Fstoppers Original Articles

This week's winning image comes from Photographer Daniel Nordholm. It's a stunning landscape image that he captured in Lofoten, a beautiful archipelago in Norway. I was very excited to break from my norm of beauty and fashion retouching to tackle and share a landscape retouch. Many of the techniques and the workflow of a landscape can be very different from portrait retouching, while the philosophy can be quite the same. In this article, you will see the full retouch of the image in the short two-minute video. In all, the retouch took about an hour. I will also share some specific techniques for landscape editing that you can use in your images as well.

As a wedding photographer I understand the difficulties of running a business, shooting weddings on weekends and editing photos during the week. It can really eat up a lot of time in the schedule and if you let it, it can take priority over your family life. That's why as creatives we have to set limits on ourselves and make sure we always put family first. One photographer that is the perfect example of how to put family first is Vancouver wedding photographer, Matt Kennedy.

I notice many guides online for various light modifiers available. What I don’t see as much is a proper comparison of nearly every modifier available. Having sorted through my kit a few days ago, I realized I have numerous modifiers. In this article, we will compare modifiers so that next time you’re selecting one, you understand their functions.

They say the best camera you have is the one that's always with you. Almost all of us carry our smartphones everywhere in our pockets, so it's probably a good idea to learn how to make better images with them. Learn from these 10 tips for better smartphone photography.

Most of you might be saying: "you're nuts! Haven’t you been sailing? Luxury car driving? Golfing all over the place?" And luckily, I have, and let me tell you, photography is the most expensive sport I have ever practiced.

As professional photographers, there's no doubt in our minds that making photography into a career should be considered "a real job." However, the path you take to become a professional may make or break your career choice.

Retouching is an essential part of the photography process. A photo does not get published without some finishing applied in post production. Automation tools such as presets and actions help speed up this process, but there is a danger in using them. This article discusses the problem with presets.

In this week's lighting breakdown, I'm going to explain why and how I used a flash outdoors during midday to create this fun, casual portrait.

Photographers and videographers both tread water in a crowded pool of competition, and often we feel in danger of drowning in that pool. In this week’s and next week’s articles, I will present the most common reasons we lose out on work we otherwise might have won.

Yes, you read that correctly. A two-light setup (one key-light, one back-light) using nothing but natural light. No bounce, no reflectors, nothing. With just you, your subject, and a little knowledge, you can create stunning imagery with even more depth using your surroundings to your advantage. So are you ready? Let's go!

So, what did you photograph in the last seven days? What, you didn’t shoot anything in the previous week? Nothing? Too many times, I hear: “there is nothing interesting to photograph” or “I’ve already photographed everything around me.” Well, to me, that means you just aren’t trying hard enough.

As a photojournalism professor, one of the questions I get asked most by beginning photographers is, "What camera should I buy?" As if there's a single, definitive answer to that. The answer I always give is: What do you want to do? There's a camera out there for everyone, and here's a guide for what to look for when you're starting out.

This article is a twist on the more common behind the scenes post. Instead of writing about the thought process of the shot in retrospect, I am starting this article several days before the full moon, to showcase my process and mindset when planning for a once in a lifetime shot of the Supermoon.

We've all done it. We find a location for our subject, place them, set up a light pointing down at 45 degrees, check the light power, and start shooting. When shooting an environmental portrait, there's a lot to worry about. From interacting with your subject to hauling equipment and making sure makeup and wardrobe are on point, it's easy to fall back on our go-to lighting setups. As an exercise, though, let's concentrate on ancillary lighting first and see how it can drive the narrative of our shot.

Getting ready for your next landscape photography expedition? If you want to bring back winning shots, you need a variety of great places to shoot. Points of interest are easy to find, but the easy-to-find places are prime targets for hordes of tourists.

It happened. After wrestling with lighting, posing, finding the right angle and composition, and bringing out that perfect moment, you finally caught the shot. It's everything you saw in your head and more. This! This is what it's all about. You've got the butterflies in your stomach that accompany that feeling when you've managed to get your art out into the real world. "Can I see it?" Oh no. "Sure," you say, doing your best to sound enthusiastic. "Hmm...it's nice, but I look fat. Can we try something else?" "Of course we can," you say, "let's switch it up." All the while you're thinking in your head that it was perfect as it was.

