Fstoppers Original Articles

What does photography mean to you? In this article, I share my story about how photography changed my life and my journey as an artist. See my ups, my downs, and see what it took me to get where I am today.

Do you hate using a tripod? Do you find it too cumbersome to use, heavy, and do you think it stands in the way of creative photography? You are not the only one. I meet a lot of photographers during my workshops and masterclasses that find the tripod a necessary evil. And most of the time, it is because they are using it the wrong way.

Do you find that you’re a better creative while under the influence of drugs or alcohol? This article explores why substance abuse is so common among artist and explores less harmful alternatives.

You’ve covered your bases for that ever elusive amazing sunset shot: you’ve checked the time for sunset, mapped the exact location of the sun, and have composed a few frames so you know what to do when you get to the location. But what about the location itself?

Some photographers in Toronto, ON have used the ever-popular colored smoke grenades for some sort of video/photoshoot, leaving behind a deep red stain on a beautiful marble archway, and were even careless enough to simply leave behind the grenade instead of taking it with them, which brings me to my point: we need to be better.

As 2019 arrives, I look back at my camera-purchasing decisions over the last 12 months and learn a lesson or two about the meaning of the word “value.”

Trying to choose the right underwater housing can be overwhelming. Depending on the camera body you have, an underwater housing can easily be double what the camera cost. How can you be sure it’s the right fit before you splurge on this expensive piece of gear?

Want to start the new year with a free tutorial from Fstoppers? All you have to do is help us choose our Photographer of the Year!

It's almost 2019, meaning that it's the best time to update all of our information and branding. New logos, new website designs, new profile pictures, and to go along with all of that, brand new business cards!

Your smartphone might have the perfect auto-mode for the job, why not save some time?

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.

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 2018, 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.

As the old business adage goes: "not planning is planning to fail." It's time to get serious about your photography or videography in 2019, with an effective and actionable goal planner. Here's what mine looks like.

Morality and photography are two areas which usually only cross paths with photographic assignments to war-torn nations or tragedy. However, one photographic outfit in the UK is exploiting one of the most beautiful times in a person's life.

Tampa Bay, Florida: A local photographer who made a New Year's resolution this morning to not purchase any unnecessary gear in 2019 unfortunately only lasted 90 minutes before breaking it.

From bags, to tripods, and gadgets: were there any standout products that people picked up?

When it announced the a7 III in February 2018, Sony set the bar alarmingly high. What does it have in store for 2019?

If your partner is not involved in the photography or videography industry, you may not have thought about teaching them to become your assistant or second shooter. But what if this could be a great addition to your photography? Let's look at how this could help you build your business!

Just after Christmas can be a great time to grab yourself some photography related bargains. Follow these crucial tips to save thousands of dollars and stay safe online.

“Award-winning photographer.” Now, more than ever, I see the term popping up in a biography. But I wondered, does it hold any merit in 2018? With so many claiming to have received awards — most of which I’ve never heard of — it’s become a pet peeve of mine. Has the prestige of winning a photography award been diminished?

Thanks to apps like Instagram, there are some concepts that we've seen literally thousands of times, and at this point, they all blur into the same bland flavor. 2018 felt like the year of the lone person standing by waterfall, and seriously, we're sick of seeing that same shot over and over again.

With 2018 winding down to a close, it's time to start thinking about what to do with all of those wondrous images we've created. Storing them on a hard drive is difficult, because if the hard drive gets lost — so do your photos. The New Year is a perfect time to re-organize your life, do some cleaning, and keep your photos safe!

New underwater photographers often ask me what my favorite lens is for creating underwater images. And while I have a few different lenses that I shoot with underwater, none get used more than my Tokina AF 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 AT-X 107 AF DX Fisheye Zoom Lens. It is lightweight, great for travel, and has a very short focusing distance, which makes it ideal for close focus wide angle underwater photography.

I've been sitting here for a bit, wondering what the worst gear release by a major manufacturer was in 2018, then I realized the answer was crystal clear.

