Fstoppers Original Articles

More often than not, we’re our own worst enemies when it comes to landing the types of jobs we long to be hired for. Are you making it more difficult than it should be for potential clients to hire you for those photo jobs you keep waiting on?

It's probably happened to you: you're shooting away and someone, usually the venue owner, approaches you. You get that sinking feeling hearing those dreaded five words: "Can I get a copy?"

With the US government shutdown extending into a fourth week, some of photographer’s favorite destinations are starting to see the impact. There are some important considerations specific to photographers during the shutdown.

Convincing potential clients that you’re worth what you charge is a scary prospect. It means believing in yourself enough to stick to your guns. If you’ve had a hard time convincing clients to pay what you charge, here are a few ways that may help raise your success rate when asking for a sale.

Do you often think about the significance of the subject you are photographing? What if you knew it would be gone forever someday? Though we don’t always realize it in the moment the shutter clicks, the images we capture with our cameras become more precious when the subjects in those images no longer exist.

I'm not talking about image resolution. I'm talking about the things you want to achieve in 2019. Here's a great way to do it.

With photographic lighting, there is plenty to learn. Each surface requires its own type of light and every modifier produces its own signature light. One other element we must always consider, though, is the photographer’s intent.

Christmas is over, New Year has come and gone and the frenzy of gastronomic and financial excess has given way to the cold harsh reality of, well, a cold harsh January! It's time to get away for some of that southern summer sun. Here are my top tips for making the most of your winter vacation when hitting that bright sunshine.

Nikon and Canon have both introduced mirrorless bodies using new mounts, and the industry is at a crossroads. The new lenses that were introduced lack any promise or justification for their existence, and are more expensive while offering less useful features than past generations.

Posting consistently is one of the most recommended tasks you can do to grow organically on Instagram. What happens when you stop posting all together?

Mirrorless is the new hype but is it absolutely necessary for budget-conscious photographers? At the moment, the last Canon 6D cameras are heavily discounted and can be found brand new for $999. A great bargain.

A photographer based between LA and NYC has fallen victim to an “international travel scam” on a huge scale, which saw her end up in Indonesia and down thousands of dollars, in what she believes may have been part of a larger kidnapping plot.

I have been shooting concerts for many years. These are mostly bands in small, dark, and obscure venues with not much light to work with. But eventually a lot of bands started to use lasers as a part of their show. That resulted once in a damaged sensor. I believe today there is a greater risk with mirrorless cameras and lasers.

People will tell you there are no shortcuts, but that is only true if you think a shortcut is a magic "Masterpiece" mode in your camera or a special action in Photoshop.

How many bags do you travel with for landscape photography? Two or three depending on the trip duration? How about one carry-on sized backpack for a year of travel?

A surprising omission and sudden need to fill a gap led me to an important revelation.

A photographer renowned for spending months at a time carefully curating his sets has just completed his latest project. He has now built a life-size replica of a local 1960s Chinese takeaway; complete with the original paintings and fittings, the series features genuine customers and the owner of the real takeaway. It debuts exclusively on Fstoppers.

January 10 marks the 50th anniversary of Life's Apollo 8 issue. It's quite extraordinary to look back at these images 50 years after they were first published. The power of photography can be easily lost when there are trillions of photographs produced a year. The value of photography can be further obscured by a need for likes or the anonymity of hurtful criticism. Perhaps it's time to spend more time thinking about the good that photography can do.

2019 has just begun, and it is time to wrap up and look back at 2018. Like last year, I have found my favorite photos, and what they have in common are strong compositions.

A new year means new possibilities. Each year, most photographers put aside money for specific items such as gear, repair, equipment, and more. The one item many forget is education. This is an important part of growing as a photographer and needs to be addressed each year to keep the creative mind flowing.

A number of products premiering at CES 2019 give an indication to the future of photography and videography. Even without new equipment, there are some changes you can make to ensure your images and video are ready for the future.

I remember the thrill of owning my first camera: the Panasonic FZ20. I was so excited; I didn't need an alarm to get me up for sunrise. How things have changed! These days, if no one is commissioning the shoot I struggle to be motivated. This article tracks how this happened and offers four suggestions on how to keep enjoying photography.

I'm sure many of us have set goals for 2019 to become more successful in different variations of what the word entails, but have you or would you consciously decide to start a meaningful project, one that is unlikely to give you monetary reward, but a deeply personal one? Would you set time aside for it?

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic CC has recently updated to 8.1. With any new software release, there are new features. This new version is no different. Some of these options can speed up your workflow or speed up performance in general.

