Fstoppers Original Articles

I’ve written before about the elements of a good image for the sake of the image, and just recently about how pouring yourself into your own development will result in stronger photography. There’s one element that both of these fail to touch on. There is one element that strongly separates those who produce lasting images that their clients love and those who produce a one-off hit that gets forgotten days hence. That element is a deeper connection to the subject, a knowledge of it, an ability to express it that nobody else has. This is a connection between yourself and that subject, a mutual understanding that results in unique and beautiful images.

Building a skilled team is a sure way to up the production value of your shoot and improve the quality of your work, but if you’re collaborating with other artists, you’d better give them what they need.

There’s a constant stream of new technology on the horizon, new features and capabilities that are undoubtedly valuable to someone. But how do we know if that someone is us? How do we know what’s worth investing in and what’s worth passing up? Here are three questions to help us figure that out.

Not many of us can say that we’ve shot on every single continent, but Kenneth Browne is here to tell us how he dealt with one of the toughest shooting locations on earth.

Just a few hours and/or days left on these! The first ever Fstoppers Workshops taking place in the Bahamas May 28th - June 1st is quickly approaching. Our crazy Atlantis Hotel Discount Room Rate is expiring on the April 22nd , and all of the instructors are each running a social media contest for those of you wishing to attend. Collectively there are over 15 free spots in a variety of workshops. To enter, simply check out the full post

Second shooting is a great way to gain experience and fill out unbooked weekends, but there are a lot of things you can do to maximize your returns.

This week's Lighting Breakdown will focus on composite images, breaking down this specific fantasy image as an example for what you need to do to create believable composite lighting.

Most modern cameras have the option of highlight tone priority available. It will improve gradation in bright areas of the image. But does that function has any use when you are shooting raw images? Let’s find out.

Some photographers seem to have careers that appear to have started at the very top of the industry's ladder. For others, the early days of their photography careers are something they try to hide from. How has your photography evolved over the years?

For filmmakers, our reels are often the first thing a prospective client sees from us, so why do we put so little of ourselves into the edit? Your reel should show the world who you are, just as much as it shows the world the kind of work you do.

Attending a portrait workshop with a photographer that you greatly admire can be an intimidating experience. Last month, I had the opportunity to spend a day at the New York Lighting Workshop with photographer extraordinaire, Felix Kunze, and it was not at all what I expected.

You're going to want to watch this episode of Critique the Community. We asked photographers to submit some of their best family photos to be critiqued by Lee and Patrick and had some great entries. We also decided to throw in a couple surprises.

If you're a photographer or videographer, keeping abreast of creative trends is pivotal to best positioning yourself to continually evolve and turn profits. Fstoppers spoke with Shutterstock Creative Director Terrence Morash about how creative trends are analyzed and predicted and how photographers and videographers can use that information to their advantage.

Doing photography professionally does not only require you to be good at taking pictures. There are additional competencies that one must have to be able to provide what your clients need and one of the most important ones is communication.

How many times have you been stuck in a photographic rut? If your photo mojo got up, walked out, and slammed the door in your face, then there are things you can do to get it to come back. It has happened to me.

Success in photography is a fairly vague metric. Some measure it by the number of followers on Instagram, others by ratings on photography forums, and some people by the gear you use. However, none of these three things mean success. In fact, a photographer who shoots on the latest gear, gets 5-star ratings on forums, and has a million followers is not necessarily successful. Here is what an actually successful photographer is.

Along with only a few other luminaries of his generation, Gian Paolo Barbieri helped to create the foundations of modern fashion photography. By pushing fashion photography beyond fashion commerce, the depth of Barbieri’s images forces us to consider them as art as much as commerce. I had the chance to ask Barbieri a few questions about being a pioneer in his field and what it takes to create a legacy.

Every technical and compositional skill you have in your toolbox cannot give your images meaning. Of all the considerations, putting meaning into an image is probably the hardest to achieve. It’s an esoteric thing, but it can help lift your photographs from the mundane to extraordinary.

When you're looking to print something that can really stand out and be unique, you may be wanting something more than a traditional matte or glossy paper. That's where Moenkopi Washi Unryu 55 comes in with a gorgeous texture and feel for your fine art prints.

