Stephen Ironside
fstoppers.com
Arkansas, United States
Contact Stephen
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Past articles by Stephen:
I Bought a Nikon Z 6 and It Wasn't as Bad as I Thought
When Nikon’s Z series mirrorless cameras were introduced, they caught a lot of flak. Although I wasn’t a fan at first, I’m starting to come around. Turns out I just had to use one.I’ve been a Nikon shooter my whole career, starting on a Nikon N6006 35mm film camera in high school, moving to a D200 in college, and on up the chain since then. I have a Fujifilm kit for → Read More
10 Things I've Learned in 10 Years as a Professional Photographer
This past weekend marked ten years of me being a full-time professional photographer. There have been ups and downs since 2010, to be sure, but I’ve learned a few things along the way. This time ten years ago, I was going down to our county courthouse to file the paperwork and pay the $25 required to file a DBA to become a sole proprietor in Arkansas. I was just about to → Read More
Fstoppers Visits DriveSavers Data Recovery in California
One of my biggest fears as a professional photographer is that someday, somehow, for some reason, I’m going to lose critical images from a shoot and make a client, and myself, very unhappy. A memory card gets corrupted, a hard drive fails, or my studio burns down. → Read More
What Would You Do if Your Hard Drive Burned? My Visit to DriveSavers Data Recovery
One of my biggest fears as a professional photographer is that someday, somehow, for some reason, I’m going to lose critical images from a shoot and make a client, and myself, very unhappy. A memory card gets corrupted, a hard drive fails, or my studio burns down. → Read More
An Unlikely Intruder: The Fly Inside a Professional Canon Lens
What seems like it could have been an April Fools joke if it had come out a few days sooner, the Lensrentals blog has posted a great (and enlightening) story on something that apparently has happened more than once: somehow, for some reason, a full-sized fly got into a lens, and the entire lens had to be disassembled to remove it. The question is: did it affect image quality? → Read More
Fstoppers Reviews Drone Pilot Ground School
Last autumn, I finally decided to get my butt in gear and become FAA Part 107 Certified to be able to fly my drone commercially. Since I had pretty limited time in the busy fall season, and had zero prior aviation knowledge, I decided to give one of the many online courses out there a try. → Read More
On Being Profitable as a Photographer
It’s the height of tax season, and an odd thing just happened to me. I was at my accountant’s office filing my business taxes for 2018 last week, and she said to me, “Wow. I have a lot of photographers as clients, but most of them aren’t making a living. What are you doing differently?” → Read More
Dream Job or Too Good to Be True? Wealthy Family Looking for Tag-Along Lifestyle Vacation Photographer
It’s something that seems almost too good to be true: a wealthy family in the UK is apparently searching for a photographer to tag along and document their vacations for £80,000 with all expenses paid. What’s the catch? → Read More
Interview With President George H. W. Bush's Photographer, David Valdez
How good are we at remembering former presidents decades after their service is over? What are the things that help us to remember their time in office? Obviously, since this is a photography community and education website, I'd wager this: that the photographs taken during their presidency help shape our memories of those years. → Read More
Five Creative Photography Lighting Tricks Using Your Phone's Flashlight
It's always refreshing to me to get behind the scenes and see how some cool images are made. Then, to realize that the only light source was a cell phone LED along with a few props, I realized that my studio needs a shopping trip. → Read More
Seven Ways to Avoid GAS When Looking at Photography Gear on Black Friday
If you're based in the U.S., you know that the day after Thanksgiving is a day where everyone around you is extremely prone to gas. Photographers in particular are particularly prone to it, so here are some tips on how to avoid it. → Read More
Realizations From the Other Side of the Camera Lens
A little over a month ago, I got married. Now that the dust has settled, I thought I might share some realizations I had from being on the other side of the camera lens for a change. → Read More
Couple That Died in Yosemite: 'Is Our Life Worth Just One Photo?'
A young couple fell to their deaths in Yosemite National Park last week. We should all take it as an unfortunate reminder: no photograph is worth your life → Read More
Mirrorless Cameras Versus DSLRs for Beginners
This past weekend, I was running around shooting a half-marathon race for charity with my Nikon D5 and Fujifilm X-T2. Whenever I'm touting a huge and a small camera like that, the questions start pouring in about the differences between the two, so I thought this video from Jared Polin going back to the basics about mirrorless and DSLR cameras would be a good one to share. → Read More
FAA Reauthorization Act Passes, Affects Drone Users
On October 5, President Trump signed the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, funding the Federal Aviation Administration through 2023. The law includes several new measures that could affect drone pilots in the U.S. → Read More
An Iconic Image: 'Lunch Atop a Skyscraper'
If I were a betting man, I'd wager that you've seen this image from 1932 of construction workers sitting on an iron beam, called "Lunch Atop A Skyscraper." I'd also wager that you hadn't thought much about the photographers that took the image. → Read More
Fujifilm Announces the X-T3 Camera
In a week full of mirrorless camera announcements, Fujifilm has stepped up to the plate again with its announcement of the X-T3. → Read More
Why You Should Try Shooting in Black and White In Camera
It won’t be for everyone, but I think it’s something everyone should try at some point: shooting in black and white (monochrome) mode in camera. → Read More
Why Professionals Should Still Assist Other Photographers
I’ve been working as a full-time professional photographer — meaning that 100 percent of my income is from photography — for over eight years. For the most part, I know what I’m doing. But I still make the time to assist other photographers when I can, and here’s why. → Read More
The Photographer's Paradox
Sometimes, as photographers, we get a little tied up in having everything about a shoot be as professional and as perfect as we possibly can. But, as Daniel DeArco points out in this great video, it doesn't always have to be that way. → Read More