Fstoppers Original Articles

Natural Talent Is a Made-Up Excuse to Not Move Forward

Natural talent is something often attributed left and right to people. Talent is quite mysterious; no one can put their finger on what it is. If it’s there, you can make it, but if it’s not, you cant. But is it all a made-up excuse? It might be.

Fstoppers Photographer of the Month (September 2023): Yong Lei van Barlingen

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 2023, 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.

Searching for Inspiration: Cinema the Closest Relative

Looking at other photographers’ work for inspiration can be overwhelming. With an almost unlimited amount of photography to look through, I can feel lost. I often turn to other mediums to look for inspiration.

Projecting Into the Future: Anticipate Your Subjects

Photography is all about time. It's the only visual art that is able to hold a single moment and fix it for our lasting consideration. To make that happen we as photographers must be keenly aware of both the slice of time that we are capturing and the all the time which leads up to that important moment. To do this well we must look into the future.

6 Essential Parent Dance Tips for Impactful Wedding Photos

Parent dances, such as the mother-son dance and father-daughter dance, are critical events during most wedding receptions. They are opportunities to capture beautiful, emotional moments that showcase key relationships in your client’s lives. They also give photographers plenty of opportunities to showcase their creativity with interesting compositions, impactful lighting, and more. To help you take better parent dance photos, here are six essential tips.

Save up to 60% Off on All Fstoppers Original Tutorials

The Holidays are here and we are celebrating with our best sale of the year! Right now, all Fstoppers photography and video tutorials on sale to kick off the season. Every course is automatically 30% off but when you add additional products to your cart, you can get up to 60% off each tutorial.

Connection Through Color: Black and White Photographs Take on New Life

One could easily say that nothing is what it seems because our minds create a subjective representation of the world around us. With memories, this representation may be even more complex. As scientists explain, encoding a memory in the brain is a biological event that begins with a sensory experience. Every memory we have captures emotions, and colors are one of those aspects that evoke and illustrate what we feel.

Three Things I Look For When Hiring Crew Members

As the scope of your projects grow, so will your team, and it’s important to surround yourself with the best possible team to ensure the best possible end product. But how do you go about choosing the right people?

How to Style and Photograph Soup

As we head deeper into autumn, it’s officially soup season! I love to make and eat soups in the cold weather months, but they can be pretty challenging to style and photograph. In this post, I’m sharing my tips on how to transform a blob of beige soup into a dynamic and interesting image.

Zoner Photo Studio X: Powering Up with Faster and Easier Features

Zoner Photo Studio X (ZPS X) is an all-encompassing post-production suite and file management system that has been quietly growing into something truly impressive. In the latest update, ZPS X has seen some major user experience upgrades, making it faster and easier to use than ever before.

FICTION: In the Blink of An Eye Part II

Continuing on our serialization of a photography themed short story, here is Part 2 of "In the Blink of an Eye." If you didn't manage to read Part 1 last week, then catch up to find out what Charlie Sydcup videoed during a trip to the City of London.

The Power of a Video: Making the Chennai Children's Choir's Dreams Come True

Videos are the next big thing, and it is happening already. With the advent of social media, the power of a video to touch minds and influence decisions is huge. We recently did a fundraising video for a children’s choir and were amazed by the response. This post is a quick recap of what we learned in the process.

Fstoppers Photographer of the Month (November 2023): Kareem Quow

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 2023, 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.

Fstoppers Photographer of the Month (June 2023): Petri Damstén

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 2023, 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.

The Guilty: Making Movies With Intention in the Time of COVID

Intention in filmmaking has the potential to elevate movies. As a photographer, watching a movie with thoughtful cinematography is my favorite way to pass a Friday night. Maz Makhani’s work on The Guilty, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and directed by Antoine Fuqua, is an example of realizing this potential.

An Interview With Jordan Blake: Vulnerability and Strength Through Self-Portraiture

Jordan Blake is a black artist originally from Nigeria. He has lived in Baltimore, USA for several years. After finishing college, he made the move to New York to better figure out and explore who he is and what type of images he wants to create. Of course, it doesn’t go unnoticed that New York also offers greater opportunities for collaboration and sharing of work.

Adding Music to Video With ACDSee Video Studio 3

Music adds mood and personality to a video, reinforcing the message and engaging the viewer. In this tutorial, we are going to look at how to add and cut clips of music in a video with ACDSee Video Studio 3.

Deliver The Wow Factor to Your Clients With The Folio Box

Whether you are a wedding, newborn, or boudoir photographer, delivering the final product to your clients is a true pleasure. The look on their faces when they see your beautiful work makes the job so much more satisfying. But how can we elevate the client experience even further?

ACDSee Photo Studio's Color Wheels Are Great for Refining Color in Travel Photos

In my look at the new features of ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2021, I was excited to see the inclusion of color wheels and tone wheels. I first started using this style of editor in video production; it’s a big part of what gives stylized video like Mad Max its distinctive look. When editing photos, however, it’s a great, intuitive way of working with the luminosity and color ranges in your image.

