Fstoppers Original Articles

Compositing is no beginner’s tactic. Before you dive in, provide time for the proper research and learn the skill set to prior to the job. Like many photographers in the game, initially I had serious trouble with lighting groups of 3 or more. There was always a face with a hard shadow or one more exposed than another.

It's no secret that we creatives are often introverted, or simply don't know the first thing about self-promotion. Thus there are thousands and thousands of brilliant talents out there that very few have discovered. I have been on a mission of finding such gems and helping them expose their work to the worldwide online photography and digital imagery communities. And today I would like to share some beautiful and fun images and inspiration from Spain with you.

Black bear bile, rhino horns, shark fins and other endangered wildlife and their illicit trade account for more than $10 billion annually. For the past ten years, documentary photographer Patrick Brown has explored this story, shooting from the jungles of Cambodia to the markets of Guangzhou. The work is now collected in the book “Trading to Extinction,” published by Dewi Llewis and released to coincide with this week’s global summit on illegal wildlife trade hosted in London.

Yay! You're doing something creative.

We can all probably remember the moment when we first realized that we could create cool stuff. That moment when we looked at something we'd made from scratch and not only were we not disappointed by what we created, not only were other people impressed by what we created, but we actually liked what we'd done.

In 1985 there were approximately 40 recorded felonies on the New York City subway system. Every single day. It's a wonder how young photographer Chris Morris mustered the courage to set off on to the mean (subterranean) streets and begin months of personal project work documenting the New York subway.

Luke Fontana is a photographer and person based in New York, specializing in celebrity portraiture. After three years in New York, Luke has nothing short of an impressive body of work. He is proof, above all else, that hard work and determination are the key ingredients of success. Having the mind of a comedy writer doesn't hurt either - something you can witness in 120 characters or less here.

Wedding Chicks has responded (located at bottom of article).

Advertising utilizing social media has been an uphill trend for those of us in the photography profession, but when does it become unscrupulous for a company to charge photographers for more exposure using their social media sites? When the social media sites say it's against their terms of service, apparently. Wedding Chicks, a popular wedding blog, is doing just that to wedding photographers on Pinterest and other social media sites.

If you are a lifestyle photographer one of your jobs is to make your images look natural- not stiff, not awkward, and definitely not staged. Your audience should see your images as moments that were going to happen regardless of whether or not you were there to capture it. The imagery that Roxy uses in their advertising is a spot-on example of this. Their photographic brand is made up of images of surfer girls living their carefree, summer lifestyle. Each image is a moment.

You probably know that getting your uploads to look sharp on screen, in print and on social media goes beyond resizing. Now, resizing is incredibly important in order to retain the optimum quality for sites such as Facebook, but there is an element far deeper than that and it is not often discussed. This is the secret to getting your images looking “sharper” no matter the medium.

WPPI is less than 4 weeks away! The largest annual industry event for photographers and filmmakers that draws in over 13,000+ people to learn new techniques, build relationships, experience new products and find solutions for their business. This will be my 6th year attending WPPI and so I wanted to use my experience to share some valuable tips I have learned throughout the years.

Right before Christmas a sale popped up for the FitBit Flex (a fitness tracker) and even though I didn't "need" it, the FitBit would help me stay in shape. So of course I bought it. Over the last couple of months I have been making a conscience effort to make sure I am active. I love seeing how different activities affect my daily step count and, well, shooting a wedding sure does.

Like many photographers, I’m always trying to polish my craft and grow my talents when it comes to both photography and retouching. Tutorials are plentiful on the internet, and sometimes overwhelming with the millions of videos, articles and PSDs. However, I found an unique way to improve my retouching considerably, from an unusual place that I'd never expect.

With modern technology within Adobe Camera Raw, you're limiting yourself considerably when shooting in JPEG. However, by shooting in Raw, you're removing the purpose of many of the features within the camera. Settings such as 'Picture Style' serve no real purpose when shooting in Raw, because all the adjustments added to photos, will be stripped when put on your computer. Regardless, I shoot in monochromatic, and it has helped my work considerably.

Photographers and artists alike are extremely passionate people. With strict deadlines and hectic schedules, we all have the tendency to jump the gun and act or open our mouth before taking a step back from the situation. There is one word which you will be hearing a lot throughout this article. It is a trait at the core of what we do and it’s very much a necessary virtue: patience.

I recently came upon an exhibit entitled “Faces In The Crowd” by photographer Alex Prager and it really got me thinking. Not about the creativity, the concept, or the message. I wasn’t even thinking about any of the technical aspects that would have gone into creating these images. As my eyes wandered across the sea of people represented in her images I had but one thought in my mind; it took one amazing director to pull this off.

As wedding photographers we are hired to show up and photograph one of the most important days in the life of our clients. So what happens if you get sick, or even die, with weddings jobs under contract? Do you have a plan? This week I had an eye opening experience that made me rethink my own plan. Here's my story and some tips to help you develop a plan of your own.

