Lighting

When you're shooting with strobes onto a plain backdrop, one of the most common problems you're likely to encounter is a shadow from your subject on the background. This helpful video will show you how to deal with this situation.

One of the most useful pieces of lighting gear a studio photographer can have doesn't actually have a light in it. Check out how v-flats can help you shape your light in this great video.

The holidays months can bring extra leisure time, and there's nothing more rewarding than spending that free time on a challenging photography project. During last year's fall holidays I decided to turn my available energy into something creative and fun: a pet calendar for 2018.

We all know how a histogram has to be read, or at least we should know. It is a handy tool to check if the exposure of the image is correct, or as correct as possible. If the image is not exposed correctly we can read the luminance histogram on our camera LCD screen and know exactly how much the exposure needs to be corrected. Well, perhaps not exactly, but enough to prevent us from guessing.

Rain during a couple’s portrait session can be hugely annoying for a wedding photographer. A dramatic rain shot can be the silver lining, but only if you’re fully prepared, especially on the lighting front.

Earlier this year, I released an in-depth tutorial on product photography with Fstoppers called "The Hero Shot: How to Light and Composite Product Photography." As I started publishing images from this tutorial on Instagram, I found it extremely interesting that the most liked image was the cordless drill. It was the most simple image that I created for the series, and I used very basic inexpensive continuous lighting to create it. So, if I were to have photographed this drill using strobes instead of continuous light, would you have been able to tell the difference? I’ll...

Shooting with natural light or strobes doesn't have to be a one or the other proposition: you can easily mix them in the same shot to create interesting outdoor images. This great video shows you that there are quite a few ways to do that.

If you're looking for a bit of inspiration, try out this technique of mixing all sorts of different lights, colors, and patterns to create fun and unique photos.

Commercial photographer Geoff Ang was approached by one of the top CGI companies in Singapore “CUM Creative” to create an entire series of images for Razer’s newest line of gaming headphones.

When you're new to lighting, one of the most difficult aspects can be learning to control where the light falls and where it doesn't. Grids are a great way to do this, and this helpful video will give you a quick introduction to how they work.

A few months ago, we released our first impressions of the new Profoto B10 portable flash unit, and many of our readers claimed that we didn't give it an honest review because it was wildly overpriced. Today, we are giving the critics what they asked for: we are going to compare it to the Godox AD400Pro.

Photographer Paul Colley spent 14 months creating an ingenious infrared lighting system in order to capture bats hunting at night without disturbing them. After winning first prize in the British Wildlife Photography Awards, he talked to Fstoppers to explain how he created this totally unique image.

Photography can become ridiculously expensive with gear and props and all the other necessities. So when there is a chance to save, I save!

When you're first starting with artificial lighting, it can be easy to overcomplicate things by thinking you need lots of lights performing all sorts of specific functions to achieve great shots. This excellent video will show you how to create interesting portraits using a very basic setup.

When it comes to lighting, you likely think about it in terms of how it's shaping your subject or whatever object you're illuminating. Now, it's time to think about not only that, but how the light looks as it moves through the space.

Explore in this lighting tutorial three ways of stepping up your headshot photography game.

At the beginning of October, I challenged photographers to make amazing photographs using only a flashlight, and the winning image is a testament to the creativity of the Fstoppers community.

A chilly September morning. The crispness in the air added weight to the solemn moment. My composition was all figured out. I patiently waited for the final elements to come into place.

It doesn’t always take expensive equipment to make big changes to the mood of a shot. Here are a couple ways I found to improve my portraits with a tool I didn’t so much buy as I found laying in the trash.

We talk all the time about how to properly add light to a scene, from where to place it, what power to set it at, how to modify it, and more. But just as important as the presence of light is the absence of it, and this great and quick video will give you an introduction to that concept.

Off-camera flash can be a bit daunting when you first start out, especially when you're trying to balance it with ambient light. This great and informative video takes an in-depth look at building such a shot from the beginning.

Light stands are not a glamorous piece of gear, but they remain a staple in most photographers' work. So while having a bad light stand can cause stress and frustration, having a good light stand can free your mind to work.

If you're new to strobes, buying a couple of speedlights and modifiers can be a cheap but effective way to learn the ins and outs of artificial lighting. This awesome video will show you how to create classic studio portraits using just speedlights.

A few words of wisdom from one the best cinematographers working in Hollywood today.

