Fstoppers Original Articles

There’s a quiet 360-degree battle being fought behind the scenes at Apple and Adobe when it comes to your favorite non-linear video editing tools, Final Cut Pro X and Adobe Premiere Pro. Some recent hires hint at an expanding 360-degree video portfolio at both companies.

Contrary to delusional beliefs, not everyone is hooked up to a high-speed connection capable of streaming 8k video at magnificent buttery smoothness. Extremely fast connectivity is an amazing thing that is still out of reach for the vast majority of users. You can't assume that the viewers of your website are going to be piloting a computer hard-lined into the latest fiber optic goodness. Instead, we have to optimize for the most common user in order to give them the best experience possible without sacrificing image quality.

Back in April, I ventured on a trip to Havana, Cuba with the lofty goal of capturing the culture and people there within with my favorite little 35mm film camera. With the recent news that President Trump plans on buckling down on all travel and trade to Cuba, I'm all the more grateful than ever to have made the trip when I did. The Cuban experience is easily the most surreal of any international travel that I have ever experienced.

A couple of months ago, I finally pulled the trigger; I broke out my wallet and dropped a (rather large) chunk of change on my first mirrorless camera kit, the Fujifilm X-T2. I had been researching mirrorless options for almost a year, and finally landed there for a multitude of reasons. I was mainly interested in a mirrorless kit for use while traveling and backpacking, and loved the idea of a smaller, lighter kit. All signs started pointing at the X-T2 over the other long-term contender, the Olympus OM-D EM-1 MK II. It was only a couple of weeks before I headed off to spend a month in India and Nepal, so I needed to learn this camera relatively quickly.

I am a doer. I pride myself on getting things accomplished. Doing things rather than talking about them. I even keep a strict log to make sure that I make the absolute most out of every 24 hour period. Productivity is my spirit animal. Now, I know what you’re thinking. Isn’t that a bit excessive? The answer is more than likely yes. And I don’t open that way as a means of boasting. Like many, my greatest strength is often my greatest weakness. My obsessiveness over getting things done has driven me to compile a diverse list of accomplishments (and failures). But, in a profession where the best course of action can require patience, obsessing over productivity can often drive you plum crazy.

As you can imagine I spend a lot of time in Photoshop. And when you spend as much time in Photoshop as I do, you want to work as fast and efficiently as you can. Knowing your way around the layers panel in Photoshop is a great way to maximize efficiency. I teamed up with Fstoppers to create a video tutorial that focuses specifically on the layers panel in Photoshop. In this video, I’lll show you have to maximize your workflow with a series of practical tips and shortcuts. This video is great for beginners, however, even if you’re well versed in Photoshop, you may just learn something new.

The times of oversaturating and selective coloring might be over, but clarity is here to pick up where those post-processing horrors left of. Now don’t get me wrong, I think that clarity is an amazing effect that can do wonders on your images… just not if you use it on the whole image and crank it to the max. I realize, that seeing this sudden increase in drama and grittiness might feel satisfying to some but too often has it used in attempts to turn uninteresting photos into something that they are not.

Free? Working for free? When I started out, being asked to work for free made my blood boil; Didn’t people know I had bills to pay, rent to make, black T-shirts to buy, rounds of beer to shout, girls to woo? These things cost money, and it still makes my blood boil when I’m asked to work for free. And yet I often work for free. Confused? Here’s how working for free is a good thing and how to ensure your blood doesn’t boil in the process.

It is possible. I'm not here writing this to beat you in the head with an “it's not the gear” rant; we can all agree that take is a bit redundant after awhile. But with that said, it still holds very true. What I'm here writing to share is why I decided to use one lens, which one I used, how I use it, and most importantly, how you can too. I built my entire portfolio using one lens and one lens only. Before you read on, can you guess which lens by looking at the photos below?

Whenever my girlfriend and I see antique stores or vintage markets, our eyes light up. Her eyes are lit up with dreams of bone china tea sets and antiquated woodworking, whereas mine are bright with visions of a dusty Hasselblad in a forgotten corner, or spools of unprocessed and antiquated film. On a Sunday morning in sunny Englandshire recently, my lady-friend and I went for breakfast and on returning to our car, saw a small sign for a vintage pop-up market.

I’ve learned a lot over the past 15 years as a professional artist. I’ve learned a lot about fear, failure, and success. I’ve been fortunate enough to mentor and educate thousands of photographers all over the world. Even as a young four-year photographer who many would still consider “green,” I’ve taught photographers from all walks of life, all levels of advancement, and even some who had reached a level of comfortable success.

