Photography News

The Fstoppers community is brimming with creative vision and talent. Every day, we comb through your work, looking for images to feature as the Photo of the Day or simply to admire your creativity and technical prowess. In 2026, we're featuring a new photographer every month, whose portfolio represents both stellar photographic achievement and a high level of involvement within the Fstoppers community. 

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"Shoot more" is one of the most common pieces of advice a photographer receives. We usually read "more" as more places, more subjects, more opportunities. Repetition may teach considerably more than novelty does.

 

Shooting more gives you experience. You become faster with the camera and less likely to miss an obvious frame, but broad experience is not the same as measurable improvement. The problem with "shoot more" is not the word "more." It is what we keep changing while doing it.

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You look at a photo and decide almost instantly whether it works, long before you've weighed composition or settings. That fast reaction turns out to be a useful tool, and learning to name it can sharpen how you choose which shots to keep and which to walk away from.

 

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The empty calendar is the part of a photography career nobody warns you about. Shooting is only a fraction of the work, and how you spend the hours away from the camera often decides whether the next job ever shows up.

 

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Ten years of shooting weddings on Fujifilm, and the internet still insists it can't be done well without full frame. That advice is wrong, and the right set of X-series primes proves it on every wedding day.

 

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When you head off on your holidays you'll probably spend some time at the beach and when the sun begins to set and the sky fills with those warm, summer shades, you and every other person on the beach will be pulling their camera out of its bag. The low sun may make great landscape shots but put anything in between you and the sun and it'll turn into a dark silhouette lacking shape and texture.

However, this isn't always a bad thing. For summer silhouettes to work you need a strong, recognisable shape so if you're headed to the beach with your family, why not use one or all of them in your shot? You could also spend time shooting other people as they walk along the shore or stand to watch the sunset.

 

1. Set-Up

Make sure you know what time the sun will be setting and in what direction as you don't want to turn up at a beach to find you can't actually see the sun setting from it. Once you have your chosen location make sure you arrive in plenty of time, which shouldn't be a problem if you've had a day out at the beach, but if you haven't been on the sand, at least an hour or two before the sun is due to set. Do check out tide times too as you don't want your kit and your family swept out to sea!

 

2. How To Shoot

Once you have a willing subject position them so your light source is behind them and it can help if you set yourself up so you’re shooting from a slightly lower angle, although this isn't a must. Take a test shot and have a look at the image on the back of the screen. Chances are unless you're working manually, you'll have shot a silhouette. If you don't get the desired look, try using exposure compensation and dial in a -1 or -2 setting. Using spot or centre-weighted metering will also help you capture a silhouette, although can still use multi-zone metering, you just need to aim the camera up at the sky and use exposure lock to take a reading from the brighter sky. Then all you have to do is recompose and take your image. 

 

3. What To Photograph

As mentioned strong shapes work well so get your subject to try and make different shapes while stood on the sand. This should be quite easy with kids but you may have to be more persuasive with adults!

If you have a group of people, get them to jump in the air so you can capture the shapes they create at the top of their jump. Try capturing a couple holding hands as they watch the sun go down or introduce props to keep your kids busy and more relaxed. Giving them a ball to throw or a bucket and spade to carry will create more interesting shapes and as a result, you'll have a more dynamic shot.

Experiment with angle and how far you crop in too to see how it can make a more interesting picture. If you're photographing someone's head, for example, shoot them as a profile rather than face on as you'll be able to see more features. Don't have too many objects too close together either as they'll all merge into one indistinct shape and the effect won't work as well.
 

You've read the technique now share your related photos for the chance to win prizes: Daily Forum Competition

Photography works like language, built from patterns you learn to read until recognizing them becomes automatic. Once you understand that shooting is pattern recognition, the way you approach every scene shifts, whether you're standing in Tokyo or on a quiet street in your own city.

 

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A quiet vista titled 'Swan Lake' by capturingthelight has been crowned our latest 'Photo of the Week' (POTW) winner.

