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Articles written by Patrick Hall

[Business] Dane Sanders Talks Creativity With Trey Ratcliff
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I recently had the pleasure of meeting Dane Sanders at WPPI while we were in Las Vegas. If you don't already know Dane, he's a wedding photographer who web chats with some of the industry's up and coming photographers. Trey Ratcliff of Stuck In Customs fame sat down with Dane to talk about creating unique and artistically strong content for the web. [read full post]
Behind The Scenes With Sports Illustrated
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Back before I ever picked up a camera, I always enjoyed looking through the pages of Sports Illustrated. I was never the rabid sports fanatic many of my friends were growing up, but I definitely loved the close game, the epic play, the milestone achievement, and of course the human emotion that came with obtaining greatness. So when one of our readers, freelance sports photographer Tyler Kaufman, offered a chance to see how the photographers of Sports Illustrated covered the biggest game in college football, you know I happily obliged. It also didn't hurt that my college days were spent on...

[Behind The Scenes] How Chipotle's Willie Nelson Commercial Stole The Grammys
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As a music lover myself, the Grammys is one of the few awards shows I sit down to watch year after year. This something interesting happened I had never seen before; a commercial featuring Willie Nelson singing Coldplay's The Scientist actually outshined the live performance from Coldplay moments before. [Read Full Article]
[Funny] Photographer MEME: What People Really Think I Do
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Today my Facebook feed has been full of this funny MEME which tries to portray how photographers are seen through the eyes of their friends, society, and their clients. I've posted a few of these What People Think Photographers Do MEMEs to help lighten up your week. Feel free to create your own representation of what your friends and family think of your photography work and post them in the comments.
[Stock Photography] Yuri Arcurs Explains How To Sell Stock Imaging
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We've featured Yuri Arcurs, the worlds most successful micro stock photographer, many times here on Fstoppers. In a time when people complain that the value of photography has gone the way of the buffalo, Yuri has created an empire on images that cost less than $1. In this video Yuri explains exactly what makes a great stock image and what it is specifically [read full story]
[Expensive Cameras] Zack Arias Explains Why He Switched From Canon To PhaseOne
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Photographers love Zack Arias because of his no nonsense, laid back approach to photography. In his full blog post Why I Moved To Medium Format :: Phase One IQ140 Review, Zack describes some of the amazing features these DSLR alternatives have for the commercial photographer. If his posted examples aren't enough to have you foaming at the mouth, this full review video will definitely have you lusting after in-camera WB adjustments and the LCD touch screen found on the IQ140 digital back!
[Humor] Laugh At Yourself: Sh*t Photographers Say
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Have you ever noticed when you are hanging out with another photographer, your non photography friends absolutely hate you? This video had me laughing a few times because like it or not we all sound like this from time to time. After you watch this, leave your favorite photographer cliche in the comments.
[Camera Deal] Sigma's 17 - 50 2.8 With Image Stabilization Drops Below $600
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We haven't posted a deal here recently because, well, there really hasn't been many deals since the holidays. One of our favorite crop lenses, the Sigma 17 -50 2.8 OS, is currently under $600 (retails $669) for the first time in a long while. Click the full post to hear why like like it so much.
[Upgrades] Has The New Update To Apple's Final Cut Pro Fixed The Backlash?
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Remember when Apple released the new version of its flagship video editing program Final Cut X? If not, you might want a refresher course with Conan O'brien. Basically the backlash was almost unanimous, and it made many of us thankful we chose Adobe's Premiere as our editing software of choice. Well today there is an upgrade that apparently fixes most of the complaints from FCP X users. [Read More]
[Extreme Light] This Handheld LED Light Produces Over 15,000 Lumens For Overpowering The Sun
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Now this is pretty interesting. Recently at the 2012 SHOT show (tradeshow for outdoors and hunting), Foursevens revealed their new lithium powered LED light. Unlike typical LED lights, the XM18 produces an unprecedented 15,000 lumens of light. According to my simple calculations, the XM18 might be more powerful than your low to mid level Arri HMI lights!
[BTS Video] How To Shoot Black And White In Camera For Easy Proofing
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Jay P Morgan's Behind The Scenes Videos seem to pop up every single week. In this week's episode, Jay teaches a few tricks for shooting black and white photography. Everyone knows how to convert their images into black and white in Photoshop but Jay recommends turning your camera to BW so you can see the results real time. He then uses Nik Software's Silver Efex Pro to make the final tweaks when he gets back to the studio. Watch the full behind the scenes video to see some other useful lighting tips as well.
