In this age of an increasingly competitive photography market, we shooters need to utilize every tool possible to make us stand out in the pack. My buddy Matthew Jones has gone back to basics with his printed pocket portfolio.
Even if you're new to this site, I'm pretty confident you've seen some sort of article about this unique photo series in which Michael Paul Smith builds intricate models and photographs them to recreate scenes from his imaginary childhood. Even I marveled at the fact that these were photographs of 1/24 scale models and not real scenes from history.
About a year ago, I took new portraits of my production company's crew for our company biographies. One of my video camera operators, Mike Nelson, decided to Photoshop the portrait of one of my producers Shawn Lucas. It started with dropping his face into one comedic situation, and well, it just started spiraling out of control after that.
In many modern cultures, we view white teeth as a sign of health, virility, and attractiveness. A large reason as to why there are a million toothbrush, toothpaste, and teeth whitening products on the shelf today. So what do you do when your overworked, over-caffeinated, and/or over-smoking portrait subject has teeth stained yellow?
I will start this article off by saying that I am not a pet photographer. I am a portrait photographer that typically captures humans for magazines and ads. However, a couple years ago I started a pit bull charity (Not A Bully) and it unexpectedly led me to some jobs photographing rescue animals.
If you were a kid of the 1980s like me and loved Nintendo, you absolutely remember the Power Glove. In fact, I think that was one of the only scenes I remember from the movie "The Wizard" starring Fred Savage of "The Wonder Years" was the debut of this badass piece of 80s tech. Fast forward to 2015.
When I was new to portrait lighting, I used to blast everything with light with reckless abandon. Although, as I grew as a photographer, I learned that the ability to control the spread of light on a multi-strobe shoot allowed you to not only create something with a more sophisticated appearance, but tell a better story.
Being a dog lover and person that runs a dog charity on the side, I am always curious as to what my rescue Pit Bull / Boxer Emma does when I leave the house. I always imagine that she just sleeps in my bed, but my family tells me she cries and stares at the door when I leave town. After seeing this first video, I've decided I will be strapping a camera to her to see what she does.
We've posted about commercial photographer Eric Doggett on here before. You may recall his popular post about how he put together his family's Back to the Future Christmas card. He goes out of his way to create some of the most creative holiday cards I've ever seen.
This is my full-frame Canon 5D Mark II with vertical dual battery grip. It may be worn down to the metal on the edges, but this baby still shoots beautiful 21 megapixel RAW files and 1080p video. It's ridden tanks and supercars and hung out of helicopters and photographed some pretty famous folks for some album and magazine covers. Now, I have decided to give it away to the best cause.
First of all, if you watched the lead video above, you have learned that Matthew Jones is possibly a crazy person. Car photography is absolutely a challenge, but rollerblading down the road at full speed to capture driving action is just bonkers. When I heard Matthew talk about doing this and when I saw the high quality of his images, I knew I had to feature him on Fstoppers.
This is a really unique article for me to post. I was talking with my friends at New York City based Phase One dealer, Digital Transitions, and they were interested in sharing the story of how industry's leading RAW processing and tethering software, Capture One, evolved into what it is today.
Many of us know what it feels like to have or want to do a strobed on-location portrait without the benefit of an assistant. In fact, many of the portraits that I believe to be my best were done without an assistant and only with one strobe. It's all about good strategy and proper planning gear/creative-wise.
If you've ever thought about trying out a drone, you probably have heard how complicated it is. Sure, there are easier systems to use like the DJI Phantom, but there is still a learning curve that you need to overcome before you should fly and shoot with a drone on your own, especially before an important shoot... and also before any situation where you may possibly LOSE the drone.
It seems like everyone is asking for money these days. The guy starting a fundraiser for his UBER ride home from the bar to the model wanting to start a photography career by creating a GoFundMe page asking fans to buy her a $2500 camera. With campaigns like these going around, it's sometimes discouraging to donate to some of today's fundraisers for creative projects...until today.
Going to the upcoming PDN Photo Plus Expo in New York City or just looking for a great photo workshop in the near future? Well here is a chance to see the Fstoppers team in action! Below is a list of classes, presentations, and general shenanigans you will find us hosting in the near future. Make sure to at least come out and say hello.
