Camera and Video equipment is expensive! Whether you are just getting into digital media or are a seasoned professional, we are all looking for bargains and ways to justify dropping even more coin on photography gear. Everyday our email is full of readers asking about what gear we use/recommend and if there are any deals out there to be had. So we have created an Fstoppers Gear Guide that includes every piece of equipment we use for both photos and video separated into categories. You can also check out the latest Canon rebates (most end Jan 8) and Nikon rebates (expires Nov 20) through BHvideo.com which we find to have the best prices online. So check out the Fstoppers Gear Guide and if you want to get some new toys for Christmas, don't miss out on these Holiday rebates through Nikon and Canon.
If you are laying on your couch reading this after a Thanksgiving binge, then there probably isn't much hope for you. But if you didn't over due the calories (or aren't in America) then you still have 5 days to participate in our Monthly Fstoppers Forum Contest! This month's theme is "Emotion" and I still think the winning image is up for grabs. The winner of this month's contest is going to win a Photoflex Multidisc Kit which is a great tool for when you need extra light and don't have a strobe with you. We use these all the time with video, and it is crucial to have the reflector holder when you don't have an extra set of hands on set. If you win, you will also get your image and website at the top of our site for a month. So head over to the Forum Contest Thread and post your best "Emotion" photo.
One of the most famous of all of the national geographic photojournalists is probably Joe McNally. Joe has shot everyone and everything working for Life, Time, Fortune, Sports Illustrated, and countless other highly rated publications. But perhaps his most manic photoshoot of all was a Nat Geo piece for their story The Power of Light. When you step back and think about it, the most obvious photograph for a story on light would be to take a wide angle shot of the guy who changes the light bulb on top of the Empire State Building...yeah most definitely! I never knew there was a video showcasing how this image was created so I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did. Oh and if you haven't picked up Joe's very detailed books about lighting, head over to his Amazon Store and pick up The Moment It Clicks or The Hot Shoe Diaries.
If you've ever seen one of those movie or tv show posters then you probably already know that they are usually huge composites of every actor. But that doesn't always mean that the different characters are simply shot against a white background. Check out this fun video featuring the cast of House season 6 as they pose for different promo shots in a studio large enough to fit an old motorhome. Photographer Florian Schneider has an excellent site to browse and even has an image or two from this shoot posted.
Benjamin Von Wong is a part time photographer but his concepts and images are definitely top notch. He was smart enough to film a behind the scenes video for his photoshoot with designer Andy Nguyen and the results are very interesting. You can read more about the ins and outs of this shoot from the model's perspective here and some of the final photos on Von Wong's Flickr page. If you enjoy these types of videos, Benjamin and others are posting them over at the Fstoppers Forum. I'm always amazed by what our readers come up with during their own shoots!
The Fstoppers team just got back from Miami and the Bahamas, and while we were there we came across Peter Lik's newest art gallery in Miami Beach. I was first introduced to Peter's amazing landscape photos at his Las Vegas gallery in the Venetian Hotel, and I'm always blown away every time I step into one of his galleries. Peter uses large format panoramic cameras (some film some digital) and then prints them LARGE with his own special printing process. When his prints are displayed under gallery lighting the images pop off the wall unlike anything I've ever seen before. You can even dim the lights to reveal different qualities in the prints. Check out this video of Peter talking about what makes a good landscape photo and click the full post to see how you can see Peter on your television soon! <
We knew there were going to be a lot of last minute contest videos submitted but never would we have thought this many of you would have waited until the last minute. I want to thank everyone for participating but I'll give no sympathy to those who lost lots of sleep this weekend trying to meet deadlines ha! Sean Armenta's BTS video is the latest of the last minute entries, and in it he shows how you can create clean and professional beauty shots just like you seen the pages of women's magazines such as Elle, Vogue, and Glamour. All of this was also done with just one light which should help those of you on a budget. Check out Sean's website as well since he has some amazing photos in his portfolio!
Sean Armenta | One Light Beauty Setup from Sean Armenta on Vimeo.
Go behind the scenes with beauty photographer Scott Wright as he creates a print ad for McCann. There is no talking unfortunately but you can see that the lighting is fairly straight forward and I'm sure lots of work goes into the retouching afterwards. Check out the final image as Scott combines all the elements which make a typical ad you may find in a women's magazine.
Back when Lee and I started the idea of Fstoppers, we contacted a few friend photographers of ours to see if they would allow us to film some of their shoots for our Behind the Scenes website idea. We first featured Eric Bradshaw's beach shoot at launch but I figured I'd post the second video as well. This video was the 2nd BTS video I ever edited and I hope you can draw some inspiration for your own behind the scenes videos. Watching Eric work is also pretty inspiring too! Enjoy this video from the FS vaults. ><
We've featured Tom Guilmette several times on our website and each time he never ceases to amazing me. Today Tom released a fun video that he shot on the Phantom Flex while he was staying in Las Vegas. We've all seen super slow motion videos before but what really grabbed my attention was Tom's editing skills and his brilliant use of audio to help bring this video to life. If you enjoy watching and learning about high speed videography, check out Tom's website or check out the other Fstoppers Tom Guilmette posts we have featured.
Locked in a Vegas Hotel Room with a Phantom Flex from Tom Guilmette on Vimeo.
In Okay Go's newest video, This Too Shall Pass, the band decided to build a Rube Goldberg Machine and film it unfold in one take. Click the link to watch how they filmed the whole thing and the challenges that come with creating something this unique. <
The guys over at Zacuto have released their second video of their series that compares film cameras to the current lineup of DSLR cameras. In this video you will see how different ISOs compare across the various cameras tested. It's pretty interesting and this is about as thorough of a test you would probably ever care to run. The guys over at Zacuto have released their second video of their series that compares film cameras to the current lineup of DSLR cameras. In this video you will see how different ISOs compare across the various cameras tested. It's pretty interesting and this is about as thorough of a test you would probably ever care to run.
Zacuto Great Camera Shootout 2010 Webisode 2: How Sensitive Can You Get? from steve weiss on Vimeo.
Have you ever been told by a professional photographer that the only way to increase your flash's refresh rate is to carry one of those frumpy battery packs that attach to your belt and wire up to your flash? What if there was another way to improve your flash's performance that did not require any extra cables or bulky battery packs? I may have just come up with the best alternative yet... <
In 2014, Gulf Photo Plus celebrates their 10th year as one of the premiere photography workshops in the world. Lee and I experienced the event in Dubai last year for the first time, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. Together with Joe Grimes, Zack Arias, Gregory Heisler, Lindsay Adler, David Hobby, and Joe McNally, GPP is raising the bar to produce an event you do not want to miss.
