Shooting photos in RAW is the choice of most professionals. Unfortunately, we all know that once you import those photos into Lightroom, the vibrant images viewed on your camera LCD suddenly look flat. What if there were a quick fix that would make your RAW images better replicate what you see on your camera?
Released on May 21, 1980, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back has become over the years one of the most epic space films ever. The Star Wars series has resulted in a cultural phenomenon and made a tremendous effect on the film industry. Photos have surfaced showing the behind the scenes action including old tricks used to pull of some of the "mind-blowing" effects we watched as kids. You have got to see these.
Here's an oldie but goodie about the secret of success in creative work. It was a talk given by Ira Glass which was then turned into an animation by David Shiyang Liu. It's less than 2-minutes long and has some fantastic advice for creatives. I have witnessed a lot of friends in the industry really struggling with their own work right now and so I thought sharing this would be relevant for all those in the same position. Read after the jump for the entire quote.
While shooting a rare Kakapo parrot in New Zealand, Mark Carwardine got more participation from the bird than he expected. In this 2-minute video that is sure to make you smile Carwardine is apparently mistaken for an attractive mate. So what do you think, should photographers play in active role in the conservation and breeding of rare animals in the wild?
As one of the writers here at Fstoppers I do quite a bit of scouring the internet trying to find the best 'behind the scenes' videos to share with our readers. Sadly much of what I see lacks content, rather it is most commonly just a music video of a photographer on a shoot. Fortunately, this video by Simeon Quarrie documenting his shoot in Italy is quite the opposite. Packed with great information and lots of tips this video is worth checking out. Read on to see a lighting diagram and some of the photos from the shoot.
Quite a number of years ago I had a friend that suggested I use Photomechanic to review my photos and pick the ones I want to edit (also known as "culling.") I downloaded the free trial and was immediately turned off by the archaic and confusing menus. Had someone showed me then what I was missing I would have immediately adopted it into my workflow and saved myself lots of time over the years. Hopefully this video will do it justice and show you just how incredible and valuable a tool Photomechanic is for your workflow.
Having the right gear as a photographer can get quite expensive. We spend all our money on the camera and lenses only to find out later we need all kinds of other gadgets and gizmos to run our business. Often we invest in something that we use a few times and then it gets buried in our bag never to be touched again. As I was thinking about all the gear I have the one thing that came to mind as one of my most valuable was a gift from my wife and cost her just $35. Read on to find out what it is...
Adobe announced the release of their beta version of the new Lightroom 5 today and with it I dove in and quickly discovered my five favorite new features. A few of these are true game changers in how we edit our photos and will in the end save us as photographers quite a bit of time while using the innovative software. Read on to see some examples of the features and what my first impressions are on the new Lightroom 5.
Representative Betty Nuovo, of the Vermont State House, recently introduced a bill that if passed would "make it illegal to take a photograph of a person without his or her consent, or to modify a photograph of a person without his or her consent, and to distribute it." This could have some ugly consequences for photographers in Vermont and if it passes there I would not be surprised to see other states try to follow suit. Let's examine this more...
All day I have been hunkered down in my office chair pounding through emails, album designs, and editing. My camera zipped away in my bag, my equipment strewn across my office floor. While the perception of being a full time photographer is one of double rainbows the reality is there is so much more to what we do. The following infographic should be a required reading for anyone ready to give up their day job to live the "rock style life" of a photographer.
While in Las Vegas attending the annual WPPI conference I stopped in and spent some time at the print competition. There I repeatedly noticed that many of the prints had a matte type of look to them. Now part of this is the choice of paper they print on, but also how the photos is processed plays a big part as well. I created this quick video to share with you how this look is achieved very easily in Lightroom. I have also included some sample before and after photos below.
Have you ever been on a shoot in which you used two cameras or had an assistant shooting with you, imported the files into Lightroom and then realized they were not time synced properly? If so, this quick 5-minute video is for you. Lightroom makes it incredibly easy to time sync your files so they all line up perfectly in chronological order by capture time. I'll show you how it's done in the video and read on below for some additional quick tips.
Lightroom 4.4 is now available. The update will either automatically happen through the built in update system in the software the next time you open it or you can find it online at Adobe.com or in the links I have included below. The update includes additional camera raw support, lens profiles and addresses bugs in previous versions. Read on to see the specifics for the Lightroom 4.4 update.