As far as perks of being a photographer go, traveling the world and documenting everything you see along the way is right up there with the best of them. Luckily for Pep Bonet, he’s been around the globe as Motorhead’s previous resident photographer of 7 years, as well as documenting the impact of war and disease in Africa. Then, he became one of the first in Europe to test out the Nikon Z7 and S-line NIKKOR Z lenses. So how did he find it faired against DSLRs?

The long awaited version 3 of Luminar from Skylum arrived this month. It held the promise of new features, and digital assets management tools (DAM) that would rival Lightroom. That's important, because some percentage of photographers don't like the Adobe subscription model, and while powerful, Lightroom's Library management can be a pain. Of course others love it, and would never switch.

Second shooting is a great way to gain experience and fill out unbooked weekends, but there are a lot of things you can do to maximize your returns.

Most of us tend not to think too much about relative screen brightness and the appearance of our photos across the myriad of devices they may be viewed on. But should we?

High ISO is usually meant to be used when there's not enough light. However, there are cases when you have to take it up from its minimum value even when the sun is bright.

Photographing war has a long history dating back to at least Mathew Brady's photos of the American Civil War. Some images become inextricably linked to the events they portray. So what is it about this image that makes it so powerfully representative of the First World War?

Even if we're not professional photographers, most of us at some point have fancied getting paid full-time to take photos. Weddings? Sports? Fine art? Press? Commercial? How about a medical photographer?

One of the most popular pieces of gear most photographer assume a studio should have is a reflector of some sort, and a v-flat is greatly preferred. Some photographers who look for a DIY option but can't seem to find a source for the large foam boards usually give up and proceed without them. Here's another method you can use to create your own v-flats.

As 2019 approaches, I reflect on the past year and the ways I have grown and the ways I can grow: the most important lesson I learned last year came from the great photographer Layne Murdoch Sr.

Larger images provide a world of options for photographers, but if you're not careful, more pixels could mean more problems. If you're one of the many photographers finding yourself with a new high resolution camera after the holidays, here's a guide to wrangling that newfound resolution.

Loupedeck have released a version of their software that plays (somewhat) nicely with Capture One Pro. Today we’ll take a look at what you can expect and what we think could be improved.

Famed celebrity stylist and creative director Jason Bolden and his team approached photographer Nathalie Gordon with an idea to shoot a campaign for their newly launched sunglasses brand JSN.

You’re scrolling through social media when you see a photograph that looks terribly familiar; it looks so much like one of your photographs that it takes you a minute to realize that it’s some else’s work. What do you do?

A bad second shooter can create many problems for a wedding photographer, so it is important go the extra mile to make sure the second shooter does exactly what you need.

Photographers often have a hard enough time getting the proper credit and payment they deserve for the images they create. And now, Instagram is enabling brands to make money off your images without you ever even knowing it.

We all have our pictures online. But do we have a picture that defines who we are as a professional and what we do? In this competitive world where your digital presence is a business card, what difference does a professional portrait make?

Often, we think a landscape has to be photographed with a wide angle lens and a large depth of field. Some think it is even better to use extreme wide angles and always in combination with a maximum depth of field. But have you ever thought of photographing a landscape with a minimum depth of field?

I hate being bored, not so much because of the restless sensation, but because I dread wasting time. Boredom just feels wrong, so I maintain a ready backlog of productive tasks. But could boredom be as essential to your creativity as hard work and tenacity?

We all have our favorites, but what do the numbers say?

Have Sigma and Tamron been beating Canon and Nikon? It's been an interesting year.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I know, right? I too would have thought that more people would have common respect and courtesy for others, but apparently, I was wrong.

If you're a photographer from the millennial generation, you're probably fluent in communicating with memes. Here are 17 of my favorite photography memes.

It’s the tradition of suburban parents everywhere: the mall Santa photo. It’s also an excruciating photo day for actual photographers.

In the first article in this series, I discussed themes that would affect freelance photographers most: mixed-message branding, teaming up for video, and the opportunity cost. This second piece focuses on some of the issues that hit us photographers where it hurts most: profitability of video services, client satisfaction, and the sheer embarrassment of moving to the dark side!

Was Santa kind to you? Did he bring you that brand new camera you've been drooling over for months? Before you run out and start shooting with it, here are 10 things you should do.