Shooting the different seasons of the year is great, especially now that winter has officially started. You can shoot the same locations with a completely different mood and look. What happens when you want to shoot snow, but there isn’t any? Perhaps it’s too cold for the wardrobe styling and the subject. You can always fake it, right?
About a year and a half ago, I was walking on a local beach and realized that for a few weeks of the year, the sun would set in a perfect line of sight down the beach. I thought it might be a fun photographic challenge to create a super telephoto picture with a body builder "holding" the sun in an Atlas style pose. In my mind, the entire scene would be lit rather than have a typical sun silhouette image. Little did I realize how much work I was getting myself into.
Looking to get into portrait photography? Maybe you just want to learn more or perfect your trade. Adorama’s Daniel Norton has teamed up with Joe McNally once again to bring us a series of portrait lighting tutorials for us to learn from and enjoy.
Only two months after it was released, the Elinchrom Skyport HS for Olympus is getting an update and now supports Panasonic cameras. It still does not support Fujifilm, but it seems like the Swiss flash manufacturer is heading in the right direction by adding more devices to its supported cameras list.
Drones have grown into a standard item to own not only for videographers, but also for many photographers. Most have used them to capture images from the sky or places hardly accessible otherwise. A few have played around with these small machines to light their subject in a unique way, just like our very own Patrick Hall did when lighting a lighthouse with a DJI Phantom and a Nikon strobe. Photographer David Robinson took this to the next level and strapped an Elinchrom ELB 400 to an octocopter.
How many of you have tried to use fire to light paint a subject? What about just shooting fitness? In Brandon Wells' latest project, he decided to the mix the two together for some amazing photos.
The guys that brought you the Lume Cube are at it again with a Kickstarter to bring an even more powerful and portable light source for on the go photographers. The original Lume Cube is waterproof, features Bluetooth syncing, and has a build quality easily giving GoPro a run for its money. The Life Lite is all that but in an even smaller package at an incredibly enticing price point.
For anyone who appreciates the use of flash, there comes a point in photography work when you want more power than a standard speedlite can offer. Many strobe options provide more power, but require you to be tied up to power outlets. Few strobes offer a simple portable lighting option. Many would contend the Profoto B1 is currently the best self contained portable strobe on the market. That may be changing with Impact's newly released strobe, the Venture TTL 600.
Benjamin Von Wong is back with another magnificent set from his latest series, ‘Surreal Lava Portraits,’ where he ventures out on the Big Island of Hawaii to photograph some lava flows with his team and models. If this was anyone else, I would jump to the conclusion that this is all composited together to make the final image. But with Von Wong, this is all real.
With Halloween fast approaching, people are either revealing the costumes they've been prepping for the past year since the last Halloween, or they're scrambling to figure out what they're going to be. However for one dad, with a custom hand made leather outfit, some know how, and a team of assistants, this Super Dad gave his 3-year-old daughter a Super Makeover. Inspired by the upcoming Wonder Woman Movie with Gal Gadot, he used some very clever photo manipulation to create the photo series.
If you have photographed a subject with and without a grid modifier, you have probably noticed your power output is much lower with the grid on. This causes a less-exposed subject, forcing you to increase your light power to compensate.
One of the biggest complaints I've heard about Fuji's new medium format camera, the GFX 50S, is that there are no leaf shutter lenses. Leaf shutters have long been a staple in some medium format systems, enabling flash sync at faster shutter speeds than we are used to with focal plane shutters. But, here's the thing: It doesn't make sense for the GFX 50S to support them. Here's my reasoning why.
Unless you’re a well established fashion and beauty photographer with the support of an agent or a plethora of business acumen, you probably aren’t going to make much money when you’re first starting out in the business. This is why it’s important to learn how to be scrappy and work with less gear if you’re working on a budget. In these lighting tutorials, I’ll show you three easy-to-replicate fashion and beauty setups that fit almost every budget.
Last week, the plethora of photography announcements from Photokina was incredible. One product that was introduced, but got barely any attention, was a new strobe from Impact, the Venture TTL-600. It personally stood out to me as something I could possibly add to my own kit immediately if it does what it says it does and more importantly, does it reliably. So right now, it currently sits at the top of my list of new gear to try out.
While camera manufacturers seem to focus on resolution, high ISO, and dynamic range, in the strobe industry the past few months have been all about fast shutter speeds synchronization. However, Broncolor still didn’t have any in-house solution to offer to their client until Photokina and the new RFS 2.2 transceiver.
Yesterday, Profoto announced their Air Remote TTL-S and mentioned an unknown Pro-10 in their press release. It was not long before it was made official as the press release came in today. It’s a 2,400 Ws studio pack, and it’s fast — extremely fast! Not only that, but it’s the first of its kind, as it offers TTL and HSS capabilities.
