Just about every day I read a comment from a photographer complaining about Facebook making their images look terrible. There are hundreds of websites that have done tests and posted results to show what they feel is the best resolution to post your images to Facebook. Rather than run a bunch of tests I am going to keep things simple and tell you exactly what has worked well for me.
Ever taken a photo only to find dust and small hair particles on your sensor. It can be quite aggravating. Here is a quick and easy way to clean up your sensor and only spend $8 doing it.
Update: The featured video has been changed per request of the photographer that was featured in it. In summary the video showed the back of a photographer standing up in the middle of the aisle next to the front two rows shooting with a 70-200mm lens aiming at the bridal party. I saw this video (video replaced with dancing dog) posted up in a Facebook group I belong to by the amazing team of videographers over at Motivity Films.
Have you ever felt inadequate as a creative artist? Have you internally credited luck to your success rather than give yourself credit for the hard work you put in to get where you are today? Maybe you even just feel like a fake? All of this even though you have worked your ass off to become the successful artist you are today. I know I personally have felt this way on numerous occasions. It wasn't until photographer Sascha Reinking shared a post he got from Brian Friedman in a Facebook group that I realized there is a name for this condition.
"Do you think we could do these photos that I found on Pinterest?" If you are a wedding photographer, or even a family photographer, it is more than likely you have heard this phrase before. My friends, Troy and Aimee Grover, extremely talented photographers in Southern California, decided to write up a post for future brides that shares the photographer's perspective on Pinterest, along with tips for brides. It's a fantastic read. With their permission I wanted to share some of the key ideas with our readers here.
Over the last couple years, more and more photographers are turning towards a new business model of sharing the digital files with their clients rather than requiring them to place print orders to generate revenue. The traditional business model photographers who rely on sales of prints to make money are furious with the growing popularity of "shoot and share photographers" even going as far as "declaring war" against it. Here's what photographers need to know.
UPDATE: Original video was removed, but we found it again! In order to make our subjects look their best we need to be shooting them from the correct angles. Peter Hurley is the master at this and in his DVD he gives so many fantastic tips on how to accomplish taking photos of people looking their best. This YouTube video that popped up today on Reddit is probably the best example I have yet to see of how the simple change of an angle will give your subject an entirely different look. This is might just be the best 14 seconds of your day!
Facebook changed up their News Feed algorithm again in an effort to constantly improve our experience on the site. Their goal is for us to spend as much time as possible on Facebook and in an effort to keep us there they will now be featuring the most highly ranked posts first in our news feed followed by those with less engagement. What does that mean to all of us? In short, it means if you post something boring it now has even less of a chance of being seen. Let me explain.
Just about every week I hear of another photographer who is crying for help on a private Facebook group because they lost the photos from a shoot. Either their compact flash memory card went corrupt, they deleted the images on accident or they lost the memory card full of photos entirely. Here are 9.5 tips that I have used over the years that have made sure my compact flash cards stay healthy and safe.
"Trevor, I see that a lot of people are visiting my site, but no one is contacting me for business. What can I do better?" I get this question quite a bit either via email or at the workshops I teach and while there is no magic solution that will work for everyone, I'd love to share what has been the biggest game changer for me in my business.
When I read the article about Onafujiri "Fuji" Remet on Huffington Post I was excited for this kids future. At just three years old his father placed a Sony DSLR camera in his hands and with it he has created over 3000 photos already. This article hit home for me because I had a similar experience as a kid and it helped me see the world in a new way.
Ready to stand out in a crowd of photographers? Today the site Lomography.com announced the Kickstarter project for the Petzval lens. As they say on their website, "Invented in 1840, Reloaded In 2013 By Lomography & Zenit." This lens will surely look nothing like any lens in your bag today as they are crafted from brass just like the original Petzval lens was back in the 19th century. Looks aside though what is it that has photographers clamoring over the Kickstarter project?
As a wedding photographer I am always on the hunt for that perfect second shooter. Over the last 4 years I have shot 120+ weddings and worked with over 70 different second shooters. Most of them have been fantastic but I have always thought it would be nice to have a list of second shooter tips I could send them before the wedding day. I'd love to hear what you think of the tips in the comments section below. Let me know what I left out and feel free to share stories (good or bad) about working with second shooters in the past.
