Fstoppers Original Articles

Back in March, during the early days of quarantine, one of my photographer friends posted a photo taken from the driver’s seat showing the empty highway stretched out before him. His caption, “it's never been safer to text and drive” was equal parts idiotic and infuriating. Not only was he taking a photo, but he was actively posting to Facebook while driving.

Learning is essential for us to grow as photographers. Collaborating with the Polish artist and photographer, Maya Kot, I discovered new ideas about color that get to the very heart of photography.

"Laughter is the best medicine," they say. Find out how I used photography and laughter to overcome feelings of sadness in this photo series called "The Beauty of Laughter."

You’ve set out to write your very first script. You’ve got the character and an idea of what the ending looks like, and now you want to put pen to paper, or "fingers to keyboard".

In the never-ending struggle to get your work seen by the right people that can help advance your career, contests and competitions are one of the most accessible. But, after all is said and done, are they worth it?

For photographers Frank Diaz and Deb Young, success is manifesting in many ways; features in industry publications, awards, and gallery representation. By setting their egos aside and collectively using their talents to create an ever growing body of work, the duo’s International Collaboration Project (ICP) continues to gain steam. But the project’s weight cannot be measured by the amount of print sales or awards it has already collected. The nature of the project defines their career and makes the rest of us question our solitary nature as photographers.

To go big or to go small, that is the question. In today’s article, I’ll look at a handful of pros and cons of each to try and figure out which is the best approach.

In a previous article, I persuaded you with 3 reasons to get the Sony a7S III. In another article, I convinced you that the 12 MP was more than enough! Today I want to solve one more problem for you by helping you decide what memory cards to get for your Sony A7SIII.

Naturally, the photography industry has greatly suffered during the pandemic, and many of us have found ourselves at home, dealing with job cancellations and empty client books. But, just because you have suddenly acquired valuable time on your hands that you normally would have spent on your business or creative endeavors, it does not mean you need to push yourself into extreme productivity.

Consistency is undoubtedly important for many reasons. For those that want to develop a style that makes their work identifiable, defining what consistency means to them is a crucial step. For some, consistency may not matter at all.

Director, photographer, and aerial cinematographer Randy Scott Slavin has created the first-ever drone film festival. The New York City Drone Film Festival, which takes place in NYC on February 21, 2015 was created to “celebrate the art of drone cinematography.” I spoke with Slavin about the process of putting together the festival which is, as of today, taking submissions.

Highlighting the remarkably diverse and radical practice of Carrie Mae Weems, this survey brings together an outstanding selection of photographic series, films, and installations spanning over three decades, many of which have never been seen before in the UK.

This week's theme called for "music" and the results were great as usual. There is a lot of diversity on all of our WeeklyFstop lists and this one is no exception. One featured photographer almost had to be disqualified after turning in multiple entries. Luckily they both rocked and the show went on!

This pocket-sized camera has gotten a big upgrade. Will it live up to its promise?

Wanted: Photographers to shoot in exotic, sometimes inaccessible locales. Needed: Photographer to set up shop and work with clients among the icebergs and penguins of Antarctica, the bears and icy tundra of Hudson Bay, the apex predators on the wide-open veldts of the Serengeti or Maasai Mara. If this sounds like something you yearn for, how does the position of photography guide sound?

As the number of people interested in wildlife photography continues to grow, and the capabilities of modern equipment expand the boundaries of what is possible, many of us are seeking new ways to produce work that is fresh. This has meant exploring new techniques and searching for untapped frontiers in wildlife photography. This trend has led to a rapid increase the number of people interested in using camera traps.

The more I see AI churn out headshots and portraits with twisted appendages and those weird, dead eyes, the less I'm sweating about artificial presences taking over the photography world. Why fight AI when you can make it work for you? So, instead of pushing it away, I've started using AI tools in my day-to-day. It's not replacing my job; it's just handling the mundane stuff.

We all have shots we want to capture, and usually, we can orchestrate the image into life. But sometimes, a shot becomes so evasive you get a little obsessed with capturing it. What is yours?

This was another awesome showing for our new weekly photo theme with a number of excellent photos submitted. Instagram does such a good job with their simple interface and chronological search results the stand out shot almost jump off the grid. It is great to see so many people participating. I hope you all love the results for the "color" theme as much as I enjoyed putting the list together.

Every image has a story behind it, and while some can be more obvious than others, a few also provide important insights from which photographers can learn. In this article, which is the first in a series that I’d like to share with the Fstoppers community, I will explore the story behind one of my most recognized images and one of the most basic rules we are taught when we begin our journey into photography. I hope you will enjoy the series and take something away from my experiences.

In this article, you will discover five very compelling reasons why you should be using something like the Osee 17-inch field monitor when you are creating your videos. Because if improving the quality of your work is important to you, then you will want to check out the helpful tips in this article.