As a retoucher, I spend most of my day molded into a chair and working in front of the screen. It was only after a couple of years that I began realizing the strain it took on me. Being much younger, it wasn't as much of an issue as it was when I started getting older. I immediately began finding ways to make my time behind the screen more comfortable and healthy. As fellow creatives, I am sure most of you also have the same issue. I reached out to my colleagues for advice and here are some suggestions I found.

Marc Donahue from Permagrin Films keeps popping up with new and interesting timelapse or GoPro projects– and his latest work features the gorgeous city of San Francisco. Using unique motion timelapses, Marc and his team put together another amazing piece of work. Marc shared some insight on the production, and we've also got some behind the scenes video too so you can see how it was made.

When it comes to shaping the light sources photographers use, there are a lot of modifiers available. Each lighting modifier has it's own characteristics which can make it difficult to determine the best light for your project. Karl Taylor has produced one of the best videos I've ever seen showing exactly how the light fall off, contrast, and specularity differs between the parabolic reflectors, beauty dish, and large octabox softbox.

Whether you love or loathe Instagram, today's post looks at just how powerful a tool it can be. Last week, a friend took a simple shot from his bedroom window. Within an hour, it was picked up by the AP, and began appearing in major publications nationally. Depending on how you treat it, Instagram can be a firecracker or a stick of dynamite for your business and social presence. The punch it packs is up to you.

Adventure Sports Photographer Tim Kemple was one of the only photographers in the world who was lucky enough to try out the new Phase One IQ250 that was just announced earlier today. Check out the behind the scenes video, but also read the full article for my interview with Tim, where he shares his thoughts on the system, as well as what it's like to beta test cameras.

This year, Leica turns 100. The “Leitz”, the first camera for 35mm film, was brought to market back in 1914 by Oskar Barnack. Just what is it it that makes Leicas so special in the eyes of so many great photographers, and does this justify the often insane costs of ownership?

About 15 years ago, the first DSLR was introduced. The Nikon D1 showed consumers that digital was the future, and was quickly superseded by the Canon 1D. Sporting just 2.7 megapixels (and 4.15 megapixels for the Canon D1), the technology wasn't quite there to make the DSLR groundbreaking. 15 years later, the DSLR has become the staple for photographers everywhere. So where will we be in say, another 15 years?

Often when we are editing in Lightroom we find ourselves doing the same tasks over and over again. The key to speeding up your workflow is finding ways to minimize the amount of steps it takes to do these regular tasks and fortunately Lightroom gives us many options to do this. One of my favorites is the 'Export Presets.'

Photographing weddings can be tough for a lot of people, and the area I find most of my assistants struggling is at the reception. Many times throughout a wedding you can rely on natural light, but what is going to make or break your reception images is your ability to master artificial lighting. In this free excerpt from the full Fstoppers wedding tutorial, we share four of our most used lighting setups so you can take the guess work out of properly lighting a wedding venue.

Food, beverage, and product photography is all about sculpting light, your composition, and understanding which modifiers to use in which situations. In this behind the scenes tutorial, PRO EDU takes you in their St. Louis studio for a step by step look at building an image. Join PRO EDU this May in the Bahamas for a 2 day intensive workshop on liquids, glass, beer, and beverage photography. You could even win a free trip.

I recently wrapped up a kickstarter project that was trying to raise $10,000 for the production of a documentary film. During its 30-day run, and weeks of planning that went into it beforehand, I got my own crash course in fundraising and marketing. I’ll share what I learned in this article.

Demanding anything is a scary notion but the trend towards social and global responsibility is growing in 2014, and having the right voice and attitude can result in elevating your brand. As we enter the New Year it is no longer enough to make separate personal and professional goals. The distinction between the two is blurring for many businesses as the global marketplace looks towards feel good solutions. How can you be part of the change?

According to Wikipedia lifestyle photography is "a style of portrait / people photography which aims to capture and document real-life events, situations, or milestones in an artistic manner and the art of the everyday." Photographers every day are advertising sessions as lifestyle photography, but in reality, are totally missing the mark.

Chances are you've heard of Alt-J or could recognize several of their hit songs currently being played on every indie rock station. What you may not know is that their song Taro was written about the first female war photojournalist and her life partner who both died doing what they love.

We often look at photojournalists and think, how could you do what they do. How could you stand around taking photos while people are suffering or could benefit from your help? On the other hand, we rarely think about transfering that realm into something tragic that happens in our own eyes, but that is exactly what Abe did.

So, it’s two weeks into the new year – how are things shaping up? Booked a ton of new work? Setting up to land your dream client? If, like me, you’re still working out the kinks and wondering how you’ll make it all work, this post is for you. I’ve got five tips to help keep you going, keep you motivated and keep you on track for the year ahead.

It all started happening in the early 2000's as the once expensive CD-R disc burners began to heavily drop in price and later came pre-installed in every computer. Then clients started asking, "Can I get a disc with the photos?" and a new era of disc burning began which lasted over 10 years. Fortunately, over the last few years other options have become available, which leads me the prediction. This year will be the very last in the 'disc burning era' and quite honestly I can't be any happier about it.