I first discovered the work of Cannabis Photographer Kristen Angelo when the Seattle Times did a profile of her for their series highlighting "cool jobs" in the region. Her work stood out as something fresh, new, and real. Unlike the high-contrast, psychedelic images I was used to seeing, Angelo's images showed different side of the culture of cannabis: sun-drenched, cultivated by passionate farmers in the rural Pacific Northwest. I caught up with Angelo to ask her about how she got into the field of cannabis photography, and how she developed her business as a freelance photographer.

“Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” What an inspiring, hopeful idea. Unfortunately, it’s not always true. According to this article on USA Today, only about 20 percent of businesses last past their first year, and even less survive past the five-year mark. So, what happens when someone falls in love with photography and thinks to themselves, I should start a business? The answer is: a lot of stuff that is not related to photography and, sometimes, the death of a passion.

Our behind-the-scenes series on the filming of "Where Art Meets Architecture 3" continues today with episode 6. In this episode, Mike Kelley flies to the Fstoppers office in Charleston to start working on the post-processing portion of this tutorial.

Almost all photographers nowadays are familiar with modern equipment and use it to create, show, and improve their work. Some is necessary like new cameras, lenses, computers, and some is complementary. It all depends on your work style and the photos you want to create. But let's ask a question here. How much of this technology and knowledge do you need for being a better photographer in your genre?

The challenges of creating portraits of dogs are compounded when more than one animal comes along for your session. Whether you’re photographing two dogs or two dozen, this simple compositing method will make sure you will be able to create the perfect group portrait where each dog is looking their best.

It’s not rocket science, but there’s certainly a whole bunch of trial and error involved with shooting something as bright and spectacular as a launch. I spoke with John Kraus, a young photographer doing just that, to guide us through the process and obstacles that are involved.

If you have ever been assigned a full-day catalog shoot for a big retail brand, you probably know about the hectic process, especially if you are not working with a producer who deals with everything. Besides, a catalog shoot consists of innumerous steps from creating the concept to delivering the final images, and if you don’t have a producer ready for you, there are some steps that you need to consider before start shooting.

Back in 2008 the Canon 5D Mark II was a photographer’s dream. The camera revolutionized the industry and opened new creative horizons for many professionals. The low light performance, dynamic range, and image quality were unheard of. This technological wonder was a huge hit in the photography world and beyond, especially in the indie filmmaker community. Later in 2012 came the 5D Mark III, with a solid body but somehow conservative specifications. Since then, it seems that Canon has decided to freeze progress, and lately, take a few steps backward.

Creating high-quality work doesn’t have be expensive. Outside of talent, the ability to execute creative ideas cheaply can be the single best quality in a photographer or videographer. While there is some very excellent equipment out there that can make your job super easy, it is very important to consider the items we have around us, reusing resources and thinking divergently. A huge value to any company or agency is the ability to save money whenever possible.

When it comes to deciding how good a particular image is, there are three aspects that I think are most important: composition, lighting, and colors. These three properties could be described as the technical attributes of an image. There are those who have compared this image to The Birth of Venus and the Virgin Mary, based on a number of styling choices, one can see some similarities.

In this article, we'll go through the best sources of inspiration to plan a successful photography drone trip to a place you have never been to before. This is not an easy task, as unlike landscape photography, not everything has been photographed from a drone point of view, so just searching the usual photo sites doesn't always give you good results. It's also difficult because not every scene that works from eye level will work from a drone's perspective. It is vital to plan as much as possible to avoid disappointment and maximize the chances of coming home with some nice pictures. We'll also look at the results of the trip's expectations versus reality.

"Keep your head down and always know where the ball is. It hurts when you get hit." And with that, I was off and running. Here's what it was like stepping out of portraits and events and into the world of professional sports photography.

Nothing happens overnight, and this is especially true when it comes to photography. Photography is a craft that takes years to master, which is one reason why there are few people that become successful. So many people pick up a camera and expect their careers to take off the next day, which isn’t realistic. In order to become great, you must first become patient. Don’t compete against the clock, success will happen in its own time. Slow and steady wins the race. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you are feeling impatient with your work.

Forget "shotgun wedding," Jay Philbrick brings us literal cliff-hanging wedding photos that take more than a little preparation. Jay knew about the Cathedral Ledge at Echo Lake State Park in North Conway, New Hampshire because of his many years as a climbing guide there. Jay says that only two of their couples have been climbers, and this couple was not one of them.

