Patrick Hall

When it comes to all things headshots and manipulating human expression, the best guy to seek council from is Peter Hurley.  Peter's career has spanned about 15 years now, and over those years he has gained a tremendous amount of knowledge.  Last year with the help from our friends at Profoto, Lee and I were able to film a supplemental free chapter to Peter's Illuminating the Face Tutorial.  In this video Peter takes us outside to show some of the techniques he uses out on location.  

Winner picked tomorrow! The creators of Gulf Photo Plus, one of the best photography workshops in the world, are coming to Seattle this Sept for their annual PopUP GPP event Sept 19-20.  Together we have partnered to give one lucky winner the chance to not only attend the event but also $250 towards travel.  Learn from Greg Heisler, Joe McNally, Zack Arias, and David Hobby and experience a taste of Gulf Photo Plus right here in the USA.  Details on how you can enter to win this contest are 

Since Lee and I first started Fstoppers 5 years ago, we have always wanted it to be a place for inspiration, news, reviews, and of course educational behind the scenes material. One thing has always been missing though, and that is the voice of you our readers.  Today we are expanding the Fstoppers Community by opening Groups to the public. Anyone with an Fstoppers account can now create and moderate their own photography community directly on Fstoppers.com

Only 3 Days Left! From now until June 1st we are running 5 photography contests and choosing 5 separate winners. Simply submit your best portrait, wedding, glamour, fashion, or landscape photograph to win your choice of any Fstoppers tutorial in the Fstoppers store or 3 Fstoppers FlashDiscs. For more details, read all the contest

The other night I was asked "what is the most frustrating thing about shoot weddings?" I thought about this question for a second and shockingly my answer had nothing to do with bridezillas, wedding planners, hot and humid weather, or even post production. Easily the most frustrating thing about shooting weddings is dealing with unreliable radio triggers during the reception. Perhaps this simple yet unreleased hotshoe adapter could make this problem obsolete if only someone would create it.

There are few things that can boost your video production more than adding a smooth camera movement. One tool that every filmmaker needs to utilize from time to time is a camera crane. Recently we had the chance to test and use the Kessler Crane Pocket Jib Traveler, and I am convinced that it is one of the most portable and easy to use camera cranes on the market today.

UPDATE INSIDE: Nikon's newest camera, the D750, is our all time favorite DSLR camera ever.  We own the D750 and D810 cameras and actually favor the D750 for video and wedding work because of its small size, articulating screen, fast focusing, and manageable 24mp full frame sensor (the D810 is a badass camera too).  Today there is a crazy sale where you can a Nikon D750 Body on Ebay for only $1499!  This deal is so good we just bought 4 new D750s for the Fstoppers studio.  

If you are a videographer or a photographer dabbling in video you know how much of a pain in the ass it can be cutting interview footage with just one camera angle. The feared "jump cut" in an interview can completely ruin the overall production and professionalism of your entire video project. Luckily, Adobe has recently debuted their new Morph Cut tool in Premiere Pro CC to help filmmakers fix this sometimes unavoidable problem.

Let's face it; the industry is changing. Art directors and potential clients are not looking to simply hire a photographer anymore. They do not care about your lighting, your gear, or even your previous clients. So what do they care about then? Photographer John Keatley sits down with artist rep Maren Levinson at Redeye to discuss the future of photography, and there is a very good chance you are not going to like what she has to say. 

For the last 5 years, Fstoppers has been an outlet for education, news, inspiration, and behind the scenes photography content.  Even with the amazing writers we have on Fstoppers, we have always wanted you,our readers, to have a voice.  Well today I am happy to announce a new part of the Fstoppers Community:  the Fstoppers Groups.  

The 2015 Fstoppers Workshops is right around the corner, and 2 weeks ago we launched one final contest.  Today 5 lucky winners will receive a free spot in a class of their choosing and one of those winners will receive an additional free class, a paid flight to the Bahamas, and a free hotel room for the 6 day event.  If you entered this contest through one of our 5 social media platforms you definitely need to keep reading!

The Fstoppers FlashDisc has become one of the most popular off camera flash modifiers on Amazon and BH Photo. Many of our readers have been asking for international shipping, and I am excited to announce that the FlashDisc is now available through the Amazon.co.uk store.  This means anyone in living throughout the European Union can have the FlashDisc shipped to their country without having to pay for expensive shipping from the US.  

UPDATE: Two More Days! The second Fstoppers Workshops is only two months away, and just like last year we want to give someone the photography experience of a lifetime.  On March 19th we are going to give away 5 free classes away to 5 lucky photographers.  Our grand prize winner will recieve 2 workshops and we will also cover the cost of their flight and hotel. 

