Profile picture for Michael DeStefano
1 Photo of the Day badge
1 3 Star badge
1 10+ Portfolio Images badge
2 Entered Contest badge

Articles from Michael DeStefano

5 First Aid Kits Every Photographer Should Own

Whether you have a full-time production studio, only shoot on location, or just do a little landscape or bird photography for fun on the weekends, you should own at least one of these first aid kits possibly even 2 or 3 of them. 

CreativeLive Expands Online Portfolio With Wildist.co Acquisition

CreativeLive, the online learning platform for creatives, founded by photographer Chase Jarvis and now a Fiverr company, has announced its acquisition of the full catalog and website of Wildist.co, a popular online resource for outdoor and adventure photographers. 

The Long Process of Capturing Time-Lapse Footage of Growing Mushrooms

The entire genre of time-lapse photography is a game of patience and preparation, but creating short films involving the life cycle of a  mushroom is on an entirely different level. When 24hrs worth of frames can equate to only a few seconds of footage there is not a lot of room for mistakes.

Is Unreal Engine the Future of Filmmaking?

The short answer is "yes", and it has already proven affordable and successful in a wide range of fields and production sizes. With the rise of virtual models and 3D rendered product catalogs, and real-time rendering, I think the real question is how far this technology will impact commercial photography and videography as a whole. 

What It Looks Like to Shoot an Entire Short Film 100 Feet Underwater

The process from concept to actually shooting a short film can have a lot of moving parts that quickly balloon the overall size of a project. Unforeseen problems will inevitably arise, budgets, schedules, and resources, all putting stress on the crew. Now, imagine choosing to shoot the entire film underwater and at times at a depth of 100 feet. This is exactly what Josiah Gordan envisioned for his film "Angelita."

General Use Large Tripod Shoot-Out and Comparison

Tripods are not the most interesting photography tool to research and debate over the positives and negatives of their features, but chances are, you will own and use that tripod for at least two camera upgrades. This makes your tripod something you will end up relying on for quite some time. 

Fstoppers Reviews the Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Pro ISO Live Streaming HDMI Switcher

The Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini is one of the best and easiest ways to do more than just stream multiple cameras, and at first, it might seem like an expensive gadget for most photographers. But this last year has shown us a lot of businesses can succeed remotely and even after things return to some level of normalcy a few things are probably going to stay that way. 

A Look at The Work of Italian Photographer Gina Lollobrigida

In my opinion, it is important for creatives to experience and examine the work and art that has come before us. Everyone has work or photographers they aspire to, but who inspired them? The process and experience of unraveling this trail can lead to rapid artistic growth in my opinion, and the best part is coming across a photographer you never knew existed. 

50 Non-Photography Items You Might Want To Carry in Your Camera Bag

Everyone has a pocket or two in their camera bag filled with odds and ends that they might find useful. If you’re the type of photographer that travels a lot or is often on-location you’ve probably developed a list of non-photographic items for various scenarios, based on your own experiences. Here is a list of all the things that can be found in my camera bags. 

We Review the MSI Prestige PS341WU 34" 21:9 5K IPS Monitor

There is a lot of new tech showing up in monitors the last few years higher. With higher resolutions, HDR support, multiple color spaces, and ultra-wide panels, it can be difficult to find the monitor that meets your specific needs. If you're looking for productivity and a clean look, the MSI Prestige PS341W 34" WUHD IPS 5K2K might be worth checking out. 

We Review the Portable Audeze LCD-1 Reference Series Headphones

We always emphasize the benefits of shooting raw, we spend a lot of money on high-end monitors, and we calibrate those monitors, all so we can create the best foundation for editing our photos and video. But do we do the same for our audio? That's where reference monitors and headphones come into the picture. 

Tips for Shooting Run and Gun Street Videography

Brandon Li has a talent for combining limited gear with creativity to produce film projects that seem to have a much higher production value. In this quick video, Li shows some BTS clips of how he finds his subjects and with patience gets better end results.

A Look at The Artistic Photography of Saul Leiter

There are a lot of ways to learn photography these days outside of a traditional photography degree, but one of the things that have been lost for a lot of younger photographers is the history of photography courses that most art college students take. Examinations of the body of work and life of great photographers like Saul Leiter are a great step towards getting that part of education back in our digital age. 

