Photography News

 

The UK’s most exciting photography Convention is back — bigger, bolder and packed with more inspiration, education and industry powerhouses than ever before.

 

The 2026 London Photo Convention & Trade Show brings thousands of photographers together under one roof for four days of hands-on learning, live demos, exclusive deals, and world-class speakers. If you’re serious about your photography — this is where you need to be.

London Photo Trade Show: 15–17 January — Meet the Biggest Brands in Photography

Get ready for three electric days on the Trade Show floor, with leading camera and lighting brands showcasing their latest kit. Expect:

• Hands-on access to the newest cameras & lenses
• Live demonstrations from top pros
• Expert advice from manufacturers
• Show-only offers and exclusive discounts
• Retailers showcasing must-have accessories

Whether you shoot weddings, portraits, landscapes, content for social, or you’re just passionate about photography – the Trade Show has something for you.

Entry: £10 on the day (free if you pre registered before Tuesday)

Get Your Tickets Now!

 

 

Over 200 Hours of Training with Masterclasses & Superclasses

If you're hungry to learn, the Convention’s education programme is unmatched.

Masterclasses

Dive into a huge lineup of practical, inspiring and business-boosting sessions covering:

• Portraits
• Weddings
• Lighting
• Wildlife
• Macro
• Post-production
• Creative storytelling
• Branding
• Business growth for photographers

Top photographers, award-winning educators and industry leaders share the techniques and insights that elevate your photography fast.

Superclasses

Want hands-on training with the best in the business?

The Superclasses deliver small-group, practical workshops with some of the most respected names in the industry. Limited spaces — these sell out fast every single year.

 

 

Exclusive Offer

Save 10% with code epz10 on all class tickets!

  The Photography Event You Simply Can’t Afford to Miss

If you want to improve your skills, grow your business, network with other creatives and immerse yourself in the world of photography — this is your event.

 

Save the Dates

Full Convention: 14–17 January 2026

Photo Trade Show: 15–17 January 2026

Venue: Novotel London West, Hammersmith, W6 8DR

 

Join thousands of photographers for the ultimate start to 2026.

Masterclass Passes and Superclasses available now.

Book your tickets now!

 

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.

[ Read More ]

“Wow, what an amazing photograph. What camera do you use?” “I really love your photographs; you must have a very expensive camera.” “Gee, thanks. I use a very old, outdated camera system that’s not very expensive at all.” Let's talk about gear and how it doesn't make you a better photographer.

[ Read More ]

Buying a first camera can feel like a test you have to pass before you even take a photo. This video is about avoiding the early traps that waste money, kill momentum, and make you second-guess every click.

[ Read More ]

Lightroom Classic can either become the place where your landscape work stays alive for years, or the thing you install after you have already lost track of it. The video lays out a few mistakes that feel small in the moment, then show up later as missing files, wasted trips, and slow progress.

[ Read More ]

Dark under-eye bags can wreck an otherwise strong portrait, and heavy-handed fixes usually leave that telltale “plastic” skin. In this video, the focus is removing extreme eye bags in Photoshop while keeping texture believable at 100%.

[ Read More ]

A sub-$500 autofocus f/1.2 prime sounds like a pricing error, especially in Canon RF. The real question is what you give up to get that bright aperture in a lens that stays small.

[ Read More ]

 

When it comes to action and sports photography, one of the main problems you face is your subject moves quick and they don't tend to stay in the same place for very long. As a result it can be a bit of a challenge to try and get a sharp photo where your subject is in focus, however there are a few things you can do to capture your moving subject perfectly.
 

Switch To AF

Most cameras feature quick and accurate AF (Auto Focus) systems, making them great for capturing fleeting moments or action shots. Of course, how fast your subject is moving, how much light is around and how quickly your lens can focus will come into play but at least your chances of capturing a sharp shot will be increased with the help of Auto Focus.
 

Manual Focus

You can try and focus manually but this isn't particularly easy to do with fast moving subjects but it can be useful if you plan on pre-focusing.
 

