Fstoppers Original Articles

Exclusive articles and expert opinions written by Fstoppers’ talented team of creative professionals. Here we cover everything from the latest photographic techniques to advice on running a successful photography business, to first hand accounts of working in the photography industry.

Six Tips Photographing With a Wide-Angle Zoom

Landscape photography and wide-angle zoom lenses often go hand in hand. If you have ever used one of these lenses, you know there is a bit of the learning curve.

A to Z of Photography: Alvarez-Bravo and Aperture

We all like to collate, classify, and generally create order out of the world. It's no different with photography and so over the next 26 articles I'll be covering an A to Z of photography.

How Felix Renaud Shot Personal Project: Section Fumeur

When photographer Felix Renaud first discovered photography, a world of possibilities opened to him. With his background of drawing and cinema, he is drawn towards treating his images as if they were drawn from a film or inspired by a painting. He enjoys creating the ambiance and characters for his images.

If You're Going to Work for Free, Read This First

90% of people in the creative industries have worked for free. In the world of photography and filmmaking, it's not unusual to work for nothing in return for exposure, experience, and getting a foot in the door — to the frustration of others. Whether you're the one moaning or the one undercutting, check out these ideas for how we can make things better.

Do Your Sky Replacements Look Crap? Here Are Some Reasons Why

One definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results. When it comes to sky replacements, if you're repeatedly making the same mistakes and forever unhappy with your results, these tips will help you.

Add a Deeper Kind of Depth to Your Photographs

In last week's article, we spent some time discussing methods of adding the illusion of depth to your images using compositional techniques. This week, we will take that a step further and look at adding depth to the content of your images.

Never Get Photographer's Block Again With These Seven Strategies

If you constantly struggle to come up with new ideas for your photography work, then your career could be in serious trouble. Try one of these seven strategies to help you get that next big idea and keep those creative juices flowing.

Battle of the Photography Blogs: SLR Lounge Versus Fstoppers

It's another day in Puerto Rico and another photography shootout. Last week, we asked you which photo was better, but today, we take you behind the scenes and reveal the winning images. This is a battle for the photography blogs!

A Tale of Three Firmware Updates: Two Were Fine, One Was Awful.

Software and firmware updates are a fact of life for photographers. They don't come all that often and usually offer bug fixes or new or improved features. As a longtime Canon user, I found firmware updates easy and unintrusive. Having recently moved to a Sony a7 III, I'm rather shocked at the complexity of what should have be a simple operation.

Really, Nobody Cares What Camera You Use

Quite frankly, neither should you. I understand that we all love our gear and we all have dreams of upgrading and moving on to bigger and better things, but that's not the real point of it all, not really.

Earn More With Better Album Workflow and Sales

Recently, I teamed up with Ted Linczak to discuss a simple source of revenue that many wedding photographers fail to utilize well: wedding albums. Ted adds tens of thousands of dollars to his business every year with a few simple workflow and sales techniques. In this video, he shares some of his tips.

Three Concert Photography Tips

Have you always wanted to photograph live concerts, but are anxious about how to start? Were you recently hired for your first concert photography gig, but don't still looking for more ideas on how to capture great moments of the show? Well look no further, and keep reading.

A Guide to the Not so Obvious Photo Spots in Arizona

People are constantly visiting me here in Arizona, and wanting me to point out the best places to take photos. Of course everyone wants to hit the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon, and maybe Horseshoe Bend.

Old Manual Lenses for Portraits on Mirrorless

So you finally made the jump to mirrorless! You've got that sexy new Sony/Nikon/Canon/Fuji/Panasonic and you're itching to get cracking on some awesome portraits! It's about then that you realize that the kit lens isn't going to cut it and you didn't quite budget as well as you'd thought for some shiny new system lenses. What's a photographer to do? Buy some cheap, old glass to get you going!

How to Make Great Wedding Images in Not so Ideal Conditions

If you are a wedding photographer, then at some point in your career you will be faced with the challenge of making great images with conditions that are less then ideal. These tips can help you make the best of any situation.

Five Steps to Make Powerful Wide-Angle Photos

There is no doubt that the wide-angle zoom lens is the most popular for landscape photography and is my go-to lens in most of my work. It is however, not necessarily the easiest lens to use as it takes in a lot of the landscape.