Join Patrick and Lee of Fstoppers on Spreecast TONIGHT at 8:30 EST as they talk with a few of the top photographers teaching at the 2015 Fstoppers Workshops.  We will be talking about our upcoming event in the Bahamas while our guests will be answering questions from our audience.  Any topic is fair game so if you want to ask questions about business, retouching, lighting, marketing, or gaining commercial clients the floor will be yours.  

After becoming the best selling off camera flash light modifier on Amazon.com in 2014, we were sad to announce that we had completely sold out of our entire Fstoppers FlashDisc inventory.  If you have been waiting patiently for our stock to replenish wait no more; our US Amazon Store now has a fresh batch of inventory.  For those of you who have been waiting for the FlashDisc in your region of the world, we have good news for you too!

In this episode of Critique the Community, we are joined by architectural photographer Mike Kelley.  Mike has been a long time writer for Fstoppers and last year Fstoppers produced the highly proclaimed photography and Photoshop tutorial Where Art Meets Architecture.  Today Mike and I give an extended critique of 20 architectural images submitted through the Fstoppers Community.  

If you saw our Drone in Iceland teaser last month, you know that Lee and I are producing our next tutorial with landscape photographer Elia Locardi. This ambitious project is spanning over 70 days and over 8 countries. This week we are filming in Singapore, and on Saturday the 24th we are hosting a little meetup. All the details about this meetup are outlined below:

Recently while filming video for our next educational tutorial with landscape photographer Elia Locardi I found myself asking, "Why in the world do our $4000 cameras still not do this?" Today I have laid out 12 simple features I believe would make all of our lives a lot easier, and most of them could probably be implemented right now!  Give me your opinion in the full post poll.  

NOTE:  This sale is over and was only good for 1 24 hour period. Fstoppers is having a flash 24 hour sale on some of the products in our store each day leading up to Christmas.  Today's sale comes from Mike Kelley as he is offering $100 off his widely acclaimed tutorial Where Art Meets Architecture.  When Lee and I approached Mike about this tutorial we had no idea it would quickly become the most popular tutorial we have ever produced.  Realtors, architectural photographers, and commercial photographers have found great success with Mike's unique approach to photographing interiors.  Today you can find the coupon 

As announced in yesterday's sale, Fstoppers is having a 24 hour sale on our tutorials every day leading up to Christmas.  For today's deal we have persuaded Peter Hurley to offer $100 off both of his acclaimed tutorials The Art Behind the Headshot and Illuminating the Face.  This sale even beats our current "Buy both for $450" sale and marks the lowest price you have ever been able to buy both at one time. You can find the discount code 

Last year we hosted our very first Fstoppers Workshops in the Bahamas and it was the most rewarding experiences of my life.  So many amazing friendships were made, long last memories were created, and most importantly so many photographers were able to take their businesses to the next level.  Today we are excited to announce the 2015 Fstoppers Workshops, and we hope you can be a part of another unbelievable experience.  

It's been a while since we last Critiqued the Community and we have received a lot of emails asking for us to bring it back.  For this episode of Critique the Community, we will be joined by special guest Elia Locardi who is an amazing landscape and cityscape photographer.  Since we have such an amazing talent in the Fstoppers Office we wanted to produce a Landscape Theme for the show.  If you want Elia and us to consider your image for the show, leave a link to your image within the community and we will try to give you our honest opinion.  

When I first met Anna Rowley while filming Peter Hurley's Illuminating the Face tutorial, it was obviously clear that she had discovered the psychological power behind Peter's headshot directing skills.  That day she shared with me her belief that there might be a direct correlation between how a person reacts in front of an intimating camera and how they perform in their workplace.  Everything she told me was extremely interesting, so I was pleasantly surprised when Peter texted me this TEDx talk yesterday.  I'm curious to hear what you guys think.  

Last week we released our portable light modifier The Fstoppers Flashdisc to the general public through Amazon.  While the success of our first ever physical product has been huge, a lot of people have been asking for example images shot with this useful small softbox.  Today I am going to break down a simple beauty shot you might see in a magazine that was shot entirely with 4 speedlights and 3 Flashdisc light modifiers.  

One of the most fun things about being a creative individual is seeing the reaction people have when you finally publish your work.  In just two days my Taser Photoshoot video and photo series has gained viral status with over 2 Million views on Youtube alone.  After reading hundreds of comments, replying to an overflowing inbox, and talking on the phone to more organizations than I could imagine, tonight the Fstoppers crew took a break to watch the coverage spill over to CNN.  Enjoy a laugh with us!

