What Fstoppers does

Fstoppers, LLC is a privately held (Charleston, South Carolina) online media and digital-products business founded in February 2010 by Patrick Hall and Lee Morris. It operates Fstoppers.com, a content and community platform serving amateur, semi-professional and professional photographers and videographers worldwide with original behind-the-scenes videos (the Fstoppers Originals format), photo and video tutorials, gear reviews, news articles, and community engagement features (Photo of the Day, Editors' Picks, Group Discussions, contests). The site reaches 1.5+ million photographers with approximately 6 million monthly pageviews per 2018 Google Analytics, 95% of which are engaged creative professionals per the company's own claim.

The company's product surface includes the Infinite Tools sub-brand, a collective of ten native Adobe Photoshop plugins (Infinite Skin, Infinite Guide, Infinite Retouch, Infinite Black and White, Infinite Looks, Infinite Radiance, Infinite Luma, Infinite Unify, Infinite Color), some of which integrate AI/ML (Infinite Skin's machine-learning skin smoothing and auto-mask). Beyond plugins, Fstoppers sells a wide catalog of one-time digital licenses: photography/videography tutorials ($24.99-$350), e-books and LUTs ($24.99-$199), and partner-produced courses from SLR Lounge, Retouching Academy and Profoto. Distribution is entirely direct-to-consumer via fstoppers.com/store with global reach, supported by Amazon Associates and B&H Photo affiliate relationships.

Fstoppers monetizes through three streams: (1) one-time license sales of digital tutorials, plugins and e-books (priced from $24.99 to $350, with bundle discounts up to 40% off 4+ items); (2) targeted advertising against an engaged-creative-professional readership; and (3) affiliate commissions (Amazon Associates, B&H Photo). Co-development partnerships with SLR Lounge and Retouching Academy, and content partnerships with Profoto and Infinite Tools, extend the SKU without internal content headcount. The company is bootstrapped and founder-controlled, with 1-10 employees, no disclosed funding rounds, and a contiguous history of daily publishing and product releases through 2026.

Name

Fstoppers

Legal name

Fstoppers, LLC

Website

https://fstoppers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Fstoppers is a bootstrapped online media and digital-products company for photographers and videographers. Founded in 2010 in Charleston, SC, it operates Fstoppers.com (community platform with 1.5M+ photographers) and sells paid tutorials, Photoshop plugins (Infinite Tools), and e-books through its direct e-commerce store worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Photography Education and Creative Content

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Certification & Credentialed Creator Programs (MPACALAI)

Keywords

• Photography education
• Photo tutorials
• Photoshop plugins
• Creative community
• Behind-the-scenes videos

Headquarters

HQ city

Charleston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Photography Tutorials and Educational Content: Sale of digital video tutorials, e-books, and educational courses covering photography techniques, lighting, editing, and business topics. Products range from comprehensive multi-instructor courses ($299.99) to specialized single-topic tutorials ($24.99-$350).
2. Photoshop Plugins: Sale of software plugins for Adobe Photoshop including Infinite Tools collection. Individual plugin prices range from $49 to $129.
3. Digital Content (E-books and Guides): PDF-based educational content and guides such as the Sony S-Log3 LUTs ($39), Tips for Shooting Professional Video Interviews 2nd Edition ($24.99), and Photographing Food E-Book ($40).
4. Advertising: The platform generates advertising revenue with 6.5 million monthly pageviews and 95% engaged creative professional readership, offering targeted advertising to photography and videography industry brands.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Fstoppers operates a community-driven photography and videography education platform that publishes articles, gear reviews, and original behind-the-scenes documentary-style videos. It monetizes through a self-serve e-commerce store selling digital photography/video tutorials, e-books, and LUTs, and through the Infinite Tools line of Adobe Photoshop plugins developed in partnership with retouchers and coders.

Product overview

Fstoppers operates a platform-plus-products model centered on Fstoppers.com, a photography education and community platform launched in February 2010. The core platform features photography news, gear reviews, tutorials, and community features including member portfolios, discussions, and contests. The product portfolio includes the Infinite Tools sub-brand of Adobe Photoshop plugins (Infinite Skin, Infinite Guide, Infinite Retouch, Infinite Black and White, Infinite Looks, Infinite Radiance, Infinite Luma, Infinite Unify, Infinite Color) and an extensive library of paid photography and videography tutorials covering retouching, lighting, portraits, fashion, food photography, real estate, wedding, macro, and business topics. Tutorials are produced both internally and in partnership with Retouching Academy, SLR Lounge, and Profoto. The company reaches over 1.5 million photographers with approximately 6 million monthly pageviews.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Infinite Tools: A collective of photographers, retouchers, and coders developing Photoshop plugins, including Infinite Guide, Infinite Retouch, Infinite Black and White, Infinite Looks, Infinite Radiance, Infinite Luma, Infinite Unify, Infinite Skin, and Infinite Color.

