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Douglas Sonders
New York, NY

Articles written by Douglas Sonders

How To Make a Parked Priceless Vintage Porsche Look Like It's Racing

I'm always amazed at how my car photographer friends can make a car that is parked at an event looks like it is racing at high speed with proper application of post-produciton and back plates. To think that this image by Jordan Donnelly started with a photo of a rare automobile at an event with no lighting or special equipment is incredible. Read about his process below and feel free to ask him questions in the comments section to learn more.
Tired Of Getting Pushed Around? How To Deal With Photo Industry Bullies

Early on, I faced some bullying from older photographers that viewed me as competition and tried to convince me to quit my budding photo career. Ever since, I have been particularly aware and sensitive to how photographers treat and/or handle each other. It's as if so many creatives are willing to try and crush others' work/reputations/jobs in order to get ahead. To many, it seems like a dog eat dog industry, but it doesn't have to be. I've put together some thoughts and tips on how to overcome those that may try to bully or discourage you.

Amazingly Effective DIY Flashlight Lighting Setup

If you've ever tried to film something, you probably know what it's like to try and cobble something together with a bunch of borrowed and/or homemade gear. I know the first music video that we ever shot we done with a "borrowed" shopping cart, a camera on loan, and some shop lights. Shanks FX, which appears to be a part of PBS Digital Studios, put together this great short video about how they light various environments creatively using less than $150 in flashlights and accessories.

Celebrity Covershoot at Amazing Locations in Las Vegas You Need to See to Believe

Late last year I was contacted by one of my magazine clients to shoot their upcoming cover with Panic At The Disco front man Brendon Urie and it had to take place across the country in Las Vegas in about a week (I am NYC-based by the way). I scrambled to find some cool locations in the region, knowing full well I did not want to shoot in some cramped hotel suite. Little did I know that with some good researching and shrewd negotiating, I would find some of the coolest locations I have ever photographed, and just moments from the Las Vegas strip.

A Touching Veteran Portrait Series In Honor Of D-Day

My buddy and DC photographer Willis Bretz has been busy working on a personal portrait series in honor of the 70th anniversary of D-Day. Mixing his history degree and his flourishing photography career, he wanted to create something that reflects his love for both. Learn more below about this personal series that was even picked up by The Washington Post for their coverage for the 70th Anniversary of D-Day.

You Are Not Your Own Photo Army. Do Not Burn Yourself Out.

So you've been working long hours at your desk or computer, rarely see your friends, when you're not working, you're thinking about work or shoots. Your portfolio and income may be improving (or trying to), but you feel like your personal life is falling apart in the process. Does this sound all too familiar? Well it all hits very close to home for me and it's what put me in the hospital last week.

How a $3.6 Million Supercar was Photographed in Under an Hour

Some great photographers are lucky enough to have a rare opportunity to photograph ultra-rare and exclusive cars, but usually you have to work under tight restrictions or are often thrown an obstacle or two. Car photographer Pepper Yandell's recent photo shoot with a rare super car worth nearly $4 million was no exception. See how he shot incredible images in less than an hour and learn from the helpful tips he shares.

Phlearn Tutorial: How to Master the Motion Blur in Photoshop

Phlearn has debuted another really helpful and easy-to-follow tutorial about how to master motion blur in Photoshop. Early in my photography career, I would make the mistake of shooting motor sports with a high shutter speed. The cars would look sharp but they appeared to be parked on the race track. The technique shown in this video and the steps listed below would have helped add a more dynamic motion and story-telling elements to my otherwise static photographs. This is a great skill to master and can be applied in many scenarios.

How to Look Like A True Pro Photographer

The guys at DigitalRev are at it again! They've created this video about how one is guaranteed to look like a true pro photographer. A lot of it is meant to be silly and humorous, but there are actually a couple of tips in there that will actually help you be a better photographer.

