro Lens, and it changed everything.

When I moved to Sony, part of the appeal was the smaller body. However, the idea of being able to replace my big, heavy wide-angle zoom with something light and fast seemed impossible. Last month, Tamron released its 17-28mm f/2.8, and I just spent three days using it to photograph a parkour event in central London. Ahead of a thorough review, here are my first impressions.

An interesting debate around word choice among photographers is the question of whether one "takes" or "makes" photographs. There are compelling arguments behind both choices. But which is correct?

Let's pretend for a moment that you've found a magic lamp, and it's going to grant you one and only one Instagram-related wish. I can think of what I'd wish for. Can you?

Even though you are cold, wet, and tired, it might be a great idea just to check what is around the corner. That was what I did, and I was rewarded with several photos.

When analyzing a photo, do you care more about how a photo was taken, or why the elements in the photo are there? If you’re trying to grow as a photographer, you might need to stop asking how things are done, and why they are done.

Photographing whale sharks tends to be a top bucket list item for many underwater image-makers, and for good reason. The largest fish in the sea, whale sharks offer uniquely special photo opportunities. For those of you who have yet to photograph one of these gentle giants, I’ve put together a few tips to keep in mind for that first encounter.

I have a large and relatively heavy Gitzo tripod that can carry as much as a small elephant. But I also bought an expensive Gitzo traveler tripod because sometimes I want to travel light. The question is, was it worth the money?

I’ve been a stalwart defender of “real” cameras when it comes to shooting portraits. But a slew of phone cameras over the last few years have included portrait modes, and so has the time come to change perspectives?

We now arrive at the second of the three tricky letters of the alphabet. Unfortunately, U is uselessly underwhelming but ultimately and uniquely utilitarian! The first an iconic photo of political protest and confrontation, a theme that continues to this day in newsrooms across the world. Then discover Umbo.

It’s imperative for a photographer to love their own work. You wouldn’t ever progress in the craft if you didn’t.

If you want to get serious about video editing, I highly suggest learning to use Adobe Premiere, but if you want to edit a video as cheaply and as quickly as possible, this is the video for you. I'm going to teach you how to edit a video in 15 minutes.

Sometimes it’s fun to set yourself a challenge, maybe shooting with limited gear or with a very quick turnaround. On this occasion, I had no choice. The shoot was conceived and captured in under fifteen minutes, and the images were edited and submitted less than half an hour later. Here’s how it came about.

In the world of professional photography, the value of our work doesn’t always line up with our client’s budgets. But as tempting as it is to take the money and run, holding firm can often be more profitable in the end.

We are now four parts into the art of composite series, and this week we touch upon style and influence.

We've all bought things impulsively, and on occasion it works out. But often it doesn't, and a few times for me those purchases have been an unambiguous waste of money.

Photoshop's days are seriously numbered thanks to the likes of AI, machine learning, and neural networks. The question is, what should photographers be doing to prepare for this big change?

Your computer's graphics card isn't just for games anymore — with recent updates to essential core products, including Lightroom and Photoshop, there are a number of reasons why you should start paying attention to your GPU.

It’s time for something different. Ever have that great idea, but you may just let it fizzle away? Me too. But this one wasn't getting away.

Have you always wished you gathered the courage to dive deep into travel photography? It can be an unforgettable experience, but be cautious because you are highly likely to contract a "travel bug" for the rest of your life!

As always, I get comfortable in my workflow then something new comes along that I didn't know I needed. This can of course be a good thing as long as we aren't closed minded to change. Today I'm going over an awesome new feature of the new NBP Freqsep Control update version 2.1.

In an industry dominated by budgets in the millions, or even hundreds of millions, how can an independent filmmaker get their vision to market? YouTube, VIMEO, luck? The festival circuit? Making a movie is expensive, so how does a rising artist find enough financial support to break into the business of film?