Pre-Focus

This is a little more tricky but once you get the hang of it, it can be a useful trick to know. It's not a very useful technique for subjects whose movement is unpredictable but get at the side of a track or a road where you know a car will have to pass through a certain point and it's extremely helpful.

Written down the technique sounds simple: Switch to manual, focus on a spot you know your subject will pass through, lock your focus and then just before you know your subject's about to pass through the point you focused on, hit the shutter. You need to hit the shutter just before as shutter lag can cause you to miss the shot if you hit it at the point they pass through your focus point.
 

Continuous Shooting

To further increase your chances of capturing your subject as they pass through your point of focus, switch to continuous shooting mode to capture a series of shots, increasing your chances of capturing the shot you're looking for. Again, start shooting just before your subject goes through your focus point and you should get at least one shot that's spot on.

Correct Shutter Speed

You don't want to use a shutter speed that's too high as this will just freeze everything and the shot will look static but you don't want to go too low either as you'll just end up with a shot that's full of blur. Sometimes lots of blur can give you something that's a little more artistic but most of the time it's worth firing off a few test shots to get your shutter speed spot on before the main action starts.

 

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

There's a particular kind of cognitive dissonance that happens when you spend months researching dynamic range charts, reading MTF curves, and comparing autofocus systems, only to find yourself genuinely excited about a plastic camera with a 1.6-megapixel sensor that hangs from your keychain. I've spent years writing about camera technology for this site, dissecting the differences between sensors and explaining why certain lenses outperform others. And yet, some of the most enjoyable photography I've done recently has been with cameras that would make any spec-sheet enthusiast wince.

[ Read More ]

A strong year of work often collapses under habits you barely notice. This video argues that your progress stalls less from gear limits and more from patterns that quietly drain momentum.

[ Read More ]

 

 

With black & white camera modes, apps that can turn your phone shots mono and various black & white editing techniques available, black & white photography is more accessible than ever but if you've never produced a black & white shot, why should you? Well, we've put together a quick list of reasons that may just persuade you to give black & white photography a go, plus we've linked to various black & white tutorials as well as mentioned a few tips further down in the article.

 

1. It Makes You Think About Composition More

 

As Robin Whalley said in a previous article: "To achieve a good black and white image you need to have separation between the elements in the frame. If you can’t distinguish or find it difficult to distinguish between the elements the image will lack impact and the viewer will struggle to understand it."

With this in mind, it makes you search harder for an interesting composition that includes strong foreground interest. Strong shapes and lead-in lines work well as do other strong, distinctive shapes further back in the composition that the eye can easily identify even when everything has a similar tone.
 

2. Interesting Take On Snow Photography

 

As most of us have seen snowfall over the last week, now's a good time to talk about photographing snow in a black & white format. Black & white snow-filled landscapes will not only give you something a little different to what the majority of people photograph but it can also stop shots with pale, snow-laden skies from looking boring and lacking in contrast. As mentioned above, contrast is important so look for strong recognisable shapes that can be easily isolated from the white background. For more tips on black & white snow photography, take a look at John Gravett's article.

 

3. Not As Distracting

 

As colour's stripped away and shots become reliant on tones, texture and contrast, everything seems simpler and there are not as many distractions to contend with. Focus falls on your main subject more easily and when shot right, can have a lot of impact.

 

4. Helps Create Mood

 

Mood essentially relates to the lighting in a shot and when you shoot on a cloudy, unsettled day, working in black & white will give you a shot that's far more foreboding than a shot in colour. It's far easier to create a sense of a dark and brooding landscape with black & white than it is colour.
 

5. Soft Or Strong? 

 

During post-production you can Darken certain areas of your shot while lightening other areas, creating contrast as you do. You can create a soft black & white effect or go all out and apply one that's strong. There are various methods for doing this including applying an S-Curve or using the dodge and burn tools. Take a look at these tutorials for more tips:

• How To Turn A Coloured Landscape Mono
• Make A Moody Black & White In Photoshop Elements
• Turning A Coloured Image Black & White
• Create Black And White Images In Paint Shop Pro
• Convert Your Images To Mono With Gradient Maps

   

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

Decades ago, when a new iteration of your favorite camera model was released, you looked forward to seeing the meaningful improvements the new model offered. Today, the Mk II version of a camera is likely to be almost indistinguishable from its predecessor. The only time the new offering is unique is when that camera was made by Leica.

