Articles from Zach Sutton

While I agree that a great photographer can create incredible images using basic tools, it is no secret that great tools can help a good photographer achieve greatness. Over the last year or two, new strobes, new lenses, and a plethora of modifiers have helped elevate my studio photography to new levels, but one tool has brought it to a new level more than anything else: painted backdrops. And so, I wanted to share some resources on how to get painted backdrops without putting a second mortgage on your house.

Announced today on the LensRentals blog, is their intentions to begin testing lens variance - something never formally done in photography before. Lens variance is simply the difference from one copy of a lens to the other. By testing this, they'll be able to debunk any misinformation found in reviews that test only a single copy of lenses. This will result in higher accuracies, and more information prior to buying.

Announced back in March of this year, was the Nikon Coolpix P900. It seemed like your run of the mill affordable point & shoot camera, with a 16MP sensor, fixed lens, and basic video functionality. But what this camera also has, is what originally looked like a typo, with a 24-2000mm 35mm equivalent zoom, allowing you to see further than ever. And this short viral video above, shows the incredible power of that zoom.

Announced late tonight is the latest in the beloved Sigma Art series with the 24-35mm f/2 designed for full frame sensors. This lens is the fastest zoom lens ever built for full frame sensors, and promises optical sharpness comparable to the Sigma 24mm Art Series and Sigma 35mm Art Series - considered the sharpest in their classes. So will this be a new lens for those who use 24mm, 28mm, and 35mm lenses and are looking for a one lens solution?

Just announced this afternoon is the much anticipated Sony a7RII. Boasting 42 megapixels in a full-frame sensor, the Sony a7RII promises to be the newest king in the mirrorless camera world. However, the camera has some more features up its sleeve, like internal 4K video and an incredible 399 Phase-Detect AF points at 5 fps.

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last 7 years or so, you've probably seen some of the fascinating work produced by photographer and aspiring film maker Joey L. Whether it's his Holy Men series, or his work done with National Geographic, Joey L has always been able to create incredible cinematic story telling in his work, with a strong sense of honesty. In his latest project, Guerrilla Fighters of Kurdistan, Joey L shows us the tragic conflicts taking place in Syria and Iraq.

Despite what you think of the pricing model, everyone should agree that the Creative cloud system is great for the ability to receive rapid updates to the Adobe product line. Shown off last night, is the latest tool being developed by Adobe, allowing you to add and subtract haze into your photos using a built in Lightroom slider called Dehaze. This powerful new tool, should add a new level of creativity to your photos with ease.

Last month, I taught a two-day workshop in the heart of Phoenix. While there, I was able to get some friends to come out and help create a behind-the-scenes video of the entire workshop. I was also able to meet with Tether Tools, whom are located in Phoenix, and they gave us access to some pretty cool tools, more specifically, my new favorite BTS tool, the Tether Tools Look Lock.

Announced this morning from Lowepro, is the Pro Runner II series of bags and backpacks for the adventerious photographer and videographers. With greater storage capacities and options, the Pro Runner II Series takes everything everyone loved in the original backpack series, and improved on it, giving us three new bags to choose from.

As the photography industry continues to grow, so does the amount of different mediums for education. From tutorial based websites, to tutorial DVDs, to workshops and even websites like Fstoppers here, there are multiple ways you can find new techniques and grow your craft. And maybe this year, is the year you truly take advantage of them.

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Over the past week, Arkansas Senate has been working diligently to pass SB-79 - known as the Personal Rights Protection Act. While the bill is designed to protect the privacy and rights of the citizens within the state, it also effectively makes Street Photography illegal from viewing or taking in the state of Arkansas.

Recently announced at the head of WPPI a couple weeks ago, was the Profoto B2 strobe system. The unit, small in comparison of its competitors, was arguably the most exciting product announcement this year at the popular photography convention. However, the burning question everyone has been asking is… is 250Ws enough for on location work like Profoto suggests?

Announced this morning at the opening of WPPI, was the new Echelon collection from LowePro. The Echelon collection is designed to blend form with function to create some of the best, and most stylistic bags available for photographers. Not only am I able to announce the new series, over the last few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to try these new bags out.

Back in 2013, Profoto announced the Profoto B1 Studio flash, which would go on to change the world of on location photography. With battery powered TTL, the Profoto B1 was an all in one unit, allowing up to 200+ flashes at full power. Well today, they announced it's sidekick, the B2.

The latest time-lapse by astrophotographer Brian Spencer shows us the beauty within our galaxy by highlighting the bright stars paired with the beautiful nature found in New Mexico. Using a collection of sliders, cameras, and patience, Spencer was able to capture this beautiful time-lapse highlighting both the beautiful night sky of New Mexico, and the world we view it from.

Just a few days after Adobe Photoshop's 25th birthday, CreativeLive is broadcasting their 3rd annual Photoshop week, live from Febrary 23rd until February 28th. With 49 seminars, CreativeLive will have some of the best retouchers in the world giving their advise and expertise for free during the live streaming event. Among them, are some of Fstoppers own, such as Mike Kelley and Julia Kuzmenko.

Today marks a special day for the beloved Adobe Photoshop, as today is it's 25th birthday. Even at only 25 years old, Photoshop has had a number of facelifts. From it's initial release, Photoshop was revolutionary in it's tools, and still remains to be the best tool for photographers today. So lets take a look at all the changes this iconic software has seen over these last twenty five years.