[Production Trick] How To Create Smoke For Photography Out Of Liquid
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Every photographer needs a few things in their bag of tricks. An easy trick is to add some smoke to your images for effect. You can always create photo smoke on a budget if you want to MacGyver it but there is another solution - two solutions in fact. Click the full post to watch a video on how easily smoke can be created with two liquids.
[Humor] A Politically Incorrect Guide To A Career In Filmmaking
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It's always good humor when someone makes a career path diagram outlining possible jobs within a particular field. If you aren't sure about whether your skills are best utilized as a Director, Studio Head, Screenwriter, Producer, or Film Critic then this is a great starting point. Hopefully someone makes one of these based on art buying and photography publishing. Without cheating, which path do you naturally fall into?
[Mindfreak] Staring At This Black And White Sony Ad Will Make You See In Color
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I love optical illusions, and this simple trick used in a Sony Cybershot ad was one I had not seen before. Click on the full post to see this image large. Then stare at the color triangle in the middle of the model's nose for 30 seconds. Then stare at a white wall or screen and blink rapidly! You should see the model take her clothes off in near full color! The brain is a strange strange machine indeed!
[Photos] These Puddle Portraits By Photographer Ira Fox Are Unbelievable
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If you thought Jasper James's City Silhouettes were crazy wait until you see Ira Fox's Puddle Portraits. Using the natural reflections caused by rain puddles, Ira has captured the world in an interesting yet pyschodelic way. The results are one of a kind, and it just goes to show how thinking outside the box can pay off in a big way! [Full Post]
[BTS Video] 49ers Photographer Michael Zagaris Breaks Down A Game Winning Play
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A few days ago we showed you what it's like to be a Sport Illustrated Editor. The NFL Conference Championship games are about kick off in a few hours so it seems fitting to bring you San Francisco 49ers team photographer Michael Zagaris as he talks about capturing the two key plays of the '9ers Division Championship game. Enjoy!
[Video Lecture] Trey Ratcliff Explains How YOU Can Get Noticed On The Internet
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Trey Ratcliff is a very successful photographer who also runs a very popular blog Stuck in Customs. In a recent lecture for Google, Trey explains what makes the internet so exciting for creative professionals, and how you too can put your own internet stimulus out there for others to enjoy. It's interesting watching this watching this... [full post]
[Free Video] Preview The Art Behind The Headshot With Peter Hurley
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The response Peter Hurley's downloadable tutorial The Art Behind The Headshot has been receiving over the last few months has been unbelievable. Peter's technique has changed the way so many photographers approach working with models, and it's apparent by his facebook group that photographers of all skill levels are taking the best headshots in their portfolios. So we have decided to release one free lesson from the DVD for those of you who might still be on the fence. Peter's knowledge is expensive sure, but it's guaranteed to change the way you shoot headshots for the rest of your career. We believe in this so much that if you don't think your headshots are any better after watching 4 hours of Peter's instructions we will give you your money back guaranteed!

[Debate] Has The New XQD Memory Card Already Failed The Media War?
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With just over a week since it's announcement, Nikon's flagship D4 DSLR is already causing a stir in the most unlikely of places. The camera will feature a slot for the new XQD memory card which moves data much faster than current SD or CF cards. But can the card become the next media standard? Both Lexar and Sandisk, the later of which helped design the format, have said that they will not produce the XQD cards anytime soon. So what do you think? Click the full post to leave your comments and participate our poll.
[Sports] Sports Illustrated Director Of Photography Steve Fine Talks Photo Editing
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If you are a sports fan, you are going to love this interview. Grover over at Photoshelter recently interviewed Sports Illustrated Director of Photography Steve Fine. Steve's job is to pick out the absolute best "super selects" from a handful of sports photographers and publish those photos in record time (sometimes within hours). I recently met Steve and what I found interesting about his job is not only the insane amount of work that goes into finding the absolute cream of the crop photos but also how important Steve's eye has to be to tell the story of each game in only a handful of frames. With SI, their photo team winds up with dozens if not hundreds of great images but only a very select few can be published to represent the final theme of the game. The following interview is pretty long but definitely worth checking out, especially if you are interested in knowing how sports photography or wired images are used to create the magazines we see on newsstands daily. Enjoy!