Fstoppers Original Articles

The year is 2017 and at this point, it's fair to say that most people are on Instagram. Now I don't think that you have to be and I don't believe that an Instagram presence is a requirement for your success. If you've chosen to forgo this particular media app you're not necessarily missing out. IG is a tool at your disposal and as time goes on, that tool becomes increasingly useless. Here are three reasons why Instagram's algorithm is garbage and may not be worth your time anyways.

The ultimate lifehack tool or an unnecessary distraction? Love them or loath them, the Apple Watch is here to stay. But does it have any real use case for a photographer? Well, here are five of them!

Art is about storytelling. It’s about using all the tools at one’s disposal to convey and idea or an emotion. To connect an audience to a brand, or a personality, or a moment in a way the no other medium can. Along with my own technique, the ingenuity of the on-camera talent and the creative team behind it, plus the tools necessary to complete the job, the location you select for your shoot is one of the many raw materials that will have an effect on the eventual alchemy you bring forth to produce a great image.

It feels like an increasing occurrence to meet creatives — particularly photographers — who feel no obligation to have their own website. Here's why it's still imperative to have an online portfolio that is readily available for your clients to access.

I've been a full-time wedding photographer for the past eight years and an Apple fan since I was in fourth grade. But today, that has all changed. Here is why.

Perhaps a better question to ask is: “Why am I a photographer?” In recent months, I feel like I've completely lost touch with why I became a photographer. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love what I do, but sometimes I forget why. When I was first starting out as a photographer and all of my shoots were “just for fun,” it was easy to see why I enjoyed it. After all, there were no consequences if I screwed something up, and I looked at photography as more of an escape from reality than a job.

Whether you are just starting out or you have been shooting for years, pricing is always top of your mind. For a long time, I just plucked figures out of the air, which made for very awkward conversations when clients wanted to know various ways to save money on a shoot. I eventually got my arse in gear and had a long (like a week-long) sit down and I went through everything in the smallest detail. Today, I give quotes with confidence, knowing that if a client says no, I am simply not the photographer for them.

You may have had the same reaction I did when I first started loading up the Develop module in Adobe's new Lightroom Classic CC update: oh no, why did Lightroom change all of my photos to an old process version!? First things first: don't worry. The process version did not change. Instead, Lightroom Classic CC introduces the fourth iteration of these so-called process versions, but this one (the first in half a decade) is different for a number of reasons.

Whether you’re about to head out for a day of shooting some corporate videos, producing a multiday lifestyle photoshoot, or even traveling abroad for a project, as a filmmaker or photographer you’ll likely have to do a fair amount of prep, called preproduction. This article will summarize a number of things that you should think about and probably not forget to do before leaving for your next job.

We've finally done it: Fstoppers has moved over to a new 10 Gb/second network and server and it is incredibly fast. Let me show you what we did and how you can create your own 10 Gb/s network for a fraction of the price.

In most difficult economies, photographers will inevitably take on work that is outside their niche area. Having one commission is better than having nothing. Being a multitalented photographer who is able to shoot both weddings and macro photography can come in handy.

Adobe just killed one of its last major one-time fee softwares, Lightroom, in favor of the subscription model introduced in 2013. While the most refractory users may continue to run on the previous versions, they will be forced to roll to the Creative Cloud at some point since Adobe will stop supporting the traditional software. Future raw images and video codecs will not work on old programs. But when looking at the price plan in detail, are we being milked by Adobe with the subscription model and if so, what are the alternatives?

The freelance lifestyle can be both creatively and financially rewarding but it does also come with a few hidden pitfalls that need to be avoided at all costs. If you want to minimize your chances of failure it is well worth having these 10 things in place long before you take the leap.

