Fstoppers Original Articles

Are you kind? That sounds like an odd question to ask in a photographic article, but it impacts your work profoundly. However, there is one circumstance where you should be mean to other photographers.

With the current advancement of imaging technology in digital photography, the significance of format has evolved dramatically to a point where it no longer matters as much compared to the early film days. However, due to physical hardware limitations, it is still essential for us as photographers to recognize that the decision on selecting the imaging format should always align with our creative intent to help achieve the desired result.

If you'd like to try some comet photography, tonight and the next few days are for you. Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) will be in our night skies just after sunset. Happily, you likely have all the gear you need on hand. No fancy tracking mounts, telescopes, or filters are required. A DSLR will do the trick. Yes, stacking and tracking are great, but I'm trying to keep it simple here so you can just go outside and bring back a good photo.

A common misconception in landscape photography is that using the lowest ISO setting always results in the highest quality images. I frequently encounter this question and concern in my YouTube comments. Therefore, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to share a video and article discussing the importance of ISO.

For the last few weeks, I have been filming with the brand new GoPro Hero 13 Black and the new DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro action cameras. To mix things up a bit, I also tested them against and Apple iPhone. Can your older "professional" model iPhone produce video that competes with these new state of the art action cameras? Let's find out.

Diving into the fascinating world of creativity within our craft can raise people’s hackles. Many commonly accepted truths about what makes a good photo are subjective and swayed by widely held opinions. Nevertheless, breaking free from the constraints of popularism can lead to creative results that stand apart from the crowd, and that's important.

In this article, I share the photo editing workflow I use for all my photos, and if you want to achieve high-quality results, this is for you.

There are two distinct approaches to photography: reactive and proactive. The type of photography you do depends on your personality and how comfortable you are with each of those approaches. What kind of photographer are you?

Cool mornings and beautiful afternoons mean one thing: fall is knocking on our doorstep. Fall is my favorite season for photography as the possibilities are endless, from colorful trees creating reflections in the water to cool, foggy mornings. Capturing the beauty of fall doesn’t have to be hard with a few simple tips and reminders.

You are a small-town American doctor, and to your surprise, aliens have replaced your community. Plant spores have fallen from outer space, creating seed pods capable of making identical human copies. Pod people take on traits and memories along with unique personalities. Slowly, an invasion has started. Wait a minute, hold up, reverse that! Sounds scary, right?

The Fall upgrade from Skylum will have users excited, as it contains new features that add a lot to the program's many capabilities, but users will also see some long-standing requests granted. The fall update is available for download or upgrade on October 10.

Exposure is a key element in photography that greatly influences how we frame our shots. It determines the amount of light reaching the camera sensor, affecting the brightness and overall look of an image. Understanding and controlling exposure is vital for creating well-balanced photos and achieving the desired visual impact. In this article, we'll explore how exposure affects composition and why it's crucial to align your framing with the exposure settings.

5DayDeal is back with a photography bundle that's better than ever. This year, Fstoppers is including our tutorial with Elia Locardi, "Photographing the World 2." The full bundle only costs $166 and is 95% off the total value of the bundle.

As a professional photographer, the issue of over-editing is a topic that holds significant importance in our work. In this case, the term over-editing refers to the excessive use of post-processing tools and techniques, often resulting in images that deviate from the natural and authentic representation of the subject. While we cannot deny that the process of editing is an essential aspect of photography, overprocessing images can sometimes compromise the integrity of the image and do more harm than necessary. Here are several reasons why one should refrain from over-editing their images.

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 2024, 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.

It’s one of the more popular vintage lenses: the Meyer-Optik Görlitz Trioplan 100mm f/2.8. It’s famous for its soap bubble bokeh. You either love the effect, or you hate it. I decided to buy one and used it on a Canon EOS R5. I want to tell you about my findings.

Why do artistic creative types love melancholy so much?

Skylum, who made quite a splash in the image editing space with Luminar and then Luminar Neo, is setting out to conquer portrait photography editing with Aperty. The company says it's aimed at professionals and serious near-professionals, and it will be available on November 7.

As a long-time resident of the Bay Area, I’ve had the privilege of photographing the Golden Gate Bridge for over ten years. Whether it’s capturing the low fog rolling in or watching the golden light of sunrise and sunset cast its warm glow over the bridge, this landmark never ceases to amaze me. The Marin Headlands offer some of the best vantage points, especially when the fog is low, and the atmosphere feels almost otherworldly. It’s a scene that continues to inspire me, even after all this time.

Over the last few years, I have searched for podcasts to listen to while editing photos or hitting the road. Podcasts are an excellent way to pass the time and learn new information. There are many to sift through in the world of podcasting and photography. Here are several of my favorite podcasts to help pass the time and learn something new!

Polarr has just announced its new Polarr Next Public Beta 2.0. It is a considerable update, introducing integrated AI culling as well as enhanced AI editing experiences. I took a closer look at the new update to see how it can solve some of the frustrations photographers face in their current workflows.

Last week, Nikon released a quintet of LUTs for its Z line of cameras that bring a touch of RED color science to the Nikon world.

For nearly 30 years, Canon U.S. has partnered with Yellowstone Forever, and I recently received a beautiful photography book based on Yellowstone National Park and Canon's short film "Seismic." In this article, I interview two of the amazing creators behind this project.

In the world of seemingly endless options for camera bags, this has remained a favorite of mine and has been a workhorse for the past six years. It may not be the most popular bag out there—in fact, it has since been discontinued—but here’s why I wish it weren’t.

