Recent Natural Light Articles

Beauty Blooms in Blight: Striking Photos Show Burst of Color in Forgotten Home

There’s something about old places that always leaves you with a feeling of uncertain familiarity. Old places and empty places are like ghosts drifting behind us humming childhood singsongs just an octave below audible as we pace through their halls. If you’re from Detroit, you know that these places are aplenty. Some mighty like Roman ruins, some meek and shuttering in the wind, and most begging for new life. A new life is just what you’ll notice when you look at Michigan photographer Heather Saunders' photos of the amazing art installation, "The Flower House," which documents two long-abandoned homes in Hamtramck, Mich.

Changing The Lives Of At-Risk Teens Through Nature Photography

"In A New Light" is non-profit that uses nature photography to empower, teach, guide, and ultimately change the lives of it's students- students whose background often includes struggling in school, abusive homes, and general hopelessness. Both the photos captured and stories told are simply inspiring. Read on for an interview with Ben Thwaits, pro photographer turned teacher for IANL, and to see some of the students' impressive work. A Kickstarter to publish a photobook along with stories of the students is in the making as well.

Photographing Rainbows and Moonbows At Yosemite National Park

This video was emailed to us and I when I watched it I thought "wow I've never seen anything like this before!" We've all seen rainbows and you've probably had your fair share of experiences taking images of them. What's so interesting about this video is it showcases the elusive "moonbow" formed as moonlight passes through the mist created by waterfalls. Yosemite National Park is known for it's amazing rock formations, waterfalls, and forests but few people know how beautiful it can look after the sun has set.
Dancers Among Us: Urban NYC Portraits

Jordan Matter is a headshot photographer based out of NYC but does some rather quirky personal projects. One of his going projects is titled Dancers Among Us where he places professional dancers in urban environments and tries to capture a spontaneous yet thought provoking image. I must admit some of his tactics might be a bit unlawful and I don't recommend necessarily following his advice but the concept is pretty interesting. Shooting in public places is always tough especially when you want a high production value but doing it in NYC can be extremely tough without getting proper licenses. View more images from this series here. //--> //--> //-->
Interview with Set in The Street Photographer Justin Bettman

Justin Bettman is a portrait and editorial photographer based out of NYC and I first came across his #SetintheStreet project while scrolling through Facebook. I thought it was a fun, creative and unique project that was worth sharing! I love that the art kind of lived on after the shoot itself with him leaving the sets in place for people to engage with. So cool, right!?! With that said, I decided I had to interview him to find out what are his processes in creating these photographs.

Zach Andrews And Corinne Alexandra Have My Back

As you all know The iPhone Fashion Shoot created a heated debate on the internet. I responded to all of the haters but according to my scientific tests, 95% of internet trolls are illiterate so they never read it. I have been getting tons of emails from people who want me to do the shoot again with only lights from Lowes but I am not really interested. The shoot was fun to do once, I proved my point, and I don't want to be known as "the iPhone photographer" so I am going back to only using my camera phone to take pictures of my drunk friends. Thankfully there are others out there that have my back. Zach Andrews and Corinne Alexandra created a quick video in which they take a beautiful portrait with a lamp, a window, a sheet, and a point and shoot. Once again talent trumps gear. Photoshoot for DIY-ers from Zach Andrews on Vimeo.
Glen Friedman: 80s Skateboarding and Hiphop Photographer

There are so many photographer's who I don't know by name but recognize their work once it pops up. One such name many of you may not be instantly familiar with is cultural photographer Glen Friedman who is most famous for his photographs of early skateboarding pioneers Tony Alva, Jay Adams, and Duane Peters, and rebellious hip hop artists like Ice-T, Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, and Run D.M.C. In this video Glenn talks about his work and in the second video he talks about what it was like growing up during one of the creative hot beds of American and World culture. If you are in the San Francisco in the next few days, check out his gallery showing at 941 Geary Gallery before it wraps up the end of the month. Oh and the first words out of this video are "Fuck You All" just as a warning :)
Night Time Location Shoot Quito, Ecuador

This past year Mark Wallace packed up his studio in Arizona and hit the road, traveling the world with his camera. Mark is currently visiting Ecuador, and while there he has been doing some nighttime shots of the city.

How Lifestyle Photographer Denise Crew Shot the Queer Eye Book

Lifestyle photographer Denise Crew was approached by the producers of Netflix’s Queer Eye about a book they were producing that had a very quick turn-around. It typically takes 18 months to publish a book from start to finish and they needed to do this book in 6 months.

How To Light A Semi-Truck Against The Los Angeles Skyline

Jay P. Morgan is a commercial photographer based out in Los Angeles. His behind the scenes videos have been a hit with our readers because they always feature some useful lighting or photoshopping technique. In his latest video, Jay shuts down a highway ramp in order to light an 18 wheeler truck against the LA skyline. It's pretty interesting that an image like this is shot in camera and not completely photoshopped but that's what makes Jay P. Morgan a hero around the office. If you enjoy this video be sure to check out some of his other videos here.
Thousands Of Dollars Worth Of Gear Carried Through A Waterfall