My photographer-friend from Moscow Aleksey Dovgulya is visiting me in Los Angeles right now. We went to the same high school, but only met in 2008 after I got into photography. While I was studying in Australia Aleksey built an impressive list of commercial clients in Russia. In the past few years he has photographed for major brands such as Rolls-Royce, Renault, BMW, Schwartzkopf & Henkel, Benetton, Vogue, Christian Louboutin, and the list goes on and on.

When going through hundreds of photos, workflow processing can be a real pain. Tools like Lightroom can help speed up the process, but nothing can compare to the Adobe Photoshop. Here are a few tips that can help you speed up your workflow process considerably.

There are many hurdles that a new photographer tries to overcome early in his or her career, one of which is simply that we don’t have the funding and massive budgets that some of our more well established peers might have. When it comes to choosing a location for our photo shoots we often find ourselves restricted. Here are 7 places you can shoot on a budget!

Are you bored of shooting portraits on white, black, or gray? Are you looking to add some color and creativity to your subjects and environments? Are you looking to shoot more composite photography using backplates you've made on location and subjects you've shot in studio? If you've answered yes to any of these questions and aren't already a genuine wiz at using gels, then this post is for you.

The release of the C series of cinema cameras from Canon has garnered a lot of attention of filmmakers as a great alternative to cameras like the RED. After much debate, our studio purchased the camera a few months back and recently flew to Austin to shoot two commercial spots. We couldn't have been happier with the results.

I am a serial procrastinator, I will do it tomorrow is a common theme. However my goal this year is to meet my deadlines! Nothing is more unprofessional than missing a deadline for a client. With Google Calendar and a simple Excel / Google spreadsheet file I am able to schedule a multi-deadline schedule in a few clicks.

I would like to wrap up my Secrets to Crafting Top-Quality Beauty Portraits series in a quick roundup on the most common mistakes I have been noticing beginner Beauty photographers make.

I will sure talk more about Beauty photography in the future, but I'd like to summarize a few things at this point.

In part 1 I covered the process of building the best panoramas with little distortion by finding the no parallax spot in your lens. In part 2 we add in our model and use curves and levels to colorize the sky in Photoshop. In addition, this tutorial builds on utilizing the combination of plugins and Photoshop to target specific tones of your image, which is a great technique when building a dramatic environment.

In the last article I shared, "The Most Important Setting in Lightroom is Set To Off By Default", I believe there was a misunderstanding because while talking about auto-saving your edits, I didn't also discuss backing up your Lightroom Catalogs. It is important to back up your catalog and as you will see in this video I'd even highly recommend changing the Lightroom default location for a more secure backup.

As more and more photographers are shooting backplates on location and subjects in the studio, I've found the best tool for the job isn't necessarily your lens or the camera but a specific tripod head that finds the no parallax point in your lens. This was by far our favorite purchase of 2013 here at RGG Photo.

Change is afoot and 2014 could well be the year that completely redefines the photo and video landscape as we know it. It doesn’t matter if you you shoot weddings, fashion, portraits, landscapes, products, food or concerts - these changes will affect us all. Here are three game changers - let's take a look at what they are, what they could mean for you, your photography and your business.

"Trevor, I have been editing this wedding for the last few days and now my Lightroom catalog says it is corrupted! When I opened a new catalog and reimported the photos from my hard disk I can't find any of my previous edits I worked so hard on. I am so frustrated! What did I do wrong?" Keep this from happening to you by having Lightroom automatically save your changes, but this setting is off by default. I'll show you where to turn it on.

This is yet another article of the Secrets to Crafting Top-Quality Beauty Portraits series. If you haven't read the first three, you can find them here: on compositing, on shooting Beauty portraits on location and in studio.

Today I would like to talk about framing, posing and directing your models when shooting Beauty portraits. While lighting and compositing are very important parts of creating a striking image, the model's pose, facial expression and her body language can make or break it.

Some photographers have the wonderful ability to marry creative technique with technical application, and then convey this to us in a way that is genuinely interesting and educational. I picked up three such books this year and would describe them all “inspir-cational” - a wonderful mix of both inspiring work, combined with a high level of educational value. If you’re looking for a little learning as well as something to inspire in the New Year, I can heartily recommend all three.

Each week on Fstoppers Answers, we answer a question asked by the photography community. This week, we were asked - "How do you market to social media? (When marketing your photography on social media, is it more effective to always be trickling out content constantly, or less frequently but higher quality and more content at once. For example, if I do a shoot with a model, should I post a photo a day, or a set a week?)"

You finally got that Canon 5D Mark III camera you have been desiring and now you are trying to figure out how best to take advantage of all it's great new features. Here are five ways I have customized my camera to best fit my needs while shooting weddings, events and portraits.

It seems like Stillmotion is never content sitting still for long. These Portland based filmmakers have spent the better part of a decade chasing their dreams and doing so on their own terms. The one consistent thread for Stillmotion has always been executing amazing stories that need to be told.