“Ridiculous”, “oversimplistic”, and “immensely frustrating”: photographers worldwide are weighing in on the broad social media label "AI Info". While some industry leaders see the value of the designation, the blanket “AI Info” label is also criticized as being oversimplistic. This rollout is causing some photographers to feel punished for using basic tools in Photoshop to avoid the label. I talked with some of the biggest names in commercial photography and retouching to get a pulse from industry experts.

Back for its fourth year, the Natural Landscape Photography Awards has announced the 2024 winners. The competition sets itself apart with an emphasis on its golden rule, “the integrity of the subject should be maintained,” setting the standard for landscape photographers with similar approaches to their photography.

With film making a resurgence, especially among younger photographers, these are some of the critical mistakes I made while learning to use the medium that I had to learn the hard way. Throughout the video, I go through a few of them and will expand on them as well to hopefully help any photographers newer to film photography avoid making the same errors I did.

This list of five film cameras I can't live without spans 35 years of photographic history—from the height of half-frame popularity in 1966 to the dawn of digital in 2001.

Even as you keep your eyes on a singular prize, it can sometimes pay to spread out your offerings to form a firm base.

As power bank batteries become ever more important for photographers, V-mount versions are essential for those shooting video. Among their arsenal of accessories, Neewer has one that hits the mark: the PS099E.

Landscapes are often the gateway drug into other genres. Be careful; it can be addictive and lead you to harder photography. Here’s how to get high from what might seem a benign habit.

Crafting a career for yourself as a commercial photographer can come with a lot of upsides. But there is still one big caveat you will need to take into consideration before choosing your path.

I’ve been fortunate enough to work as a commercial artist for nearly two decades. The term “commercial artist” can mean different things, so I’ll take a short moment to define what I’m referring to before moving on. In the strictest technical terms, any artist who is producing art in exchange for financial compensation could be termed a commercial artist, as they are running a...

As a landscape photographer, I've come to realize that one of the most important factors that can make or break a shoot is the weather. Landscapes themselves might not change, but the way they appear through the lens can vary dramatically depending on the weather. Understanding how to predict and interpret weather conditions is something I now consider crucial for capturing standout images. I only wish I’d appreciated its importance earlier in my journey. Before we get into what I wish I knew, let's discuss the importance of understanding weather for landscape photography.

I cannot believe that it has been over a year since I first wrote about how photography saved my own life, and I firmly believe it can save yours too. Trigger warning: this article contains references to suicide, which some may find upsetting.

We have all had a moment where we said, “I wish I had known that sooner.” Over the years, I have heard this from many mentoring students. Sometimes, it was even, “I wish I knew that before I took that big trip.” If you're starting your photographic journey or have been on it for a while, here are five things that will help make it a little less stressful and more fun.

Light is the cornerstone of photography. Without it, there are no images, and in landscape photography, the light's quality, direction, and intensity can make or break a shot. As a landscape photographer, understanding how light works is key to capturing the beauty and drama of nature. Over time, I’ve realized that mastering light is among the most crucial skills a landscape photographer can hone. Looking back, there are insights about light I wish I’d known earlier—knowledge that would have significantly boosted the quality of my early work.

Isn’t it time we returned to how we used to share photos? There’s little point in creating photographic art if people are not going to see it, and although it reaches a wide audience, there are good reasons to take a step back from social media and consider other options instead.

You may need some inspiration or be ready for an adventure. Your first thought is to pack up your camera gear and head out on an adventure. Then, you start to research and decide it's too costly. I used to think that I would never be able to travel and explore. I was wrong after finding a little ingenuity. Here are six ways to travel without going bankrupt.

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 2024, 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, there are images you want to create without knowing how you can create them. The imagination runs wild, while the technical abilities tell you no. One such image was created at Briese Studios with the new Briese Neos, a product of no limits and wild imagination.

A BBC radio and TV series here in the UK is "Room 101." People argue to send things they dislike into the infamous room from Orwell’s book Nineteen Eighty-Four, where they will never be seen again. What would you send there from the world of photography?

I normally only record BTS footage from one or two setups during a session, so I thought I’d try to show a look at a full session.

With a history spanning over 130 years, the Hungry Ghost Festival in Bukit Mertajam stands as one of Malaysia's most significant and enduring cultural events.

Today, I’ll try to break down the multitude of stages that every photographer is likely to go through over the course of their career.

Do you sometimes have a feeling of resistance before a photo shoot? It happens to me when a lot of work is involved in getting a photo, and this resistance tries to prevent me from heading out. Over the years, I found that the bigger it is, the larger the reward.

There is quite a lot of excitement about the new Canon cameras. Of course, the much-anticipated Canon flagship is bound to attract attention, as well as the much-improved Canon R5 Mark II, which builds on the legacy of the famous R5. Yet, I am not buying any of these cameras. Here’s why.

Entering the world of photography can be challenging enough. The world of video can feel even more daunting! For someone who has solely focused on photography 100% from day one, taking on the challenge of video is a whole new world. Here are the things I learned from creating my video for my work as a photographer without video experience.

Have you ever described a portrait subject as your muse? Beneath the seemingly charming facade of the word lies a complex and often problematic history surrounding the photographic muse. As we examine this age-old concept through a modern lens, it becomes clear that the term "muse" is most often reductive, sexist, and objectifying. This article explores why the concept of a muse might be best left in the past.

Before you gear up to become a landscape photographer, there are some crucial things that you should understand if you want to be well-prepared. Landscape photography gets better as you experience different shooting scenarios, but here are some tips to help you get started.