Fstoppers Original Articles

Breaking your way into a very competitive film industry can be tough without proper guidance. While there is no real blueprint to success, there are some strategic approaches that can improve your chances of achieving a rewarding and lucrative career.

As you probably know, Fstoppers has recently switched over our video system from Nikon D750s to Panasonic GH5s. The GH5 is absolutely perfect for our style of shooting and I really don't have much to complain about... Except the lenses. Why do they cost so much?

While many of us have grown to love the services offered by the web giant Squarespace, their e-commerce options have been seriously lacking one important feature needed for professional photographers. In this candid letter to Squarespace, I pose a couple of questions that I feel the company may not be listening to.

Real estate photography is a relatively simple way to make money off your photography. That said, there are some very common compositional mistakes that I see lots of photographers making on a regular basis. Fixing these four things can greatly improve how your real estate photos show off a property!

Nobody wants to fail at photography, do they? Success and failure are both achievable, although the latter is easier. This is how to set about failing and, therefore, succeeding.

How many times have you had to buy a tool while on the road or borrow one from a building manager during a photoshoot? Over the years, I have built this small, lightweight kit so this wouldn't happen anymore.

I recently came upon an exhibit entitled “Faces In The Crowd” by photographer Alex Prager and it really got me thinking. Not about the creativity, the concept, or the message. I wasn’t even thinking about any of the technical aspects that would have gone into creating these images. As my eyes wandered across the sea of people represented in her images I had but one thought in my mind; it took one amazing director to pull this off.

A reader sent us in a tip to check out a photographer on TikTok that approached a wedding couple and took portraits of them. Is it wrong to do if the people you are approaching are already on a shoot with another photographer?

I'm no painter. In fact, if we ever play Pictionary together, do your best to get on the other team. So, when I wanted to make my own custom backdrops, I knew I was way out of my depth. Like many photographers, I've drooled over Sarah Oliphant's hand painted backdrops for years. When I saw Jeremy Cowart draw his own backdrop on an iPad Pro, I thought I may have something within reach. While I continued trying to decide exactly what Oliphant backdrop I want to start with, I thought maybe I could experiment with some digital painting of my own.

Are you doing your best in client consultations? I wasn't, and my work was suffering for it. A thorough client consultation is a free, simple tool that can make a huge impact on your portrait photography business, both in terms of shoot quality, and in getting happy clients to come back for more. The best part is, it’s not difficult at all. You just have to do it.

Buying expensive gear and mastering lighting and technique play an important role in photography but ultimately, these things are secondary in achieving a solid portrait when facial expressions are factored in. No matter the genre of photography, whether it's fashion, weddings or family portraits, connecting to the subject is far more important than any other detail in shooting portraits. When portraying a personality or specific mood, there is a necessity to connect and extract emotions and moods.

Many photographers would love to sell prints from their website but holding stock is expensive, shipping can be complicated, and buying a quality print can be a significant investment of money and wallspace that won't appeal to a large chunk of your audience. Why not sell postcards instead?

Between the Nikon F mount, Nikon Z mount, FTZ adapter, Metabones MFT to Nikon F mount, and Nikon TC-14e II, I have a serious amount of adapters and extenders to choose from depending on what camera I'm shooting on. Here's my $0.02 on dealing with the FTZ adapter on my Z50 and adapting glass to other cameras.

Film photography has been enjoying a strong revival in the last few years. If you’ve yet to try it, it’s about time you jump on the film photography bandwagon.

Over the last two days, Kiev, Ukraine has seen its worst violence since the Soviet era, with the death toll now at 75. Fighting between police and protesters escalated when protesters used Molotov cocktails and lit several fires in the city square. This video - shot on a drone - shows the epic devastation from above, and I believe this may mark a very significant turning point in photojournalism. Has the public's desire for the theatrical become too large a part of journalism?

Benjamin Von Wong has always been known for his elaborate, fantasy-like photo shoots. However, recreating the fairy tales that he had grown up watching took time, patience, luck, and most of all, a lot of help. These jaw-dropping photographs are bound to generate the customary "Is this Photoshopped?" question. Yet as usual, Von Wong's incredible scenes are all created in-camera, and he goes on to tell us how he pulled off a photo shoot 20 years in the making.

With the plethora of new camera features that manufacturers have rolled out in recent years, it begs the question, “How much more do we actually need?"