Three months ago, Elinchrom released the Skyport HS for Sony. Back then, many seemed to complain there was no version for smaller bodies. It’s not the case anymore with the introduction of a new Skyport HS specifically designed for Olympus cameras, making it the fourth version of this pioneering flash trigger.
With the new trend of including features such as TTL, HSS, or Hi-Sync, it’s now become common to see flash manufacturers release multiple versions of a remote. Each of the release being specifically optimized for a different camera brand. Well, today Profoto introduces a Sony version of their TTL trigger, the Air Remote TTL-S.
Often, I get asked how a shot was done underwater due to the objects that are with the client. Recently, I started using GoPros to obtain behind the scenes footage to help better explain positioning and lighting on various sessions. "The Archer" was one image that caused most people to ask: "Did she really shoot the arrow at you?"
I’m a huge advocate of gelling your flash. It’s one of those things that a lot of photographers just discovering off-camera lighting will often fly right past without much thought (I know I did). Even after you get that first stack or plastic bag of gels, knowing how to apply them can be a little intimidating. Enter Michigan-based Photographer Rob Hall’s expert instructions on how you should or could be using your color temperature blue (CTB) gels.
Jay P. Morgan of The Slanted Lens is one of the more energetic and therefore entertaining characters in the photography world. His videos are usually a good mix of oddball antics and solid educational material. In this video, Morgan demonstrates how simply swapping gels on your rim light (with a bit of haze in the air) can really change the feel of your photo. I'm usually not a huge fan of fake smoke or haze machines, as I think they can look a little overdramatic and cheesy. However, I think it works in this instance, because he uses a subtle touch of haze, and it fits with the subject matter.
You can’t have a car feature without some amazing details shots of the car, right? Recently, Ben Hosking from Hosking Industries shot a VH SS Holden Commodore for Street Commodores magazine. Some behind the scenes video was taken of his process.
A beauty dish can be extremely versatile if you learn how to control the way it modifies light. Most photographers simply use beauty dishes to light the face, but you can use it to light full length photos if you know how to position the light correctly. In this video, I’ll demonstrate three ways to use a beauty dish for beauty and fashion photography.
Canon Master Krystle Wright had a pretty neat idea: shooting a kayaker cresting a 60-foot waterfall at night. With some ingenuity, she got her shot.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, "Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort." It's no secret that many of my clients belong to the LGBTQ community. I've worked hard to build a following in a demographic that should consider me an outsider; there is a real fear of being judged by anyone who doesn't routinely walk in their shoes. However, my client base hasn't always looked like this, and the road to building trust has been interesting to say the least. Why go through trouble? The simple answer is, “Because I love doing it!”
Retouching in photography has many forms. Everything from skin work to background manipulation. With the latest software abilities to retouch and manipulate an image, there is an endless source of possibilities to create. Even with all the tools available, there is a fine line and perhaps sometimes too much is too much.
I have a lot of respect for photographers who solely focus on beauty imagery. It’s definitely a skillset that I’ve been honing over the past few years, but ultimately one that I’ve come to develop an appreciation for. However, beauty photography does not have to be terribly difficult. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to create beautiful beauty lighting with a single studio strobe and a reflector.
There are plenty of sources that will give you photogenic hard light. The sun comes to mind, obviously. Even a bare bulb strobe. But there’s something magic about the light that pours out of a traditional style tungsten Fresnel.
Where studio portraiture often lacks in external interest and bokeh, it makes up for in image quality, clarity, and full light control. However, always shooting on a black or white backdrop is wildly limiting but having a whole host of different backdrops and changing them can be a pain in the proverbial. There is a much easier way to change your background completely in camera using only light and the right shade of gray.
Recently I bought a new Vizsla puppy named Leo. I decided to take a few portraits of Leo in the studio and I put them on Facebook. They became my most liked images of all time. Yesterday I went back to the studio to create a video on how I did it.
Canon and Nikon have been dominating the professional DSLR market for a while now. Photo accessories such as strobes triggers show that well. However, with the increasing popularity of Sony’s mirrorless cameras, flash manufacturers couldn’t stay with only “Canikon” options. Elinchrom apparently understood that with their Skyport HS and is releasing it’s Sony version today.
Four years ago I purchased my first set of studio strobes in an attempt to learn how to shoot portraits like the ones I saw in my favorite print magazines. Having shot most of my portraits using available light at f/2 and under, I thought this would translate over easily when I switched to shooting with strobes. As I snapped my first frame and realized that even at the lowest power setting on the strobe the image was overexposed, I set out to find a way to be able to accomplish the effect. The answer was high-speed sync.