[ Read More ]

A 20-200mm travel zoom sounds like a dream until you try to live with one. This video puts two real options head-to-head and forces you to think about what you actually shoot when you only want to carry one lens.

[ Read More ]

Weather can wreck a plan fast, especially when you packed for long exposures and wake up to wind and rain. This video shows how to salvage a shot when the light refuses to cooperate.

[ Read More ]

AI image generators are making images that look like photographs, and it’s pushing you to ask what part of your work is skill, taste, or just access to a tool like Photoshop. That question hits even harder when a prompt can produce something that passes at a glance, whether it’s going on your website, a client deck, or a social feed.

[ Read More ]

Photoshop just added two adjustment layers that used to force a detour through Camera Raw: “Clarity and Dehaze” and “Grain.” If you edit photos and rely on selective control, the shift is that these effects now live where masks, stacking, and quick revisions are already part of your daily flow.

[ Read More ]

 

A pet is just like any other subject in terms of photography technique - composition, focusing and exposure being the three main areas to perfect, the fourth, and most problematic, is getting subject participation. If you position your cat/dog then get your camera out their inquisitive nature will drive them to come right up to the camera and sniff the lens. You move away and they'll follow. Sit them in a convenient spot and they'll bounce back. Frustrated? You will be! 

[HOOK]position_1[/HOOK]

You can, of course, spend time training them to obey, but the fact of life is most of us have a pet as a companion and training is the last thing on the agenda. So, what can you do? Here are a few basic tips to get you started: 

  1. Give The Dog A Bone

Give your pet something to take their mind of the camera. The only problem now is they will be chewing or playing around and are highly unlikely to look at you, let alone the camera.

 

2. Use A Squeaky Toy

Use a squeaky toy to attract their attention. Place it behind the camera so they look in the right direction. The bone they're chewing will be more interesting, but at least they will look up long enough for you to fire the shutter. Act quickly and make sure you get the shot in the first or second take as they'll soon get wise or bored of your attention-seeking activity.

 

 

3. Wait Until The Right Moment 

Cats and dogs are easy to catch out when they are sleepy. Time for the squeaky toy again. Just as they're nodding off squeak the toy and you'll get a moment of alertness. Which means you can get two shots: one where they're alert and the other relaxed. 

 

4. Ask A Friend

You could ask someone else to entertain the pet while you walk around taking the photos. Try to keep the person out of the frame and the shots will be more natural.

 

5. Exposure Issues?

Take care when photographing an animal with dark or light fur as their coats can fool your camera's meter. A pet with a white coat can end up looking dull as the camera thinks the scene is too bright while a pet with a black coat can end up looking grey due to your camera thinking the scene is darker than it is. If you find this to be a problem just use exposure compensation to use a + or - exposure depending on your circumstances.

 

6. Focusing Tips 

As with people photography, focus on the eyes for the attention-grabbing shots but don't forget a dog with a long snout will need more depth of field when shooting close up to prevent the tip of the nose is out of focus. Take your shots using a small aperture to avoid this or shoot when their head is turned to one side.

 

 

7. Keep An Eye On Your Backgrounds

Watch out for bright backgrounds that could affect the meter reading. Try to take the shot with a neutral background that isn't distracting and, like people photography, avoid trees and telegraph poles growing out of heads.

 

8. Capture Action Shots

Try using a slow shutter speed with flash and panning with the animal as it moves to create abstract slow sync flash shots that create a sense of action. You can also use flash to freeze the animal as it moves through your frame. For a shot of a dog jumping into the air, for example, follow the dog through its tracks and fire the shutter when its feet are off the ground. Again, it helps if you have a friend with you to help encourage the dog to do tricks while you move around and capture the action.