Maybe you are like me and you just settled into a new place and are looking for places nearby that you can shoot. After moving to a new location about an hour away from where I was living at home, I have been trying to keep up with all my shooting. In a way, I feel like it has gotten a lot more difficult because I need to find places to go, people to work with, and all sorts of other things that interest me to keep shooting and creating new content. There are times where I feel like I am stuck and times where I feel like I've found such a cool spot and I am super happy about it, however I think the biggest key to success is actually going out and lfinding places to continue your work.

With a multitude of template-based services offered, website building has never been easier. But wedding photography websites demand specific functionality that need to be considered in the design process. Here is a guide on setting up your first, or rebranded, website for a modern wedding photography business.

Photography, as with any creative pursuit, requires the creator to have their hand in the process for the results to shine. Countless Facebook ads, online workshops, and even our camera companies would have you believe that they if you just buy that next magic bullet, everything will change for you. If they are to be believed, swiping your credit card just one more time is the key to making great images. Rubbish. It’s time to break away from that thought.

A few weeks ago we released "Photographing the World 3," the newest installment of Elia Locardi's PTW series. As with with many of our tutorials, we have also produced a behind-the-scenes series that shows exactly how we filmed and produced this landscape tutorial. You can watch all of the PTW 3 behind the scenes here, but in this week's episode Elia covers the importance of scouting, Lee discovers a way to make his sandwiches even tastier, and I test out one of Tamron's newest lenses for time-lapse.

I still try to learn, as much as I can, as often as I can, especially in the world of photography. No matter how much more experience I manage to gain or how many people I get lucky enough to work with, I think I will always still feel like a beginner who is just learning the craft. I was fortunate enough to begin my adventures into photography with a great darkroom class. My experience behind the camera quite literally started with black and white film and using enlargers to bring my images to life.

Being that I’m primarily a wedding and documentary photographer, it’s not every day that I get the chance to take a portrait of a celebrity. Add to this that I live in Northwest Arkansas, which isn't really a hub for celebrities, makes it even less likely for me — especially one as well known as William H. Macy. So I thought it would be interesting to line out how I pulled it off and got the final image.

Most of the times, wedding photography is looked at as this big ball of happiness, glam, and glitz where two hearts come together to exchange eternal vows and so many people come together to celebrate it in a grand way. Now that’s the fun part. From a wedding photographer’s eyes, there’s a lot more to it. From client communication to shooting to editing to delivery, there are so many things that a wedding photographer juggles around before signing a project off happily. One of the most important parts of it is the legal contract.

When it comes to composing a photograph, there is a natural tendency to pay attention to the subject ignoring the distractions. This is just a matter of liking your own art and viewing it in an idealistic way. Sometimes until you show your photos to an audience, the distractions are invisible to you. This is where simplicity can help.

Stock photography has always been something of an enigma. Used by brands, marketers, advertisers, and the media, it’s managed to withstand the test of time and the radical shift in how media is consumed and sold. Stock photography has, until recent years, served up functional, generic images that could be used in diverse ways by a core customer base. That’s no longer what creators want. To keep up with demand, stock photography providers have started evolving past cookie-cutter imagery to more compelling, artistic, and authentic visuals—keeping stock not only relevant, but making the industry a leader in the visual arts.

Jayden Bethea is a toddler on a mission. At an impressively young age of five, Jayden has already discovered and developed an impressive passion for fashion photography. Following in the footsteps of his mother, Selah B. Marie Bethea, Jayden is showing that creating great photography is within the reach of anyone who has a passion to create and a willingness to experiment. Armed with his trusty Nikon D5300, 18-55mm lens, and the support of his energetic mom, Jayden is creating work at a quality far beyond his years.

Instagram Stories are here to stay. That is no surprise to anyone. In a recent year-long study, Mediakix, an influencer marketing agency, found what everyone pretty much already knew: Instagram has effectively killed Snapchat Stories with the advent of Instagram Stories. Amongst influencers (and let's be honest, social media Influencers run the social media game), usage of Snapchat Stories has fallen 33 percent in the last year while influencers are twice as likely to post stories via Instagram.