Earlier this year, as COVID-19 was growing into the problem it is now, many photography trade shows were either canceled or postponed. This was a huge disappointment for many, including myself. Fortunately, one of the my favorite shows is bringing the experience online and from the looks of it there's lots to look forward to.

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.

Sometimes, you don’t have to stray too far to find what you’re looking for. After traveling the coast and sharing our journey with you, our Pacific Northwest Escape has come to an end with a stop in our own backyard, where Mother Nature’s beauty is on full display.

Like many new photographers, Kelly Robitaille started by taking photos of her children, but she would become well known for a striking visual style that is anything but typical.

Stockpiling makes some people feel secure against unexpected disasters and crises. Which crisis justifies stockpiling photographs? Let’s take a look at how we can reduce our amount of unnecessary data.

Every now and then, I hear words of wisdom worth sharing. Here are the most recent.

I was challenged to photograph an entire portrait shoot using a broken lens. Can a consumer-grade camera and a half-broken, old lens from eBay create anything interesting?

It’s easy to let life get in the way of photography sometimes. Kids happen, bills need to get paid, and plans to take that cross-country trip fall by the wayside just to keep the gears running smoothly.

A popular photo trend we’ve all seen on Instagram is to bring back the vintage look. People’s love of a good nostalgia trip means they go looking for interesting ways to add old and dated character to their images.

You've taken a series of photos and generated a 3D model. That's great, but how do you make that available for other users on the web?

A few months ago we released "Where Art Meets Architecture 3" with Mike Kelley, a photography tutorial that covers photographing hotels and resorts as well as the business of high-end architectural photography. For the past few months, we have also been releasing a behind-the-scenes series on the creation of this tutorial. Today we are finally releasing episode 8 which is also the final episode of this series.

Some shots are great without a story, some are great and tell a story, but occasionally, the story couldn't be told in one image. Which shot in your portfolio has the best story behind it, and what's the story?

One of the most used cards in our newfound world of quarantine Bingo is the “clean out the garage” card. After doing my third round of this particular task yesterday afternoon, I found something new.

Think of forensic science and what images are conjured in your mind? Possibly something out of Silent Witness, CSI, or even The Wire. What then is involved in forensic imaging? John Smith explains.

Search the web: hundreds of videos teach you how to get more bookings and nail your marketing efforts. But how do we get our very first booking? I asked a few professional photographers to tell me their stories.

For the last couple of months, Patrick and I have been moving into our new homes in Puerto Rico and building out personal studios in each. Let me show you what I've built.

There is something magical about witnessing a sunrise and watching the land warm as the day begins. Unless of course, you are just still up from the night before. Then the sunrise has a whole different feeling. Luckily all of the great shots submitted this week seemed planned.

In November, some of us have less projects to work on, and it might be smart to not just idle, but make the best of it. Thinking about photography and business is a good idea to be prepared for whatever is coming next.

Are you the type of landscape photographer who visits a location once and then head off to other new locations, never to return? Or are you the type that returns to a location over and over? Revisiting a location presents significant opportunities for the landscape photographer.

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.

A video production technique is any method that you use to capture video. It's often incorporated into a specific style of video production, such as live event video production or staged video production. Here are a few things that you should consider when trying to determine which techniques to use.

Siddharth "Sid" Mantri is a landscape photographer currently based in Spain. His unique voice leads him to find smaller moments of a narrative within large landscapes. He creates images that aren't just swathes of landscape, but rather elements within a landscape that unequivocally act as a subject within a scene.

A spring clean is a great way to evaluate your photography practice. Decluttering your photography gear can help you focus on what goals lie ahead. This article gives you top tips on what to keep and what to clear out.

There is a ton of information and so many great resources on how to raise money for a project with crowdfunding these days. So I’m going to skip the tips and show you proven strategies to fund your projects no matter what they are.

Recently I got a friendly comment about the images of a camera review I did. It was all about how the results should be presented. Straight out of the camera, or edited? I want to have a closer look at this question and what could be the answer.

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.

Creativity, while seemingly endless for some, is a beast we need to feed in order to have it work for us. We cannot simply expect to be running at 100% all of the time without stopping, reflecting, and spending time to nurture the force we require to make our best work. As some of you may have noticed (I’m hoping someone other than my mother did), I have just taken a one-month break from writing here at Fstoppers. This was a personal month taken to reset and bring my focus back to what’s really important. This is something I feel we all should do from time to time. Let me explain.

Justin Bettman is a portrait and editorial photographer based out of NYC and I first came across his #SetintheStreet project while scrolling through Facebook. I thought it was a fun, creative and unique project that was worth sharing! I love that the art kind of lived on after the shoot itself with him leaving the sets in place for people to engage with. So cool, right!?! With that said, I decided I had to interview him to find out what are his processes in creating these photographs.