Anyone that has researched the best practices for gaining followers on Instagram knows that your feed and profile should follow a similar style. I absolutely hated this recommendation and came up with an alternative so I don’t feel so constricted creatively while still maintaining a curated profile.

While some photographers are on the hunt for the most outrageous image, others become increasingly sensitive to what they shoot. We are confronted with a never ending stream of images that blurs our ability for ethical judgement. I asked Joey Lawrence and Graham Macindoe about their opinion.

Since moving into my new house about a month ago, I've been thinking more and more about creating my own studio setup using as little resources as possible. As much as I'd love to own a huge Profoto Octa in my house, it's just not always possible. So why not build your own lighting rigs using equipment readily available at your nearest hardware store?

When I started food photography I was in awe of the beautiful backdrops. It took me a good 6 months to work out where to get them from.

The day I’ve been preparing for arrived unexpectedly this past Saturday as I went to my Mac to export photos for a client, just like it was any other day. But I quickly found out it wasn’t going to be like other days when I found my photo and video files had disappeared from my Lightroom catalog.

I enjoy taking headshots for people, and I shy away from the commercial, copy-paste, white background styles where the deliverable image is straight out of the camera. However, last month, I combined my preferred style of headshot with the number of subjects you'd typically see with a large corporate, straight-out-of-the-camera shoot. Here's what I learned.

Contemporary landscape photography is dominated by the same 20-50 locations. We have all seen specific locations being reproduced and reinterpreted repeatedly, and only a few stand out from the crowd. The key to making unique landscape photos is very simple: find something new to photograph.

If the majority of what we and our clients see online are beautiful couples' portraits, is there a place for reportage wedding photographers, and how would you step into it?

When was the last time you put up the amount you charge for your photography? If the answer is never then you're not alone. Many of us struggle to ask for more money and even those who try are not always successful. The problem is that if you never increase your prices you'll be out of business before you know it. Here's how and when to start charging more.

One of the biggest hurdles I got over in my journey as a photographer was following too many rules. There are two very different areas in photography you can spend a lot of time studying: the technical end consisting of your gear, exposure, aperture, lighting, and of course the trusty (or dreaded) histogram, and the artistic side where you focus on the look and feel you want to express. You think about the style you want to emulate or portray. Regardless of which side you focus on, you can really get lost making sure you have followed every suggestion correctly.

A couple of years ago, I came across a portrait of a sad owl under the rain on 500px. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. I never knew there existed such a deep photograph of a non-human creature. I was not the only one thinking so. That picture had won an award and I discovered Shamma Esoof (Sham Jolimie), a person who advocates for animal welfare, social justice, and is passionate about nature conservation. The cherry on top was when I discovered that the author of that unforgettable owl portrait was a mutual friend on social media and was from Mauritius, a country I call my second home after Armenia.

When we do a search on the internet, we will find an enormous amount of tutorials and videos about photography. It is about settings, equipment, lenses, post-processing, and much more. These videos can be very helpful to achieve an end result. And that’s what matters.

Let's face it: photography is expensive. So, it's always good when you can do it yourself and make something at home for free. Save $100 and learn how to make this simple light hack from the comfort of your own home.

The first mass-market drones were manufactured more than a decade ago. As with anything, being over 10 years late to it can create some hurdles to entry. In this article, I will share some of my experiences as a relative latecomer to drone photography.

Without a doubt, social media has revolutionized the experience, dissemination, and even creation of photographs. Social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter have leveled the playing field in a lot of ways, allowing photographers to instantly share their work with hundreds or thousands of followers. Combined with the availability of high-quality cameras in smartphones and social media algorithms, the number of images disseminated to the world has absolutely exploded. Despite this democratization of the craft, has social media actually diminished the value of photography?

It seems like over the last 10 years, more and more photographers, retouchers, and influencers have been accused of promoting distorted and unrealistic body image expectations to children and the general public. As a photographer, I was curious if retouching with Photoshop was more or less deceptive than using face-altering makeup. Today, I put my social experiment to the test.

There are many ways to make a photo appealing. Light, composition, and depth of field are the obvious ones. Post-processing is also part of this procedure, regardless of whether it's done in-camera or on a computer. Don’t forget cropping, which is an important part of the process.

