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]
Giving back to photographers has always been a big part of what makes Fstoppers such a great community. Soon after we launched last year, Lee and I decided it would be fun to see what you, our readers, would come up with. Our first Fstoppers Behind the Scenes Video Contest was a tremendous success with over 90 BTS videos submitted by the FS online community (we even added Sean to our team after seeing his video)! Last year we gave away a Canon 7D as the winning prize but this year is going to blow that out of the water as we have over $20,000 in prizes. Want to find out what you have to do to win all this gear? Click the Full Post for the current 2011 Fstoppers Behind The Scenes Contest!
Well it's the end of the year again which means those of you who run a photography business are probably thinking about tax write offs. We have been getting a few emails about this topic so we put together a little list of some expenses you might want to take care of before the end of 2011. Now many of our readers might not yet support themselves with photography, and that is okay; but at some point down the road you will want to consider how to spend your income so you can maximize the growth of your business. If any of our full time photographer friends have any other suggestions or resources, please leave them in the comments so everyone can benefit from your experience.
Russell Jamesis perhaps my favorite photographer of all time. His images of sexy women never look cliche, and basically everything about his photographs are brilliant. But few people probably know what steps Russell took in becoming one of the world's most successful photographers. Check out this behind the scenes video as Russell photographs the 2011 Victoria's Secret Christmas campaign and dives into his history of becoming a photographer. I love how much attention goes into making the models comfortable and creating a connection with them. If it wasn't for Peter Hurley teaching me otherwise, I would have completely gawked at Russell's lighting and production. In reality, what makes every one of Russell's images stand out is his subject's connection with the reader. Hope you guys enjoy this as much as I did.
Yesterday we got an interesting email from our friend Pye Jirsa over at SLRLounge.com. Pye recently helped film a video campaign for a friend's Kickstarter product launch called One and he decided to film a quick behind the scenes video on how he lit and filmed the different scenes. Pye is a big DIY guy and many of the lights he used on this production can be found for super cheap. We don't usually post a lot of Kickstarter proposals but the lighting tips from this one were simply too good to pass up. Watch the BTS video below and then click the full post to view the final video.
Lee's wedding video A Moving Moment created a lot of discussion about how to get high production shots with minimal gear. The truth of the matter is Lee handheld 90% of the footage and used our favorite slider, The Atlas 10 Slider, for the remaining 10% of the shots. Olivia Tech has recently demoed a knock off slider called the Konova Slider and explains some simple techniques that can really up your video production easily and on a budget. Olivia is also using the main lens Lee used in his video, the Tamron 17-50 2.8 VC, which has the best vibration compensation of any 2.8 lens in this range. If you want the quality of a true Cinevate Slider for a little less money, we have had awesome results using the Cinevate Atlas Pulley System as a fully functioning slider. Just make sure you put a solid ball head on it first!
Awhile back we featured a popular video by Jeff Calbom in his Walk Across America commercial. Smithje77 recently traveled from Washington to Maine in 7 days. He was creative enough to take photographs every 90 seconds with his Droid X and piece them together in this fun video. The video is no where near as complicated as Jeff's version but it's still fun to see how much the landscape changes across North America. This reminds me of the time my family drove from Alaska to Maryland and down to Alabama back when I was a kid. I'd love to see someone create another video like this but travel through some more extreme terrain like the Rockies or the Arizona desert. Always remember, just because you only have a camera phone doesn't mean you have an excuse not to be creative!
When it comes to giving great tutorials on DSLR video, the guys at Stillmotion are full of helpful tips and tricks. This latest video discusses some of the advantages you have in setting your camera's white balance and color profiles. Since DSLR cameras still do not allow you to record in a RAW format, you must make many decisions in camera much like you would if you were shooting jpeg (which is great for events like weddings). Lee and I are big fans of getting it right in camera which is crucial when filming video because a compressed video has so much less room for error than a large 12+ megapixel photograph. Seeing real time comparisons of how white balance, sharpness, contrast, and color shifts can change the look of your final video is really helpful and should become a part of your workflow everytime you start filming video. Hopefully many of you can use this info when filming your BTS contest videos. We've featured Stillmotion a lot here on Fstoppers so be sure to check out their older videos as well.