By “commandments,” I simply mean photography truths that have worked for me. Everyone has photography truths to believe in, but here are my 10.

Today, I’m tackling photographer-on-photographer criticism. And while some may read this article (as well, some may not) and comment that criticism can be valuable, I’m here to dispel that belief.

You carry that decent camera around with you because you want decent photos. Every so often, then, you need to get some of those unprocessed raw files on to your phone. How do you do it?

When you are a new photographer, the allure of street photography is powerful. It’s a way of tapping into your passion in a much more approachable way than fashion photography or adventure wedding photography.

Efficiently and effectively creating impactful black and white images of people can be tricky, but utilizing ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate's Light EQ tool, I've whittled my workflow down and kept the results just as high.

The day has finally come. Capture One users can finally use the XRite ColorChecker to create camera profiles and get proper true-to-life colors in our photos. The necessity for a proper color workflow is imperative for anything you plan on printing, or duplicating in any way (Especially when working with brands).

Artificial intelligence has come into our lives in various ways, and photography is no exception. In fact, did you know that it's already being used in smartphone cameras? But what is the future looking like for merging artificial intelligence and subjective, artistic craftsmanship?

The votes are in, and you've helped to choose our Fstoppers Photographer of the Year! We've also randomly selected one member who voted to receive a free Fstoppers tutorial of their choice!

It is a photographers nightmare to see precious and expensive camera equipment fall. I have seen it happen quite often and most of the times a tripod was involved. Fortunately it never involved my equipment. Perhaps it is due to luck, but I believe ten important guidelines helped a lot.

"If your pictures aren't good enough then you aren't close enough" Robert Capa

There are countless tools, tricks, and techniques photographers use to edit their photographs. This is one I use 99 percent of the time when editing my landscape images.

When it comes to taking photos on your mobile device in low light, the options are kind of terrible: a super bright flash that blinds everyone and a not so great photo or ambient light in a dark room where everyone ends up blurry or even grainy. This ridiculously easy iPhone hack will take your low light mobile photos to a whole new level.

In this extended essay, I’ll go into detail on my decision to invest heavily in a cinema camera, and the pros and cons related to the purchase.

Automation is a very good thing. From streamlining our workflows to speeding up client interactions and accepting payments, we are living in a time where the right software packages make running our business much easier. However, blindly trusting that pieces of software are doing what they're supposed to do can lead to financial losses or worse. A few days ago, I found this out the hard way.

After almost five years of adventures, it is finally time to upgrade. My Canon EOS 6D Mark I has served me well, and it’s been a reliable companion that I’m sorry to consign to bubblewrap, parcel tape, and eBay. Over the years, I've become quite attached to it.

Data management is a constant headache for photographers and videographers. Fortunately, hard drive manufacturers are going to release two new technologies this year geared to increase storage capacity.

A few days ago, China landed a rover on the far side of the moon and captured the first ground image of this hemisphere. But the Soviet Union already photographed the dark side 59 years ago with a little help from Kodak and a top secret U.S Air Force program.

We've all had our fair share of nightmare clients. I'm part of a Facebook group where photographers air their grievances and seek advice from their peers on how to handle certain situations. A recent topic of conversation was sharing stories of nightmare wedding clients and potential red flags they look for during their initial consultation. See below for some of my favorites.

Recently, there has been a push to have photographers keep their shoot locations secret, as park administration and others are asking photographers not to geotag their images. I don’t agree, and think this practice is counterproductive.

If you rely heavily on HDR for your image processing, I have some news for you: It can be a lazy approach, and you may be using it in the wrong applications. It's time to learn about the limitations of HDR and far better alternatives at your disposal.

If you want to keep your business relevant or have that breakthrough year you’ve been dreaming of, you need to have a plan in place that continually attracts quality clients. Here is where you can find them in 2019.

Matthew Leifheit, Yale graduate and recent student of Gregory Crewdson, had his first solo exhibition at DELI Gallery in Brooklyn.

I have mentioned before that I am always seeking new ways to improve. Today, I want to share one of my daily initiatives that I religiously employ, and that’s my daily color exploration.

It sits in your pocket, your closest friend, day-in day-out, doing your every bidding at the slightest touch. The smartphone is a modern marvel and is likely the first camera you'll reach for when out and about, needing to take a snap. But do you really know this camera, this closest of allies. Let me introduce you.

A scratched car, tiredness, and terrible weather are just some of the things you might encounter in your photography. I was hit by all three on a late evening in the Faroe Islands.