Just announced by Sigma is the newest in their covenant Art series of lenses with the 24mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art. In the past couple years now, the Sigma Art lenses have been considered by many the best in their class in terms of sharpness, so the news of a 24mm Art has gotten photographers everywhere excited. Along with this announcement is the dp0, an update to their mirrorless camera systems.

After weeks of rumors and speculation, Canon has finally confirmed that the megapixel monster known as the 5Ds/5Ds R is real, and coming to stores here soon. Boasting 50.6MP full frame sensor, Canon has surpassed Nikon and Sony, offering us the highest resolution to date for a DSLR camera system. Alongside the new cameras, is the 11-24mm f/4L, finally bringing an updated ultra wide angle to the Canon lineup.

Announced early this morning, Samsung has unveiled the newest in their camera lineup with the NX500. With a 28mp CMOS sensor, it's hard to believe this brilliant little camera can also shoot video at 4K resolution, all while packed into a small, nearly pocketable system. Pairing that with Bluetooth technology, built in WiFi, and ISO expandable up to 51,200, Samsung has us impressed, with only an announcement.

If there is one thing I love almost as much as photography - it's hockey. And with the upcoming NHL All Star game this weekend, GoPro has teamed with the NHL to show us some POV style hockey from some of the best players in the world. The results are a surreal look into the outstanding talent that each professional hockey player processes on the ice.

In shocking news today for photojournalists everywhere, Sports Illustrated has announced that the remaining 6 photographers on staff have been laid off. Confirmed by Sports Illustrated's director of photography Brad Smith, SI has said the reasoning for the lay off comes from a financial decision that has forced some restructuring to be made. 

As a busy photographer, productivity is key for my work. I'm often finding myself blocking my own access to Facebook, Twitter and Reddit throughout the day, forcing me to work on the tasks at hand. And while I truly believe photography is the best job in the entire world, a lot of our days are filled with simple mundane tasks - which is why I love Gmail's Canned Responses.

From 3 megapixels to 10 megapixels to 50 megapixels, the world of photography has changed significantly over the last 10 years. With the changes in technology, we're always in battle to keep our work and data on the most current iteration. With the rumors of the next Apple MacBook Air, it seems that the USB port is under attack, making photographers everywhere questions how they can keep their work on the most recent format.

VSCO, Mastin Lab Presets, Florabella, and Pretty Presets. If you've looked for advice on retouching in the last few years, you've probably been recommended one of these preset and action systems at least once. They're designed to give you beautiful film simulation and color tones to make your images look great using a single click of the mouse - and I hate them all.

Announced for CES this week in Las Vegas, Samsung has shown off its impressive entry into the SSD portable storage world, with the Samsung T1 SSD. With storage options of 1 terabyte, 500 gigabytes, and 250 gigabytes, the T1 boasts impressive read and write speeds, all while weighing about an ounce and at a size comparable to a business card.

I love art for its freedom. I love art for its simplistic complexities. I love art for its infinite possibilities. I love art for its ability to make me feel happy, feel sad, laugh out loud like a crazy person, feel empathy and feel completely alone. Which is exactly why the reasoning behind the cancellation of the film ‘The Interview’ makes me feel outraged.

Until now, High Speed Sync (HSS) has been a luxury feature designed exclusively for speedlights (and select new strobes), allowing you to shoot using strobes at shutter speeds previously unavailable. However, announced this morning, Profoto has enabled High Speed Sync solutions to their beloved B1 studio strobe, and best of all? It's available now as a simple firmware update.

All this week, we've been providing you with the best gift guides this holiday season for photographers and videographers alike. A few days ago, I showed you the best deals under $75, and yesterday touched on the best deals under $200. Today, I'm here to show you the absolute best photography gifts for your loved ones that are under $500.

Yesterday, we showed you some of the very best gifts for photographers and videographers under $75. Today, I wanted to show you some of the very best deals and must have tools for photographers and videographers everywhere that cost less than $200 that are all part of our Annual Holiday Gift Guide.

It's that time of the year again, where your loved ones ask what you'd like for Christmas, Hanukkah, or any other celebration you may partake in. Rather than fumble around trying to make a list of things you might need to further your photography career, I thought I'd break down the absolute best gifts for photographers under $75.

Eizo monitors are known by many as being among the top of the line monitors, that come with a premium price tag. With the announcement of the ColorEdge CG318-4K, Eizo is hoping to raise the bar even further, pushing out 4K resolutions in a 31.1" screen with built in self color calibration systems, and perhaps most importantly, 99% coverage of the AdobeRGB color spectrum.

It's not often that we feature book series here on Fstoppers, but I personally found that the three piece series by 99U was worth mentioning. In their latest book entitled "Make Your Mark - The Creative's Guide to Building a Business with Impact", author and editor Jocelyn K. Glei interviews successful creatives to find the secrets that helped separate them from the rest of the pack, making "Make Your Mark" a must have book for photographers looking to increase their business.

FroKnowsPhoto's own Jared Polin recently got his hands on the previously unannounced DJI Inspire 1 to get some test flights in with DJI's upcoming new drone. The new system shows off 4K video, larger, more powerful carbon fiber body, and an affordable $3K price tag. Fro was able to get an inside look at this new drone system, and pull some footage from his test flight.

Announced through Digital Transitions, is the new A series from Phase One. The A series is a line of medium format camera systems, with the power of mirrorless technology. This new system combines the power of Rodenstock optics, and ALPA bodies, making the first digital medium format camera system without the use of a mirror and in a much smaller package.