You've probably seen some pretty comical behind-the-scenes images of the kinds of positions photographers put themselves in just to get a shot. They climb trees, hang off cliffs, stand in the middle of rivers, lay down in the dirt, all just to frame up that perfect shot. Well there's almost always a reason behind the madness and sometimes those reasons end up having a much bigger impact than most people might expect. Sometimes it's about getting a really intriguing angle on a particular subject, but I find myself laying in the dirt quite a lot just so I can create a composition that carries more depth. Let's compare a couple different shots that can help make some sense of this.

Have you ever considered how significantly confidence can affect your photography? Creative people are often a largely unconfident group. At any given time we might be dealing with the fear of missing an important moment, anxiously thinking about an upcoming session, running the worst possible scenarios through our minds, or delivering our photos to a client and dreading that email that says how much they hate them. We are still in the process of improving, constantly comparing our work to others, and because of the number of negative thoughts we have, we often feel like frauds.

While the shutter shading issues of the D750 don't plague every body, Nikon's recent service advisory (i.e., recall) does apply to quite a few of them. Many might groan at the thought of sending in their workhorse or even backup D750s, but the truth is that this may be a huge blessing in disguise.

Last year Team Stuart was faced with a big storage problem. Our 9-plus terabytes of photos were a few weddings away from out growing their 10 terabytes of storage. This meant we needed to shell out a bunch of money for more hard drives to even think about storing more photos. Money that I didn't have, especially considering we'd need a whole new NAS setup. That is when I made the bold decision to forgo on-site storage and move to the cloud. In retrospect, it may have been a big waste of time.

These days, there are endless ways to get your images in front of clients, and it is more important than ever to put your best foot forward at all times. A tight and well curated portfolio is absolutely essential; trimming the fat and staying true to your brand. But keeping a consistent brand and level of presentation isn’t the same as duplicating your presentation, and to best reach your intended audience requires consideration of the end-user experience.

Instagram Stories have become more and more attractive with the latest features such as the tag- and location-based stories. People seem to enjoy these features, and they can drive more potential followers to your account. However, quality content, even in Stories, remains king; and posting a video or a photo that stands out can really make a difference in bringing more followers to your page. As photographers or videographers, we truly have a massive advantage in producing great content that people want to see. So in this article, I’ll show you how to post your amazing work to your Story even if said content is older than 24 hours.

Ever since my childhood, there has been a connection to the old world. The look and feel of maps, an alidade, a sextant, and a sailor's log book were just a few of the things that were thought of when my own company's brand was being developed. However, there was always something missing to truly meld the old world with new world products until I found a fine art display that not only awakened that connection but also did not break the bank.

That thing that everyone keeps talking about — The creative fuel for your creative fire? Where exactly does that come from? If you're looking for the short and sweet answer, it comes from wherever the hell you want it to. It comes from music, movies, television, books, nature, cities, and the people all around you. It comes from the weirdest and most random places. Sometimes it hits you like a truck and you know right away; “Holy shit, I just got inspired!” Other times it's much more subtle and you don't realize for a few days or weeks, maybe even months that something happened and you've got your creative wheels spinning.

Many of us have been there. You upload your work to a social media platform only to find out months later that your photos have gained the attention of the masses. Immediately you start getting bombarded with emails, phone calls, and publications start reaching out. You quickly realize the moment you have always been waiting for is happening right now, but a new reality also sinks in: you have no clue what in the world you are supposed to do with all of this attention. In this video I sit down with Mike Kelley to discuss some of the steps you should take to capitalize on your viral photo series.

For the last 10 years I have been regularly visiting this remote and pristine island state. Tasmania is about a 1.5 hour flight from Sydney to the city of Launceston. The diverse choice of landscapes and close proximity by car make this a unique and accessible environment still largely untouched. Around 40 percent of Tasmania is protected National Parks and Reserves. If you are looking to get off the grid and discover a magical wilderness, this place is filled with adventure and convict history. Here are some of my favorite spots to photograph in spring or autumn. I have also added a few other locations as side trips that are also worth a look.

Deciding if you should go to photography school takes more than looking at its perks. First, you will have to realize who you are, where you are coming from, and where you want to go. Looking at the outrageous amount of money you will have to spend in order to attend university, the answer should be based first and foremost on what your needs are and what the school can offer you in order to satisfy those needs. Our society is pushing the belief that college education is intrinsic to a successful career, but modern facilities and prestigious professors won’t be justified as long as they are not essential in achieving your personal goal. Once you realized that, the decision is actually not that difficult.

Hensel claims that their Cito 500 is the fastest flash in the world with a flash duration of 1/100,000th of a second. This is so fast that it can "freeze" a bullet mid flight. We decided to put this sales pitch to the test and set up a shoot with some live ammunition.

