A few weeks ago, I got an email from the website-building company, Wix, asking if anyone at Fstoppers wanted to be a part of a zero-gravity photoshoot. Um, yes please.
There is a hidden force that can elevate your photography massively. I know about it because, after 35 years in photography, I stumbled upon it accidentally. And I get goosebumps just thinking about it.
It is hard to photograph in both rain and around waterfalls. Here are five tips on how to get the shot.
You've just copied your camera's full resolution, high dynamic range raw files onto your new Android phone. How on earth do you start processing them? An app called raw2dng is the Play Store's most popular solution. Meet its developer.
I’ve attended plenty of workshops in my time as a photographer. I’ve attended classes taught by Joe McNally, David Hobby, Joel Grimes, and more. I’ve assisted some of the best photographers in a variety of fields, and watched dozens of tutorials put out by some really top-tier shooters. It’s pretty safe to safe to say that I have had a solid amount of training through a variety of sources, but no amount of classes or YouTube videos will ever compare to the five months I spent interning at a large newspaper.
In landscape photography, there is a powerful reason why it's important to have a go-to location, which cannot be overstated. While the attraction of venturing into new and potentially uncharted territory may be strong, there also exists meaningful value in revisiting familiar spots time and again. This article will delve deeper into the significance of returning to familiar locations and how it can enhance your photographic skills and artistic expression.
Last week, I sat down to do four portrait retouching courses from Chris Orwig. This enormous bundle of informative and accessible tutorials is packed with easily digested information. My confidence when it comes to editing portraits is now significantly higher.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max could possibly be considered one of the best mobile phone cameras for modern photography and videography. With a sophisticated camera system, and when paired with the Reeflex Pro app, it becomes even more powerful. This app unlocks the full potential of iPhone photography, allowing users to have complete control over their shots.
Golden hour is a magical time of the day for photography, characterized by warm and soft light that can turn even the most mundane scenes into stunning works of art. This period occurs twice a day, during the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset, and is highly sought after by photographers for its dreamy and ethereal qualities.
Stress is a killer. I’m sure you’ve heard that before. Study after study after study all concludes that stress can lead to a whole slew of nasty consequences. It would then stand to reason that it is in our absolute best interest to reduce it as much as possible. Anyone who has chosen to make their living as a photographer, however, will tell you that this is harder than it appears.
It's one thing making the leap in to a photography career, but as is the case with most startups, longevity is the greatest obstacle to overcome.
Sometimes shooting on location, or even finding the ideal location, can be so difficult that a photographer has to rely on their own ingenuity to bring their vision to life. Here is how I turned my tiny bathtub into a forest pond for a magical shoot, with some tips on how you can do the same thing.
Have you ever wondered what photography is? Often, we are all busy with figuring out the practicalities of it, and we never stop to ask ourselves what the heck it even is. In this article, I will define photography in the simplest way possible.
The much sought-after and elusive Vimeo Staff Pick is a badge of honor and a surefire sign you are about to get a lot more views. There is no specific type of video that is chosen by Vimeo as a Staff Pick and trying to become one can seem overwhelming and almost impossible. There is no secret sauce to guarantee you will be featured as arguably one of the best videos on Vimeo, but there are a few areas to focus on to ensure you have the best chance.
What does photography mean to you? In this article, I share my story about how photography changed my life and my journey as an artist. See my ups, my downs, and see what it took me to get where I am today.
I'm probably going to get a smidgen of heat for this one but I also feel it is one that many photographers need to seriously reflect on. At its core, photography is not a good business model. For the vast majority of photographers, the pursuit of photography of a career is a calling driven by passion. We can't imagine spending our lives doing anything else so we chase an industry that is vastly oversaturated with supply. If that is you, great, but if working on your photo career feels more like clocking into an exhausting day job then you are only settings yourself up to destroy your hobby by trying to transform it into a career.
The focusing ring on my favorite lens had been stiff for a while and finally, it failed completely. I decided to take the lens apart and see if I could fix it myself. Of course, it wasn’t that easy.
The votes are in, and you've helped to choose our Fstoppers Photographer of the Year! We've also randomly selected one reader who voted to receive a free Fstoppers tutorial of their choice!
How often do you just go out and shoot, whether it is a hike in the woods with your camera or a portrait session? While there is something to be said for being in the moment and letting things happen organically, let us talk about why pre-planning your shoots can improve your images.
Sell the fake or add to the surrealism. As a creative retoucher and composite photographer, these are two aspects that in my opinion are very important: you either learn techniques to help blend realism into the piece or to make it stand out and add surrealism.
While trade tariffs may seem appealing to nationalists, in the long term, a trade war will damage the economies of all countries. Here are the main reasons photographers in America and around the world might not welcome them and why you might consider buying camera gear now.
It’s probably fair to say that we would all like to improve our photography, perhaps in a small specific way or maybe a whole new aspect, such as off-camera flash or wedding photography. Having a desire to improve is why we do things like buying lots of expensive new equipment in the hope it will improve our images or spend hours taking photos and editing them, much to the annoyance of our family and partners.
Sometimes you just want to shoot midday with a speedlite, in the middle of the forest, on a balmy 80-plus degree day in Florida. OK, those last few statements are purely hypothetical, but as a traveling photographer, I work with what I’ve got.
