Fstoppers Original Articles

I just finished shooting my first video for Levi’s and it was a learning curve of note.

To preface all of this, I shoot film 90% of the time (if not more). I firmly believe that my work is more meaningful because of it. I also believe that we all have our own thoughts/opinion and there is no universally observed benefit to shooting film.

Our lives are collections made up of people and moments. Every day, there is a plethora of wisdom that passes by, but sometimes, you get one piece of advice that can change the course of your entire life or career. In this article, I share the five pieces of advice I've gotten over my eight-year career that helped shape me into the photographer I am today. 

The bright reds, oranges, and yellows of trees in autumn make for compelling subjects, but it can be tricky to plan travel around nature. If you want to give yourself the best odds for success, you need to plan ahead. Crowd-sourced foliage maps and reports can let you know when and where the color is at the peak.

Whether I'm teaching someone Lightroom or only showing a friend my photos in Lightroom for the first time, the one thing they usually comment about right away is my use of Lightroom's Secondary Display feature. It's a great feature that really makes me more productive.

The Fstoppers community is brimming with creative vision and talent. Every day, we comb through your work, looking for images to feature as the Photo of the Day or simply to admire your creativity and technical prowess. In 2019, we're featuring a new photographer every month, whose portfolio represents both stellar photographic achievement and a high level of involvement within the Fstoppers community.

Patrick Hall sits down with macro photographer Andres Moline to discuss 15 of the top-rated macro shots on the Fstoppers community.

Think the dust inside your lens is bad? The owners of a vintage camera shop have been testing out what it’s like taking photos using a Kaleinar 100mm f/2.8 lens with a severely smashed middle element. So, how did it fare?

I’ve always passed on 35mm prime lenses. On paper, they always seemed too close to what I could already capture with my phones or what’s duplicated in my 24-70mm professional zoom lenses. It turns out, I didn’t know what I was missing until I tried out the Tamron SP 35mm f/1.4 Di USD lens.

You’ve done your research and looked at all the different options available and finally made a decision on which camera to buy. Then at the last minute you learn about something that’s an absolute deal breaker and you pull the plug. What is one thing that would stop you from buying a particular camera?

Photographing a certain group of people or documenting lives and events can be really exciting. It can also be emotionally confusing, because we frequently have to enter a field and also leave it after a while.

It’s not an uncommon thing to see photographers being stuck in an endless loop of un-productivity. If you look at photography a little more seriously than as a hobby then you may have been looping in this cycle for so long as well.

Dodge and burn are one of my favorite go-to techniques. It can be used in so many different ways by using numerous techniques.

Canon has announced the launch of the EOS M200, a small camera featuring a 24-megapixel APS-C sensor, Dual Pixel autofocus and 4K video. Canon has also packed in a few features that make it more accessible to those without a deep knowledge of photography who are looking to produce and share content quickly on social media. What’s more interesting, however is the marketing video itself.

When you reach the point of having one of the most momentous occasions of your life captured, there's little room for error. Here are some tips on how to avoid hiring the wrong photographer.

I've used older digital medium format cameras in the past but the FUJIFILM GFX 100 is the most powerful camera I've ever held in my hand. 

Instagram is the most popular platform for photographers to display their work and reach an audience. If you know how, you can even turn it into a business and make a living off it. Imagine now, you wake up and Instagram has deleted all your family photos, favorite memories, connections, friends, and portfolio work?

Why does vintage photography gives some people "the willies”? Whether or not you've noticed this, the portrait subjects in the oldest black and white images are almost always glaring sternly into the lens.

Shoots that run smoothly will always produce better pictures and keep clients happy. Use this detailed checklist to avoid any major headaches and improve the chances that your next photoshoot is a huge success.

With over 3 million Instagram followers, and a client base that includes Apple and Nikon, Brandon Woelfel is doing something right. Now, in his new Skillshare Original online class, the photographer is sharing not only the secrets behind his shooting and editing techniques, but how he achieved his successes.

Despite heavily investing in new cameras over the last couple years, it is the still excellent Nikon D850, purchased two years ago, which has suddenly become brand new to me.

I was at Photokina when Fujifilm first announced the 33mm f/1.0 and I honestly didn't care. A few people were excited about it but it seemed like such a pointless lens to me at the time especially because it was probably going to be ridiculously huge. I'm elated at the fact that Fujifilm is now scrapping this lens in favor of a much more practical 50mm f/1.0

If you're thinking of taking the leap into professional photography, or have wondered if you can possibly make a living in such a saturated space, take this one piece of wisdom and chant it like a mantra.

Having completed what proved to be one of the most challenging shoots of my career, I was then faced with the task of editing and compositing the images. Due to my inexperience, getting the results that I wanted using Photoshop proved to be a steep learning curve. Here’s how I went about it.

And so with some sadness, tinged with a sense of relief, we reach the final letter of the alphabet. And what better way to finish than with a vastly successful company that has virtually spanned the lifetime of photography, along with some photographic input from yet another novelist.