 

9. Using Flash

Humans are not the only ones who suffer from devilish looking eyes when the flash is used. Pets eyes appear bright green when flash has reflected. Just as you do with people, you can remove the unwanted colour from the eyes in Photoshop.

 

 

10. Photographing Fish

If you have fish in a tank you need to move up close to the glass to avoid reflections and use the natural light to take the photo. In daylight, the shots will come out okay but shoot under the light used to illuminate the tank and you'll get a colour cast.

If you have to step back from the tank to photograph the fish from a distance you will get reflections from the glass. In such cases, a polarising filter will help prevent reflections. Attach it to the camera and rotate until the reflections are minimised and then take the photo. You may find shooting from an angle to the glass will work best.

Fish in outdoor ponds can benefit from the use of a polariser too. Take them when they are near to the surface - feeding time is ideal, and use the polariser to kill the reflections. Shoot from an angle to allow some depth to the fish.

Even in summer, the darkness of the water will make the shutter speed quite slow so shoot when the fish are still and hold the camera very steady to prevent camera shake when working hand-held. 

 

11. Capturing Shots Of Smaller Pets

Let's not forget our small friends such as hamsters guinea pigs and mice who are all cage based and eager to bury themselves in straw. 

The main problem with these pets is one, getting close enough and two, avoiding a picture framed with bars. A good option is to photograph the creature in someone's hand, which gets over the cage problem. Then you need a lens that will go close enough so you can fill the frame with the animal. 

If you don't trust the hand approach move really close to the cage and use a wider aperture to throw the bars out of focus. Or shoot through the cage with the door open. 

Try experimenting with slow speeds on a hamster running on a wheel as you may be able to get the legs blurred and the head sharp, giving a great sense of movement. A shutter speed of around 1/8th sec should be about right for this.

 

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

Every year, I make it a ritual to look back at the photographs I’ve taken—not just to see if I ended up with a set of images I’m actually happy with, but to understand what they say about me. Reviewing a year’s worth of images can reveal patterns you didn’t know were there: the subjects you’re drawn to, the way you use light, the emotions you chase. It’s an honest reflection of who you are as a photographer—and who you’re becoming.

[ Read More ]

Most photographers are now "hybrid creators. Besides taking still photos, they also need to create high-quality videos. However, shooting great video is often harder than it looks. Technical issues like low resolution, shaky shots, or digital noise can easily ruin a perfect moment. These common problems often make professional-looking results feel out of reach for many photographers.

Are you also troubled by these issues? This post explores how AI video enhancement can help photographers fix common video problems and streamline their workflow. Let’s get started.

 

 

What are Video Quality Problems Photographers Face

 

Even experienced professionals regularly encounter footage that is technically usable but visually disappointing. In fast-paced commercial, wedding, or travel shoots, there is rarely time for multiple retakes, and lighting conditions are often beyond full control.

Some of the most common video quality problems photographers face include:

• Heavy Digital Noise: When shooting in low-light environments like weddings or indoor events, increasing the ISO often leads to "grainy" video. Unlike film grain, this digital noise looks messy and reduces the professional feel of your work.
• Low Resolution from Older Gear: You might have a great new camera, but your older "B-roll" cameras or drones might only shoot in 1080p. When mixed with 4K footage, these lower-resolution clips look blurry and out of place.
• Soft Focus and Blurry Details: It’s easy to slightly miss the focus on a moving subject. In the past, a soft-focus video clip was a "throwaway," as traditional sharpening tools only made the video look "plastic" and artificial.
• Shaky and Unstable Footage: Handheld shooting adds a nice vibe, but too much camera shake can make viewers feel dizzy. Built-in stabilization often crops the image too much, losing important parts of your frame.

While these problems used to be permanent, the rise of AI technology has started changing the game. Instead of deleting imperfect footage, photographers can now "rescue" it during the editing process.