When I purchased my first large zoom lens it came equipped with a tripod foot. I quickly learned that a standard ball-head wasn't the best way to use one of these beasts on a tripod. This started my venture into the gimbal games and actually helped in ways that I didn't anticipate.

It seems each recent camera announcement has brought a higher megapixel count — including Sony's latest 60mp+ release. But whether you're shooting on 24mp APS-C, 50mp full frame, or 100mp medium format, you might not be getting all the resolution you paid for. Check out this list for 3 clarity-robbing problems and their fixes.

I recently outlined seven reasons why I was excited to go to Sony Kando 3.0, but now that I’ve been, there was so much more to it than I initially thought.

Louis Daguerre is one of the founding fathers of photography, but little did he know, his invention opened a secret door down a street in Victorian-era London. Needless to say, this article is NSFW.

This week we turn to a train wreck of an image — yes the iconic photo "Train Wreck at Montparnasse Station"! But before we get to that, step back to the dawn of photography and understand the principles behind tilting and shifting the lens relative to the sensor. Some of the highest profile photographers use tilt-shift lenses in their day-to-day work, so find out why that is.

At the start of the new year, Netflix released the cultural hit show, "Tidying Up with Marie Kondo". No show has made me change my lifestyle around more than this one was able to. But I didn’t just use it to clean my room, I used her methods to clean my portfolio.

Robert Ascroft is known worldwide for his celebrity, sports, and fashion photographs. His client list includes Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox, Showtime, A&E, Puma, Vanity Fair, and Rolex. So, basically his client list includes some of the biggest names in his industries of focus! Not bad, right? Go big or go home I guess!

My business is about 90 percent dealing with individuals, and about 10 percent working with brands. I just moved into a new live/work studio and, to help break it in, I decided to hold a "Pay What You Can" sale and the results made me change my entire business model.

Instagram appears to be in the process of rolling out a surprising change to its platform: hiding the number of times that a post has been liked. While the internet giant claims that it’s making the change in to help us focus on the thing we love, the truth is different. If it really wants to improve things, it should go one step further and hide follower counts too. You can be sure, however, that it never will.

There is an abundance of books on making business. They cover a lot of ground, mostly emphasizing marketing and selling, especially the latter. How practical is their advice to you as an artist?

Drones are great tools for photography and video, but with technology changing at such a rapid pace, racing drones (FPV) are becoming much more popular and in demand for commercial work. It can be a little overwhelming to learn this technology all at once, so I am here to help you with your first setup.

The shoot done by photographer Ana Dias is a Playmate of the Month pictorial for Playboy US (Miss March 2019). The model is named Miki Hamano, and she comes from Japan. The whole photoshoot was done in a modern villa in Malibu, California.

Recently, a special delivery unexpectedly arrived for me. It was a trophy from the Telly Awards for a Cape Town guide that I filmed for Expedia. Winning awards has never been a motivation for me, but this one felt really good. It made me consider all the different forms of payment we can get from photography.

On a day-to-day basis, we go through hundreds or even thousands of photographs mainly through social media. Especially for people with many photographer friends, every scroll is a stroll through a usually poorly curated gallery. If you stop and take a close look at most of the photographs, chances are that you will see certain instances where the photographer has "stopped seeing" somewhere in their creative process.

Everyone who is photographing landscapes knows how important light is. With the right light situations, a boring landscape can transform into something magical. It is not only choosing the golden hour, but also waiting for the right moment. You need to be patient.

I'm the first to admit I love Lightroom. Sure, it has its issues, like occasionally slow performance on good hardware and an admittedly aging interface, but I'm comfortable with it. There are a number of tasks, though, that you just shouldn't be using Lightroom for. Want to know what they are?

Gonzalo Amat, who’s up for an Emmy for his work on Amazon’s Man in the High Castle, tells us the steps he takes to make a scene stand out in darkness.

If there is one thing as photographers we love more than debating over new camera bodies it is camera bags. Chances are if you're like me you have a closet full and you are always looking to get another.