As many of you know I am a big fan of social media. Search for me on Google and I hardly show up in the results, you won't find me at a bridal show, nor in paid ads inside a magazine. Instead all my business comes from word of mouth referrals and exposure via social media. When I heard about Mercedes-Benz launching a new campaign focused around social media, particularly Instagram, I decided to look into it. What I found is a perfect example of how companies can use social media contests to market themselves.
Quite often when Facebook rolls out new changes people start raising their pitchforks and torches. This time however Facebook got it right and I have a feeling it is going to be nothing but high praise. They are rolling out new fan page analytics (insights) that are quite impressive and definitely worth checking out. While many of you might not have received it just yet, I have a sneak peek and I have a feeling you will love what you'll see.
I have had the privilege of traveling all over the world as a photographer and love shooting photos of locals. They always light up seeing the images of themselves. However, I realized that while they loved seeing the images on the back of my camera, I was missing something important. Many of these people, especially those in third world countries, don't even have a single printed image of themselves. I found a way to change all that.
Wouldn't it be nice if you could open your inbox and not have to worry about sorting through all the spam to get to the messages that you actually want to read? About 6 months ago I learned of a tool that has been helping me do just that. The tool allows me to unsubscribe from emails with one click and combine all the other commercial emails (the ones I actually want to read) into one easy to read digest without all the clutter in my inbox. A true game changer for my email.
Lightroom is a software full of useful tools, but more often than not I see photographers not taking full advantage of them and resorting to do simple edits in other programs such as Photoshop. I put together this short 7 minute video covering some useful tips on using one of my favorite tools to quickly enhance my photos in Lightroom - The Adjustment Brush. I have also included a list of keyboard shortcuts below for those who enjoy them as much as I do.
It seems like every week another story is circulating around the industry about one photographer stealing from another. Often the theft is done to build a portfolio of images they then use to promote themselves with and gain more business. This morning, though, I experienced a first. I learned that another company has stolen a video, put their header logo on it and is sharing this video on their site to promote themselves. Amazingly this was a video we featured here on Fstoppers and even shared how the original creator and owner of the video Simeon Quarrie put the whole thing together.
I believe one of the best ways we can stay motivated as artists is to study the art and words of some of the legends of our craft. Inspired by the words of Henri Cartier-Bresson, film maker Eli Sinkus of 522Productions.com put together this short 2-minute film which I loved. While it is important to take lots of photos, as photographers we need to remember that sometimes we should put the camera down and enjoy moments as well. Read on to learn about one that I experienced this past week while on vacation.
On Tuesday, June 18, just after 8pm Christine Calderon, 23, was attacked and fatally stabbed by three transient men that were holding signs begging for money. After Christine snapped a photo of them because of the offensive language on their cardboard signs the men demanded money. When Christine and her friend refused the men attacked and later that night she passed away from the stab wound to her torso at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The attack happened on the popular intersection of Hollywood Blvd. and Highland Ave. where tens of thousands of tourists visit each year.
Today, Instagram rolled out a new update to their iOS and Android app adding a new video capture button along side the camera button. Now the 130-million monthly Instagram users will be able to capture up to 15-seconds of a moment when video would work better than a static image and dress them up with color grading filters. The question now is, will Instagram's new video feature hurt the rapid growth and success of Vine?
It is one of those controversial subjects that has been covered many times before. Creatives, marketing directors, and consumers all fighting over whether or not we should be airbrushing photos of models used in advertising and the effect it has on our youth growing up viewing images of flawless unrealistic body shapes. One large retailer is finally putting their foot down announcing publicly that they will ban all airbrushed images and are asking other retailers to follow.
One guy in our industry that continually impresses me with his execution of beautiful environmental portraits is Joey L. One concept he has been wanting to shoot for sometime is some portraits of "artic explorers" but rather than fight with the elements of the weather he pulled it all off in studio. Read on to learn how it was done and what equipment was used.
