Fstoppers Original Articles

Is a photo everything it seems and what does it say about why and how it was taken? This image from publishers Lawrence and Houseworth shows a full team on the Sierras, but what is it telling us?

Jeff Rhode has the highly unusual role as a full-time hospital photographer. In this interview, he shares his heart-rending photographs of COVID-19 patients and the staff supporting them and talks about the experience of photographing history as it happens.

Client galleries have become the de facto way of distributing photos post-shoot, whether you are a seasoned pro delivering to a corporate client or helping out at a friend's wedding. Can you do this on a shoestring and is there an efficient workflow?

Next time you sit down for an editing session, do your eyes and brain a favor and remember to zoom out more frequently. Don't forget that any given image is a whole piece, more than just details.

The Christmas Wish Project that has now gone viral and this incredible photography and Photoshop work is being showcased across the world, bringing joy and imagination to her audience. Karen Alsop, the photographer behind the project, was kind enough to exclusively share the behind the scenes of her project.

Up-selling is part and parcel of the wedding and portrait photography business. Many photographers depend on these selling techniques to generate a decent income. But similar opportunities can be found in the commercial genre — you just need to know how to target them.

Filing a DMCA takedown notice to have Instagram remove a photo that has been used without permission is a frustrating process. Now, evidence is emerging that Instagram’s handling of these notices could put the social media giant in a tricky legal situation.

Somewhere between Allen Funt and season 245 of Survivor, reality television has become the most popular genre of television. We’ve seen a handful of photography-centered shows, but not nearly enough. Frankly, even I got tired of watching the drama of America’s Next Top Model just so I could watch 10 minutes of photography. Thanks to Rankin and the BBC, we’ve been giving something much better.

When it comes to sending an important email, timing can be quite literally the difference between success and failure. Take the following things into consideration before you next hit the send button.

I caught up with Matt Lever, one of the top photographer’s you’d expect to see backstage at Fashion Week. He explained how he’s shooting for Elle Magazine, and the hoops you’ll need to jump through to break onto the scene.

Cameras of today are packed with functions and possibilities. Most of us are only using a small part of what’s possible. Still, we often want just one other function that is not available. What function would you like to add to your camera?

It’s clear that there has been a tremendous upswing in the number of photographers across all markets. But also with that trend has seen a staggering number of people jumping into teaching and selling workshops.

Unless you live in the big metropolitan cities like New York or Los Angeles, photographing models is easier said than done. That's because any chance of success in the industry, and the models move to the bigger hubs. That will not change, but there are opportunities to photograph models in generally any location and that's what I did with this tutorial.

The Fstoppers community is brimming with creative vision and talent. Every day, we comb through your work, looking for images to feature as the Photo of the Day or simply to admire your creativity and technical prowess. In 2018, we're featuring a new photographer every month, whose portfolio represents both stellar photographic achievement and a high level of involvement within the Fstoppers community.

Whether it’s all a gimmick or not, photos in virtual reality are amazing. They’re easy to create, and throw your audience into a straightforward, immersive experience. If you haven’t tried making one yet, you should.

Photographing live music can be an amazing experience once you embrace the idea that you have no control over any of the elements in your frame. So how do you create great pictures when you have limited angles to shoot from, terrible lighting, and no control over what your subject will do next?

When I was first starting out, I got deeply into conversations about style. What is this thing that will get me hired? How do I get it? Recently, I’ve realized that a photographic style isn’t the be-all and end-all magical thing that many beginner photographers think it is.

One of the easiest and most beloved methods of color correction is a simple swipe of the white balance temperature slider. It can change the whole tenor of a scene. There are limits to what it can do, however.

Landscape photography can be a challenging genre to begin with, but having a general blueprint can help newcomers ease into it.

Straight to the point today: is photography, or the pursuit of anything creative or artistic as a legitimate profession, a thankless pursuit and vocation?

As artists and creatives we thrive off of energy, at least I know I do. Sometimes we can be our own worst enemies and talk ourselves out projects we want to do, want to come back to, or have almost given up on. I've been on this end of the spectrum, holed up in my editing bay whacking my head against the wall on my third cup of coffee. When there is no one around to talk through the details of a project, it can start to become extremely daunting. This is why working out of shared spaces can be a life saver for some creatives, like myself. Let's take a look at what benefits come with working in a shared space.

Concerts and events can either be exciting and fun or quite challenging for us photographers due to the low-lit environment and having to share the space with other photographers, all while being crammed into a tight space. Luckily, a little bit of planning and preparation can go a long way to avoid any disasters while shooting.

With his hand wedged firmly in a crack of the sheer granite face of El Capitan, Alex Honnold looks up and scans his route as he doggedly continues his death-defying ascent of the iconic rock formation with no safety ropes to save him in case of calamity.

When I'm looking for a fine art paper with a crisp, clean, and beautifully tactile feel to it, one of my first thoughts is to turn to the William Turner paper from Hahnemühle. This is without question one of my top five papers that I've seen and printed on thus far, have you tried it yet?

The Fstoppers community is brimming with creative vision and talent. Every day, we comb through your work, looking for images to feature as the Photo of the Day or simply to admire your creativity and technical prowess. In 2016, we'll be featuring a new photographer every month, whose portfolio represents both stellar photographic achievement and a high level of involvement within the Fstoppers community.

Like most photographers, you have probably had in influx of senior calls recently. Schools will be back in session in less than a month, parents are trying to squeeze in appointments before their kids get busy with their final year of high school. What are you doing to turn your calls into appointments?