How I Combined Art and Photography to Bring Awareness to Social Issues

Combine sculpture, photography, and a powerful message to bring social change to the world and you get a series of impactful works that can bring awareness to important issues. In the case of this personal photography project, I covered my bathroom with over 3000 ibuprofen tablets to bring attention to the widespread problems with drugs and addiction.

Is $2,700 Fair for Canon’s New Lens?

Canon’s new RF 85mm f/1.2 L has been officially announced, along with a hefty price tag. Considering the specifications and market this lens will compete in, is the price fair?

Learn to See Before You Waste Money on Gear You Don't Need

I remember the days when all I wanted was that next piece of gear, one more light, a newer body, the latest tech, the highest pixel count, and the lowest aperture. I was certain I was only one purchase away from better work. I wasn’t, and chances are, neither are you.

Photographer Documents One of the Rarest Treks on Earth

There are mysterious places that swirl with intrigue and evoke dreams of the sights that lie within the unknown. These are the places that often seem so perfectly suited for a photographer with a wandering spirit. Arriving at the wondrous location, however, is only half the battle for the inclined documenter.

Google Earth Engine Takes Time-lapse to a Higher Level

Check out these time-lapse selections from Google Earth Engine that run from 1984 to 2018. They're an epic way for photography and time-lapse to show the massive changes that have occurred to our planet within the span of a lifetime.

Many Photographers Are Switching Camera Brands. Should You Too?

There are lots of stories here on Fstoppers about photographers, including fellow writers, who are giving up their current camera brand and changing it for a different one. If you feel you're late for the party, you're not alone.

DJI Claps Back at GoPro With the Osmo Action

As Omar famously said on "The Wire," you come at the king, you best not miss. When GoPro decided to get into the consumer drone market with its Karma quadcopter, it was taking aim squarely at the king of quadcopters, DJI. And it missed. Now, DJI is coming for GoPro with the release of its new Osmo Action.

Friday Night Flash: How I Had Fun in New York City

Let’s face it: photography can be an isolated activity, and it's a part of my photography career that I don’t much care for. I don’t live in a major metropolitan area, so my regular interaction with other photographers is limited to when I’m shooting on assignments. While this is usually enjoyable, it isn’t the same as just hanging out and shooting.

How I Built My Photography Studio

Being a professional photographer in the UK pretty much means having a studio. We are not blessed with good weather, so I decided to set up a studio early on in my career.

The Reason Why I Choose Profoto Over Godox

I once started with the top of the line Canon flash with a remote controller. Even though those flashes very good, they can have too little light output for off camera flash. That is why I started looking for a portable studio flash system and I ended up with the expensive Profoto system.

A Guide to Spain for Photographers

Reports are coming in from Madrid of price hikes of 1000% for rooms in the Spanish capital. The cause for this is two English soccer clubs competing in the finals of the Champions League, arguably one of the world’s most watched sporting events. With all eyes on travel options to Spain, I thought I’d share some of my photography related highlights there.

Why Auto ISO and Minimum Shutter Speed Will Change the Way You Shoot

In the last 10 years, manufacturers have introduced a new level of control to cameras: auto ISO plus the option to set a minimum shutter speed. If you’ve never tried using your camera with this setup, you may want to give it a go, as it could completely change how you shoot.

My Day Job is a Geoscientist: Winners of the EGU Photo Competition

The European Geoscience Union is the second largest group of geoscientists in the world. So what happens when you throw open a photo competition at its annual conference to over 16,000 participants from 113 countries? Meet two of the winners to find out.

Fstoppers Reviews the edelkrone SliderPlus and HeadPlus System

As someone who produces a lot of timelapses and video content for YouTube, nothing excites me more than testing out a new piece of gear. So, when edelkrone asked me to review their latest motorized slider and panning head unit, I jumped at the opportunity to see what this kit could do.

How To Improve Your Compositions by Adding Depth

The photograph is a two-dimensional expression of a three-dimensional world. As photographers, part of our job is to ensure that the illusion of three-dimensions is given to the viewer where needed. There are myriad ways to do this, and we'll look at a few in this article today.