Hurricane Irene is battering the East Coast of the US right now which has left many stuck in their homes browsing the internet for storm updates. One particular story that has filled my facebook news feed and was tweeted by CNN involves a shark swimming in the streets of Puerto Rico. Apparently the shark was swept up by Hurricane Irene and trapped inland on flooded streets of the Caribbean island. But something about the photo seems very suspecious. A few weeks ago Fstoppers correspondent Reese Moore interviewed photographer Thomas Peschak and one of his most famous images features the same shark making headlines today. Coincidence or is this shark just hungry for more media attention? Click the full post to see the two photos and you be the judge.
Within 24 hours of announcing the Fstoppers 2011 Behind The Scenes Video Contest, we were shocked to already have our first submission. Marc Kuyer from Holland had an idea to have small model cars battling each other like they were straight out of Rock and Roll Racing (super cult classic). Marc does a good job outlining his plans and showing you all the photoshopping that went into this final image. Of course we'd love to see everyone on camera but sometimes with language barriers you may have to stick with subtitles and text. So I guess it's safe to say right now Marc has taken the lead in our contest. If no one else steps up to the plate he will be moving on from small speed lights to a full studio worth of equipment!
Markus Klinko is a famous celebrity fashion photographer that you've probably seen on Bravo's Double Exposure television show or the countless high end fashion magazines featuring his covers and spreads. Together with his photographic partner Indrani, the duo have produced some of the most iconic celebrity photographs of the last 15-20 years. What you might not know about Markus is that he shoots on a collection of Mamiya RZ and DM cameras and digital backs and uses Leaf and Capture One by Phase One software. What makes his Mamiya cameras so unique though is his custom made ivory mammoth tusk pistol grip which combines the prehistoric era with the modern era all in one camera. For a more serious look at Markus's camera, hit the full post for video number two.
With Apple's Final Cut Pro X just starting to hit the streets, stories about how unusable the video editing software has become are popping up everywhere. Recently even Conan O'brien took a stab at the software editing program when his production team created this funny skit showing some of the new features found in FCPX. Here at Fstoppers we still use PCs and Adobe Premiere but I can imagine how frustrated I would be if Adobe changed many of the UI we have come to love and master. That being said I've heard Final Cut Pro X has some great features; maybe all these negative reviews are just coming from editors not willing to update. What do you guys think? Will you be purchasing the next version of Final Cut Pro?
Monte Isom had one of the most populars videos on Fstoppers back in February. Well he is back with a fun stop motion video for NYC comedian Colin Kane. Monte filmed this entire video on the Nikon D3s with just a few Litepanel 1x1 bicolor constant lights. The final video was made with 14,000 still images to create the final 90 second promo. Below is the final video but you can check out the BTS video in the Full Post as well as read Monte's own words on how he approached this shoot.
This video is a little different than anything we've posted before but I figured it would be enjoyed by those of you who are celebrating Easter. Jeremy Cowart is one of the hottest American photographers right now and his portfolio is absolutely sick! But in this video he is creating a rather unique portrait of Jesus using pastels, photoshop, stock images, and random elements from snap shots. The amount of effort that went into this portrait is quite remarkable, and almost every texture is so subtle you would never know half of what went into making this image just by looking at it. It's pretty exciting to see such a well respected photographer pushing his own craft in a way that is so different than what he does on a daily basis. Click the full post to watch a second video of Jeremy making a portrait of Tom Yorke in this style.
I know many photographers ask themselves, "How can I use my artistic talent to give back to my community in some profound way?" Bringing awareness to a great social or ethical cause can be difficult when our culture is so bombarded with crazy images everyday. Photographer Chris Jordan, author of In Katrina's Wake, recently discovered baby albatross birds who were dying in a very unusual way. Birds inhabiting Midway Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean have been found dead in huge numbers. The cause of death appears to be from parent birds mistakenly eating plastic garbage found floating in the ocean and washing up on shore. These images are quite gruesome, and it is almost hard to believe they are real. Through this Midway Project, Chris hopes to bring awareness to the ecological problems not often seen at these remote locations. Head over to the Midway Journey's website for more videos about this cause as well as more photography.
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