Fstoppers Original Articles

Switching gears in the world of photography can often feel like a leap of faith. The high cost of doing so doesn’t help either. Therefore, the decision to switch from one camera system to another is not taken lightly.

In Part 1 of this article, we discussed the competitive landscape that photographers face in today's digital age, where the easily accessible smartphones can challenge even the most skilled professionals to distinguish their work. Now, it's time to take those principles and build up an even stronger branding and marketing strategy.

Today, it is common for a small company of 1-3 employees to design, create, and market a product without outsourcing any part of the process. Hiring someone from outside to market or sell the product is not an option for a small organization that must be conscious of how every penny is spent.

A few months ago, I wrote an article about how to get your website to the top of Google. I talked about the importance of search engine optimization, content strategies, keyword research, and search intent. If you put your SEO foundation in place following that article, you are ready to create content that will rank on Google.

Whether to share locations in landscape photography is a frequent topic of discussion in landscape photographer communities. People get frustrated when they ask where a photo was taken and the photographer won’t tell them. Are they gatekeeping, or are they trying to protect the natural landscape?

When manufacturers give specifications of lenses, there is a lot of detail that is meaningless to many consumers of their products. When we writers review them, we tend to give the same information. Here’s a method I think would be much more helpful to most photographers.

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 2023, 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.

If you've followed my writing, you'll know that I rarely pick up my camera if I don't have a contract attached to the action. Call it the joys and perils of being a commercial photographer. You get paid to do what you love, yet your love morphs into a duty and can lose its allure. This is why I surprised myself on my recent work trip to California.

The photography world was stunned on March 29 as we heard the news that Alyn Wallace, a popular and incredible astrophotographer, has sadly passed away. In this article, I want to pay tribute to Alyn.

We live in a time where over a trillion photos are taken yearly, the photography landscape has never been more competitive. For us photographers, this means that simply capturing quality images isn't enough; effective marketing in today’s rapidly evolving digital age is the only real key to success.

WPPI is one of the biggest photography conferences in the world. But after COVID, the show struggled to make a comeback. Thankfully, WPPI is now as good as it ever was, and getting better each year.

Many of us don’t consider the harm we do with our photos. Our actions might be innocent, but there's a dark side to most genres that we don't ever consider.

Being an artist means more than just creating the perfect image.

Access to key photographic locations is increasingly becoming a concern among photographers worldwide. As iconic landscapes attract more visitors each year, issues surrounding access, preservation, and management arise. This article delves into the factors contributing to the potential loss of access to these sites and explores perspectives from both landowners and photographers.

The NAB Show is back and is set for April 13-17 in Las Vegas. This year, learn about the creator economy, innovation in media, engage in workshops, and network with industry leaders.

Each month this year, Fstoppers is running a genre specific Critique the Community contest with some amazing prizes. The theme for March is "Weddings," and we are giving away $3,000 in prizes to 3 lucky winners. Oh, and one of the most successful wedding photographers I know, Pye Jirsa, will be guest judging the images. Here are the details!

Unlock the full potential of your photography journey with specialized lenses designed to elevate your creativity and skills. From capturing the minute details of a dewdrop to bending the rules of perspective, this guide introduces you to the world beyond standard lenses.

As a photojournalism professor, one of the questions I get asked most by beginning photographers is, "What camera should I buy?" As if there's a single, definitive answer to that. The answer I always give is: What do you want to do? There's a camera out there for everyone, and here's a guide for what to look for when you're starting out.

In a world overwhelmed with photography advice on YouTube, Instagram, or even articles like this one, it can be hard to know whose guidance to trust when building your career. However, chances are, you may be overlooking the most valuable source of input that will always guide you in the right direction.

Nearly two years ago, I wrote an article pointing out that most of the biggest brands' camera designs are uninspiring.

Are you a photographer who prefers to shoot in the JPEG file format? In that case, you have to get everything right in the camera. Correcting a mistake afterward is limited. There are different in-camera tools available that allow you to get the best possible results.

While many have tips for keeping travel expenses low regionally, what happens when you start flying to landscape photography destinations? Things that work with regional travel don’t scale when limited on what you can bring. I have several tips for keeping travel costs low when flying to your destination.

Today I bring you a hilarious photoshoot challenge called The Walmart Photo Shoot. Pye Jirsa and I battle head to head to see who can take the best looking images all while using $100 worth of clothing bought from Walmart. To make it even harder, none of the images can be Photoshopped either!

Modern cameras have lots of functions. It can be challenging to make the best possible settings. Often, it takes time to get the optimal settings for your personal photography. However, there are some simple things that are worth checking out.

Allowing your shutter to stay open for longer can transform your images from mundane to something enthralling. Here’s how to precisely achieve various creative effects to tell your photographic story.

