Patrick Hall Photography Tutorials

About Patrick Hall

Patrick Hall is a founder of Fstoppers.com and a photographer based out of Charleston, South Carolina.

Popular Articles from Patrick Hall
The Most Important Tips To Consider When Building a Website for Photography

Every photographer needs a good website; that's a given. What isn't so obvious is should you have a contact page? What about a photo on your bio? Is it best to have multiple galleries or everything on one landing page? Today Lee and I review a few websites to show you what does and doesn't work when displaying your work.

Battle of the Photography Blogs: SLR Lounge Versus Fstoppers

It's another day in Puerto Rico and another photography shootout. Last week, we asked you which photo was better, but today, we take you behind the scenes and reveal the winning images. This is a battle for the photography blogs!

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.

Finals Days In "Unique Lighting" Contest

We are almost 48 hours from the latest Critique the Community photo contest. The theme for this month's contest is "Unique Lighting" and the prizes include several new products from the lighting company Profoto.

The Red Bull LED Wakeboard Photoshoot

A few years ago I set out to do something I had never seen done with my own wakeboard studio shoot. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Patrick Rochon's unique take on the sport for this year's Red Bull's Illume contest. The behind the scenes video speaks for itself and the resulting light painting photographs are pretty interesting. Check out a few of the outtake photos

DEAD: All Cameras On Sale For 30 Percent Off At Staples!

Some deals are just so good that you will drop everything you are doing (or planning) just to take advantage of some savings. Let me tell you how Lee and I both just bought Nikon D800 cameras for $2,200. Yesterday our friend Pye Jirsa published an article on SLR Lounge about how their local Staples did not honor a national coupon for 30% off all cameras purchased in store. After reading the article, Lee wondered how this coupon would hold up in our local market. Here is what we discovered

Free Online Workshop:  Photography Brand Makeover

One of the most difficult things about being a full time photographer is learning how to properly market yourself and your business. New York Times Best Seller authors Sarah Petty and Erin Verbeck are masters at small business marketing and company branding. Today through October 5th, they are hosting a free to watch workshop called Photography Brand Makeover on creativeLIVE (watch it now here). If you want to learn how to stand out from your competition and increase your overall profits, this is a workshop you don't want to miss.

Behind The Scenes:  How To Photograph The Olympics With Reuters

Earlier in the year, Fstoppers showed you how Sports Illustrated photographers photograph a superbowl. Just as the 2012 Olympics in London have come to a close, Reuters has released a behind the scenes video on how their photographers take images during the world's most celebrated sporting event. It's pretty interesting to hear from some of the industry's best photographers and editors as they race against the clock to send images to the wire.

It Is That Time Again, Sandisk 64GB CF and SD Cards One Day Only Sale

Yep, BH Photo currently has Sandisk memory card instant rebates today only! Now that your wallet is burning a hole in your pants from all those weddings you've been shooting, what better time to reinvest back into your business with some larger cards. Once that D800 finally arrives, you are going to wish you had larger cards. Check out the full post below to see what all is on sale.

[Contest] This Fstoppers Reader Just Won Three New Pocketwizard Plus IIIs

About three weeks ago we announced an easy Twitter contest where a random follower would win three of the unreleased Pocket Wizard Plus III radio triggers and a free copy of Peter Hurley's The Art Behind The Headshot. One lucky follower has been randomly chosen and we are ready to announce the big winner. Keep your fingers crossed as you read on

[BTS Video] Kevin Kozicki Uses Pointsettias For High End Beauty Photos

One of the biggest rewards of our 2011 Behind The Scenes Contest is we finally get to meet our readers and see what they enjoy shooting. Meet Kevin Kozicki; he is a great fashion photographer based out of sunny Los Angeles. In his contest entry, Kevin wanted to use poinsettia leaves in some sort of beauty themed image while not going in the typical Christmas/Holiday route. The images Kevin produced are outstanding and his lighting is perfect for this type of project. I do wish Kevin would have explained his lighting a bit more but it's also nice to hear photographers talk about the overall production ideas because they are equally as important and often overlooked. If you have any questions for Kevin, leave them in the comments below and click the full post to see a few of the final images.
Fstoppers Original:  The Wakeboard Studio Shoot

One of my favorite things about Charleston, SC is being close to the ocean. I love being in and around the water, and although I'm not very good at it, I do enjoy wakeboarding. Charleston has become a pretty big hub for sports like kiteboarding and wakeboarding over the last few years, and this city is not short on talented athletes. I took an interest in wakeboard photography a couple years ago, and I always enjoyed shooting images from extreme angles. Although I've gotten some cool images, I never felt like I really had much control over my images with just daylight. I've tried to bring strobes outside to create something "different" but even those shots have been done a million times. I decided I wanted a way to shoot a rider flying through the air with interesting, studio quality lighting and this is what I came up with....click the full post for the full story. https://vimeo.com/19633416

Fstoppers Original: The Studio Wakeboard Shoot from FStoppers on Vimeo.

[Inspiration] ReDefine Talks Celebrity Portraits With Brian Smith

A few weeks ago, Fstoppers caught up with celebrity photographer Brian Smith. If you didn't take the time to read the article, don't worry because ReDefine just published a video interview with Brian from Tamara Lackey's recent interview out in Vegas. What I love about people like Brian is he's quick to point out the real defining element of his work: his relationship to his subject. Male photographers often get caught up in

UK Photographer James Karinejad Makes A Pretty Mess

James Karinejad is a commercial product photographer out of Edgware, North London and his work is probably best described as clean yet imaginative. Some of the clients he has worked with have included Dolce & Gabbana, Pizza Hut, Clarins, and Addison Lee. It's also interesting to note that James made the transition to stills by first working in video.

I have always enjoyed watching these product shoots because the lighting required to make a product look desirable is often very different than the lighting needed to make a face or figure look good. In this video James...