Fstoppers Original Articles

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...

The holidays are over, you’ve spent all your money. How can you save money on a birthday or Valentine’s gift?

In our last photography shootout, Lee Morris defeated Pye Jirsa and I to regain the crown of "world's best photographer." Yesterday we teamed up again to have another battle and we need your help deciding who took the most beautiful or interesting image.

Do you feel like you need to sharpen your post-production skills? Then this article is for you. In this quick, easy to follow Photoshop tutorial, learn how in just a few steps, you can make your photos pop off the screen with this simple sharpening process.

As a challenge to myself, I wanted to shoot every single day in January, a way to start the new year off right. This is what I learned.

What does it take to create an amazing landscape photograph? So many photographers, me included, have been guilty of creating beautiful content that portrays only the successes of landscape photography. In today's free landscape tutorial, I'm going to share some of the failures.

Have you ever seen an incredible and compelling black and white image and wondered how you can create the same impact in your photos? In this quick Photoshop tutorial, learn how you can take your black and white photos to the next level by following this simple series of steps.

With a seemingly endless stream of new camera gear announcements rolling out on what seems like a daily basis, it can be difficult to separate what features you need from those that just sound good on a spec sheet. So, how do you know when to pull out your hard-earned money?

We decided to film a commercial for our neighborhood in Puerto Rico. It was much more difficult than we expected.

When you really think about it, current camera design doesn't really make much sense.

"Get it right in the camera", correct? But sometimes you can't and sometimes you won't on purpose, but it works out only if you know how and when to crop!

When you're looking to have your work printed for display on your own wall, in your client's home, or in a gallery you have a myriad of choices and formats that you can print on. Today I'm taking a close look at one option, the brushed metal print.

The resolution of camera sensors is still increasing. Over the last decade it has grown from 3 megapixels to 50 megapixels and more. At first the increase in resolution was a significant one, but not anymore. Do we really need more resolution than the cameras that hit the market today?

Most of the time, photography relies on good relationships. They make the business run smoother and ease the shooting. In some areas of photography, smooth jobs are not the best, though.

Members of the mysterious and magical craft of photography may have mentioned that mastering manual mode may be the most meandering path to making magnificent masterpieces. There's a shortcut, though.

If you go by the groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, it’s going to be an early spring — a great excuse to get some photography-related spring cleaning done. Here are some of the spring cleaning tasks you should consider.

Scams are nothing new to photographers, but scammers are getting cleverer and more thorough. A scammer who targeted me in November was the most convincing one I’ve had yet. I’m going to share the scammer’s emails and the clues that gave him away.

Sometimes, getting the shot you want requires a lot more than simply pressing the shutter. I took a reasonable approach with little expectations and ended up with a small success story and some great shots.

Today, we are going to have a debate! And the subject is TFP (trade for print), something which I have had a fair few debates on already in photography groups on Facebook.

This remarkable image of a polar bear peering into the viewfinder of a Nikon D850 by photographer Roie Galitz was one of the winners of the ROAM Awards. What does it take to get an image like this, and when it comes to polar bears, how close is too close?

I have spent the last four months working on a YouTube channel. Despite two-step authentication, I had my channel stolen. Here is what has happened and how it has been dealt with by Google.

5G, the fifth generation of cellular wireless technology, is currently in the process of being rolled out, and it promises blazing fast speeds that rival some of the fastest hard-wired connections. And that has me excited, as it could significantly change the way photographers work.

When you look at an image, how do you interpret it? Is it able to inform you about what has preceded the events that are depicted and what is about to happen? The ability of an image to "speak" is something John Berger believed lifted it from being ordinarily graphic to providing a visual narrative.

The top question that haunts wedding photographers is: how do I get more clients? When it comes to wedding photography, get creative with your marketing tactics. These ideas to attract wedding photography clients will refresh your routine and expose you to clients you may not otherwise reach.

A strong critical reaction has led to Fujifilm pulling an advertisement that highlighted the work of photographer Tatsuo Suzuki. It seems that holding an expensive camera is not a license for an obnoxious and provocative style of street photography.

Camera manufacturers are keenly aware of how much photographers love their gear and in particular, how much they love extreme gear. As lenses continue to push below f/1 apertures and ISO capabilities skyrocket towards seven-digit figures, is the next major specs war going to be making the first mainstream consumer camera that can shoot gigapixel (1,000 megapixel) photos?

With all the discussion of the best camera on the planet or the most powerful lights, there’s a lot in a professional photographer's bag that goes overlooked. So today, I’m going to take a short look at what’s in my own camera bag.

If someone indignantly snorts that your image has been Photoshopped, it's a rather unsubtle way of them telling you they think your image is fake. But really, aren't all our images to a certain degree?

Canon has been playing catch-up when it comes to mirrorless over the last couple of years, but other manufacturers should brace themselves: things might be about to change.

Photography websites are here to stay, despite social media's best efforts. Having a website is really affordable and simple in 2020, but there are several faux pas that could be stopping your viewers from booking you.

I'd love to shoot the new Tesla Roadster, but being that it's going to cost a quarter-million and it's not even for sale yet, that wasn't a possibility. I got the next best thing, the official Tesla Roadster diecast model.