Fstoppers Original Articles

Most of my original articles are positive in nature and giving advice I've learned over the years. So to change it up, I'm going to list the 10 worst things about being a professional photographer.

Infrared photography can reveal an eye-opening world of visual wonders, one that will continue to surprise you with its possibilities. And you might be surprised by its affordability.

What do oversize truck tailpipes, paleolithic sculpture, and the vibrancy slider have in common? And what might they have to do with helping us create more engaging photographs? Why do some abstract paintings move you and others don't? Why should we react to an abstract work of art at all?

School shootings in the United States were the worst they've ever been in 2018, and the number of incidents and deaths show no signs of slowing down. Photographer Richard Johnson created this striking series that captures the new reality children must deal with.

Humans are the greatest adaption machines in the world. We are, by nature, made to adapt.

Photography can be a lonely journey for some. If you are just beginning your foray into wildlife and/or underwater photography, then please join Mike O’Leary and me as we host a free webinar on Saturday, August 24th at 3pm EST. With this webinar, Mike and I hope to answer any questions you may have in relation to starting out in wildlife or underwater photography, as well as how one can use the medium as a positive force.

One photographer recently travelled to both Turkey and Mexico to document the global refugee crisis in pictures, a series that went on to earn him a win at the World Press Photo Awards. We spoke with the man himself to uncover more details about the inspiring love stories of couples and families who have been forced to flee their native countries in search of a better life.

In a move that makes you want to check the calendar, it’s reported that Facebook is about to change the name of Instagram to “Instagram From Facebook.” Why is Facebook suddenly so keen to remind users of the app who is in control, and is it a mistake?

Missing a shot is something that happens to every photographer, but there are ways to make it happen less to you. Here’s how to almost never miss a photo.

The most common complaint with nearly all video editing software available on the market is the learning curve. Most programs lack a certain degree of intuitiveness, so any attempt to tinker leads to exasperation. That was certainly my number one frustration with past attempts to teach myself to use some of the heftier video editing suites. Enter ACDSee Video Studio 4, the answer to exacting and irritating video editing sessions.

Whether you are a photographer or videographer, more and more content creators are adding constant lights as their go-to lighting setups. Quasar Science recently released their 30-watt T8 bulbs with raving reviews, and today, I explore six useful lighting setups you can build with four lights under $80 each.

Today, I’ll take you for an in-depth look at a new extensive project I shot with the Fujifilm GFX 100. It will be a longer essay meant to give you a hands on experience to help decide if the camera is right for you.

I'm an obsessive Instagram user and, as I run an account in the fashion niche, I'm often looking at the pages of big brands. Something has been bothering me for a long while, and it's this: why don't designers tag their models?

As a landscape photographer and videographer, here is a detailed look at my gear list, my preferences, and the reasons behind my acquisitions.

Welcome back to The Art of Composite Photography. In the previous parts, we have covered pre-visualization, planning, and unbreakable rules.

Learning photography, especially for beginners, can really be kickstarted by one’s enthusiasm about the craft. In fact, since people have different ways of learning and different paces of learning as well, being able to ask the right questions most of the time gets one on the right track. So, here are a few questions that one should skip entirely.

Very few things get me riled up like buzzwords, soundbites, and marketing drivel. And over the years, I've noticed some words in the photography vernacular that are right up there on the gibberish scale. Here are a few examples.

Sex and stripping seem to go hand in hand, but in this edition of the A to Z of photography, I cover the acclaimed work of fashion photographer Bob Carlos Clark, "Shooting Sex" and then delve into the technical details of the photo finish.

Starting out in commercial photography is a daunting prospect, especially for those who are more creator than entrepreneur. I was one of these people, and I'd like to share some tips that are very easy to implement that could save you from a lot of headaches down the road.

I got the idea of shooting a total moon eclipse with a long lens. I was thinking about the Canon EF 500mm, but all I could get was a massive Canon EF 800mm lens. The lens turned out to be too long for the eclipse photo I had in mind, but I got a great opportunity to shoot for a while with this long and heavy white beast.

If you've been involved with photography for very long at all, you may have noticed that photographers have a variety of opinions — about everything. Unfortunately, many photographers appear as though they live in a box, where they can only see the things that they are personally involved in.

Many of us have either done this ourselves or have a friend that has done it. I'm talking about getting out to a location only to learn that you don't have a usable memory card or battery.

This is a look at how this affordable home security cam can be used for increasing security of your gear while traveling on assignment. Even though it was never designed for this purpose, unlike a lot of other options on the market the Wyze Cam has just the right features to make it possible.

In my last "Behind the Image" article I talked about looking where other photographers aren't. This week I'd like to talk about the importance of being ready for just about anything — particularly when it comes to wildlife photography, as well as how images can impact our behaviors.