Do you think about improving the contents of your kit bag? It’s expensive, so is it worth it? Let’s talk about upgrading your gear, or not.

Photography is an art form that allows us to capture moments, express emotions, and tell stories. The skill of the photographer is paramount to this, but the same can be said of the camera brand that they choose to shape their vision. We are all drawn to certain camera manufacturers for our own reasons, It can be said the right tool for the job applies here. So, why do photographers prefer certain brands over others?

The moment you start working as a photographer for money everything changes. While there are many positives when it comes to being paid to shoot, there are lots of headaches along the way too. Here are seven annoying things that clients will try to do to you, and how best to keep the upper hand in those situations.

Landscape photography is a pursuit that requires patience, dedication, and a persistent mindset. From waiting for the right conditions to refining compositions during challenging moments, as landscape photographers, we face a range of experiences that test our resolve. This article delves into the significance of persistence in landscape photography, exploring how embracing unfavorable conditions can benefit our skills, how enjoying the rewards of successful shots can continue to benefit us long after the shoot, the importance of how considered post-processing and printing of our banger combine and contribute to help us become a successful landscape photographer.

When people come together to help each other, good things happen. This idea is what spurned one of the more popular trends on Instagram called “pods.” Instagram pods are used to help beat the algorithm that so many users despise. I decided to join one and give it a try recently, not only to test it out, but also to share my thoughts regarding this trend and why you should or shouldn’t get involved in one.

Full frame photography was once the preserve of the hefty DSLR, but as the mirrorless bandwagon gains traction, we are now seeing a number of full frame mini marvels emerging on the market. Offering the same sensor — and so image quality — of their bigger brethren, but in a much smaller and lighter package, are these fantastic additions to the product lineup or just the latest fads?

Last week we released our portable light modifier The Fstoppers Flashdisc to the general public through Amazon. While the success of our first ever physical product has been huge, a lot of people have been asking for example images shot with this useful small softbox. Today I am going to break down a simple beauty shot you might see in a magazine that was shot entirely with 4 speedlights and 3 Flashdisc light modifiers.

Los Angeles photography studio Kremer Johnson has come up with a unique idea for their latest personal project. The series features such impressive portraits you will immediately think you should know the subject. The thing is you don't; the photos are just that well done. All the models are simply people who responded to a Craigslist ad titled "Characters Wanted," agreeing to be compensated $20/hour for their time. I reached out to Neil to find out more about this brilliant idea.

Your online portfolio is one of the most critical tools you have at your disposal when looking to make a sale. Clients are looking to your website as a sign of both your skill and professionalism. The customer wants to find a photographer who is the perfect fit so your website needs to be built to enable that feeling. Below are four priorities that photographers often overlook when designing their websites.

I bought my first camera on a whim. It was a secondhand Canon 350D, and I bought a 50mm f/1.8 to go with it. It wasn’t expensive, but I couldn’t believe the pictures I could take. It was as if I had opened a secret door and revealed this beautiful landscape awaiting exploration; I was hooked. The problem was I stepped through the doorway, and the door closed, slapped me on the arse, and then promptly vanished. Suddenly, I was very aware of the vastness of what I was growing to love and how so much of it was all but unreachable for me.

We spend a lot of time talking about when it’s the best time to buy new gear. But it can be harder to know when is the right time to let go of the old gear as well.

It’s always a good idea to have the best camera possible to fit your professional needs. But, sometimes, the camera you choose to use just for fun can be equally important.

Learning about photography was once confined to books, courses, and mentorship. Now, however, there are more resources at our disposal than we could ever deplete. Here's one that flies a little under the radar.

Apparently issues with memory cards are quite common, even among Mac users. Personally, I almost never have issues but I happen to also be the guy all my friends flock to each time they are having issues with photos on cards. In this post I will share a few strategies to help you avoid a headache when dealing with memory cards.

Multiple exposures are a relatively straightforward and fun way to make interesting and unique photographs. While you can easily blend images during the editing process, creating successful multiple exposures in-camera can be a good challenge and a way to flex those creative skills.

Have you ever wondered what goes through the mind of a professional photographer when searching for unique compositions? In this article, I break down my entire thought process of how I find, compose, and build an image from start to finish.