As a portrait photographer, I am always trying to make people feel comfortable in front of my camera so I can capture a real emotion from them.  But what if I was able to make people feel so uncomfortable in front of the camera that I could guarantee an interesting portrait every time?  This is the idea behind my latest series:  The Stun Gun Photoshoot.  I've edited two different videos as well as a behind the scenes in the full post below.

During our 2014 Fstoppers Workshops in the Bahamas students had the privilege of watching 10 successful photographers share their top photographic techniques. Commercial and celebrity portrait photographer Michael Grecco taught classes on environmental portraiture and sexy swimwear photography, so of course we thought it would be awesome to tag along as Michael explained some of the tips that make his portraits so unique.  

Last week Lee and I did our first ever Critique the Community where we looked at 20 images from the Fstoppers Community and gave our honest review of them.  It was such a success that we have decided to do it again.  This week we review 21 new images, rate them on a scale of 1-5, and give advice about how they could be stronger portfolio photographs.  

Over the weekend I asked our community members if they would like Lee and I to give critiques of some of their work.  The response was huge, so we have picked 20 random images to look over and give our honest opinions and suggestions. I never thought being this brutally honest would actually be quite fun and productive.

Last week Lee Morris wrote an article outlining the community rating system and we have been flooded with emails.  The most common question has been "now that I have a rating associated with my images, how can I get honest critiques and suggestions about my work?"  Well today is your lucky day because this weekend Lee and I are going to examine 15 images submitted to us and break down what makes each image great and not so great.  

When it comes to creating great advertising campaigns, photographers should take a page out of the sports apparel company Bogner's book:  capture something never seen before in the most beautiful way possible.  Bogner teamed up with elite downhill snow skier Chuck Patterson for an idea that simply seems impossible yet breathtaking.  

It has been a long time coming but the newly redesigned Fstoppers.com has finally become a reality! The biggest change coming to the website is an active community run by YOU - our readers.  Today marks the first public release of the new site design and hopefully you are as excited to become a part of this community as we are!

With over 100 students spanning 20 different countries, the first ever Fstoppers Workshops was a HUGE success. Join us this Sunday at 3pm Eastern (NYC time) as we recap some of the most interesting moments, catch up with newly made friends, and start taking suggestions for next year's event! Lee and I will be hosting the video chat and who knows what famous photographers will pop in to answer some of your questions. This is open to anyone and we look forward to seeing everybody again!

Last week Fstoppers and Peter Hurley hosted a free Illuminating the Face release party on Spreecast (view it here if you missed it). Since I had learned so much from Peter's tutorial I figured it would be exciting to use some of his studio lighting techniques for my own webcam session. What I didn't expect was all the emails, tweets, and live questions concerning my lighting setup. So in this post I'm going to share my lighting setup with everyone so you can reproduce it with your video sessions.

Today, Sunday May 4th, is the last day to buy both Peter Hurley's tutorials - The Art Behind the Headshot and Illuminating the Face - for $400. Our Save $200 Promotion has been a huge success and many of you have picked up both for an incredible discount. But all good things must come to an end so make sure you take advantage of this incredible offer here.

As you know, today we released our newest collaboration with Peter Hurley: Illuminating the Face. To celebrate the completion of this 4.5 hour tutorial, both Lee and I will be joining Peter Hurley live on Spreecast to talk about photography, lighting, headshots, and pushing yourself as an artist.

It's been 3 years since Lee and I flew up to NYC and filmed The Art Behind The Headshot with Peter Hurley. Today we are so excited to announce our latest collaboration with arguably the best headshot photographer in the world. Our new tutorial has been named Illuminating The Face and it's finally available to the public. We're also offering an incredible discount. 

We have reached that time....the Fstoppers Workshops in the Bahamas is only a month away! The response to our first workshop has been amazing and we cannot wait to meet everyone down in paradise. If you are still considering going, you only have 24 more hours to decide as our super affordable hotel room rate at the Atlantis Resort is about to expire. Monday is the last day to take advantage of our $169 room rate; after the 28th

Last week we had a ton of contests for our first ever Fstoppers Workshops in the Bahamas.   Each of the 10 instructors gave away free classes to their workshops through a ton of different platforms.  Every winner is listed in this full post.  If you missed out, don't worry.  LensRentals and four of the instructors are currently giving away an ALL PAID EXPENSE TRIP to our workshop in the Bahamas and it ends in less than 12 hours.  Less than 14 entries have been made so your chances of winning are extremely high!

Just a few hours and/or days left on these!  The first ever Fstoppers Workshops taking place in the Bahamas May 28th - June 1st is quickly approaching. Our crazy Atlantis Hotel Discount Room Rate is expiring on the April 22nd , and all of the instructors are each running a social media contest for those of you wishing to attend. Collectively there are over 15 free spots in a variety of workshops. To enter, simply check out the full post