Products and services

• Fstoppers.com Website and Community Platform
• Infinite Tools Photoshop Plugin Suite
• Fstoppers Photography and Videography Tutorials
• Infinite Skin Plugin
• Infinite Guide
• Infinite Retouch
• Infinite Radiance
• Infinite Luma
• Infinite Unify
• Infinite Color
• Fstoppers' Sony S-Log3 LUTs
• Tips for Shooting Professional Video Interviews (2nd Edition) E-book
• Photographing Food E-Book
• Mike Kelley's Ultimate Sky Library
• The Well-Rounded Photographer Course

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability2 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Amazon Associates (Amazon Smile)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerFstoppers participates in the Amazon Associates program, earning commissions through the Amazon Smile link in the footer. This affiliate relationship provides a minor revenue stream while offering readers access to photography equipment through Amazon.
• B&H Photo VideominorGTM or Marketing PartnerB&H Photo is featured as a partner/deal site in the footer, suggesting an affiliate or marketing partnership relationship with the photography equipment retailer.
• SLR LoungecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSLR Lounge is a featured partner in the Fstoppers store, offering photography business training systems, wedding photography guides, lighting tutorials, and panoramic stitching workshops. Products are co-branded and sold through Fstoppers' platform.
• Retouching AcademycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRetouching Academy provides skin retouching, hair retouching, and color grading courses that are featured and sold through Fstoppers' store. The partnership features co-branded products including the Skin Retouching Course for Beauty, Fashion, and Portrait Photography.
• ProfotominorGTM or Marketing PartnerProfoto lighting equipment is featured in Fstoppers tutorials and educational content, with their logo appearing in the store. This appears to be a content partnership where Profoto equipment is used in tutorials.
• Infinite ToolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInfinite Tools is a collective of photographers, retouchers, and coders that develops Photoshop plugins sold exclusively through Fstoppers. The partnership involves co-development of retouching tools including Infinite Retouch, Infinite Skin, Infinite Color, and other plugins.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Digital Photography School: Digital Photography School is a long-running photography education site offering tutorials, tips, and courses to amateur photographers. It overlaps with Fstoppers on photography education content, audience (aspiring photographers), and tip/tutorial revenue model.
• Light Stalking: Light Stalking is a photography community and tutorial site covering techniques, gear, and post-processing. It targets a similar amateur-to-enthusiast photographer reader base as Fstoppers' community platform.
• PetaPixel: PetaPixel is one of the largest online photography news and review publications, covering gear, industry news, and tutorials for a similar professional/serious-amateur photographer audience. Both sites compete for the same advertising dollars and reader attention in the photography media category.
• Phlearn: Phlearn specializes in Photoshop and Lightroom tutorials taught by Aaron Nace, with a similar paid-tutorial plus free-content model. It directly competes with Fstoppers' Photoshop-centric tutorial catalog and retouching workflow content.
• Photography Life: Photography Life is a photography education and community site offering tutorials, gear reviews, and technique articles. It overlaps with Fstoppers on content categories and target audience of dedicated photography enthusiasts.
• SLR Lounge: SLR Lounge is a photography education platform covering lighting, wedding photography, business, and panoramic stitching, and is a featured content partner selling through Fstoppers' store. The two share an overlapping target customer (photographers seeking technique and business training) and identical creator-led tutorial revenue model.
• DIY Photography: DIY Photography is a photography tips, tutorials, and gear news site aimed at enthusiasts and professionals. It competes with Fstoppers for photography news readership and educational content engagement.
• Retouching Academy: Retouching Academy provides professional retouching courses for beauty, fashion, and portrait photography, and is a co-development partner selling through Fstoppers' store. Both target the same professional retoucher and portrait photographer segment.

Broad incumbents

• Adobe: Adobe is the parent platform on which Fstoppers' Infinite Tools Photoshop plugins depend and provides content exposure through Adobe's editorial channels. As the dominant photo-editing software incumbent, Adobe shapes the ecosystem in which Fstoppers' plugins and tutorials compete.

Emerging players

• Cole's Classroom: Cole's Classroom offers photography education including lighting, posing, and editing tutorials via subscription and one-time purchases. It is a smaller but directly comparable creator-led photography education business.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/thefstoppers
• Instagraminstagram.com/officialfstoppers
• Xx.com/fstoppers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fstoppers