Lighting

Chinese lighting manufacturer Godox has just released a few details about their most recent project: an off-camera flash for your smartphone. The Godox A1 is more than just a constant light, offering several options in what they are calling their first “phone flash system.”

Perhaps one of the biggest rites of passage for a photographer is gaining proficiency with artificial light. It can seem a bit daunting at first, but once you get some basic principles down, it's really not that hard, and you'll greatly expand your photographic capabilities in the process. Dive into this great video to get started.

There are plenty of reasons you may want to blend natural light with flash. I know I rarely shoot with more than one strobe on location so the ambient light often acts as a fill light or rim light. Regardless of your reason to do so, knowing how to easily achieve this is extremely important. Check out this video where I explain my process for balancing strobes with natural light on location.

This incredibly well thought out and carefully executed shot is an awesome lesson in not only designing an intriguing product photography shot that tells the right story, but also in bringing it to fruition. Check out this step-by-step video that walks you through the entire process.

Just over a year ago today, I took the leap and made my first MagMod purchase. That first endeavor included: The Basic Kit, a set of Creative Gels, a set of Artistic Gels, an extra MagGrid, an extra MagGrip, a MagBounce, and a MagSphere. Over the last year I’ve added (and replaced) a few more items into my MagMod kit that is now to a point I’m now extremely happy with. After that initial purchase though, there was still one missing piece that kept lurking in the back of my mind. It wasn't actually a MagMod item so much as it was something I saw in a video on the MagMod page featuring TwoMann Studios.

Photography can be quite an expensive hobby or career. Needless to say us photographers love our gear and always want more of it - or at least I do! Over the past couple of years, I've been transitioning from being primarily a wedding photographer to incorporating more studio photography in my business. I don't plan on leaving weddings, but I love having a couple more thousand dollars a month doing quick and easy headshot photography. Here's how I built my studio with both simplicity and quality in mind.

LED lights are all the rage these days. Though they're already used quite a bit in the video industry, they're starting to make their way into the stills side of things, with folks like Peter Hurley embracing them. This great video examines the process of shooting portraits with LED panels, as well as the pros and cons of using them over strobes.

For photographers just beginning to invest in studio equipment, a beauty dish probably isn’t too high on their wish list of light modifiers. They can be expensive, and are not as versatile as softboxes. In this video, Joe Edelman breaks down the beauty dish and shows how to create the beauty dish look on the cheap.

Less can definitely be more when you're trying to create mood in glamour photography. I think you'd be surprised what sort of results can be achieved with compact lights and a little know-how.

In today's somewhat over saturated market of boudoir photography, everyone is looking to shoot something new and unique. It can be difficult to find a new perspective on shooting when so many ways have already been discovered. So how can you get creative and grasp the attention of the viewers without reinventing the wheel?

You don't need a ton of gear to produce dramatic portraits. By using focal length and lighting to your advantage you really can add so much more power to your images.

We talk a ton about different lighting setups and how they affect tonal transitions, strength of shadows, etc., but rarely do we investigate how the way we work with our lights affects our subjects' pupil size, and yet, that plays a large role in a person's perception of a portrait.

University photographers often end up rubbing shoulders with some pretty famous alumni, and that privileged position sometimes offers the chance to shoot some compelling portraits of said celebrities. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always mean you’ll have a lot of time to bust out the strobes in the studio. Sometimes, all you have is 90 seconds, a speedlight, and a hallway.

Kendrick Lamar's newest music video, "ELEMENT," was released this week. The video is directed by Jonas Lindstroem and The Little Homies (aka Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free) and takes Photographer Gordon Parks' iconic imagery and breathes new life via video. I'm not sure how many of our readers listen to Kendrick Lamar, but you should. He's brilliant, in both lyric and music video direction.

I recently teamed up with the crew at Fstoppers to create a video tutorial that focuses on the foundations of creating a standalone product hero shot for advertising. What’s a standalone product hero shot you ask? It’s a standalone image of a product that’s generally well lit, super crisp, super clean, and essentially aids in selling a company's product.

Shooting products against a pure white (255,255,255) background, can be achieved using the pen tool in Photoshop, but what if you want to find an alternative way to create the same stunning images, but without the hassle of spending so much time in post-production? Dustin Dolby from Workphlo, has created an insightful online tutorial which shows just how simple it can be to create this effect, with minimal gear and maximum time saved. With the help of a couple of speed lights, strategically placed white and black card and a kit lens, Dustin is able to demonstrate just how easy is can be to control and shape lighting, to achieve the desired effect.