Recently I had the opportunity to fly to Ohio and photograph the enigmatic alternative rock duo Twenty One Pilots for the cover of Alternative Press Magazine. Sure, you may have seen my posts before about shooting musicians and magazine covers, but never have I ever had to hang one of my artists upside down for a trick shot.
If you have not heard of BMW's nimble new i8 hybrid supercar, you should look it up now. Even if you aren't into cars, you do have to take a moment to marvel at not only its beautifully-futurisitc aesthetics, but it's equally as impressive performance technology. BMW hired director Gus Van Sant to create a trio of gorgeous ads to help introduce the car to the world.
Ever take a photo during the daytime and wish it was at night? Some of you may shake your head, but it there are legitimate times in commercial and editorial projects where this is completely necessary in order to fulfill client/creative requirements. Glyn Dewis has put together this effective and straightforward Photoshop tutorial on how to do just that.
If you follow any of my work, you know I am a sucker for anything Back To The Future. I even recreated my own BTTF image using a real DeLorean awhile back, so I HAD to share this video.
This is one of those phone calls you always hope to receive from a photo editor, but you can never envision happening.
You read that headline correctly. After making a huge splashes in the motion-capture industry since 2005, Red has big plans to be the only camera system you use on set for both your motion AND still photography needs, and it's closer to being a reality than you would think. Prepare to have your minds blown.
We all know that as DSLR technology improves, more of us photographers are trying our hands at creating video content. One of the easiest ways to do that is to shoot music videos for your pre-existing music photo clients and friends. I know that's how we built the portfolio for our production comapny, orignially.
My friend and RIDES Magazine's head photographer Andrew Link is no stranger to Fstoppers. He also happens to be one of the kings of shooting cars with the Westcott Ice Light, which is essentially a handheld LED rod (looks like a flourescent tube) used as a constant daylight temperature light source.
Our friends at the automotive website Jalopnik have announced their second transportation-focused film festival, and it is great news for car lovers and creatives alike for a few reasons.
Early on, I faced some bullying from older photographers that viewed me as competition and tried to convince me to quit my budding photo career. Ever since, I have been particularly aware and sensitive to how photographers treat and/or handle each other.
If you've ever tried to film something, you probably know what it's like to try and cobble something together with a bunch of borrowed and/or homemade gear. I know the first music video that we ever shot we done with a "borrowed" shopping cart, a camera on loan, and some shop lights.
Late last year I was contacted by one of my magazine clients to shoot their upcoming cover with Panic At The Disco front man Brendon Urie and it had to take place across the country in Las Vegas in about a week (I am NYC-based by the way). I scrambled to find some cool locations in the region, knowing full well I did not want to shoot in some cramped hotel suite.
My buddy and DC photographer Willis Bretz has been busy working on a personal portrait series in honor of the 70th anniversary of D-Day. Mixing his history degree and his flourishing photography career, he wanted to create something that reflects his love for both.
So you've been working long hours at your desk or computer, rarely see your friends, when you're not working, you're thinking about work or shoots. Your portfolio and income may be improving (or trying to), but you feel like your personal life is falling apart in the process. Does this sound all too familiar?
Some great photographers are lucky enough to have a rare opportunity to photograph ultra-rare and exclusive cars, but usually you have to work under tight restrictions or are often thrown an obstacle or two. Car photographer Pepper Yandell's recent photo shoot with a rare super car worth nearly $4 million was no exception.
Phlearn has debuted another really helpful and easy-to-follow tutorial about how to master motion blur in Photoshop. Early in my photography career, I would make the mistake of shooting motor sports with a high shutter speed. The cars would look sharp but they appeared to be parked on the race track.
The guys at DigitalRev are at it again! They've created this video about how one is guaranteed to look like a true pro photographer. A lot of it is meant to be silly and humorous, but there are actually a couple of tips in there that will actually help you be a better photographer.
Things I noticed in the video:
We posted a set of videos released by Pathé News, part of their 85,000 reels released, but this one really stood out to me- it's hilarious. I'll add that I've taught and taken quite a few photo workshops in my day, but I would kill to know what that instructor was saying to his students and the models. Let's break this video down shall we?