Who knew you could get beautifully lit images with nothing but a flashlight? In this week's lighting breakdown, I'm going to show you how I created this series with nothing but a flashlight and a bit of crafting know-how.

One of the most fundamental parameters of lighting is the height at which you place the light. This excellent video will teach you everything you need to know about properly placing a light source or reflector at the right height.

Ring lights have been around for a while, but recently they haven’t been as trendy as they used to. Except in the YouTube beauty industry where many influencers rely on these, day in and day out, to create their content. I recently tried the Angler Circo LED Ring Light to see how good it was.

We've been fans of the Fiilex P360EX for years now. It's dimmable, color shiftable, and it accepts Profoto accessories. The only problem? It's not that bright. Fiilex had an answer to my power problems in the form of the Q8 Travel.

In this week's lighting breakdown, I'll show you the setup I used for this editorial beauty shoot that let me create an angelic mood and make the most of the model's fantastic skin.

If you look at the work of the best studio photographers, you'll probably notice most of them use multiple lights to achieve their final results. And while there's certainly nothing wrong with that, you might be amazed at what you can accomplish with just one light, and this great video will show you every step in the process.

When you're buying your first lighting gear, you have to make a decision before anything else: continuous lights or strobes? This great video will talk about the advantages and disadvantages of both and which is right for you.

Hair photography can be a pain to shoot. Having a good hair stylist is incredibly important to make sure you don’t end up spending more time than you should behind the desk for the retouching. When it comes to hair, you’ll already have to spend more time than you’ll like.

This is your chance to participate in the Flashlight challenge, prove you can make an amazing photograph with any light source, and have your photograph featured in an Fstoppers article all about you!

Photographer Michael Muller has been shooting the biggest names — often for the biggest movies — for more than 30 years. In this video, self-confessed lighting newbie Sawyer Hartman heads to Muller's studio to learn a few tricks of the trade.

In this detailed video, Basic Filmmaker gives you a complete overview of the things you need to know before investing in a lighting system for your video needs.

Godox is back at it again, this time offering Photokina a sneak preview of a soon-to-be released portable round head speedlight, offering a direct competitor to the Profoto A1.

Good lighting can do more than just properly illuminate your subject for a good exposure; it can help you tell a story. This super informative video will show you four lighting setups for cinematic silhouettes.

When you're first starting out with studio lighting, it's easy to become focused on getting the key light just right, but if you become too fixated on that, you can overlook the importance of the rim light. This great video will show you how to use a rim light to separate your subject from the background.

Interfit, the well known maker of studio flash units and flash accessories, has announced today the release of their new battery powered strobe the Badger Unleashed.

Sometimes it takes a deeper look at a master to bring us back to basics.

Light can make or break a photograph, and that's particularly true in landscape photography, where a beautiful scene can either be rendered rather blandly or resplendently depending on the light that's falling on it and how you make use of it. This great video will give you seven tips for making better use of light in your landscape images.

I have been a photographer for almost eight years, and to be honest, it has not always been fun. No career path is without its ups and down, and certainly, the creative industry is no different.

Lighting schemes should always have a purpose, whether it's to flatter a client, show the details in a product, or create a mood. In this fantasy portrait, my purpose was both to flatter the model and to create a sense of place. Let's talk about how it was done.

In this short video, Manny Ortiz gives a very quick introduction to three lighting modifiers that he uses in the studio — the beauty dish, octabox, and umbrella — and gives a short overview of their pros and cons.

Cheap and decent quality LED lights can be found online easily these days; however, sometimes, you have to make specific sacrifices in either quality or function to get those cheaper prices. That's when DIY comes in.

When you're new to lighting, it can be a bit overwhelming trying to understand how to control multiple lights with the precision needed to create a polished photograph. This quick and great video will show you how to create a classic look using just one light.

The Profoto B10 is here, and it's one of the most exciting advancements in lighting that I've seen in years.

Listen, I know what you're all thinking. "Whoa, it looks cool. The modeling light is even bi-color. But it costs how much?" I get it, but bear with me.

Of the many lighting techniques available to us as portrait photographers, using backlight with a simple reflector is one of the most versatile and least expensive methods you can choose. This method is widely used outdoors, but did you know that you can apply the same strategy to studio portraits?

We're heading into the realm of storybook fantasy with this week's Lighting Breakdown that blends natural and artificial light.