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Patrick Hall
Charleston, SC

Articles written by Patrick Hall

Using Gels, Strobes, Constant Lights, and ACDSee's Gemstone on One Photograph

In this behind the scenes video, I'm going to walk you through a pretty complex photograph I shot in our garage studio. Using strobes, LED lights, a crazy light modifier, and ACDSee's new photo editing software, Gemstone, this final image turned out much more interesting than I originally thought.

Pro Light Mods Are the Coolest Light Modifiers of the Year

What did you do during the pandemic? With most of the industry at a standstill, sports photographer James Quantz started a new company, Pro Light Mods, and designed a prototype of his "Maxi Brute softbox". Not only are they super awesome, but any photographer can pick one up now!

Completing The 'Up-Lit Photo Challenge' Is Extremely Difficult

Being a well-rounded photographer who can succeed in any situation is the ultimate goal for most photographers. However, what happens when you are forced to take a portrait by lighting from below? Today, I take the challenge.

This Could Be My Favorite DIY Photo Background System Yet

Over the last three years, I have built out four new photography studios, and each time, I find better and better ways to streamline my spaces. In this video, I want to share with you one of the coolest ways to mount your seamless paper or Gravity backdrops.

Optics Allows Photographers to Add Particle-Based Effects to Their Photography

As the artificial intelligence race intensifies among photography software companies, Boris FX is filling a completely different niche with their editing software Optics. With their latest release, Optics users now have access to their powerful Particle Illusion generator, which can create thousands of useful emitters like explosions, smoke, fire, and other particle effects. Today, we take a look at the new Optics 2022 release which is available as a plugin for both Photoshop and Lightroom, as well as a standalone application.

Three Photographer Challenge: Sony vs Fujifilm vs iPhone

Recently, two photography friends visited the Fstoppers studio on the same day. Of course, this meant I needed to plan a friendly photography competition to see once and for all who is the best photographer in the land! This challenge video comes with lots of twists and turns, but at the core, we ask the question: "can an iPhone beat an expensive $12,000 medium format mirrorless camera?" Today, we find out.

AI Skin Retouch Is Here and It's Pretty Impressive

Innovators and philosophers like Elon Musk and Sam Harris have been theorizing what our world will look like once artificial intelligence completely takes over our everyday lives. We aren't quite there, but if you've ever dreamed of a day when all your skin retouching might be completed using AI and neural networks, well, the future is a lot closer than you might think.

Our Hands-On Test of Lindsay Adler's Optical Spot by Westcott

A few weeks ago, I got my hands on a light modifier I've always wanted to have in our studio. Westcott's brand new Optical Spot is one of the coolest and most useful light modifiers I've ever seen, and in today's video, I'm going to show you why you might want one or two for your photography!

How a Black Mist Filter Can Make Your Videos More Cinematic

Well, we've made it to the final video in Elia Locardi's eight-part video series on using filters for landscape photography. In this final episode, we will take a look at the new Nisi Black Mist filter set and how it can be used to improve your landscape photos and videos. Make sure you enter the final contest to win a set of your own.

How We Filmed Elia Locardi's Landscape Mini Series

Over the last few months, we have teamed up with landscape photographer Elia Locardi for a free 8 part video tutorial series on how to improve your landscape photographs using a variety of different NiSi filters. Today we take you behind the scenes on the making of this landscape series and show you some of our favorite gear used in the production. NiSi is also giving away a set of variable ND filters in this week's contest!

How I Created the Ultimate Photobooth for My Wedding

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!

These Filters Make Long Exposures Even Easier

One of the most rewarding yet mysterious elements of landscape photography is seeing the results of a long exposure. A few weeks ago, I had the chance to check out a new set of filters that mount using magnets, and the resulting photo is pretty interesting.

Can You Accurately Identify an Ansel Adams Photograph?

A few weeks ago, Lee Morris pulled an interesting prank on Mike Kelley and I, where he placed valuable Ansel Adams prints next to snapshots taken off our own Facebook pages and asked us to blindly critique all the images. Today, it's time for payback! Can Lee and Mike pick out an Ansel Adams print when they are mixed in a sea of images taken from the Fstoppers Community?

The Winner of Our Virgin Islands Shoot-Off Is...

Last week, Lee Morris, Mike Kelley, and I posted our best image taken during our boating trip to the US Virgin Islands. We asked you which image was the best and who shot what. Today, we reveal the results to see who is the "greatest photographer of all time."

We Need Your Opinion: Which Photo Looks Better?

Today we are asking our readers to vote which of these two photos is the better image. I'm not going to tell you anything about these two images, but I'm excited to reveal the twist in a few days after everyone votes on the more appealing image.

Does EXIF Data Prove Trump Is Lying to America?

I'm not one to write political articles, and I promise you this one isn't meant to be pro-Trump or anti-Trump. However, as photographers, we've been told that a photo is worth a thousand words. What if the words these photos replace tell a very different story?

An Easy Way to Turn Daylight Into Night With Flash

If you've ever wanted to create more dramatic portraits with minimal effort or even completely in-camera with no Photoshop, this video is for you. In this photoshoot, I set out to create a dramatic editorial image that looks like it was shot late at night. The catch: I'm actually going to be taking the photo at 4 pm.

Will Off Camera Flash Make The iPhone a Professional Camera?

The day has finally come when photographers can sync their powerful off-camera flashes with their Apple iPhone using Profoto's new AirX syncing system. Being the skeptic I am, I had to see for myself if using 500 Ws of powerful strobe light with your cell phone was simply a gimmick or potentially an industry game-changer. Today, I'm left swallowing my pride.

Three Lighting Setups Every Photographer Can Use

Being a good photographer often means knowing where to position your lights to create the desired effect. However, the placement of your lights is only part of the equation; sometimes, it's just as important to set the color of your lights as well. In today's video, I'll show you three different lighting setups that also use color to alter the final images.