Creativity is central to most forms of photography and videography, but what is it? Is it an innate aptitude for creating, or is it a skill that is learned and improved? And moreover, does it require investment to get the most out of it?
If you could speak to your camera, your tripod, and drone, what would you say? Would you use this feature? The use of our voices to command our gear is going to become even more important in the future.
Last week Lee and I did our first ever Critique the Community where we looked at 20 images from the Fstoppers Community and gave our honest review of them. It was such a success that we have decided to do it again. This week we review 21 new images, rate them on a scale of 1-5, and give advice about how they could be stronger portfolio photographs.
Australian photographer Rob Walwyn is hosting the first exhibition of his project ‘Karrikins’ as part of Sydney's Head On Photo Festival. Karrikins documents the aftermath of the bushfires that devastated Australia’s east coast in late 2019 and early 2020. What makes Walwyn’s images even more stunning is his use of Kodak’s discontinued false-color infrared film Aerochrome.
A trade show is an organized event for companies in a specific industry to showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and customers, study activities of rivals, and examine recent market trends and opportunities. What this means for photographers is that if you're in the niche of the trade show this is your chance to be face to face and rub shoulders with the big names in your industry. To fully maximize the network and contacts you can make from these events you need a game plan and some guidelines to follow. These are my personal five tips to maximize your networking at a trade show.
Today, let’s talk about life as an artist. Not the Instagram rose-tinted glasses version of reality, but the real thing.
In this series, I attempt to identify the key professional virtues I have found to be the most important in building my own career, as well as identifying traits of other successful photographers that are most key to their success. Today's Word of The Week? Standards.
It's easy to get inspired when all your momentum is going in the same direction. But what do you do when you're feeling stalled?
Whether you are new to photography or a seasoned professional, sometimes pre-shoot nerves can feel overwhelming. This article explores why even pro photographers still experience pre-shoot nerves and how to use that feeling in the pit of your stomach to your advantage.
Plans are good. Most of us live by plans, and we like things to go as planned. But sometimes just showing up and going with the flow can yield immense rewards for photographers. There is nothing wrong with wanting to know what to expect so you can plan appropriately, but sometimes we just need to let go. Here are a couple of examples of some amazing moments I would have missed if I had stuck to plans and took shelter in my comfort zone.
Most people are spending so much time on social media during the world-wide lockdowns and it has been such a polarizing topic if marketing efforts should cease for such non-essential products.
Happy Thanksgiving week to all of our United States based readers. This week's list is full of excitement due to the ever popular "action" theme. The submissions covered a wide range of movement and activities that we may all need to partake in after today's feast. Hope you like the list and we'd love to have you join in.
Modifiers like softboxes and umbrellas serve as powerful tools for photographers to shape and control light. Whether they want to emulate natural window light with a touch of soft, diffused light or create an epic environmental portrait with darker exposures and higher flash powers, these tools provide portable and powerful means for photographers to bring their vision to life. In this article, we've gathered practical tips and techniques to help you effectively use softboxes and umbrellas to elevate the quality and mood of your wedding portraits.
You may want to stand as you read this. You see, there’s something about the digital photography workflow that keeps us glued to our chairs and fixated on our computer screens. We lean forward to check details and slouch in our chairs as the hands on the clock make their way around their enclosure. This practice could be described as addicting and we long to create a final image to share with the masses, however our bodies suffer the consequences of said practice without us really ever taking note of its aches and pains — our body’s subtle reminders that we’re humans and that we're meant to do much more than sit at a desk all day.
Which image in the banner is a photograph, and which is computer generated? Can you even tell anymore? With the addition of computer generated imagery (CGI) and artificial intelligence, the process of creating images has provided commercial photographers more tools than ever. I sat down with award-winning food photographer Steve Hansen to discuss this topic and to delve into the question: "Is it enough to just be a photographer these days?"
Crime docs, true crime, crime fiction, they all hold something of a collective fascination. Watching Donald Trump's recent Fulton County mugshot become one of the most circulated photographs of all time raises the question: why are so many of us fascinated by mugshots? As photographers, is there something in these rigidly photographed images that captures our attention?
Have you ever thought of taking a trip to the sub-Arctic or Arctic to photograph polar bears and their habitat? Ever thought it might be your destiny to come nose-to-nose with the largest predator living on land? My latest article for Bradt Guides' Travel Club is all about taking photos of polar bears and their environment. I thought I'd share some of the tips and photos here.
You can't do a project on a zero budget. If you actually spent a zero amount, that means you never did anything.
Although it’s fun to spend time with family and friends on New Year’s Eve, it’s also a blast to be out photographing a wedding when the clock strikes midnight. After all, this is the kind of wedding that can only happen once a year. I’ve compiled a few tips to make sure the couple gets hitched without any hitches. Many of these will also apply to snowy or chilly winter weddings.
In this series, I attempt to identify the key professional virtues I have found to be the most important in building my own career, as well as identifying traits of other successful photographers and business leaders that are most key to their success. Today’s virtue: adaptability.
Before it starts to seem like I'm galloping around on my high horse, I'd like to say that this article is more of a reminder to myself than anyone else. I have made the mistake of dismissing someone as a troll just because they disagree with me. In many cases, It's much easier to simply dismiss someone as a troll if they criticize your work instead of taking it on the chin. This could be due to a number of reasons but when we do, we are breaking one of the cardinal rules.
There is a different sort of light and weather needed for these three sub-genres of landscape photography. Photographing them all within a few hours only is possible, but it leads to some big obstacles we have to overcome.