Oh, what's that? I'm using flashes to take a portrait? Well let's turn those bad boys up to 11 and make that subject pop! When you're first learning to light with flashes, the temptation can be overpowering to drown out all the ambient light in your scene to make your subject stand out. I'd argue that, at least for environmental portraiture, sometimes subtlety with flash is a more compelling way to go.
The latest fantasy shoot from the Slanted Lens instantly brings to mind the incredibly Academy Award winning movie Mad Max. With the help of a local junk yard, some incredible styling, and creative lighting, Jay P was able to execute an eye grabbing shoot. Check out just how he did it.
Broncolor announced two battery-powered strobes today. Coming in 400-joule and 800-joule variants, offering flash durations of as little as 1/19,000s, and in a similar power option, the new Siros L strobes are clearly aimed at the 500-watt Profoto B1 with nearly identical features in all but one area, depending on what's most important to you.
For those of you may not know, we recently created a 20 hour photography tutorial with the incredible Joey Wright on all things swimsuit photography and retouching. We've been posting a weekly behind the scenes series of the creation of this tutorial. This is Episode 5.
For a very short time, you've got a chance to get some of the best off camera flash products on the market at a hugely discounted rate. Get almost 50% off FlexTT5 Transceivers and MiniTT1 Raadio Slave Transmitters, for both Nikon and Canon. A wide variety of other PocketWizard products are also discounted until tomorrow May, 12th.
It’s amazing how photos and video have become ingrained in events, especially when fashion and arts come together. Art and Commerce, an agency representing Photographers, Hair Stylists, Makeup Artists, Illustrators, Creative Director, Set Designers, and Directors have documented the small ‘studio’ space at the Met Gala. Art and Commerce represents Gordon von Steiner, who directed and brilliantly executed these images and video.
We just can't seem to get enough of New York City-based Photographer David Bergman. Whether he's touring with Bon Jovi, shooting for Sports Illustrated, creating a 20,000-megapixel image, or just popping in with a quick tip from his "Two Minute Tips With David Bergman" series, David never fails to show us something worth our while. For his latest two-minute tip, he teaches us a quick and easy method for dealing with grey, overcast skies.
For years, Elinchrom users have been complaining about the aging Skyport. A few months ago, the Swiss flash manufacturer finally released the brand new Skyport HS, and it is a great product. However, not everyone needs its advanced features. Some photographers couldn’t care less about technical stuff and only want their transmitter to do the job it is designed for: triggering the flash remotely. Well, that’s why the Skyport Plus was recently released.
Last week, I took a look at personal projects and showed how I created my most recent portrait series. These personal projects are a great way to grow as a photographer and create new work you have a passion for, as you have the opportunity to create images with full control of the visual style. However, they may not always require you to step out of your comfort zone. To expand your repertoire of photographic knowledge and to create a more diverse, yet consistent portfolio, you need to experiment.
After the successful release of the Skyport Transmitter Plus HS that brought Hi-Sync capabilities to the Elinchrom lineup, the Swiss flash manufacturer now introduces the new Skyport Plus System. While many thought the Skyport Plus HS was the replacement of the old Skyport, it was not. The transmitter announced today is the real replacement.
Commercial Photographer and Videographer Jay P. Morgan has spent the last 25-plus years mastering light, production, and the business end of photography. He shares most of his insights on The Slanted Lens, his site dedicated to providing step-by-step instruction on how to light for photography and video. His latest video finds him in Gettysburg, combining strobes with ambient light, featuring Honest Abe and a couple of sweet cannons, while he shows us how to light a scene during sunset.
More often than not, things aren’t going to go the way that you want them to on set. Things are going to break. Things aren’t going to work. Models aren’t going to show up. That’s life. Deal with it.
It's usually all about that sweet, soft light. Many of us portrait photographers probably would never even consider using a harsh, bare light without something to diffuse it, but Profoto and Pye Jirsa with SLR Lounge show you there is a time and place in this video tutorial that includes three step-by-step scenarios that teach you how to create dramatic photos with a single naked and unmodified strobe.
Flash meters are often seen as archaic and of no use anymore. However, good flash meters such as the L-478DR can make photographers and assistants lives much easier. Even more so with the two new products Sekonic releases today.
About two years ago, in the spirit of adventure and creativity, I decided I was going to try and photograph the ocean with artificial lighting. I had an image in my head of all the things I’ve seen in daylight hours, with the stark contrast of an illuminated wave against a dark backdrop. A run-of-the-mill day down at the beach certainly wasn’t going to do either. We were going to go straight to the top and shoot the biggest and meanest waves we could find.
Young photographers often don't have a great budget to buy a lot of equipment when starting out, let alone high-end lighting gear such as Broncolor's flashes and light shapers. Unless the equipment in question is given away, which is exactly what Broncolor offers to talented photographers under 30.