A photojournalist is often called upon to photograph a scene at a moment’s notice. It can be a car accident one day, a music festival, the next and a protest the day after. With that in mind, there are two useful lenses that every photojournalist should carry in their bag to cover such a diverse range of photographic opportunities.

Less than a year after the release of the X5S camera, DJI just introduced the new Zenmuse X7 with superlative specifications. The Chinese drone manufacturer is innovating so rapidly that it may be hard to keep track of all the new features associated with its ever-expanding product range. Let’s check what the main differences between the two cameras are and which one you should buy.

You don’t need me to tell you the importance of social media. Many of you under a certain age likely can’t picture your life without it. Judging by the number of selfie sticks and Facebook screens annoyingly lighting up dark movie theaters, social media had apparently become as important as breathing. Even those who came of age before the dawn of the smartphone are not immune to its charms. And in an increasingly connected world, our devices are not only a social diversion, but can also become a business necessity. This week, I had an experience that drove home just how necessary it can be.

Platon is a widely acclaimed British portrait photographer. His portfolio includes, among others, images of the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, former president of the United States, Barack Obama, and the chilling portrait of revolutionary chairman of Libya, Muammar al-Gaddafi. His book "Power," shows portraits of more than 100 famous and infamous, past and present heads of state.

The biggest photography education event of the year ends today, October 18. The deadline has been extended a few more hours and now closes at 5:00 PDT. Once it’s over, you won’t ever have the chance to get many of these resources again. Once the sale closes, there are no exceptions for late purchases, so make sure to check out this incredible education opportunity now.

Industry icons like Richard Avedon and Annie Leibovitz often look to us plebs like they’ve been blessed by the photography gods with talent the rest of us can only dream about, yet their success stories often include incessant practice, unwavering determination, apprenticeships, and lucky breaks. What separates those of us at the bottom from the select few at the top? And, if you want to be front and center stage, how do you get there?

A newly engaged woman is offering a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a photographer to expand their portfolio by shooting a “dream wedding” for no charge.

It's incredible to learn about all the technologies that are built into smartphone cameras that weigh as much as a paperclip. But, with all this technology, is it still you taking the picture or are you just a moving tripod carrying a computer around to take the picture for you?

Before it starts to seem like I'm galloping around on my high horse, I'd like to say that this article is more of a reminder to myself than anyone else. I have made the mistake of dismissing someone as a troll just because they disagree with me. In many cases, It's much easier to simply dismiss someone as a troll if they criticize your work instead of taking it on the chin. This could be due to a number of reasons but when we do, we are breaking one of the cardinal rules.

You might have noticed a common theme in my articles: "the gear doesn’t matter". A lot of people have called me out on this, especially as in my profile picture I’m shooting on a Phase One with Broncolor lights. And yes, you are right, the kit does matter in my line of work, just not always. Sitting on the fence? Maybe. Here’s my explanation:

My greatest fear in life isn't dying, but losing the ability to do the things I love. And of course, losing my eyesight would be catastrophic to both enjoying and creating photography. Here's how a recent health scare made me appreciate something I took for granted.

There aren’t many monitors that can record footage onto an SSD. There aren’t many monitors that can work on set as well as in post production. There is one monitor that claims to do it all though. The Atomos Sumo is not just jam-packed with features, but I think it represents the future of video production. Does it live up to the hype?

Nikon's recent choice to promote the new D850 with a pro team of 32 men has started waves of conversation of gender inequality in the arts. During the uproar, I received a few messages requesting for me to share my own experiences that are unique to being a female photographer. Whether we like to admit it or not, America is pretty far from complete gender equality. Many are surprised to learn that the accepting arts industry isn't an exception to the current gender norms. As to not a let male-dominated industry intimidate me, I try to ignore the upsetting gender-specific challenges I face. But there are a few too hard to ignore as they're present in my life daily.