Free? Working for free? When I started out, being asked to work for free made my blood boil; Didn’t people know I had bills to pay, rent to make, black T-shirts to buy, rounds of beer to shout, girls to woo? These things cost money, and it still makes my blood boil when I’m asked to work for free. And yet I often work for free. Confused? Here’s how working for free is a good thing and how to ensure your blood doesn’t boil in the process.

Predicting the weather is next to impossible, but you can optimize your chances of a successful shoot quite a lot. Do not be lazy about that optimization. I was lazy and it lead to one of my biggest fails in my career as a landscape photographer.

Making that jump to full time professional photographer is incredibly daunting. Hopefully, by learning some of my biggest mistakes, you can avoid them entirely.

The Nik Collection by Google carries some of the most powerful image editing applications for photographers. One of these applications, Color Efex Pro, has the ability to dramatically enhance the stories inside your landscape images. Out of the 55 filters available in Color Efex, there are five that I come back to using time and time again. In this article, I will show you what these essential filters are and explain how they make processing my images much less draining.

I derive motivation as well as enjoyment as a photographer by seeing continuous improvement in my work. In this article, I’ll share five factors that have pushed me further along in my photographic journey.

When I first started out using speedlights for flash photography, there weren’t many options aside from Canon and Nikon. As a result, I’ve amassed a large collection of Speedlights (and Speedlites), but now that I also shoot mirrorless bodies, are my SB-700s and 600EX-RTs any good?

Using the latest version of Photoshop CC, there's a new method you can use to cut out a portrait and place in a new background. And the great thing is, it only takes a matter of seconds.

The 7artisans 35mm f/1.4 is a beautiful little addition to the line up of mirrorless lenses, offering a truly vintage feel — and price — but without requiring an adapter. I’m not sure I’ve ever had so much fun with a lens.

The L-Mount Alliance marked the culmination of a remarkable period in the history of the (digital) camera. However in five years time, will we look back and see this as the beginning of the end? Was the L-Mount Alliance simply too little, too late?

The focus on gear acquisition is framed almost entirely around lenses and bodies. But some investments have dramatic impacts to your quality of life as a photographer, that aren't either a lens or a body. What are yours?

If I had a nickel for every time I witnessed a photographer missing out on a great photographic opportunity in the name of fear, I'd be a rich man. Fear is one of the most powerful forces that holds us back in our lives. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of embarrassment, or fear of injury all play a huge role in our decision making by clouding our rational judgment. By letting fear control us we let it define the limits of what is possible. Never let fear play a key role in the creation of your art.

When you're shooting film, especially large format film, you have a lot of time to think. When your hands are in a bag and you're loading or unloading many sheets of film, the mind tends to wander and probably the subject that crosses my mind the most is "why?" Shooting digitally would be so much faster. I could be out having a beer somewhere! I could be editing some images in Photoshop from an editorial gig that I've been putting off. Hell, I could be practicing my juggling skills (or learning to juggle). So, why am I instead up to my elbows in this bag, enduring the necessary tedium of film life? Here are some common doubts I have and the reasons I push past them!

Want to get great commercial, headshot photos using the Canon R5 and the Canon RF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM lens? The following advice will help you produce the best professional headshots and show you how to interact with your clients for stunning, natural results.

Even if you've never heard of Victoria Will, you probably have seen her awesome moving portraits of celebrities. These captivating images give a new take on celebrity portraits. Some might say they are simply amazing, but others might give a different opinion. We sat down with Victoria to give you this exclusive interview and discussed the inspiration behind these images.

Every year a slew of burgeoning entrepreneur types thirst to make a New Year’s resolution to go head first into full-time photography. The siren call to shift that beloved passion into an all-out career beckons.

Pentax recently announced the K-3 Mark III, the third iteration of their flagship APS-C camera, which reinforces their stance that their future (and as they argue, the future of photography) is in DSLRs, not mirrorless cameras. With an industry increasingly focused on mirrorless cameras, why is Pentax going against the grain?

I'm guilty in being the one telling myself that if I had the gear I wanted, I would go out and shoot the projects I wanted to shoot. So nothing happens until I actually buy the gear. What you and I know is that it's not the gear, it's the person, the patience and the will to do great work that makes your photography a force to be reckoned with. And I've realized that the photographs I look at most, of my own and photographers I admire, are the candid images of models in the greenroom before they go out on the catwalk, or the model I'm shooting for a test, where the moment between shots appear and capture her walking to my instructed area.