Now that many of us are shooting with DSLR cameras that handle both photo and video we often find ourselves doing a bit of both. For example, while I specialize in shooting weddings it is nice to be able to capture a bit of video of my clients and use it in a slideshow such as those done in Animoto or Lightroom 5. While I would love to invest in a slider for the videos, it is just not in my budget and would not be used enough. This video tip by Fenchel & Janisch will show how to get similar shots to those done with a slider, using the tripod you already own.
Miroslav Tichý, was a photographer that constructed his own homemade cameras out of cardboard tubes, tin cans, dress elastic and old camera parts he found. From 1960 to 1985 he used these homemade cameras to snap thousands of images around town often of unsuspecting women. It wasn't till 1981 that one of his friends gathered up prints strewn all over his studio, and organized them to share with the world through photo exhibitions, that Tichý's work would finally be discovered.
Throw a party, toss in 11 kegs of beer and a photo booth with a Phantom Miro shooting at 1500fps and what do you get? The guys over at Bruton Stroube found out and I have got to say I can't wait to be part of one of these events. I could not stop smiling while watching the video and all the fun setups they put together. I imagine being there must have been an unforgettable night. Then again with 11 kegs of beer maybe no one actually would have remembered what happened if it were not for the video evidence.
Merek Davis today announced the release of the image enhancing Mextures app for iPhone. Over the last year iPhone photographers have downloaded Mextures textures more than 200,000 times directly from Merek Davis’ store and tagged 140,000 images on Instagram; now they have an iPhone app to more easily create and share visually stunning images. I have got to say that after buying and playing with the app this morning, this is one that you don't want to miss out on.
I am a keyboard shortcut junkie. Anytime I can find a way to do something quicker using a keyboard shortcut I will force myself to use it for a few days till I have built it into my workflow. A few of my favorite keyboard shortcuts are found in the Lightroom Crop Tool. I love sharing these tips with other photographer friends and watching their eyes light up as they realize some of the great features built into the Lightroom Crop tool which help speed up their own workflow.
Behind the scenes videos are some of the best ways to learn our craft, especially when it comes to setting up lighting. It takes quite a bit of courage though to put yourself out there online and share a video with our industry. Arizona based photographer, Lear Miller, took the leap and put together his first BTS video of a fitness shoot that I thought deserved a shout out here on Fstoppers.
Residents of a luxury building in the Tribeca neighborhood of New York City are quite upset over the recent news that an art exhibit will be featuring photos, shot of them, through their house windows. How would you feel if you heard a photograph of you sleeping or bending over in your house is now part of an art show and selling for thousands of dollars? Would you feel like your private space was violated? Is this even legal? Read on to learn more about the photos and the legality surrounding the whole issue.
I have always been a fan of documentaries and especially those that cover photographers and the story behind their photos. If you are like me, you'll enjoy watching this 15-minute film documenting Ziyah Gafic as he reveals interesting stories about a number of his projects including one that helps to lift the stereotype of Saudi Arabian women. This was the first time I have been exposed to Gafic's work but I was quickly drawn in by a lot of the things he had to share which he has learned over the years of being a photographer.
Just about everyday another person is complaining that Facebook is only sharing their posts with a handful of their fans. They tried links, they tried pictures, videos even just posting text and throw their hands up in the area frustrated by the lack of people seeing their posts. I recently stumbled on this infographic that cleverly explains how Facebook's newsfeed algorithm is broken down. Great information worth checking out if you plan on trying to use Facebook successfully.
Over the years, I have taught numerous workshops for photographers and during those classes one of the most appreciated techniques that we discuss is shooting proper white balance using Kelvin temperatures. If it is something new to you, it might at first seem a bit overwhelming but I guarantee it is actually quite simple to learn. Read on to learn just how easy it is and the benefits of shooting in Kelvin versus Auto White Balance.
If the guy wasn't already talented enough, now Brad Pitt is showing off his ability to shoot photos of his gorgeous "wife" and family using black and white film. The photos are quite spectacular and give us all an interesting insight into his life behind closed doors. You will want to see these.
