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Patrick Hall
Charleston, SC

Articles written by Patrick Hall

Fstoppers Releases Elia Locardi's 'Photographing the World 3' Tutorial!

I am excited to announce the release of one of the most epic projects Lee and I have been working on this year. As many of you know, Fstoppers teamed up with Landscape Photographer Elia Locardi back in 2014 to produce two separate tutorials on landscape and cityscape photography. This year we caught back up with Elia and followed him around his favorite country and some of our favorite mega cities for "Photographing the World 3." If you have been anxiously waiting for the next installment of PTW, the wait is finally over!

How I Shot Donald Trump and the Solar Eclipse in One Photograph Without Photoshop

When I first found out a full solar eclipse was passing through Charleston, South Carolina, I marked my calendar hoping I would be able to photograph it. Today the eclipse passed through the final stretch of America, and even with a full year of forewarning, I was not prepared to photograph it at all. With only two hours before totality, I decided to take a huge gamble and aim for two unique photographs that would be done 100 percent straight out of camera. The results are pretty interesting.

What to Do When Your Image Goes Viral on the Internet

Many of us have been there. You upload your work to a social media platform only to find out months later that your photos have gained the attention of the masses. Immediately you start getting bombarded with emails, phone calls, and publications start reaching out. You quickly realize the moment you have always been waiting for is happening right now, but a new reality also sinks in: you have no clue what in the world you are supposed to do with all of this attention. In this video I sit down with Mike Kelley to discuss some of the steps you should take to capitalize on your viral photo series.

When Things Go Wrong In Mexico: Mike Kelley's Behind The Scenes Episode 5

With the launch of Mike Kelley's 3rd Architectural tutorial, we released eight new episodes of behind the scenes madness. In this episode, Mike continues shooting one of the most extravagant homes on the Mayan Rivera, Lee's nightmare trip becomes worse when he comes down with food poisoning, and I make the most of the situation and explore everything the coast of Mexico has to offer.

The Sundisc Could Be The Next Best Pocket Sized Light Modifier For Photographers

UPDATE: ENDS TODAY! Have you ever wished you could have a decent sized softbox fit in the palm of your hand? Swedish photographer Vincent Palma and his team have created a 24 inch light modifier that folds down into a mere 8 inches. Using the same patented mechanism as our own Fstoppers Flash Disc, the Sundisc will give you even, soft light when carrying large, bulky softboxes is not practical. The Sundisc Kickstarter has already met its funding goal but that doesn't mean you can't get in on this first production run now before the campaign ends Wednesday, June 28th.

And the Winner of the Sony a9 Digital Camera Is...

For the last month, Fstoppers has been running a contest with our fellow friends SLR Lounge and Fundy. Last night during Fundy's world premiere of their documentary "The Power of the Print," we picked a random winner for the contest. This lucky winner will be receiving a brand new Sony a9 Mirrorless camera body. You can view the full documentary and the winner being announced here on Fundy's Facebook page, or keep reading for the winner below.

Using Google Maps and Other Photographers To Locate Your Landscape Locations

We have all been there: you see an image online that gives you the best perspective of a location but you have no idea exactly where it is located. Sometimes the photographer lists the location on social media, but more often they leave you wondering where exactly they were standing. Last week I set out to film a time-lapse of one of the most photographed skylines in the world. However, finding the exact location I wanted required me to use multiple resources. Welcome to project "New York Harbor."

We Are Giving Away a $4,500 Sony a9 Mirrorless Camera!

UPDATE: 3 Days left to enter! Yes, are giving away another camera to a lucky reader! Fstoppers has teamed up with our good friends at SLR Lounge and the album design firm Fundy for one of the most exciting contests of the year! On June 15th, one of our lucky readers will win a brand new Sony a9 mirrorless camera... and no, we aren't entering our own contest either! There are 7 easy ways to enter and if you do all 7, you can gain up to 23 individual entries to increase your chance of winning. We have the juicy details in the full post below and make sure to BOOKMARK THE LIVE EVENT HERE.

Mike Kelley's BTS Episode 3: How to Photograph From a Helicopter

The third episode of Mike Kelley's Behind the Scenes series from his architectural tutorial is now live. In this episode, Mike shows you how you can turn an overcast day into a sunny afternoon, how to photograph a resort from a helicopter, and also teaches you an effective way to make a hotel lobby look more inviting. You can also watch as the Fstoppers crew goes night diving with massive manta rays off the coast of the Big Island of Hawaii.

How To Recover Corrupt Panasonic GH4 and GH5 .mdt Files

One of the worst gut wrenching feelings any content producer can face is opening up a memory card only to find that a file is corrupt or missing altogether. Recently we sold most of our Nikon gear and switched over to the new Panasonic GH5 cameras because of their better video features, superior image stabilization, and overall smaller size. Unfortunately we have found that unlike our Nikon cameras, the GH5 can corrupt files pretty easily if you are using their battery grip. In this video, I show you how these files can easily corrupt as well as a few software options you can use to recover any files corrupted during a loss of power.

