Fstoppers Original Articles

GuruShots is a photography site that hosts "The World’s Greatest Photo Game,” In their latest challenge, they invited participants to submit their best photos of "Beach Time." There was such a great variety of seascapes and ideas incorporated into the challenge set. There were thousands of entires and millions of votes but the winners of the challenge were decided. Check out the three winners as well as hundreds of top rated images below.

The idea of commercial use permits is ubiquitous in nearly every country. If you want to perform a commercial activity in a public space, you need permission, and probably a fee, to do so.

A wedding photo booth can be one of the most entertaining and memorable activities at your wedding. They can also be a total dud and waste of money. In this video, I share my top tips for building a successful photo booth for my wedding!

In 2019, a photographer from San Francisco designed, built, and launched one of the most innovative and bizarre cameras of its kind: the Idolcam. While GoPro and DJI rely on sensor stablization and digital wizardry to create smooth footage, Idolcam does something completely different.

In a few days, Activision will launch the 18th installment of Call of Duty, returning players to the Second World War. To market the game’s new photography mode, two conflict photographers were immersed inside the virtual world and tasked with photographing it. The resulting commercial portrays mankind’s most brutal act of self-destruction as little more than a game of football.

User experience greatly affects the quality of the cameras we use. How has this changed for the new Sony a7 IV?

Announced back in June, Nikon’s first macro lenses for the Z mount appeared to be typical successors to their F mount predecessors, covering 50mm and 100mm focal lengths. The Z 105mm, as before, is a more premium choice, offering a few more features and a more choice designation. I’ve finally gotten my hands on one, and after some thorough testing, I’m ready to share my thoughts on this recent entry to the Z lineup. Whether you’re a macro specialist or Z photographer, you’ll want to check out this review.

During autumn, mushrooms are appearing everywhere. These fungi are welcome subjects for the nature photographer and it can be a challenging task to photograph mushrooms in an interesting way. I have gathered some tips that can help and for some inspiration.

In-camera special effects are a great and fun way to emphasize a story in photography. Many of these special effects that seem high production are actually quite easy to accomplish using the tools we already have or are easy to get. Today, I'll be showing you how to create one of my signature portraits, the Day vs. Night.

Nikon has just recently announced the Nikon Z 9, a flagship camera with some incredible features. The autofocus, high-resolution sensor, and overall speed might put the Nikon Z 9 ahead of the competition. However, the most curious thing about this new camera is the fact that it does not have a mechanical shutter.

If you’re reading this, the likelihood is that you’re looking for better software to treat your images. The quest to find the best photo editing software is not necessarily an easy one, but it is a necessary one. While you may change camera bodies, lenses, lights, locations, and styles, the one constant that touches all your images is the software used to develop them.

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 2021, 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.

With modern HDR-blending algorithms making exposure blending so quick and easy, manual exposure blending may seem like an outdated skill for landscape photographers. However, automated software doesn't always produce the cleanest results. In this article, we'll discuss a foolproof workflow for manual exposure blending that will give you total control over your images and ensure results of the highest quality. The good news is that this workflow doesn't require any third-party panels or difficult luminosity masking!

Many landscape photographers love the use of high dynamic range techniques in their landscape photos. The lightest parts are reduced in brightness, and dark parts are lifted to become near midtones. Perhaps this is not the best choice to edit a landscape photo.

We are not always fortunate to have the perfect background that matches the total vision of a shoot. The same goes for having a huge budget to build the set, which leaves a few options. Spend the time with compositions or use a printed backdrop to complete the scene. To save time, at least in my case, I opted to go with a printed backdrop for the shoot since there would be multiple images.

Artificial Intelligence is a powerful machine-learning technology that's starting to seep into our image editing workflow and it'll soon render some manual editing obsolete, but which will go first?

Nikon has finally officially announced their new flagship mirrorless camera, the Z 9. The long-rumored specs are now confirmed, and the promise of the system has exceeded expectations.

As more mirrorless camera lines are announced from the biggest manufacturers in the world, does the DSLR run risk of being put on the sidelines indefinitely?

To go big or to go small, that is the question. In today’s article, I’ll look at a handful of pros and cons of each to try and figure out which is the best approach.

Enough about the “best lenses” for this kind of photography. Let’s talk about what is practical and what works.

There are 10 Lightroom features I use more than any other, and many of you reading might not even be aware of them, as they're often hidden away or require sneaky keyboard shortcuts, so read on to find out what they are.

The iPhone 13 Pro is here, and it certainly has the best cameras of any iPhone, but how much better? And is it really worth the upgrade?

Hello again everyone! It's time to release the third episode of our 8-part video tutorial series about long exposure photography, and how different filters can produce dramatic results. Remember, each time we release a new video, we also give away some awesome prizes. Read through this post to find out how to enter this week's contest.

Manufacturers are determined to keep their systems insular so equipment from other brands is incompatible. However, there is one area where this blinkered approach degenerates into silliness and damages photography: the naming of functions.

