Education

Taking photos at night can be an incredibly creative and rewarding experience. Unfortunately, increasing levels of light pollution in cities and urban areas makes it virtually impossible to include any detail in your sky which is often a major aspect of your composition. Adding stars is an easy and effective answer to this problem. With simple masking and blending techniques you can add interest to your background and give the impression of being in a secluded, faraway place. The most common error is overdoing it by adding too many stars or trying to integrate them into a scene that simply does not look natural. Here are two quick techniques which aim to avoid these pitfalls.

Karl Taylor is a name you’ve probably heard of if you look for photography videos on YouTube. He’s been working with big brands such as Hasselblad and Broncolor to create comprehensive content helping beginners as well as advanced photographers. In his latest video, he shows us how he created a beautiful lighting setup yielding photoshopped-like results.

We've briefly covered the release of this very special filter before. It blocks out the artificial light of our modern world, light pollution. STC's Astro-Multispectra Filter is designed to block out the orange and green hues from sodium and mercury street lamps. But what's really intriguing for any Nikon full-frame shooter is that this is the first and only option when you shoot wide-angle landscape shots.

A key factor in the success of any photography business is the ability to produce technically sound images that stand out and differentiate your style from that of other photographers. As a pet photographer, one way to generate bold and professional-looking images from your outdoor sessions is to light your subjects with off-camera flash.

I've heard stories of clients who said that. They feel the service of a certain photographer is way too expensive, as to them, it's merely clicking of a button. I tend to agree with many who say that.

There is a theory that the best creative people have to live in a world that is chaotic and unstructured. Whilst there may be some great examples to cite such as Amy Winehouse and Janis Joplin, imagine what they would have created with clear minds. Being organized, having effective systems, and achieving mindfulness creates more time for creatives to do what they do best; Think with clarity. Here are three great apps that will help you achieve this.

No matter what genre of photography you shoot, anyone can benefit from learning to better sculpt light in their images. This great video not only shows you how to light one object, but also how to light several objects to create dimensionality and clarity in your images.

Shortcuts for Adobe Premiere Pro are like the force is to a Jedi. The alt/option key on the keyboard allows you to remove some time-consuming drags of footage across the timeline. It speeds you up. Moving footage around on your timeline can often be exactly that: a drag. Enter the alt or option key.

There comes a time where you need to cut ties with other artists who are not blending well with your company. Makeup artists are very hard to come by in my small town and when one failed to show for more than one appointment it was time to say our goodbyes. But what happens to the session that was a no show? While your client is waiting in that chair, with her excitement starting to wane, it is time to take action. If you are prepared this will be a breeze.

This week the internet became awash with articles reporting that Harvard had released their Photography course onto the internet for free. It has since come to our attention the course that has been circulating, allegedly Harvard's online platform "Alison," is in fact fraudulent. The correct source of Harvard's Photography material can be found here, and is a nonprofit ".org."

Fstoppers has reached out to Harvard's Photography department for more information. Updates to follow.

As photographers and videographers, the resolution of our displays is crucial to our ability to see the detail of our work. That's why it's a treat to see how far we've come since the advent of displays.

Histograms are a very useful tool for checking that you haven't clipped any blacks or whites in a scene and ensuring you have a proper exposure. However, they're often misunderstood. This great video clears up some misconceptions and shows exactly why they're useful and how they should be used.

Many of you are familiar with Ted Forbes and his popular YouTube channel, "The Art of Photography." Personally, I’ve always appreciated his candid nature and helpful attitude towards anyone and everyone on their photographic journeys. From his videos covering various film cameras to the philosophy of certain photographic pioneers, he has produced some incredibly helpful, honest content. Furthering that, his newest video tackles the idea of creating photographs or a body of work that has lasting importance.

Fstoppers is heading back out on the road with Elia Locardi to film the latest installment of "Photographing the World." This time time around, the gang will be heading to the Alps, Dubai, and a few countries in South America as they explore even more advanced landscape techniques and post processing. Now is your chance to sign up for early bird access to Elia's new tutorial and to watch a sneak peek video of Elia's crazy travel lifestyle courtesy of Smugmug!

Using textures to enhance photographs is a creative technique that is often overlooked. The best part is that it can be achieved completely free and usually in a matter of seconds.