Chinese manufacturer DJI just announced a new technology to identify and track airborne drones. Dubbed AeroScope, this system takes advantages of all the telemetry data sent by the aircraft to give the authorities a detailed vision of the drone presence in a local airspace. This system is mature and has been installed at two international airports since April. Here are the technical details and legal challenges associated with this technology.

Unfortunately, it really is a case of "when" rather than "if" you will experience a bad photography or video client. The biggest problem is that once a person or business has your work there really is nothing to stop them from leaving you high and dry. Here's how to keep the upper hand and maximize your chances of always getting paid.

Understanding the internal light meter of my camera is one of the best skills I've ever learned. It helps me to shoot in fully manual mode, so that I rarely look at the back of my camera. Let me tell you how to get a correctly exposed picture from the first click just by using your camera's internal light meter.

For years, I've been the biggest supporter of everyone using a Mac, except gamers. Especially if you are a photographer or graphic designer, it just makes sense and it always has. But as current events unfold it's becoming harder and harder to stick with the platform, no matter how great it actually is.

External monitors are vital pieces of kit in any videographer's bag, but what about using that big screen you carry around with you already? Here is how you turn your iPhone into an external monitor on the Panasonic GH5.

What do you do if that one location you want to photograph on your trip just happens to be one that hundreds if not thousands of other people also want to photograph? It can be a tricky situation to navigate. Sometimes it can be straight up frustrating. After too many instances where I found myself just being irritated, I found a few different ways to approach my shots of popular destinations that allowed me to capture what I wanted without having to feel like I was fighting crowds just for my shot.

Fstoppers is teaming up with 5DayDeal and dozens of other leaders in the photography world for the most valuable photography education sale of the year. The Complete Photography Bundle by 5DayDeal contains $2,500-plus in video tutorials, eBooks, Adobe Lightroom presets, marketing know-how, and so many more amazing resources for just $117 (a savings of over 95 percent). This year, we've thrown in our very own tutorial, Photography 101 to be a part of the charity match bonus which will support some incredible nonprofit organizations.

Do you know what keywords are and the best way to add them to your photos? What about what options to select when you are exporting your images? Have you ever heard of the painter tool? In this final part of my three-part series on Lightroom for beginners, I will cover the final steps to take after applying your final edits to your images.

This week's theme of "yours" was less obvious than any of our previous prompts. That did not seem to dissuade any of the participants from submitting great shots. Of the four lists put together so far, this one might be the favorite. I'm also excited about the new theme this week, so be sure to check it out and join in.

A simple question for you: do you find that from January to December, over the course of a given year, your photography changes along with the seasons and the environment? Kind of a loaded question though, right? The answer probably depends quite a bit on what exactly your brand of photography is. Of course, other factors play a major role like your location and whether your work is outdoors or in the studio too. When is the last time that you sat down and looked at your body of work? Aside from technical improvements, do you notice any trends that may coincide with various times of the year?

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 didn’t realize I was an introvert until I was well into my 20s. I’m not shy, and I don’t mind speaking up in a crowd if I’m asked a question, so I always assumed I was an extrovert. You can imagine my surprise, then, when taking the Myers Briggs personality test in college yielded the result that I was an introvert. It all started to make sense. I would constantly find myself shying away from social events, although I considered myself social and had many friends, and I never liked any job that included a high volume of social interaction within a day, it exhausted me. When starting my business, one of my biggest struggles became working with my introversion.

I’ve always been jealous of people who know where they’re headed. They’re like greyhounds chasing a rabbit, absolutely certain of what they were put on this earth to do, and doggedly (pun intended) pursuing their purpose. When I first picked up a camera, I took photographs of everything. Bees, power lines, babies, weddings, families, anything I could point a lens at became my subject. It didn’t take long before I had people asking me to photograph them, and soon enough I was dragging families through shrubs and fields looking for that perfect outdoor shot.