The largest single landscape print I have made to date is a ten-foot-wide panorama of the Painted Rock at Fort Irwin. Titled A Thousand Words Fall Short, I donated it to a Veterans' clinic on the 4th of July. Printed on Fuji-crystal archival paper, front-mounted to 1/4" museum acrylic with an anti-glare coating, and backed by a solid sheet of aluminum, it really caught and exalted the light in the humble hallway where I was honored to see it hanging a couple days ago.

The day you move from amateur to pro is one you never forget. But how do you decide to make that move? How do you know you’re going to cut it as a pro? How do you know if you’re ready? Will you ever be ready? Yes, you need a healthy interest from potential clients, and yes, you need a heap of camera gear. But what else? It is not all about the kit I promise you. That’s just a crutch. This is what you really need.

The closest art to photography is painting, and thus the two primary visual art forms share basic precepts regarding light and composition. In the same way photographers use different lenses, filters, and lights to achieve their vision, so too might they learn to use various time-honored, classical techniques in composition. While a polarizing filter is not used for every shot, neither is the golden ratio and sacred geometry. But just as every photographer will have a polarizing filter in their toolkit, so too will they have knowledge of sacred geometry, whose rules they can exalt, or break, at will.

Composition may be one of the most widely discussed artistic aspects in photography. In theory, the idea is simple. Putting it to work, particularly in motion arts, is easier said than done. Composition is one of the most important creative aspects of any filmmaking. Simply put, it is the act of defining the position, arrangement, and view of objects within the frame. The composition is, in effect, representing the point of view of your viewer and it will have a direct impact on how that viewer feels when they see it.

A photographer has claimed he is ready to retire due to his dire financial situation after a multiple year-long legal battle over the copyright surrounding images taken by monkeys on his camera.

Back in July of 2016 when my daughter was a mere glimmer in my eye, I read Alex Cooke’s excellent article on shooting drone portraits. I was immediately transfixed by this new (new to me, anyway) concept. Some 12 months after first stumbling upon Alex’s article, I have a seven-week-old at home, and my travel photography has come to a halt (at least for a while). But I can always drone the baby! Here are some tips for getting the most out of your newborn drone portrait session.

After Google, Youtube is the second largest search engine, and thus having a video-portfolio of one's photography can be a great addition in so far as getting one's work seen. Any time we get to offer our work in a different format, it allows us to both see and showcase different angles which otherwise may remain hidden or less apparent. Give a client the option to watch your video or scroll through your portfolio, and they might well take you up on the video, which, in being rarer, can also be more memorable.

It should be that it goes without saying not to be a creepy photographer. Sadly, there are creeps out there and our profession is a "good fit" for a pervert trying to look at young women. That being said, we need to be extra careful to make sure we maintain our good reputation.

DJI has released many drones over the past few years. The different models may seem similar to a newcomer, but each one actually addresses a different need. In the end, it all boils down to size and portability versus image quality and performance. Here we’ll analyze the main differences between the DJI drones to help you determine which one is the right fit for you.

Gear. Batteries. Cables. Chargers. Hubs. Do you ever feel like you spend more time managing things around creating instead of actually creating? Is your gear a chaotic mess when it comes to charging the plethora of batteries you have for your digital lineup? Is charging after you are out shooting something you don't keep up with right away? Wouldn't you rather grab a beer and download your digital assets after a shoot and skip charging? If you are anything like me and love getting more out of the gear you already have, here’s a sweet and rewarding DIY solution to make life a little easier. You can build a similar charging station for less than $50 using a few tools and simple supplies that you or a friend might already have.

We all know how highly respected the Pelican brand is when it comes to protecting your photography equipment. The case's waterproof qualities and seemingly indestructible nature make them the go to choice for many professionals. If you thought they were just for keeping your gear safe then think again, they actually have many more practical benefits than just the obvious.

More and more people fall in love with photography everyday. This will only increase the more approachable and affordable it becomes. There seems to be some people who think that because of this photography is somehow dead. Yeah, that really makes a ton of sense. Maybe the people saying there is no way to succeed in today's saturated market, are really just the same naysayers that have been telling musicians, athletes, entertainers, scientists, or charities for years that it can't be done. Anything can be done with enough determination. And luckily for us, determination is free.

For quite some time now, there have been plenty of flash options available for the Fujifilm X system. Fuji themselves have released several flashes, Nissin and Metz have also had some good offerings. However, many have been waiting for the big names like Profoto and Elinchrom to offer full Fujifilm X support and bring some serious power to the system. Over the past couple of weeks, Godox has announced and released two new products to bring their entire system to Fujifilm X users. The first of which we will meet today, the TT350F Thinklite Flash.