Check Out This Hilarious Photography Workshop From 1961

We posted a set of videos released by Pathé News, part of their 85,000 reels released, but this one really stood out to me- it's hilarious. I'll add that I've taught and taken quite a few photo workshops in my day, but I would kill to know what that instructor was saying to his students and the models. Let's break this video down shall we?

Using Photography to Change the Negative Stigma Surrounding Pitbulls

Two years ago, I adopted a lovable Pitbull mix named Emma. She's afraid of thunder, loves belly rubs, is sweet with kids and great with other animals. Sadly, a lot of the general public perceive my Emma as a monster, and that's probably why over half a million Pitbulls are put to sleep in the US alone each year. I decided to use my photography to start a positive PR campaign called Not A Bully to help change the way people view Pitbulls.

Photoshop Tutorial: How To Add Sun Beams To Your Photo

Our friend Glyn Dewis has been sharing his straightforward and very helpful post-production tutorials with us for a long time. This time he shares about how to add dramatic sun beams to your photos in post-production. Something I've been trying to master for a long time! Read below to learn more about how Glyn created this cool elephant image from a safari park snapshot.

How To Produce A Combined Print And Motion Fashion Campaign

We live in a time where photographers and filmmakers must combine powers to be competitive in todays advertising market. Recently a huge fashion client approached our production company to capture concurrent motion and still ad campaigns with supermodel Lily Aldridge, but we had to do it all in under 10 hours with 2 complete hair and makeup changes and 12+ outfits. Advertising creatives today need to be able to shoot stellar visual content and assemble bulletproof productions.

Ask A Commercial Photographer Anything About The Industry

Have questions you want to ask a creative industry professional, but wasn't sure who to turn to? I've been writing for Fstoppers for over a year now. I've been able to share my own BTS shoots, those of friends, reviews, tutorials, and more. I've had the chance to interact and meet some great people through here, and I really want to do something more for you folks. Rather than do a fresh article this week on something I find interesting, I am leaving the content completely up to you.

Pepper Yandell Shows Us How To Photograph Jets, Supercars, And Models

Pepper Yandell is a talented young photographer out of Texas who shoots some of the coolest cars in the world. He recently was given an awesome opportunity to photograph a couple of supercars in a hanger with really expensive jets - the kind of shoot car photographers dream about. Pepper was nice enough to share with me about how he put this shoot together.

Review Of The Phase One IQ250 Medium Format CMOS Back

You may have read my previous post previewing the first modern CMOS-based medium format back to hit the world market by Phase One. Soon after my post, Phase One HQ sent me one of the first IQ250 backs to arrive in the US to review for this site. I had a solid 2 weeks to try it out and see what this system was capable of doing.

Glyn Dewis Shares How to Turn a BAD Picture into a GREAT Picture Using Post Production

It has happened to all of us a million times: After wrapping up a creative photo shoot and go through some of the images in post, we typically find a few photos in there that are "meh" at best and you most likely pass over or discard. Well, photographer and retoucher Glyn Dewis once again shares an awesome Photoshop / Lightroom tutorial on how he turned one of his throwaway photos into a killer shot. Check out the final image and information below.

The Awesome Robocop Retouching Contest Winners

A few weeks back, I posted a full behind the scenes blog about my Robocop photoshoot. I had such a fun time with the shoot and final images that I figured others may enjoy playing with my Phase One MF raw files as well. I posted a contest on my personal photography blog that challenged people to re-interpret Robocop using up to 8 of my supplied Phase One RAW files. There was hundreds of entries from across the globe a handful of star-studded judges to review the entries.

The Robocop Photoshoot By Douglas Sonders

The concept of doing a Robocop photoshoot has always been on my wish list, but have not been able to find someone with the proper original costume... until now. You see, my friends and I have always obsessed over the original Robocop film since it first came out (don't mention the sequels). I am just thankful that my photography career has allowed me to recreate the daydreams I had as a kid. Read below about how I put this ultimate personal shoot together and see the final results.