Taken at Lake Brunner in the South Island of New Zealand, the image is full of detail with its cool blue tones, calm water reflections, thick mist, tall slender trees and two dark swans swimming together all combining to create one atmospheric image. It's a beautifully composed picture of a peaceful scene on the lake.

Every Photo of the Week (POTW) winner will be rewarded with a Samsung 128GB PRO Plus microSDXC memory card with SD adapter, providing top-tier storage for all your creative needs across multiple devices. But that's not all! In January 2027, we'll crown our 2026 Photo of the Year winner, who will take home the ultimate prize of a Samsung Portable 1TB SSD T7 Shield, courtesy of Samsung. It’s time to shoot, submit, and showcase your best work for a chance to win these incredible rewards! 

Want to be our next POTW winner? Just upload an image to our gallery where you'll also find all of our past POTW winners.

  1. Community

Villages provide plenty of photo opportunities and most of us have one just a short drive away. The village community is one area to focus on, there's usually a few local speciality shops - maybe a hardware store or cobbler.

 

2. Portraits

Pluck up the courage to ask to photograph the employees at work. The worse that can happen is they say no, but if they accept you will have a brilliant opportunity to shoot environmental portraits. Try shooting with a wide-angle lens to include as much background while catching the owner at work. If it's fruit and veg you could have them weighing up a purchase, carrying a sack into the store, arranging the fare or even handwriting a display price ticket. While a cobbler could be banging at a heel or shaping a key. A butcher could be hacking away at a joint or arranging slices of meat.

Take this idea outdoors and follow the locals around catching them at the bus stop, crossing the road, chatting to neighbours over a fence. Whatever you do respect their privacy. It's best if you get chatting to them first and ask for permission, then you won't feel awkward and no one gets into trouble.

 

3. Flower Photography

Villages tend to have interesting flower displays, especially those who aim to win best-kept village awards. So if you're looking for colourful chocolate box style shots check out the local regions of the Campaign To Protect Rural England (CPRE) website. Use a wide-angle lens from a viewpoint close to the flower display and include the houses/street scene in the background. Or shoot with a telephoto to compress perspective and focus totally on the flowers.

Many Derbyshire villages have a summertime activity called Well Dressing, where they dress a well in pictures made of flowers and petals. This is a great opportunity for colourful shots.

 

 

4. Activities And Events

Look out for village activities, many have charity events at the local church. It may be a bring and buy sale, a flower or cake stall, jumble sale, book or record fair. All offer great photojournalism style options. Shoot with a telephoto lens to catch people unaware in a candid fashion. Shoot with a wide-angle to get the hall with all the stalls in. Use ambient light for more atmospheric photos.

  5. Chocolate Box Views

To get some ideas about which villages have good photographic potential look at calendars in stationery shops or jigsaws in toy shops. The popular calendars and jigsaws will have pretty village scenes – thatched cottages, quaint river scenes, floral street scenes. They usually have the location printed on them. You can plan a trip and take in two or three villages in one region.

Look out for vintage life in a village. It's the place you're likely to find a Victorian post box, there may be old street signs, and architectural details found in old buildings or monuments. Villages often have war memorials that make good focal points.
 

5. Pubs

The village's local pub might have an interesting pub sign to photograph. Shoot from further away with a longer lens to avoid a distorted shape. Nip inside and you could find a warm fire and local characters. Rest the camera on a table to take ambient light shots.

Once you've done your excursion, consider making prints of your best shots into postcards and selling them in the local cafe/gift shop/post office.

 

You've read the technique now share your related photos for the chance to win prizes: Daily Forum Competition

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The latest winner of our popular daily photography theme which takes place in our forums have been chosen and congratulations go to Leedslass1 (Day 11 - 'Negative Space').

 

Daily Theme Runners-Up

If you didn't win this time, keep uploading your images to the daily competition forum for another chance to win! If you're new to the Daily Theme, you can find out more about it in the Daily Theme Q&A. 

Well done to our latest runners-up, too, whose images you can take a look at below.

