Fstoppers Original Articles

If there's one thing I've learned over time, it's that there are often different ways to accomplish the same task. Likewise, every Lightroom user does things in different ways. That doesn't make it wrong; it's just different.

When I heard President Trump was coming to my hometown of Phoenix, I knew I had a unique opportunity to photograph a very special plane — one of the two Boeing VC-25As that use the call sign Air Force One. Of course, with no special access, I had to get pretty creative to get the image I envisioned — here’s how I did it.

I've bought expensive lenses I've barely used and a couple of value lenses that have become workhorses. This one, however, may be the best example of images taken per dollar spent.

Mastering natural light can take a lifetime of practice, but there is one type of natural light that will produce amazing results in almost any situation: I call it "cave lighting."

The visual arts have a long history with the naked form. What could be more natural than nakedness, more natural than how we entered the world? Or are we kidding ourselves, and is boudoir just softcore porn?

When I’m working with new photographers, something I’ve noticed is how carefully they store their DSLRs by removing the lens, placing caps and covers on everything, and gingerly ensconcing their entire setup into a branded bag. Sometimes they’ll even remove the battery and SD card, too. I can’t remember the last time I’ve stored cameras this way.

There are a lot of ways to improve at photography, and we should never stop trying them. Sometimes, it comes down to just risk versus reward.

Storied cinematographer, Frederic Fasano, talks about his career as an International Director of Photography.  Also, Fasano walks us through the old world film techniques of shooting a modern puppet show, Helpsters.

There seems to be an endless line of questions about what gear to get for landscape photography. For classic landscape photography, there are three lenses I could not do without.

In a world full of over-sensitized, manicured imagery, this photographer’s work stands out. His portfolio is beautifully raw and gritty. There’s no posing or redoes. No fake moments. No reading between the lines. What you see is what you get. And what you get is very real. 

The words “fine art” have got to be some of the most misused and abused in photography. For a term that is pretty much meaningless, it’s quite impressive.

The internet has sold photographers the lie that there is a profession to be had photographing models, "model photography." After reading the comments section in a recent article, I thought I would try to shed some light on the matter.

I was recently in America doing more photography work and did a total of 11 photoshoots in the one month I was there. It was an incredibly long flight from Singapore, gotta make my time there worth it! 

Panorama photos are huge, sharp, and fascinating. In this article, I will show an easy way to automatically stitch a panorama in CameraRaw and finish them off in Photoshop.

“Circus of Doom” is a circus-inspired conceptual portraiture with the Fujifilm X-T200. “Doom” sounds scary, but “Circus” sounds awesome, so I'm slightly confused, but I'm definitely in! This is not the first time Fujifilm ambassador Jan Gonzales has been written about and definitely will not be last. I mean, have you seen his work? There is no question as to why Gonzales garners the attention that he does. His work is fun, inventive, and unique, which is ultimately what every creative should be aiming for.

Are you trying everything and still failing to feel genuinely proud of your photographic work? Do others around you influence what you shoot and why? Let's take a look at if you have fallen into this self-destructing trap without realizing it!

It doesn't matter if you shoot with Canon, or Sony, or Nikon, or any other great maker, nor if you use a DSLR or a mirrorless, or your sensor is full-frame, APS-C, or micro four-thirds. Your gear will never be good enough. Here's why.

There are many articles and videos on how to do certain things in Lightroom, but how often do you read about something that you shouldn't do? Let's cover a few of them.

The DSLR has been called a dinosaur on the brink of extinction. It has been called old-fashioned, or even outdated technology. It is all because of the mirrorless cameras that hit the market a few years ago now. Let’s have a look at the differences between the two and find out if both systems can live next to each other.

For years I’ve been rocking the same DSLR bodies as my main cameras — a Nikon D750 and a D700. They’ve never been wanting for anything I shoot. But recently I had the occasion to spend some time with the Canon EOS R and I discovered the one major advancement I’ve been missing out on as a DSLR shooter: Eye-Detection AF.

Product photography is quite technical. Having the right gear is not enough. You also need creative ideas. Learn from my mistakes to shoot better product photographs.

Selling cameras is a tough business and it's only getting tougher. The market for digital cameras is contracting at a dizzying rate, so which camera manufacturer is going to fold next?

Well, let’s open this huge can of worms and see what happens.

Japanese lens manufacturer Tamron recently released its financial results for the year ending 2019, and as well as some promising figures, it also revealed that a total of five lenses will be unveiled in 2020, three of which are as yet unknown. Why is Tamron doing so well, and what lenses does it have in store?

Does that mean all art is subjective, and then, that any image is good if I say it’s good? Not so fast...