What if instead of settling in on yet another evening of editing that overwhelming avalanche of photos, and half heartedly watching Netflix in your pajamas, tonight you excite your palette with a tasty libation while rubbing elbows with a group of like-minded photography enthusiasts. I don’t know about you, but I’m sold.

From an early age, Bertie Gregory was sailing, surfing, swimming in the ocean. He was always outside, taking in nature. When you spend that amount of time outdoors and in nature, you gain an appreciation for it by osmosis. Even in England, a place not known for wildlife, he was able to appreciate it.

Steven Holleran has been interviewed for the Fstoppers before … twice, actually. But, with good reason: His approach to cinematography and his work behind the lens is constantly pushing the boundaries of creative, thoughtful filmmaking. Read more to learn of Holleran’s most recent accomplishment.

The holiday season is right around the corner, and for many photographers it’s one of the most lucrative times for print sales. If you’re selling framed prints of your work, it’s imperative that you package your products correctly in order save yourself a lot of money from damages, and to avoid having disappointed customers. Let’s take a look at how to do packaging the right way and earn yourself repeat customers that will come back year after year.

The 2019 PhotoPlus Expo was held this weekend at the Javits Center in New York City. This year’s edition was full of several changes, both exciting and concerning.

Stefano Carnelli is an Italian photographer living in London and Berlin, shooting socially-engaged, documentary images on medium-format film with a particular interest in the relationship between people and landscapes. His recent project, “Transumanza,” explores the lives of shepherds and their flocks in the Po Valley of northern Italy, examining how their historic traditions have changed in response to globalization and an ever-shifting landscape.

In the past ten or so years, one of the most common features flash photographers started using is HSS. However, HSS can ruin your images when it comes to freezing ability, consistency, and light output. In this article, I will show just how HSS can be a detriment to your images and what you should do instead.

If you’re a wedding or event photographer, it’s likely you’ve come across mixed lighting situations, and understanding how to work with or around it is crucial. If done right, mixed lighting can have a flattering effect and can add visual interest and depth to your photos.

Last week, somewhere between 500,000 and 1,000,000 Puerto Ricans marched along the largest highway on the island in protest against the governor Ricardo Rossello, and I was there.

It is the dream of many amateur photographers to be hired for celebrity photo shoots and high-status advertising gigs. What could be more exciting than photographing a famous singer in a large photo studio with stylists, digital techs, and assistants at your beck and call? Imagine how great it would be to see your photographs published on a magazine or album cover. Best of all, commercial jobs can pay well over $10,000 for a single day of work. Surely this is better than just photographing ordinary folk, right? Maybe not.

When it comes to photography, there are a few fundamental basics one needs to cover before shooting. Besides needing a camera, decent battery life, and a reliable and solid support system, you need filters to combat the daylight sun's harshness, introduce contrast, remove the annoying infrared noise, and polarize the sky or any reflections. Some filters also allow you to create those beautiful, abstract, long-exposure, misty seascapes with streaky clouds overhead.

Humans are the greatest adaption machines in the world. We are, by nature, made to adapt.

As photographers, we frequently find ourselves shoulder to shoulder with another photographer focusing on the same subject, but what if that subject is the other photographer’s model? Is it ok to stand close enough to take the same or similar shot, or is that cheating, or worse, theft? Just how much photographic imitation is ok? A member of a local photography Facebook group I belong to recently posed this question. A heated discussion inevitably ensued.

"Photographing The World 3" behind the scenes continues today with Episode 4. In this episode, we visit the most beautiful, and also most disastrous location of the trip, Pietrapertosa Italy.

The photoshoot of a lifetime just landed in your inbox, but there's a major snag. You can only bring one small bag of gear with you. What makes the cut and what doesn't?

I hate being bored, not so much because of the restless sensation, but because I dread wasting time. Boredom just feels wrong, so I maintain a ready backlog of productive tasks. But could boredom be as essential to your creativity as hard work and tenacity?