"If only I had that camera," we often tell ourselves, thinking that magically our photography is finally going to transcend to a whole new plane of perfection where our creativity will feel no restrictions and our photographs will carry no flaws. We've all felt this at least once, often more.

Learning is essential for us to grow as photographers. Collaborating with the Polish artist and photographer, Maya Kot, I discovered new ideas about color that get to the very heart of photography.

There are different degrees of fashion shoots, it could be a personal shoot for your portfolio or one for Vogue Magazine. This format is for a personal fashion shoot, as you will most likely be in charge of putting everything together yourself.

DxO has announced the new Nik Collection version 6.5, which is much more significant than just a regular update. A complete redesign of Nik Collection, as we knew it, DxO is presenting the user with a brand new product that takes everything that was great about Nik Collection and makes it better.

Embarking on an intrepid journey through Cornwall's rugged landscapes, our mission to capture one of the UK's rarest bees, the Large Scabious Mining Bee, unfolds amidst the wild beauty of a National Trust farm. Join us as we delve into the world of solitary bees, where conservation efforts are sparking hope in the most unexpected of places.

Nikon and Agence France-Presse (AFP) are collaborating on a practical verification system to ensure image provenance in the field of photojournalism. Recently, I spoke to Nikon about their plans for the function as well as how it might help viewers and photographers in the modern age.

Like many photographers around the world, I watch a lot of YouTube. Whether it's for inspiration, gear reviews, news, or beautiful cinematics, YouTube has changed the photography world. But should you start your own channel? Join me as I discuss some of the good reasons you should.

You probably use or run photography businesses. Beware! There is a multimillion-dollar industry that runs solely to scam businesses and clients out of their hard-earned cash. Here are a few and how you should avoid them and why one of them caught me out.

One of the most recommended strategies for social media growth is posting often, and I set out to test that theory for 2024. I posted a reel every day for a year so you don't have to. The results are not what you'd expect.

In the pursuit of technical excellence in photography, one thing that we often bring up at the forefront of the discussion is the amount of dynamic range that a camera has and how having the incredible power of shadow recovery always makes great photographs. But what if the one silent and great storyteller that often goes unnoticed has something to do with the presence of shadow?

Creativity is remarkable, but some photographers seem better at it than others, don't they? Here's how to unleash your creative potential, but only if you want to break away from the sheep.

Whether you've seen her speaking on stages for Adobe, or lining magazine articles such as Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business” you surely have come across the legend and creative photographer that is Julieanne Kost.

I woke up this morning to some pretty exciting news. Nikon, the legendary still camera manufacturer, has agreed to purchase RED, the company behind some of the most popular cinema cameras on the market today.

Early in my photographic career, I was really into hard light in my photos, but at a point, I started opting for really soft, diffused light, that is until recently. I’ve recently revisited using hard light, and here’s how it has shifted my photography.

In the age of selfies and having a camera in your pocket, it seems more and more young people have an endless camera roll of photos that will hardly, if ever, be looked at again. But is there a better way?

So you’ve fallen in love with photography and you’re trying to decide if your new passion could become a career. Well, here are a few questions to ask yourself before you take the leap.

It used to be so simple. The camera shutter opened and closed again. The time in between was the exposure time. With digital cameras and mirrorless systems, things became a bit more complicated. Let’s have a look at the different types of camera shutters.

When it comes to cameras released in 2023, most would find it hard to argue that the DJI OSMO Pocket 3 was not only the most anticipated but also delivered on almost all of its hype upon release. However, several fixes need to happen to make this the best camera for video content creators.

I’ve heard many a photographer scoff at using lighting equipment for portraits, labeling themselves a “natural light photographer.”

Photography, as an art form, has undergone a significant transformation in the digital age. Straight out of camera (SOOC) images, untouched and unaltered, have been the ultimate end goal for many photographers, offering viewers a glimpse into the raw, unfiltered beauty of captured moments featuring their professional skill sets.

When I first started my photography journey, I was full of hope, excitement, and wonder about what adventure the day would bring me. The challenge for me was that it was just a day before I either had to head home again or find a place to stay, so I could spend more time in a certain location.

There are four interrelated ideas that some photographers create a song and dance about. However, for most photography, you can forget them and adopt a different approach.

Burnout can happen to any of us, from hobbyist photographers to established professional photographers and everyone in between. Whether you feel like you are on the path to burnout or are already there, I have five tips to help you through it!

Champ Camera has one of the world's best ranges of 35mm film for sale. Although their stores aren't huge, the range and variety of film they sell is incredible. Here are 20 interesting films I found in one of their stores late last year.

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 2023, 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.