UPDATE: ENDS TODAY! Have you ever wished you could have a decent sized softbox fit in the palm of your hand? Swedish photographer Vincent Palma and his team have created a 24 inch light modifier that folds down into a mere 8 inches. Using the same patented mechanism as our own Fstoppers Flash Disc, the Sundisc will give you even, soft light when carrying large, bulky softboxes is not practical. The Sundisc Kickstarter has already met its funding goal but that doesn't mean you can't get in on this first production run now before the campaign ends Wednesday, June 28th.

We talk a lot about how to light the face for more flattering portraits or to achieve a desired effect, but rarely do we talk about how to light to project a specific emotion. And yet, light is one of the most powerful photographic tools at our disposal. Check out this great tutorial that details how to use different methods of lighting to convey emotion.

One of the biggest leaps you can make as a beginning portrait photographer is taking control of your lighting. It can be daunting at first, but having that skill down is well worth the time and effort. This helpful video will get you started.

Strobist. Natural light shooter. These words are at two opposite ends of the spectrum of photographer that seem like they're always a hair's breadth away from starting a photographic civil war, both sides preaching their philosophy as if deviation is blasphemy. One side is derided as being "afraid of learning to use flash" and the other side is jeered at for creating "flashy," "fake," or "contrived" images. Both sides seem immovable in their adherence to their preferred light source. Despite this disagreement, a popular saying in photography is, "light is light." So which is it? Is one better and the other worse, are they just preferences or are both sides cutting themselves short?

Shooting product photography can either be a tedious task or it can be a fun and rewarding one. Likewise, looking at product photographs can either be boring or it can enlightening. Using gels to modify the light in your product photographs can be an easy way to add some energy to your images.

One of the main reasons why I love photographing dogs outdoors is the challenge of creating beautiful backdrops from the natural surroundings. One of my favorite ways to photograph dogs on location is to use a wide-angle lens to allow the sky to be the dominant background feature. When photographing dogs during the golden hour, incorporating a single speedlight or strobe in your outdoor dog portraits will allow you to effectively use the sun as a backlight and create eye-catching compositions at sunset.

It’s always important to stop and smell the photos – but what happens when your stop is at night, in complete darkness without any lights to help you out? You improvise. There are a few things you can do to help you compensate for lack of proper lighting equipment.

The dramatic looks that can be achieved with strobes can very well be accomplished with natural light if utilized correctly. Understanding how to use the sources and the environment will increase the overall image every time. Using pull backs of each shot is a valuable tool in order to truly appreciate and understand how each image was shot. One photographer shows just how to light dramatically with minimal set ups.

When you're first starting with artificial lighting, one of the biggest things to learn is how different modifiers affect the face. This helpful video compares numerous modifiers of different types and sizes to help you understand their effects and choose what's right for you.

It doesn't matter if you shoot weddings, portraits, or work in the commercial world. With the smallest about of kit and a little bit of knowledge you really can dramatically improve the quality of your images. The guys over at Westcott have produced a fascinating video with Chicago-based photographer and educator Bob Davis. This demonstration is focused on how to enhance the look of your groom preparation shots, but I actually think these tips can be used in various genres of photography.

Shooting glass is its own beast, but when you can pull off this high key look, the results are elegant and well worth the effort. Here's how to shoot glassware on white using only a single light.

Gear Acquisition Syndrome isn't just about camera bodies and lenses; it definitely extends to lighting as well. But sometimes, it's great to see someone go back to the bare basics of manipulating light. That's exactly what Daveed Benito does in this great video in which he uses only flashlights, and watching his process is a valuable lesson in lighting.

With modern cameras having incredible resolution and dynamic range, we all obsess over sharpness and the tonality of our images and how flexible the raw files are. But when broken down, what really makes a good portrait? Is it the perfect focus on the eye or a subtle transition of highlight to shadow from a massive softbox? As with all things, what defines a good portrait can go out of style. This was an interesting wake up call when a friend asked me to create an early 20th century style portrait of him.

Back in 2010, I was commissioned to do a photo of some spices for a family friend. I had never done anything like that, so I wanted to do a good job, and invested in my first off-camera flash setup. It was daunting at first, but I’ll never regret dipping my toes in the water and starting to learn about one of the most important things about being a freelance photographer: learning to control light.

I recently travelled to the local racetrack with my brother for an open track day and decided that while he was out riding, I would try to make a few portraits of the other attending riders. I spent plenty of time ahead of the trip planning lighting, gear, locations, and more. This is a step by step walkthrough of how I created this series of portraits.

If the idea of creating multi-light portraits makes you feel the least bit intimidated, this tutorial is for you. Music photographer PJ Pantelis delivers a clear and detailed lesson on how to create professional headshots using just two lights and a reflector.

Creative genius rarely erupts onto the scene full force and in your face. Its entrance into the world is often quiet, gentle, allowing only a few to see it and recognize its brilliance. Such is the case with Portland, Oregon-based Kate Woodman, whose use of color in her work produces an instant halt to the ever scrolling feed of images - causing even the average user to stop and appreciate the story unfolding before them.