In our never-ending search for the perfect camera, we often bandy around a common term to describe the ultimate in performance: flagship. But what really is a “flagship” camera?

Socotra is one of the most stunning places on the planet to photograph. Its strikingly white sand dunes and breathtaking dragon blood trees certainly have a lot to do with it. But there’s way more to love about one of the planet’s most biodiverse islands.

So you've read all my articles on film and decided: "You know what? I'm going to give it a shot!" Great! You're about to embark on a rewarding, sometimes frustrating journey into the old school! However, one of the first questions you'll have to answer is: What film should I shoot with? There are so many choices out there with varying brands, speeds, grain structures, and formulations that it can be daunting to select a few to try out. I know that when I first started out, I had no clue what to try. Hopefully, this guide will serve as a broad primer on some of the most popular stocks and take some of the mystery out of picking your first film.

Instagram's censoring policies make no sense at all. But the least they could do is not call women prostitutes based on what they are wearing.

Landscape photography is a captivating art form that allows us to unveil the extraordinary beauty of our planet. From towering mountains and serene lakes to vast deserts and lush forests, the diversity of Earth's landscapes provides an endless array of subjects for photographers to explore. In this article, we will delve into the world of landscape photography, discussing techniques, equipment, and the essence of capturing the awe-inspiring beauty of our planet through the lens.

By 2018 Apple was worth $1 trillion, the US-China trade war had intensified, LeBron James reached 30,000 NBA points, and Black Panther starred in the box office. Camera manufacturers finally stopped flogging the dead horse of DSLRs, with 2018 truly the year of mirrorless. But what happened?

If you are a parent, the obvious answer to “What’s the best camera to photograph my kids” is a pro DSLR, such as a Nikon D5, and a fast lens, like a 24-70mm f/2.8. However, those don't travel well in a diaper bag, so what’s a parent factoring carrying kids into his purchasing decision to do?

Being from the United Kingdom, I am well versed in protecting my camera against drizzle and Brexit, but the rainforest and high humidity were entirely new beasts.

Looking for something to do during the coronavirus lockdown? Photographers are finding more and more ways to be creative during this time. Read on for some fun photography project ideas to work on during COVID-19.

One of the greatest challenges that we have as photographers is to try to show a three-dimensional world in only two dimensions. That missing dimension, depth, can only be implied. There are many ways to create a feeling of depth. Lighting and composition are two, but my favorite is using what I call dimensional framing.

We planned a few days at the Opal Cast in France, a wonderful seaside area with rocky coasts, large tide differences, and a lot of remains of the Second World War, that has shaped the landscape many years ago. The forecast promised fantastic weather for landscape photography, so we had high expectations for impressive sunrise and sunset shots, and perhaps even a few star trails. The reality turned out quite differently.

Most of us are familiar with "the gear trap," the fine line that's crossed when a shooter makes a top priority of continually researching and purchasing newer and better camera equipment. This can be a dangerous money pit. But there are times when your gear must be upgraded, lest you suffer the technical shortcomings of outdated or inadequate equipment.

A basic understanding of the physics of light can help us to achieve the best possible photographic results. Here are some very simplified explanations of how what we learned in school science lessons can affect what we do with our cameras.

The challenges of creating portraits of dogs are compounded when more than one animal comes along for your session. Whether you’re photographing two dogs or two dozen, this simple compositing method will make sure you will be able to create the perfect group portrait where each dog is looking their best.

GuruShots is a photography site that hosts "The World’s Greatest Photo Game,” In their latest challenge, they invited participants to submit their best photos of "Mostly Black." I loved seeing the variety of images and mood this challenge set. There were thousands of entires and millions of votes but the winners of the challenge were decided. Check out the three winners as well as hundreds of top rated images below.

Wedding slow season is inevitable. Feelings of discouragement can fill the mind of even the most talented photographer during slow season, so here are a few ways to fill that downtime and make this year’s the most productive yet.

One of the best steps you can take for yourself and your photography business is setting goals. Being intentional about setting time aside to write out all of your goals can be one of the most powerful business strategies for the upcoming year. Not only does goal-setting help to solidify where you’d like to see yourself and your photography in the future, it also helps to create a clear-cut business plan for the year ahead. If you’re feeling lost or aimless within your photography business, you may want to give goal-setting a try.

Do we even need a unique voice in our photography? Is having our own style really necessary? I have a few thoughts to share about this.

I made a TikTok after months of being nagged by my friends and colleagues. There's a ton of behind-the-scenes content that I am slowly uploading there. Sometimes, at about 3 in the morning when I finish my work and get slightly depressed, I go on TikTok and scroll through videos tagged #photography. While this won’t be an article targeting TikTok photographers, or an article shaming people for following trends, it will be an article discussing what trends there are now, and what’s possibly dangerous with them.

Are you daydreaming about traveling while on lockdown? Why not immerse yourself in the beauty of deserts and learn how to capture beautiful landscape images when we're allowed to travel the world once again?

Multimedia projectors have become so affordable in recent years that it is quite likely that you either own one or know someone who does. This is good news for filmmakers and photographers who are interested in achieving a unique range of eye-catching lighting effects in-camera.

Maybe you've had a prospective client — someone you've never heard of — ring you up to discuss your photography services... and had your brain freeze, making the conversation awkward. Even if you've been landing photography gigs for years, the excitement of an unexpected phone call can throw you off course.

Have you ever thought what post-processing is involved behind the car images you see in the ads? An interview with founder and CEO of "Curve Digital" Nick Limb lifts up the curtain behind their workflow.