Should You Devote Your Time and Money Into Creating a Spec Ad?

The issue of whether or not photographers should work for free is a polarizing one. Some of us feel we should not haul thousands of dollars worth of lighting and camera gear to a location and spend a full day shooting just to gain a reward that comes in the form of intangible exposure. Others feel doing regular collaborations with like-minded peers to produce new work is valuable in nurturing a photographer’s creative process.

MTV-Era Bio-Series Cinematographer Uses Visual Language to Tell a Story

High School, the new bio-series about indie-pop sensations Tegan and Sara, provides a strong example of how filmmakers can use visual language to help to tell their stories. I had a chance to talk to cinematographer Carolina Costa about her work on the series.

Sony Kando Trip: An Exclusive Creators' Playground

For those who don't know, Sony hosts a yearly event called Kando. Kando is a Japanese word that roughly translates to "the sense of awe and the emotion you feel when experiencing something beautiful and amazing for the first time." So, does this experience live up to its name?

Opening Up During COVID-19: Fstoppers Interviews Ken Yu

Ken Yu is a photo assistant and digital technician who has been on countless sets, so when states slowly started to reopen for business amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, he became concerned about how the photographers could move forward safely. When he reached out to me to have a discussion about reopening practices, I said yes, because the waters are murky and it's a discussion worth having.

The Photographer's Comprehensive Safety Guide to Navigating Deals, Discounts, and Used Offerings This Season

The frenetic final months of the year tempt photographers with screaming deals on cameras, lenses, software, supports, accessories, and more. However, the most tempting bargains also invite increased perils around online fraud, box damage, counterfeit risks, and problematic used gear. As eager shoppers hungry for savings paired with prudent consumers, here is how to diligently navigate both established retailers along with secondary marketplaces to avoid financial headaches and make well-informed purchases.

Photography Can Change the World: Farnaz Damnabi

Can photography change the world? Iranian artist and journalist Farnaz Damnabi's new exhibit, "UNVEILED," set to open at 29 ARTS IN PROGRESS, would seem to suggest yes, at least in part. I don't think it's a surprise to anyone that shifts in power structures can be turbulent. Even minor revisions in social identities can lead to conflict. Damnabi's exhibit is a document of the transformations in the identity, visibility, and recognition of women as equal and free participants in Iran, an unveiling of a new Iran, if you will.

Charles Brooks: Architecture in Music Interview

Jumping back to an article I just wrote on how to speed up your career by 10 years, We Eat Together suggested “finding your passion and photographing the hell out of it.” That is what exactly New Zealand-based photographer Charles Brooks did in his recent photo series, Architecture in Music.

Rising Above the Noise: Why Ignoring Social Media Trolls Is the Best Strategy

In the ever-expanding landscape of social media, where voices echo and opinions clash, trolls have become an unfortunate reality. These internet provocateurs thrive on negative attention, seeking to disrupt, demean, and derail meaningful discussions. However, instead of getting caught in their web of negativity, there are compelling reasons why ignoring social media trolls is not only wise but also empowering. In this article, let's explore why rising above the noise and refusing to engage with trolls can lead to a healthier, more positive online experience.

Trolls Feed on...
Photographers Take the Day Off, Happy Festivus!

With the holidays upon us, many photographers (including myself) will want to break out all their gear. In years past I have always planned on what cameras and lens combos to bring, lights, possible modifiers, batteries, and everything in between to photograph Christmas. This year I took on a new approach. An iPhone and a cheap stand set in the corner in time-lapse mode would be the only media I walked away with this year.

Don’t Be Afraid to Say No to Work

Starting a freelance career might be one of the most stressful things a human can do to themselves. I am exaggerating, but you get my point. Naturally, your first instinct might be to start chasing every client possible and get as many jobs as possible. Here is why you should stop doing this and focus on something else.

All Fstoppers Tutorials Up to 50% Off

Fstoppers is celebrating July 4th with our biggest sale this year. Buy any tutorial and you'll automatically save 20%. Bundle them together and you'll get up to 50% off everything in our store. This sale will expire next week, so be sure to act fast.

A to Z of Photography: Ultimate Confrontation and Umbo

We now arrive at the second of the three tricky letters of the alphabet. Unfortunately, U is uselessly underwhelming but ultimately and uniquely utilitarian! The first an iconic photo of political protest and confrontation, a theme that continues to this day in newsrooms across the world. Then discover Umbo.

Inspiration: Conversations With Mick Rock and Fin DAC

One of them spent decades making decisions with the intention of fitting into community norms, creating stability. The other threw caution to the wind and jumped into a world of creativity with both feet before really understanding what life and responsibility were all about. Both Fin DAC and Mick Rock have ended up in the same place, near the top of their chosen artistic fields — inspirations for anyone following in their footsteps. What's even better, they're collaborating on a new show.

Fstoppers Photographer of the Month (December 2023): Christine Kennedy

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 2023, 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.