  Day 9

Crop Fields

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Day 10

Tourists

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Day 12

Letters

[COMMENT_IMG]portfolio|324638|3871944[/COMMENT_IMG]

 

Day 13

People Outdoors

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  Day 14

Long Exposures

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Day 15

Patterns

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You’ll find the Daily Themes, along with other great photo competitions, over in our Forum. Take a look to see the latest daily photo contests. Open to all levels of photographer, you’re sure to find a photography competition to enter. Why not share details of competitions with our community? Join the camaraderie and upload an image to our Gallery.

Optical distortion is something that affects all lenses to some extent. However, the effect is more pronounced in certain lenses and can be used to give a different spin on an otherwise 'normal' view of an object. 

Although it distorts images, it is not always a negative effect and it can be used in different situations to create abstract or more creative shots of subjects.

Below, we've listed what types of optical distortion there are and how they can affect your images, either in a negative or positive way. 

• What is Curvilinear distortion?
• What is Pincushion distortion?
• What is Mustache distortion?
• What is Chromatic aberration / purple fringing?
• What is Vignetting?

 

What is Curvilinear distortion?

This is where lines that should be straight in your image appear curved or bowed in some way. There a quite a few different types of this distortion, but the most common you will come across is barrel distortion, where vertical lines appear to curve outwards like a barrel. This type of distortion is most common in wide angle or fisheye lenses. The effect will be really pronounced in the fisheye as the effect is more deliberate here.

This can be used in portrait images to create unique looking images where the facial features are stretched and warped, this works equally well with humans and animals. 

 

 

 

What is Pincushion distortion?

Pincushion distortion is the opposite of barrel distortion, as the lines bow inwards. The effect is usually quite subtle and can only really be seen in square or rectangular objects when they are shot straight on, such as architecture with windows and doors, and other straight lines. This effect tends to be more of an issue in long telephoto lenses. Pincushion distortion is a lot less pronounced than barrel distortion and so it is often not noticeable in images unless you look really closely. However, it can also be corrected quite quickly and easily in photo editing software. The majority of modern cameras will provide built-in options to correct for this as well.

 

Extreme example of pincushion distortion, from an uncorrrected image, from the Sony E 18-105mm lens - you can see corrected versions in the review.

 

 

What is Mustache distortion?

Mustache distortion is basically a combination of barrel and pincushion distortion. Some lenses display both at the same time. It is most commonly seen in wide angle zooms and makes straight lines in images appear wavy. It can be noticed on the horizon, for example when photographing seascapes, particularly if the horizon is near the top or bottom of the frame.  

 

 

What is Chromatic Aberration?

Chromatic Aberration creates colour fringing on an image, usually around the lines and edges on the image, but it can also be present in other areas of the shot, where there are areas of high contrast, for example a black tree branch, against a bright sky. It usually appears as a purple, glowing halo giving "purple fringing", or can appear as red/magenta lines, often with green/cyan lines as well.

 

An example of chromatic aberration can be seen above, note the megenta and cyan / green lines on the edges of the window frame. You can see an example of purple fringing below, where the gravestone is up against a bright (blown out) sky. 

This can often be corrected either in camera automatically in modern cameras, or in photo editing software, such as Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Lightroom.

 

Purple fringing can be seen around the top of the gravestone.

 

 

What is Vignetting?

All lenses have a little vignetting - it's the term used when the image is darker at the edges than in the centre, due the curvature of the lens. Vignetting can sometimes be used to your advantage as a stylistic tool, to highlight the main aspect of your image in the centre. Most modern cameras will automatically correct for vignetting, depending on the lens used, and this can be corrected in photo editing software quickly and easily, or alternatively added to give a creative effect and style to your photo. See our guide on how to add a vignette to a photo in Photoshop.

 

Severe vignetting can be seen in this image.

 

You've read the technique now share your related photos for the chance to win prizes: Daily Forum Competition

A good monitor is hard to appreciate until you have used a bad one. While we spend decades arguing over which camera has better color rendition, we don’t pay as much attention to the screens we view these colors on. If the screen is wrong, everything is wrong. 