Convincing potential clients that you’re worth what you charge is a scary prospect. It means believing in yourself enough to stick to your guns. If you’ve had a hard time convincing clients to pay what you charge, here are a few ways that may help raise your success rate when asking for a sale.

Yes, you read that correctly. But before I’m berated in the comments section, let me explain how this has worked for me.

A few weeks back, my business partner and I realized how sound can help pull a viewer further into a video. When we first began filming and making videos together, we never really understood the importance of audio and would just play videos to specific music. So one day, we set out to do a little test by filming parts of Asbury Park in New Jersey and then by throwing together a short edit with all sorts of sounds to create more of a moody video. While testing the audio, we were also testing some of the low-light capabilities of the DJI Inspire 2, X5S, 45mm Olympus lens and the Sony a7S II, which is known to be one of the best low-light cameras. By combining aerial clips, ground clips, and actual sounds of the locations, I think this video is much better than it would have been just to the sound of the music.

Photography is one complex profession which requires many skills, from the technical to the psychological. We have all been faced with unpredictable scenarios which have put us or our clients/models in an awkward position ,or a state or panic. It can be anything: an insecure model, no time to set up your planned light, an equipment which breaks or malfunctions, a sudden rainfall, an unhappy bride, etc. Being well-equipped won’t always save the day. And if we lack self-control, good communication skills, and if we lose creative approach in stressful situations, we could just pack our gear and go home with an unhappy client glaring at our back. Being able to deal with these different scenarios might be surprisingly beneficial both for your photography and business.

VR180 is a relatively new format used for the interactive and immersive content. Unlike the traditional 360-degree capturing, it only allows you to capture a limited 180-degree field of view, and according to the Google, it will be the new trend for content creators.

The AI creations we get presented with on social media are getting increasingly ridiculous. A massive tornado over a deep canyon? Bring it on. A burning furnace of ash and embers over the coast? Yes, please. Or really? All those concoctions are missing one essential ingredient. Ok, not just one. But in this article, I'll focus on what I think is the most important piece AI images are missing.

One of the lies we tell ourselves when presented with a challenge — an opportunity to stride forward — is that we aren't ready or aren't prepared enough. Well, you never will be.

It's far too easy for people working in a creative field to somehow get the sense that basic attributes of professionalism don't apply because we're working in a non-traditional job setting. This is something to watch out for as that belief couldn't be further from the truth or worse for your business. Being labelled as an artist does not excuse poor professional habits or practices and if you're serious about having a lasting impact and a long career these common-sense business practices should be very high on your priority list.

We are photographers. We are not a bunch known for a lack of opinions. By and large, we know (or think we know) what’s good and bad and aren’t shy about telling others just how qualified our own personal greatness makes us to pass judgment on other far inferior work. Yes, I’m generalizing to make a larger point. There are as many different types of photographers as there are different types of people. And, if ego sits on one shoulder, its distant cousin humility stands firmly on the other, grasping tightly to the other end of the rope in an endless game of tug of war. But knowing when to pull, and when to offer slack, from one side or the other can be the secret to both successful shoots and successful creative relationships.

I’ve used a ton of constant lights. What they almost always have in common is that they just aren't powerful enough to keep up with the majority of shooting conditions. The StellaPro CLx10 solves that problem plus so much more.

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 2019, 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.

Many photographers have that one muse who inspires creative projects, knows exactly what the direction is, and is always the perfect collaboration. One artist found his own muse in himself when he set forth on a project to capture every stage of emotion of his own work. Creating composites from film, this artist brought a new light on the emotional range that photographers face everyday.

If you were inspired by the majestic beauty of Washington State’s North Cascades in the first leg of our Pacific Northwest Escape (you can read all about the adventure here), wait until you see the magic of Oregon’s coastline through our lens.

Stock video marketplaces are handy little operations. They provide a smorgasbord of top-quality footage and graphics all in one convenient place and all for one very reasonable price. But earlier this month, one marketplace took things to a whole new level.

Filmmaker Matt Mangham has been working on an ongoing series entitled “Analog: Stories of Film Photography,” and I’m very excited to share episode four with the Fstoppers community. In this episode, Mangham explores creativity through the eyes of San Diego native, Matthew Lawless.