Over the last 48 hours I have looked at these photos time and time again. I have shared them with my wife and daughter. I have been touched tremendously and my water-filled eyes have been opened to the daily struggles and emotions those face who are fighting cancer. I have been incredibly grateful to the photographer Angelo Merendino, who took the time to document his wife's journey through photos and share them with all of us to help "humanize the face of cancer." In Merendino's words, "these photographs do not define us, but they are us."
As a type of person that loves to figure out everything I can about gadgets and software, I am always surprised by how often I meet up with photographers that really only use the powerful programs on their computers for the most basic functions. Typically we get comfortable with a few features and never really explore what else can be done. Maybe we run out of time, maybe we just have no interest. Either way, I hope to share some short, quick, easy to follow along videos over the next few weeks sharing some of my favorite tips and tricks in Lightroom.
The photo a day project is something that has been done now hundreds of times. You know the one, in which a person snaps a photo of themselves every day and combines it all together into one video. While I have seen a number of these videos before, I have never seen one quite like this. In this video we witness photos of a young lady who over the year shows signs of bruising evidently caused by domestic abuse. Read on to learn more about this video and why it was shared.
About two months ago I was thinking about my upcoming wedding season that starts this weekend and lasts till June. Shooting a wedding every weekend can really challenge your creativity. So I decided I would add a 90mm tilt-shift lens to my bag to give my creative side a boost of adrenaline. I didn't realize how refreshing it would be to use this lens. In just a few months it's become my new favorite. Read on to learn why and see some photos taken with it.
*Edit* Since writing this article I have since moved from PASS to Pixieset as my online gallery of choice for my clients. You can read more about why I feel Pixieset is the best solution here, "Top 10 Reasons Pixieset Makes Sense for Professional Photographers."
I am a self professed tech nerd. I am always on the search for the latest innovations and products that will better my life and business. Over the last few months I have been using one that is a real game changer in my business. In a very short amount of time PASS has become an extremely valuable asset helping me book more clients and get my images in front of more faces.
A few minutes ago I received an email that contained some big red flags and alerted me of a dangerous situation that all photographers and models should be aware is happening. Recently here on Fstoppers we reported on models that went missing after accepting jobs on these modeling sites. Well now I have discovered that someone is actually representing themselves as me on one of these sites and trying to setup various shoots with models.
Today Facebook held a press conference at their Menlo Park headquarters to announce changes to the News Feed. While in the past Facebook has taken heat each time a change has been made, I have a feeling users are really going to love what's in store. These changes are especially pleasing to creatives as Facebook is now embracing videos and photos bringing vibrant new visuals and giving them a predominant space on the news feed. Read on to learn more about these great changes and view an additional helpful video.
Over the years I have gotten to know many photographers that can take great photos but who suffer staying motivated in their business. Many of us try to do it on our own with no one to really believe in us. Our family and friends watch us from the sidelines waiting for us to throw in the towel. I have found that watching a daily motivational video is a great way for me to stay focused and inspired. Here are 5 of my current favorites I believe every entrepreneur should watch.
I had to watch this video three times. It simply blew me away. For years movies have been created using green screens, as is the case here with the 2012 hit "The Avengers." The part that amazed me in this behind the scenes video is the amount of detail that is captured to perfection by the digital artists and how they team up with photographers to recreate reality spheres to insert the actors. Read on to check out some of the facts on how it was created.
As a wedding photographer I have learned that our shooting conditions are not always ideal. One of the places I dread most is the bride's dressing room. It is typically a hotel room with bags, shoes and every beauty accessory invented strewn across the floor. The lighting is never ideal and the decor just might be the straight out of your grandma's home. Read on below to see a simple lighting setup using two flashes that can help you create beautiful portraits even in not so flattering locations.
Utah's photographer of the year, Marvell Smith did a presentation in front of the Utah County SMUG group about posing and gave some great golden nuggets that all of us can apply to our own work. The video quality is not the best but the information is extremely useful and worth checking out. Smith, of Vellvet Images, has a way of working with couples that create pictures that tell stories. A true professional! If you want to jump ahead to get right to the section about posing start the video about 30 minutes in.