 

How AI Video Enhancer Improves a Photographer’s Workflow

 

AI video enhancer isn't just about adding a filter; it’s about using smart technology to "rebuild" the missing parts of your video. Let’s look at some real-life ways this helps photographers:

Case 1: The "High-ISO" Rescue. Imagine you shot a beautiful evening ceremony, but the shadows are full of noise. An AI enhancer can analyze the frames to separate noise from real detail, giving you a clean, crisp look that looks like it was shot with a much more expensive lens.

Case 2: Matching Different Cameras. A photographer might use a high-end mirrorless camera for the main interview and a small action camera for a different angle. AI can upscale the action camera’s footage to match the sharpness and 4K resolution of the main camera, making the whole project look consistent.

Case 3: Reviving Family History. Many photographers are asked to help with legacy projects. By taking a grainy, 20-year-old family video and running it through an AI model, you can restore facial details and remove old "tape noise," creating a 4K version that looks like it was filmed yesterday.

To help photographers handle these tasks with ease, many AI video enhancement tools have emerged. A prime example is EaseMate AI‘s video enhancer. It allows creators to instantly convert low-quality videos to 4K clarity. It can sharpen fine details, correct colors, and reduce digital noise automatically, making your footage look more appealing, credible, and professional.

You just need to upload the video you want to optimize into the enhancer, determine the video quality, and hit “Generate”. Then you can preview the video and download it with no watermark.

 

 

Best Practices for Photographers to Use AI Video Enhancers

 

Using AI tools is exciting, but the goal is to enhance your work, not make it look artificial. To get the best results, you need to treat AI as a partner in your digital darkroom. Here are several practical tips to help you maintain a professional, high-quality look while saving time in post-production:

• Enhance before color grading: Run your footage through the AI before adding heavy filters or LUTs. AI works best when it can "see" the original pixels clearly.
• Don't over-sharpen: It’s tempting to dial everything to 100%, but "less is more." Keep some natural texture so your video doesn't look like a video game.
• Preview moving parts: Always check a few seconds of action, like a person walking or water moving. Make sure the AI is keeping the motion smooth and consistent.
• Save your originals: Technology moves fast. Keep your original clips so you can re-process them in the future as AI models get even better.

 

To Sum Up

 

AI video enhancement tools are becoming an important part of how photographers manage increasing video demands. They help photographers rescue flawed footage, accelerate editing workflows, and enable higher-quality video delivery. With thoughtful use and the right software, AI can transform video from a post-production headache into a creative advantage.

 

Previously we've talked about setting yourself a colour challenge but if you want a challenge that's slightly shorter or fancy taking on a few throughout the year, have a go at our one lens challenge. 
 

Basically, we want you to select one lens, yes just one, go for a walk, take a series of shots then share them with ePz. Try to make it a lens you've not used for a while, or one that takes you out of your comfort zone.

A lens with a fixed focal length would be our choice for this but if you only have a zoom take that along and pick just one focal length to use. If you don't, it won't be much of a challenge! If you're not a DSLR owner or you are but don't fancy carrying it around with you, don't worry as a compact will be just as useful for this task.

Above: Will you choose a wide-angle or more telephoto focal length to work with? 

Working hand-held shouldn't be a problem but if it's a particularly dull day or you just like having a little extra support take a tripod along. As you're only using one lens there's no real reason to take a bag along but do pocket some spare batteries and a polarising, UV and ND filter as you never know when they'll come in handy. Polarising filters are great for reducing glare and an ND filter can help slow shutter speeds, too.

Wildlife or going more specific, birds and ducks could be a theme you choose for your project. 

Before you start snapping away you really need to think about what you're going to photograph because without a zoom your focal length is limited so rather than relying on the lens to do the work you have to get those grey cells warmed up and your feet moving to find a position/shot that works.

Try shooting a variety of subjects or why not set yourself a theme? Photograph a series of portraits – your neighbours, butcher, postman or combine two challenges together and only photograph items of a certain colour with a fixed focal length. Try making it even more challenging by only taking a single shot for each of the items/people/animals you pick to photograph.
 

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