The last decade has seen a gradual increase in the number of new manual focus lenses manufactured and sold. Who are these lenses for and why would anyone buy them over a lens with autofocus?

Milan-based gallery 29 ARTS IN PROGRESS is exhibiting photographs by Mario Testino. This exhibition will first show his iconic images and later, never-seen-before personal work of Testino. I spoke to Luca Casulli, the co-founder of 29 ARTS IN PROGRESS gallery, to find out what makes Unfiltered so special to the public, collectors, and even the gallery.

A neutral density filter allow long exposure times, even when there is a lot of light. It flattens water surfaces when the exposure is long enough. But don’t use it at sea just because you have one. Use it only when necessary.

One of the first things you learn when using strobes is the advantages they have over constant lights. Here are the reasons why using constant lights can be better in studio than strobes.

Westcott just came out with a new optical snoot designed by Lindsay Adler. I recently had the opportunity to work with it in the studio and compare it to a similar optical snoot I used in a recent article so that I could determine if it was worth the upgrade.

All it takes is this simple composition tip to take your portraits to a new level. In this video and article, I'll be demonstrating this tip and how you can use it in post-production to completely transform your photographs.

With the a7 IV, Sony is intent on producing the best hybrid camera ever created. However, one decision means that Sony has missed a trick when it comes to creating the perfect camera.

Dario Calmese is the first black photographer to shoot the cover of Vanity Fair. In this interview, we talk a bit about that as well as his recent collaboration with Adobe to create presets better suited for diverse skin tones.

This week Apple announced their new 14” & 16” MacBook Pro laptops which feature their new M1 Pro and M1 Max processors. What’s new? Should you get one?

I've been one of the loudest critics of Apple's current Thunderbolt-only laptops, but they've quietly admitted their mistakes and brought back HDMI, SDXC, and MagSafe in the new Macbook Pros. I'm going to give them another chance.

Apple boasts that their new phone's cameras are better than ever, but how good are they? In this real-world comparison, I capture multiple challenging scenes with very impressive results. Can you identify which photos are from the iPhone 13 Pro and the Canon R5?

New gear, new techniques, exciting shoots, and financial success are all parts of a fun and successful photographic life. However, it’s equally important to maintain our passion for our art form and continue to feed our creativity in the long term.

After 16 typhoons, three landslides, two major road closures, a frightening earthquake, and countless near-misses, the ocean finally exploded into life for daredevil surfers in Kyushu, south-west Japan. I was there to capture it all with my Canon EOS R5.

Hello again everyone! Elia Locardi here and it's time to release the second episode of our 8-part video tutorial series about long exposure photography and how to use different types of filters to create unique results. Remember, we are also giving away awesome prizes with each new video release. Read through the post to find out how to enter each contest.

Blindly following the rules of composition won’t result in better images. But, when applying active framing, and learning how and why both simple and complex compositions work, will revolutionize your photography.

Fall tends to be a “transitional” season for the astrophotographer. Summer constellations are still visible for early evening, but are quickly fading into the sunset. Late in the evening, some of the prominent Winter constellations are starting to come into view. In a few months these winter constellations will be high in the sky and well placed for astrophotography, so now is the time to do some planning.

It's maybe time to let go of everything you know, take on board new beliefs, and change the course of your photography.

A while ago, I received the Haida NanoPro Mist Black 1/4 filter. Since that time, I’ve been using the filter for some landscape photography, for portraits, and during a wedding. In this article, I will share my thoughts.

Photographing a couple from up close can drastically change the way your image feels. Getting up close with a wide angle lens creates a sense of action and aliveness that draws the viewer in.

We Are Lady Parts, the story of an all-Muslim-female punk band in London, is a groundbreaking collaboration between creator Nida Manzoor and cinematographer Diana Olifirova. Not only is the plot compelling and refreshing, but Olifirova and Manzoor also use a variety of filmmaking techniques to develop character, move the story along, and visually excite their audience. I had a chance to speak with Olifirova about putting Manzoor’s project on screen.

Financial results are one thing and pundit commentary another; however, there is nothing like hearing it directly from the horse's mouth. So, how does Nikon think they are doing? Hear what they've got to say.

If you have spent any amount of time on photography NFT Twitter recently, you’ll notice that everyone is so positively happy and supportive of each other. As the adage goes, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. That seems to be the case here.

Hailed as one of the world's greatest portrait photographers, Platon has captured the likings of world leaders, actors, musicians, and human rights victims. What does it take to capture the world’s most recognizable images? I spoke to Platon himself to find out.

I used to believe that film photography was a dying medium, but now, I am not so sure. One thing I am certain about is that Kodak and Fujifilm are making it difficult for film to come back.

While most photographers use a drone to create aerial images, sometimes, that isn’t enough. Sometimes, you want to soar like an eagle, going 50 mph over the sheer face of a mountaintop as you photograph. If that sounds like you, then let me share with you the story of Bernard Chen, paraglider and photographer extraordinaire.

In conversation with Platon, we spoke about finding the best image, competing with other photographers, and what photography is all about. His answers were among the most moving ones I could imagine.