Fuji is, at this point, the last major manufacturer to not have TTL, high-speed sync, and wireless control support from most major lighting manufacturers. Profoto and Elinchrom have now made wireless remotes specific to Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Olympus. Fuji, even with their new medium-format monster, the GFX 50s, has yet to get such love from the lighting community. While I can imagine that something is in the pipeline from these manufacturers for Fuji, nothing is certain and many of us need something to work with right now. Enter the Nissin Air system.

Have you ever framed a shot that you thought you'd be happy with only to snap an image that doesn’t quite live up to what you had in mind? Perhaps using that extra speedlight in your bag could help you capture the image you were after.

National Geographic was probably the first place I found truly inspiring photography as a kid: I was particularly drawn to both the color and the lighting of the images. In this great tutorial, Bob Holmes, a National Geographic shooter, walks us through his philosophy and thought process when reading the light in a scene.

Whether it's a style or a genre, film noir has that signature high contrast look we've seen in many old black and white films. Modern filmmakers also adopted that style of lighting and post-processing in their drama and thriller movies. In this video you'll go behind the scenes of how to achieve that film noir look in camera.

Recently I found myself setting up lighting for a headshot session only to find out my flash was stuck on full power. The "on" switch for the flash worked just fine and it fired as normal but all its buttons simply didn't work, presumably because they were worn out. I had several backup flashes back in my truck but I wasn't looking to make the client wait while I walked back to where I parked, so I figured it was a good time to flex those problem solving muscles and make the shoot work with an un-adjustable flash.

We’ve all been there; the studio is set, the model is awkwardly waiting, but the light isn’t quite right and the stress begins to build. With every test shot, the light quality increases and the anxiety level decreases. Finally, like a blast of cool breeze on a hot day, everything clicks into place. The light is perfect.

Simple differences in the quality of light on a face can have a significant impact on how a person is perceived. I'm always a sucker for seeing how those different looks are achieved, and the team from The Lighting Channel has put together a video that demonstrates 10 different lighting looks on a face, along with the moods they create.

Lighting is equal parts art and science. The science part often comes in understanding how different surfaces absorb and reflect light and how that impacts the setup you'll require. This great video shows you three general situations and the unique considerations you must make in each of them to properly light your subject.

The Profoto Pro-7a power pack probably one of the most ubiquitous strobe packs in high-end photography studios around the world. Despite two newer models replacing it, the Pro-7a is still widely available for rental at photo studios and equipment houses. Several Pro-7a packs have been popping up on the used market at very appealing prices. The problem is that they are actually Profoto Pro-6 Freeze packs with a few cosmetic updates.

As the number of people interested in wildlife photography continues to grow, and the capabilities of modern equipment expand the boundaries of what is possible, many of us are seeking new ways to produce work that is fresh. This has meant exploring new techniques and searching for untapped frontiers in wildlife photography. This trend has led to a rapid increase the number of people interested in using camera traps.

Last week, I posted an article about how to create amazing portraits with on-camera flash. My hope was to help anyone who was on the fence about shooting with flash feel more comfortable and confident in their ability to shoot with flash. Granted, shooting with on-camera flash has its caveats, so in this article, I am going to go over some of the benefits of shooting with off-camera flash.

San Francisco based commercial and sports photographer, Alexis Cuarezma, has just announced he is launching a YouTube channel with 100 videos on photography. He'll be discussing topics such as lighting, working with models, and taking full advantages of your locations.

One of the most fundamental skills a photographer can have is the ability to separate their subject from the background. It goes beyond just physical distance, however. Good background separation requires control of light, and this great tutorial will show you exactly how to achieve that with a variety of different looks.

A spectacular shot of a bride in her gown can be one of the most enduring images in the spectrum of bridal photos. I’ll state up front that I am not a wedding photographer, but as a fashion photographer specializing in bridal fashion, I’ll wager that I’ve shot more bridal gowns than the average wedding photographer. Along the way I have picked up a few tricks that wedding photographers might find useful when taking a bride’s formal portrait in her gown.

Cinematographer Matt Workman has created an extensive video detailing the methods and tools used by Director of Photography Linus Sandgren to create the Academy Award winning look of La La Land.

A few weeks ago Elinchrom announced their new adventure light, the ELB 1200. However, they didn’t release any pricing at the time, but they are now official. The Swiss flash manufacturer also recently added a few versatile light shapers to their already comprehensive range of products.

It can be very easy to fall into the trap of thinking elegant and nuanced portraiture requires complex lighting. And while there's certainly nothing wrong with a well-designed setup, it's also important to remember that so much can be done with a single light. This great video walks you through just such a setup.