A good-looking photo is the result of a relatively long process. It starts with choosing the right composition, focal length, and the use of light and shadow. It often doesn’t end there, especially if you are using the raw file format. Well-thought-out processing transforms the raw sensor data...

Macro photography is a popular, albeit outlying and smaller genre of the medium. However, it is rich in useful and transferable skills that mean it's an important discipline, valuable to all photographers.

What comes to mind when you think about fashion photography? If you are aware of the stereotypes surrounding fashion, then it’s certainly something along the lines of young, sexy models in revealing clothes. In this article, I will try to explain why fashion is so much more than that.

What should a photographer do when surrounded by thousands of dead fish, some of the fastest ocean tides in the world, and wild bears that want to eat anything in sight? You take a deep breath and attempt to capture the beautiful scenery. Welcome to Valdez!

What skills other than knowing your camera kit and how to take a good photo do you need to make your fledgling photography business work, grow, and be sustainable while still standing out from the crowd? What tools do you need and what websites are good enough to bookmark and check daily? These five tips will help you on your way.

Beyond a slick website and a professional logo, and even beyond your incredible photography, your brand is what matters to potential clients. If you’re having trouble booking clients, or even defining where your business fits within the saturated photography industry, it may be time to reevaluate if your brand is strong enough to stick out. Having a photography business doesn’t mean you also have a brand. Brand building is a very intentional process. Here are a few areas to pay attention to if you feel like your brand may need a bit of work.

Last week, I posted an article about how to create amazing portraits with on-camera flash. My hope was to help anyone who was on the fence about shooting with flash feel more comfortable and confident in their ability to shoot with flash. Granted, shooting with on-camera flash has its caveats, so in this article, I am going to go over some of the benefits of shooting with off-camera flash.

One of the quickest and easiest ways to completely change an image and make it more memorable is to add a flash.

Most photographers are familiar with using a neutral density filter to create dreamy, long exposure photographs, but should you use a neutral density filter when shooting time-lapses too? In today's video, I explore why using a 10-stop ND filter might be perfect for more than just still photography.

Pets are considered by most as family members. Some prefer cats, others prefer dogs, and some even are drawn to the the flying kind of lovable companions. While most think of only photographing their beloved fur babies as a hobby, have you ever thought about turning it into a marketable portion of your company?

One of Darwin's most seminal remarks on evolution, quoted en masse throughout the internet and various text books, is a profound piece of advice to any photographer looking to build a lasting career in the industry. The only catch is, he didn't actually say it.

Earlier this year, I released an in-depth tutorial on product photography with Fstoppers called "The Hero Shot: How to Light and Composite Product Photography." As I started publishing images from this tutorial on Instagram, I found it extremely interesting that the most liked image was the cordless drill. It was the most simple image that I created for the series, and I used very basic inexpensive continuous lighting to create it. So, if I were to have photographed this drill using strobes instead of continuous light, would you have been able to tell the difference? I’ll...

How many times have you seen article or video headlines professing to provide you the key to reaching your artistic goals in three easy steps? Well, if you don’t want your bubble burst, this might be a good time to stop reading.

One of the current cool types of shots are the so called "cinematic photographs." It's not the software filter that makes the photo cinematic or the black bars. Something else does it.

Many photographers’ career ambition is to have one of their photos appear on the cover of a magazine. In years past, magazines were frequently seen as the best place to gain publication and see the best of current photography. Often that was a result of having a visually oriented magazine editor at the helm.

A lot of landscape photographers will tell you that the best types of images are devoid of people — just nature in all its splendid, unspoiled glory. I beg to differ. Here are some reasons why you should put yourself in the frame of your landscape images.

Most gear chatter online tends to center around the endless and ultimately useless debate about which camera bodies are the best on the market and will transform you overnight into a photographic superhero combining the skills of Ansel Adams, Annie Leibovitz, and James Nachtwey into one without ever having to practice or learn your craft. But with all the focus on sensors and capture devices, we often pay far too little attention to each image's first port of entry: the lens.

Sometimes, getting the shot you want requires a lot more than simply pressing the shutter. I took a reasonable approach with little expectations and ended up with a small success story and some great shots.