The Videographer Behind the Viral '92 Los Angeles Riots Footage

If you were old enough to remember the horrible scenes of the Los Angeles riots of 1992, the memory probably most burned into your mind is the ruthless beating of truck driver Reginald Denny. This last weekend marked the 25th anniversary of one of the ugliest domestic events in American history. Over the course of six days, 58 people died, 2,000 people were seriously injured, and over 11,000 citizens were arrested. The man responsible for capturing the most graphic video of the epicenter, Timothy Goldman, happened to be at the wrong place at the right time, and the story of how it all unfolded is pretty interesting.

Mike Kelley's Hilarious New Architecture Photography Behind-the-Scenes Vlog Starts Now!

Last week Fstoppers released Mike Kelley's latest photography tutorial called "Where Art Meets Architecture: How To Photograph Hotels, Resorts, and the Business of Commercial Architectural Photography." It is the third installment of Mike's thorough educational series on shooting real estate, architecture, and hotels. Throughout our travels, we never turned off the behind-the-scenes cameras so that you can experience a first-person perspective of what goes into producing one of these tutorials. In episode 1, Mike gets settled into the amazing Mauna Launi Bay Resort on the Big Island of Hawaii and shows just how exhausting photographing complex properties can be.

Mike Kelley's 'Where Art Meets Architecture 3' Is Now Available

Mike Kelley and Fstoppers have teamed up once again to produce the third installment of Where Art Meets Architecture. Over the past few years, creating images for realtors, architects, interior designers, and property management companies has become a booming industry for professional photographers. In this tutorial, Mike focuses on how to photograph the hospitality market including how to shoot hotels, resorts, and rental properties. For the first time in his career, Mike also shares everything he knows about the business of commercial architectural photography including pricing your work, creating bids and contracts, marketing your business effectively, and building licensing fees for residual income. We are excited to finally release the most thorough tutorial we have ever produced on architectural photography and have a special offer inside.

Tamron vs. Nikon: Which 70-200mm f/2.8 Telephoto Lens Is Best for the Money?

Without a doubt, one of the most popular and useful pieces of gear a photographer can own is the 70-200mm f/2.8 telephoto lens. This lens is so amazing that it has become a staple for photographers shooting wildlife, portraits, headshots, sports, weddings, events, and even landscape photography. With Nikon and Tamron both recently updating their version of this lens, we thought it would be a great time to review them side by side and definitively name one as the "best bang for the buck."

Peter Hurley Explains How the Inverse Square Law Applies to Photography

The inverse square law is one of the most important yet misunderstood concepts in photography. On the surface, it basically says that the intensity of a light source will decrease as you move the light away from your subject, but how does that apply to the highlights and shadows in a portrait? In this small excerpt from the "Illuminating the Face" tutorial, Peter Hurley breaks down both the math and the practical application of the inverse square law.

Crazy Deal: Get a Nikon D750 DSLR Camera for $1249

One of the best camera deals is back, and it is just in time for the holidays. Ebay seller BuyDig is selling refurbished Nikon D750 camera bodies again for $1249. We've featured this deal before in the past but this is by far the lowest price we've ever seen on one of the best full frame cameras on the market. It's unclear when Nikon will be updating the D750 camera so this might be the best deal on this camera until 2017.

Free 50 Minute Excerpt From Joey Wright's Swimwear and Retouching Tutorial

Earlier this year Fstoppers teamed up with Miami-based swimwear photographer Joey Wright to produce a full blown tutorial on all things related to swimwear photography. All in all, Joey's tutorial Swimwear Photography - Lighting, Posing, and Retouching is 8 hours of on-location photography and 12 hours of Joey's full postproduction workflow. Today we are releasing a short 50 minute excerpt from the tutorial as well as the included raw file so you can follow along at home.

Learn How to Make Better Headshots by Watching the News

Learning how to properly light the human face can be a challenge for many beginner and intermediate level photographers. Sure, you can grab a single light source, your significant other, and turn a Sunday afternoon into an experimental test shoot, but what happens when you want to start playing around with multiple lights? Figuring out where exactly to place your lights can be a daunting task, but luckily there are dozens of common lighting setups available for critique right on your television!

Photographer Mark Wallace Documents His Motorcycle Drive Across 6 Continents

Mark Wallace is a great friend of ours, and also one of the leading photography educators on the planet (subscribe to his series on AdoramaTV). Mark has been traveling the world for over two years now, but in the beginning of 2016 he traded the trains, planes, and automobiles for a single BMW R1200 motorcycle. His latest journey will possibly take him 2-5 years as he trades the studio gear for a simple GoPro to document his travels across six continents. If you need a break from photography education, Mark on a Bike might be the perfect cultural experience to follow.

These Are The First Photo Prints I've Made In 10 Years

It's strange to think that I have been a photographer for over 10 years now, yet I have never printed my own work larger than an 8x10. Unfortunately we live in an age where sharing low res digital photos on social media has become the end all be all for the majority of our images. Recently I decided to celebrate some of my favorite personal photographs by printing them LARGE and installing them in the Fstoppers Studio. The resulting 60"x40" acrylic prints I made through WhiteWall.com has me wondering why it has taken me this long to install fine art on my own walls.