An overabundance of junk email this morning reminded me that turning a passion into profit sometimes means returning to one very basic concept.
With the news these days providing a constant supply of bad stories about our collective grief, I thought it a perfect time to shift focus to the upside.
Perhaps some of the biggest dealbreakers for images are sharpness, resolution, and noise. No one likes a blurry low-res ISO 25,600 file. Yet, sometimes the client picks the worst possible file that is the definition of poor image quality. Luckily, Topaz Labs have developed AI-enabled software which lets you save your portraits. Act fast and take advantage of their Cyber Monday prices.
As the summer starts to wind down I know it means one thing. It's going to get a lot colder here in Boston. It also means It's time to start getting ready for Photo Plus Expo as well as some of the other winter conferences. For some, this might be simply booking travel, but for me, it's a big weekend. One that I spend a lot of time preparing for. In part, because it's one of the bigger speaking engagements for me but also its one of the best networking opportunities to help build my brand.
The National Archives was found last month to have altered an image of the 2017 Women’s March in Washington D.C. Some of the protestors' signs had been artificially blurred for use in an exhibit. Internal emails now suggest that little debate preceded the alteration.
The pandemic has forced many of us to stay home. But that doesn’t mean we can’t experience the wonder of our own backyard. And in the Pacific Northwest, there’s so much to explore. The last year or so has provided us with an opportunity to be inspired by Mother Nature and inspire other budding photographers by showing them the magic of America through our lens.
As photographers, we are aware that, in general, people are not naturally comfortable being photographed. In this article, I want to show you a fundamental technique that I use to achieve energetic, real, and authentic couple portraits.
So many photographers talk about testing, test shoots, and time for print (TFP), but what are these things exactly? In this article, I will explain my take on them.
Although the current situation is far from what we used to know as "normal," I believe we will still have a chance to get to our daily routines. This time, we have to be more careful about a number of habits we may have been ignoring.
We say, "never forget" when we think of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. And while none of us will forget the event itself, it's easy to lose sight of the individuals who lost their lives in the attacks.
Today, we’ll take a look at why sometimes adding a little horsepower to your workflow can supercharge your productivity.
Landscape photography is a rewarding and captivating pursuit that allows us to capture the natural beauty of the world around us. However, it often involves long hours of carrying heavy camera gear and traversing various terrains. To fully enjoy and excel in this art form, it is crucial to prioritize the health and maintenance of your back and lumbar region. In this article, we will explore the significance of good back and lumbar maintenance for landscape photography. We will discuss the role of a suitable camera bag, the importance of ergonomic camera gear choices, and various exercises that can help you maintain a healthy spine, ensuring longevity and comfort in your photographic journey.
Skylum's Luminar has had quite an impact on the editing market, with AI features for landscape and portrait photographers that have left some of the competition scrambling to catch up. Wanting to stay ahead, a new version of Luminar, called Update 3, will be available free for current owners today.
Sadly, the world in which we’re living has become more polarized, with hatred splitting communities and war tearing countries apart. Many people roll their eyes when the holidays approach, but perhaps we should all be happy it’s only a few weeks away and think about what would help other photographers and brighten their days.
Teamwork makes the dream work, but all good things must come to an end. Check out the final installment of our top 10 list series submitted by our loyal readers.
When we think of family portraits, we often picture the traditional looks: everyone lined up, smiling, and well dressed. Family lifestyle photography, on the other hand, shines a new light on family portraiture. Rather than posing everybody perfectly, lifestyle captures the personality and dynamics of the family. The spontaneity is a great addition to a complete family album. Let's begin by seeing how the two styles differ.
This video is a sneak peek into SLR Lounge Premium Library with a chapter from our new course, Family Photography 101. This is a complete course on capturing memorable and unique family portraits. In this video, I had Shivani with me as we compared family lifestyle photography with traditional portraits.
David Ma is a director and filmmaker whose cinematic photos and videos of food have caught the attention of both the culinary and creative worlds, earning him a spot in Adweek's Top 100 Creatives of 2021. In this interview, we learn his valuable creative insights, advice for filmmakers and photographers, and how creating content on the go allows him to be more productive, build stronger client relationships, and make more compelling content.
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.
A few days ago I had the idea to shoot a new video. This project would involve three cars driving in a formation next to one another, which means location is key. Over the summer, I went to a spot next to a bridge to do some flying and thinking back to then, this would be an ideal spot to do this shoot. Without any planning, this idea would crumble which is why it is important to always scout these locations beforehand.
Picture the scene, you are at a location, camera in hand, ready to capture some epic shots of a landscape that looks the same as it has thousands of years ago! You, however, are not alone, you are in the company of other photographers who feel that a challenge is in order and not any old challenge, an only 400mm challenge.
There's a new Mobile Sync app available for all three 2018 ACDSee Photo Studio products and it makes life much easier. ACDSee Mobile Sync lets you send all your images and videos wirelessly from any mobile device to any computer running a Photo Studio 2018 product.
As I began my interview with Fabian Wagner DOP, he sits there, totally relaxed and easygoing. Describing himself as just an ordinary guy, it quickly becomes clear that my conversation was going to be a very relaxed affair, without pretenses, and totally open to all questions I threw at him.
I know a lot of wedding photographers that buy a photo booth in order to make a little more money from each client. While this is definitely a great reason to buy one, there are a few ways to use a photo booth that can help you book more clients instead of just making a little more money.
Shutterfest stands out as my favorite photography conference to attend each year! As I write this, I am wrapping up day three of the affair. I always look forward to the various workshops, lectures, and unique experiences available throughout this fun-filled event like no other.