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Look at the picture and you see an empty Paris street. Wide sidewalks, a row of trees, tall buildings, and almost no sign of life on what should have been a busy morning. Then your eye catches it: down in the lower left corner, one small figure stands with a foot up on a shoeshine box, and a second figure crouches at his feet. That man is widely considered the earliest identifiable human being in any surviving photograph, and nothing suggests anyone planned his place in history, least of all him. 

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Fifty thousand vintage cameras and lenses sit inside a Finnish warehouse, and most of them arrived broken. A collection that size raises a simple question: how do you find anything worth shooting with, and does the vault actually hold the one lens you have been chasing for years?

 

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Camera Raw 18.6 adds a dedicated glow slider that folds several manual editing techniques into one control. If dreamy, soft light is part of your style, this changes how you build that look from scratch.

 

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Reflections bouncing off eyeglass lenses ruin more portraits than almost any other lighting problem, and the fix runs opposite to what most people assume. A smaller, more specular light source makes the reflection worse, while a large diffused light pulled in close makes it nearly vanish.

 

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Seven habits, no lectures, and a warning about the one that quietly holds you back. That last part is the most useful thing here, because the trap it describes has probably caught you already.

 

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As Times Square is a popular location for tourists, it can be hard to shoot photos, particularly panoramas as people will often get in front of your lens, movement becomes blurred and when trying to stitch shots together, people often end up looking like they've got sliced in half. There are times when the square isn't so full of tourists but as photographer David Clapp explains, the photos aren't as interesting: "Even though shooting at busy times proved to be very complex and very stressful both in the field and in post-processing, I didn't want to go out 5am when there was no one about as it ruins the buzz intensity."

There are a set of steps which you can stand at the top of and shoot down onto the square, however if it rains no one sits on the steps, blocking the view and you're not allowed to use a tripod at the top of the steps as you will be told it's a 'safety hazard'.

A way to shoot Times Square without having to fight the crowds is to shoot up at the tower blocks and billboards that decorate the square.

Here's one David took looking vertically up at the tower blocks:

 

 

Moving your lens away from crowd level removes one problem but it's replaced with another and that's adverts changing constantly. If you want to blend images together, as David did for the above shot which is made up of three images, getting your timing right is crucial.

"The only way to do this is to shoot with the camera in Live View mode and wait until some kind of 'rest' occurs before capture. You can see I caught the 'eye' in the bottom left half way through transition. Still, it works. However, I am not altogether happy with the lighting of this image. The weather was so unstable that it made dusk shooting a lottery."

A way to really exaggerate the size of the structures in a city is with a fisheye lens. In the shot below, David moved down a few streets away from Times Square to shoot these buildings at a crossroads.

 

 

"I opted for the same technique I tried a few days before, using a faster shutter speed to capture two images for a blend, so the adverts wouldn't change between images. It works really well, but in the end the ambient light was good enough that I could process the image from just one RAW file."

For the next shot, David had to position half of his tripod on the pavement and the other on the road (watching for traffic in the process).

 

 

"This fabulous subway sign helps to set the scene even further, giving a title to the cluster of buildings rising upwards into the sky," he explained.

David increased the brightness in the centre of the photo with a circular gradient fill on a curves adjustment layer. He did this to give the impression that the lighting was consistent all the way up to the top of the tower blocks, which it wasn't.

This was shot following exactly the same concept but this time David twisted the camera and lens downwards, to show the full tower block above the road.

 

 

"These buildings are a riot of colours and lines. I love the cross-shaped gap in the middle, in particular," said David. "The image potential in Times Square is huge, all these shots were taken from the same place, give or take a few feet, but it does take serious refining."

To see more of David's work, visit his website: www.davidclapp.co.uk

 

You've read the technique now share your related photos for the chance to win prizes: Daily Forum Competition

It’s been over a year since we reviewed the AGO Film Processor from Vintage Visual. Is this mobile film processor still a good buy in 2026? I’ll show you the good, the bad, and even the ugly about the AGO. 

Oh, how time flies when you’re having fun. Since the autumn of 2024, I’d estimate I’ve processed no less than 264 frames across 135 (35 mm), medium format, and 4x5 sheet film. That’s not to mention the random experiments with various papers and other historical process oddities.

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