If you have aspirations of being a fashion photographer, London Fashion Week is about as big as it can get. It's one of the main fashion capitals of the world, and remains highly respected for both designers and the press.

Everyone in the industry must know who Pratik Naik is by now. And if you don't, then you should. In ten years Pratik has become one of the most famous retouchers on the planet.

Besides making cool miniature city scapes and stopping converging lines, there are a host of reasons why you should consider buying a tilt-shift lens.

Instagram is the fodder for many complaints straining from what many say are tactics to make money. My problem with these complaints is that they never speak to the business side. They only talk about why Instagram is at fault, but never why they might have had to make these decisions

[Update] The winner has been announced. Congratulations to Eric Au for being selected as the winner of the Fujifilm XT30 with XF18-55mm lens kit! His entry of visiting the Fstoppers YouTube channel snagged him the prize.

Whatever is your wedding photography style, inevitably, a part of your final gallery will be filled with photos of guests. So, how can we make them less dull and repetitive? How can we "wow" our clients?

With the release of the Fujifilm GFX 50R, the Hasselblad X1D II 50C, as well as a burgeoning used market, digital medium format has become more attainable than ever by professional photographers wanting to step up to the next level in image quality. However, the full frame market is firing back on all cylinders, producing cameras that claim to rival medium format, such as the Sony a7R IV. Many medium format users are quick to point out that there is a medium format look that these high-end full-frame cameras are lacking. So, what is the medium format look? Is it real? Why, yes. Yes, it is.

At pretty much three-quarters of the way through the alphabet we stop at R, an eminently popular letter, to look at the foundation of pretty much all contemporary cameras — the Reflex. This is followed by the inspiringly funny work of Tony Ray-Jones whose career was cruelly cut short.

I remember my first post to Instagram. As an Android user, I had to wait until April 3, 2012 before I could get the app, but when I did, I excitedly uploaded my first photo, the Nashville skyline with the seemingly appropriate Nashville filter. I was hooked.

The demands for video production have increased exponentially as online content has boomed in recent years. The team at Motion Array understands that this puts added pressure on overworked video editors. That’s why we’re always trying to come up with tools and templates to help post-production professionals stay ahead of the curve.

One question I often get from my photography students is: "What the heck is that graph?" I often enjoy teaching photography even more than creating it, but explaining concepts like the histogram is one of the tougher parts of teaching photography.

As photographers, much of our time is divided between our camera equipment and our image editing software. And, if you're like me, you spend some time keeping an eye on the latest releases that will improve our editing speed and quality.

We all have goals and aspirations — and I think that's the only way for structured growth — but achieving these aims will often result in a false dawn.

While Adobe continues to spend its time and resources on useless updates such as the texture slider and the fragmented Lightroom CC vs CC Classic, there remains to be an abundant amount of changes that users actually want to see.

Canon’s recently released financial results don’t bode well for the Japanese manufacturer, nor the market more broadly. As much as the executives want to blame camera phones, the truth is that the industry is finally adjusting to a huge marketing con and a total inability to react to social technology. If you want to know why, it's time to examine my Mom's fridge.

A dramatically cascading waterfall is one of the most iconic scenes that can be captured by a nature photographer — by any photographer. Here are some tips to get the most out of such a scene, no matter the scale of your subject.

What's up? Glad you could make it for part 2 of my Art of Composite Photography series.

Our work as photographers says a lot about us as human beings. Continuing to evaluate that work well beyond its inception is important to both our creative and personal growth.

The camera industry is waiting for Canon to announce its mirrorless flagship sports shooter, but even three years after the Sony a9 was released, Canon might still be struggling to keep up. With the a9 Mark II on the horizon, they might be in trouble. Here’s why.

It’s all in the margins when you start looking at how healthy a large business is doing. For Canon, they may be currently hemorrhaging cash year-over-year, but is it as bad as it sounds?

We've been using the Falcon Eyes BL-30TD for three months now, and we are big fans. For $800, it has an amazing list of features. But, how does it compare to another light that sells for the same price?

Before I became a photographer, I had ideas as to what the career might be like, boy was I wrong. Here is what a week as a professional photographer looks like.

The exposure triangle claims to explain the relationship between shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. At first glance, it looks like a useful diagram, until you realize that it’s not all what it's cracked up to be.

With the Perseids meteor shower set to peak in the next few days, it's a great time to review the techniques and gear involved in capturing a meteor. Want to know how to catch a picture of a shooting star?

Couples photography has become more popular in the boudoir industry. It is a way to connect, interact and photograph moments between a couple to give a glimpse into their relationship. Although what happens when the couple is a pair of complete strangers?

I had the wonderful opportunity to shoot this fashion spread for Glamour South Africa back in March while I was in Barcelona. Right before the trip, I did some research and had asked some locals for some location recommendations.