Image manipulation in various forms has been around from nearly the beginning of the medium itself, and the ethics of that process have been debated for nearly as long. Although this topic seems rather Sisyphean in nature, a conversation with an individual on Instagram inspired me to take a look at it from the perspective of social media in particular.
Is there anything better than buying new gear? Or anything worse than subsequent buyer’s regret? Here are some questions to ask yourself before you kiss your cash bye-bye.
The use of commercial photography hides can be a controversial subject amongst wildlife photographers. In this article, I discuss the pros of such hides and how they can help you photograph those more elusive animals.
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.
Leigh Campbell served in the military for six years as a photographer, documenting the war in Iraq. Learn how his time in the service shaped his commercial photography career.
Just after Christmas can be a great time to grab yourself some photography related bargains. Follow these crucial tips to save thousands of dollars and stay safe online.
Here is the why and how I recommend you photograph the sky.
Art is subjective. No matter how many books are written. No matter how many advancements in technology tout how the newest device will turn you overnight into a photographic Picasso. At the end of the day, art comes from you. The individual. It is a reflection of your voice and how you see the world. What are your hopes and dreams? Your fears and obsessions?
There’s an obvious difference between a Canon Powershot and a Hasselblad, but we all know that it’s not the equipment that makes the photographer. Should you make more money just because you have better equipment?
We don’t talk enough about how relationships, or the lack thereof, will either make or break your career as a photographer. I’m not talking about the relationships with your clients. I’m talking about the needed strong relationships with all the supporting people that allow you to deliver the goods. These relationships are to be cultivated and nurtured.
Do you ever feel like you are swimming upstream, trying to keep all of the facets of your busy schedule together as a freelance photographer? There are countless articles, blogs, and books about how to separate your work and free time to improve job satisfaction and productivity, but the secret is not about improving your work-life balance, it’s about ignoring the perception of a work-life balance altogether.
Yesterday, Instagram announced that they had made some changes in what they will now allow to performed automatically. With this update, Instagram business profiles have gained the ability to have posts scheduled and published without any additional manual work via third-party applications. Non-Business profiles will likely gain this feature in 2019 according to the announcement. This news has been very favorably received so far, but instead shouldn’t we be running for the hills? Hear me out.
In a world where AI is becoming more prevalent, advancements in editing software, and a time when cameras have become more accessible than ever, it poses a question: has photography become too easy?
There are many ways to express the notion of the first step being the hardest, and it often is. So how does a photographer get paid work in a new area, if they don't have past work to show?
A perpetual challenge for landscape and travel photographers is capturing original images. One photographer went underground in pursuit of that challenge. His images will inspire you to look deeper on your next photography trip.
Have you ever heard of our friends over at Viewbug? You probably should have by now because we've collaborated with them on a couple different photo contests at this point and there's more to the community than just photo contests.
I had recent cataract surgery on both eyes, about a month apart for each eye. The doctor told me my vision would improve (a good thing). I was having the surgery because it was getting more difficult to see, especially close up. I knew it was time to do something when I realized I couldn't clearly read my weight on my bathroom scale, and I was sitting closer and closer to the computer when editing.
Photographing at a fairground can be fun to do. It’s a fun place to go to, with lots of people, bright lights, and action. It can also provide some challenges for capturing great photos. I have some ideas and tips if you plan on photographing at a fairground.
As photographers, we all get annoyed when our images are being used without permission, and taking legal action is, for most of us, simply not a viable option. However, that might be changing as one law firm has discovered a means of making companies pay for even the smallest infringements.
If there is one type of photograph that you could call universally appreciated, I would say a properly executed cityscape ranks right up there at the top. While New York City often comes to mind when you think of skyscrapers and iconic views, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates now makes a very strong case for being the most amazing city to photograph in the world. Of all the photos coming out of Dubai on a regular basis, I'd say Daniel Cheong's are hands down the best of the best. He is ready to share his skills in an upcoming class on September 8 put on by 500px called "Shooting and Stitching Vertical Panoramas." Best of all, the class is free for 500px premium members.
Knock on wood, but I walked outside this morning following the Halloween holiday and there were no smashed eggs, no toilet paper covering my trees, and about a hundred notifications on my phone from community members who had already downloaded the Halloween portraits I had taken for them.
"Underwater Beauty" was an image commissioned by a local company as a part of their campaign supporting various independent artists. The image was created as a composite for obvious reasons. In this article, I'd like to walk you through the process of creating it from the initial idea to the final result.
What percentage of your photos do you discard because they are blurry? The most common question I get asked by photographers is why so many of their images are not sharp. There can be a myriad of reasons, and here are the most common issues photographers face.
One reason why I gravitate to photographing pets and children is that their unpredictable nature lends to capturing more genuine images that portray their true personalities. In my experience, the parents’ favorite portraits of their children are the candid photos in which the children are completely unaware of the camera and can just be themselves. Here are a few tips on how to create better candid imagery of kids.
With an ever-expanding selection of community-based services and subscriptions to choose from, it can be difficult to find a platform that feels like your own and where your rights as a photographer are respected and protected. Let's dig into dig into why YouPic has grown into one of the most trusted home for photographers, and why celebrated and respected names such as Steve McCurry, Joel Meyerowitz, Adam Hinton, and David Yarrow utilize YouPic Pro's subscription in their photography work.