Is this really the hip thing to do these days? Why is it that I keep reading headlines like this of wedding photographers turning to their iPhone versus their camera gear? I get that it’s trendy, and within seconds (with no Photoshop needed) you can add a grunge effect with an Instagram filter and have it posted online. But seriously... *shakes head*
Have you ever be interested seeing just how much information Facebook has on you? What if there was a tool that could take that information and turn it into an easy to read visual display? How about finding out what words you use most in your posts? (Mine happened to be "one" "shoot" and "wedding") Find out who you share the most friends with? And lots more data that is quite intriguing. All this can be discovered through a new tool offered by Wolfram|Alpha.
Camera Sutra is a tale of love between a photographer and his camera. This witty shirt was designed by Trey Ratcliff, HDR phenom of the site StuckInCustoms.com, and is being sold on his site store. About the shirt Ratcliff said, "We don't take ourselves too seriously around here... occasionally we seem to find ourselves in embarrassing positions with our tripods, so we thought it best to consult the hallowed ancient tome of the Camera Sutra and make a t-shirt out of it." Read on to see all the named positions.
Now that the Superbowl is behind us we can all start talking about the best commercials we saw. All over social media it seems the one that got the big win for the night was the excellent commercial from Dodge truck with photos of farmers. Great commercial indeed... but did you know that it was inspired by an idea posted to YouTube back in 2011 by Farms.com. I have shared them both below.
One of my favorite books is Love Is A Killer App by Tim Sanders. In it we read that business love is “the act of intelligently and sensibly sharing your intangibles (knowledge, network, and compassion) with your bizpartners.” One person who exemplifies this concept perfectly is Jasmine Star and her series of videos called Shooting Star. The videos are full of great advise for new as well as experienced wedding photographers ready to learn new tips that will help them grow their business.
Wedding photographer Sal Cincotta voiced his opinion on Facebook today about Miller Lab's launching a new line of albums using the word "Signature" in the title. Apparently Cincotta has a wedding album line that goes by a similar name, Signature Collection Albums, and he feels that there will now be "confusion in the market place." Read below what Cincotta posted on his Facebook page and voice your own opinion in the comments. Do you think Miller's was out to copy Cincotta or is "Signature" a generic enough word anyone should be able to use it.
Here at Fstoppers we love sharing behind the scenes photo shoots with our readers so we can all learn and grow together. Every so often we come across one that while it could have been executed better is still worth sharing. Such is the case with the recent commercial shoot for the McPhee Inflatable Unicorn Horn for cats. I can gather from the video that it is best to shoot unicorn'ed cats against a white seamless, using Pocket Wizards to fire your lights and a number of cat petting assistants. Big props go out to the audio mixer on the video as well. Enjoy!
In the last 12 months I have seen a number of new unmanned aerial vehicles (also known as drones) entering the market with the ability to capture video or photos. It has been something that I have been quite interested in and have intently researched buying one. However my latest findings have convinced me to wait a few more years before I make a purchase as now I realize they are illegal and the FAA can issue large fines and even shut you down if you are caught operating one for your business. Read on to learn more.
Sue Bryce, Australian Portrait Photographer of the Year, teamed up with the extremely talented Hailey Bartholomew to tell the powerful story of one girl's love story and her battle with breast cancer. It's a very moving story and definitely worth watching. I love seeing the way creatives are using their talents to bless the lives of others and share stories that the world needs to hear about.
Websites such as Twitter and Facebook can be extremely powerful tools for our businesses however most of us are using them all wrong. Over the years we have continued to pile on layer after layer of distractions that in the end leave us feeling guilty of even trying to use social media. We walk away feeling like we wasted our time. It's time to regain control of these tools and use them for good to connect, be inspired and market ourselves. Read on to learn some valuable tips that have been real game changers for me.
When smart phones first started gaining in popularity I was one of those who insisted I didn't need one. I was quite satisfied with my flip phone and the ability I had to send a text message every once in awhile even if it took three presses of the number 7 to get the letter "S." When I finally made the leap to the smart phone a couple years ago I realized it was probably the single most valuable tool in my life for productivity, business, learning and entertainment. I wanted to share with our readers the 48 android apps I use most often and hear about your favorites in the comments below.