How to Make Your Own Wood Backdrops for Food and Product Photography

There are lots of great options from pre-made to digitally printed backdrops available, but a lot of them are not cheap, and if you want to have a wide variety, it adds up quickly. That is why I supplement my collection with my own homemade DIY backdrops. 

Office Chairs Versus Gaming Chairs: Which Is Better for Editing Sessions?

As creatives, we often spend a good amount of time at our desks, and this past year for a lot of us has seen that amount of time double if not triple. Sales of desk chairs over the last year shows that we are not alone in that, but how much research did you do into buying your desk chair?

How and What To Charge Your Clients

Often being successful in any creative field is equal parts talent and knowing how to run your business. Yet for a lot of us, we spend the least amount of time educating ourselves on good business practices. The beginning of the new year is a great time to remedy this. 

Five Simple Steps to Improve Your Portraits

When first starting out in photography, it is easy to fall into bad habits or get fixated on a single part of the overall process. Practicing simple and easy steps over and over is a sure way to build the necessary muscle memory needed to make the mechanics of photography second nature so you can spend more effort on interacting with your subject.

The Top Astronomical Events of 2021 for Astrophotography

Whether you are looking to get into astrophotography or take your skills to the next level, 2021 has lots of great astronomical events happening all over the world. Planning in advance and being in the right place at the right time is the first step to getting amazing shots. 

Leica Announces the Newest Addition to the SL System: The 24-Megapixel SL2-S

Today, Leica has announced a new addition to their SL System of full frame mirrorless cameras in the Leica SL2-S. Again listening to its audience and expanding the line to accommodate different users' needs, the SL2-S is a new 24-megapixel sensor in the same body as the SL2 and priced slightly more affordably at $4,895. 

DIY Water-Cooled Canon R5 Set-up Results in Unlimited 8K Recording

Imagine being able to film unlimited 8K video, or capturing images of deep-sky objects all night with almost zero noise. While there may be better ways to manufacture a camera without heat issues, there is a market for a camera that could be cooled beyond the average current camera housing. 

Comparing the Sony a7S III to the Canon R5 for 4K 120 Fps Slow-Motion Video

Shooting 4K at 120 fps is kind of a niche feature and something many may not even think about, but having it available when you need it is pretty great. Now that 4K has become more standard in the DSLR and mirrorless market, we are starting to see more cameras capable of shooting 4K at 120fps. 

Does Your On-Site Workflow Have Sufficient Data Backups?

At this point, I don't think anyone is not aware that they need to have multiple backups of their data, but at what point in your workflow does your backup process start? Depending on the type of work you shoot you may need more backup options and you might need to start your backups on location. 

A Review of the Canon EOS R5 From a Sports Photographer's Perspective

As more and more photographers move to mirrorless camera systems, it is important to test and get some hands-on experience to see if a specific camera body will meet your average work flow. There are a lot of impressive new mirrorless cameras hitting the market but are they the right upgrade for you?

What It Looks Like to Be A Commercial Drone Pilot During COVID-19

While we all adjust to these ongoing changes, it is interesting to see how different types of photographers and videographers have successfully adapted and continued their craft. Being a commercial drone pilot often requires a small team, and that team is often a part of a larger production. With film and video production studios beginning to get back to work, what it looks like behind the scenes on set is going to be different. 

That Nikon Guy Finally Sells All of His Nikon Gear

Now, more than ever, there are a ton of reasons to switch to a different camera ecosystem. whether you're making the switch from one brand to another or just switching to a mirrorless system. If you've been doing photography as a hobby for a long time or make a living with it, you've probably built up a collection of bodies, lenses, and even some flashes all within the same system. Sure, you can get adapters from Canon to Sony or EF to RF, but that's probably just going to save you a few bucks. 

'The World at Night': An Astrophotography Book by Babak Tafreshi

The night sky is photographed more today than ever before, and yet, dark sky areas are shrinking at incredible rates. That's something The World at Night (TWAN) program and Babak Tafreshi are trying to educate others on with this new book and the amazing collection of images within. 

What It Looks Like Photographing an MLB Game During COVID-19

With COVID-19, fans have been wondering for quite some time just when sports would come back and what they might look like. Now, we are starting to see several professional sports preparing to start their modified regular seasons, but how are sports photographers being affected by these new changes?