If you ever need to carry your gear through a storm or even a waterfall, the Lowepro DZ 200 waterproof backpack is your ticket. But that's not what this post is really about...no way! Craig Pulsifer is a videographer and photographer based out of British Columbia (that's Canada for you across the sea). Instead of waiting for clients to come to him, Craig decided to start making his own commercial videos for products he personally uses like the Lowepro bag. While covering a story in the Philippines, Craig decided to hire a few local assistants to help him film video and audio clips for an exciting extreme style commercial he wanted in his port. The results might actually be better than the normal videos created by Lowepro themselves! By pushing his own creative talent and keeping the production level high, Craig has produced a compelling advertisement for his own personal show reel that will certainly help land him bigger jobs down the road. I still don't think I'll lend him any of my gear for his next adventure through the jungle!
Freddie Wong Builds His Own Gun Shots

If you are not already subscribed to Freddie Wong's YouTube channel, you should go there right now and watch one of Youtube's most popular animators. Well this week he has created a really simple video called The Freeze Shootout and has provided a quick behind the scenes video on how he did it. Watch the full video here and click on the full post to watch how he created it.
Giuliano Bekor's Merchant 1948 BTS Photo Campaign

Giuliano Bekor is an amazing commercial and advertising photographer based out of Los Angeles. Recently he traveled down to Australia to produce a short editorial film for the clothing company Merchant 1948. The concept involves a set of short films based around the idea of models finding a ton of cash and avoiding the police by flying away in vintage airplanes. As ridiculous as that sounds, Giuliano's execution makes for a really entertaining editorial spread.

Jeff Johnson Takes Some Amazing Travel Photos

Jeff Johnson is a very talented lifestyle and advertising photographer based out of California. He is probably best known for his adventurous images as the staff photographer for Patagonia. He has also worked with Best Buy, Macy's, Target, and General Mills. So when he sits down with Marc Silber to talk about how he produces great travel photos you better take notes. I hope all you outdoor and nature photographers enjoy this video.
Common Natural Light Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Natural light is one of the most versatile tools in photography, but it can also be tricky to master. The way you use it can make or break your images, and getting it right takes some practice and attention to detail.

Splitscreen Short Film Shot Entirely On A Nokia N8

Wow, I just ran across this short on Vimeo and was so impressed with the concept and execution of James W Griffiths' "Splitscreen: A Love Story". James shot the entire video on a Nokia N8 cell phone as the short was created for the Nokia Shorts Competition in 2011. "Splitscreen" won first place in the competition and was nominated for a vimeo award. The video quality isn't great, but they did a great job in putting it all together. Very cool stuff. Enjoy!

[Video] "Lets Colour" Paints The World

Let's Colour is a worldwide initiative to transform grey spaces with colourful paint, and the results are quite incredible! This film was shot by Adam Berg over four weeks in Brazil, France, London and India. Every one of these locations has been transformed by a palette consisting of 120 different colours. The people in the film who rolled up their sleeves to transform their community with colour. I love this unity through art. Enjoy!

Motorcycle Destruction In Super Slo Mo

Allstate created a pretty clever advertising campaign for motorcycle insurance that showed super slow motion motorcycle wrecks without their riders. Their tag line is "Bikes never crash alone." I think this ad makes a really strong statement without being gory. Check out the BTS below and the finished product in the full post.
Fstoppers Rapid-Fire Q&A Session With Fine Art Photographer Vinny Picardi

Vinny Picardi is a successful fine art and advertising photographer based in Los Angeles, CA, who has exhibited work all over the country and around the world. I recently came across Vinny's work and I have to say that I'm a pretty big fan, so I thought it would be interesting to share not only just a photo series with our readers, but also to take some time to ask a few questions to get inside the head of a successful fine art photographer.

Sitex Computers:  The Photoshop Of the 80s

Every now and then it's fun to go back in time to see how photographers approached photoshoots requiring a large amount of production. Back in 1988 Brian King was on the cutting edge of digital photography with his use of Sitex imaging computers. Well before the advent of Photoshop, Brian was able to piece together multiple images by scanning negatives and turning them into primitive digital media. By today's standards, the final product is pretty comical but this is what the first results of 'digital photography' looked like in the advertising world. I have to say, if a single photograph took this much effort and planning today I would probably have given up on commercial photography a long time ago.
New iPhone App Lets You Pre-Organize Your Photos

Keeping your photographs organized by means of keywording is not a new idea but a new app is changing the idea of keyword organization. Polymo lets you add your keywords before you shoot, and adds all of the photos into its own "smart album."

Could This Be The Longest Slider Video Ever?

We've featured Patryk Kizny a few times here on Fstoppers and his content is always mind blowing. Recently he decided to test a new portable and modular slide rail for the DitoGear PortaSlider. This time lapse video uses 14 one-meter long track units connected to make one single long track. Everything was shot on a few Canon DSLR Cameras and mainly wide angle Samyang 14mm and 8mm lenses. The location, Ogrodzieniec Castle, is one of the largest ruined castles in Poland and Eastern Europe and a pretty remarkable place to film. Check out more about the PortaSlider at http://ditogear.com/featured/porta-slider-prototype/

DitoGear PortaSlider Prototype Testing (timelapse) from Patryk Kizny on Vimeo.

7 Tips for Natural Light Beauty Photography

Of all the genres in photography, beauty work often has some of the most precise, intricate, and carefully sculpted lighting setups out there. Nonetheless, that does not mean you can't shoot beauty images using natural light, and that may even be preferable in certain situations. This fantastic video tutorial discusses seven tips for shooting better natural light beauty images.

[BTS Video] Halloween Comes Late:  The Ghostbusters Photoshoot

I just realized that our Fstoppers Twitter account has tons of unread direct messages (we prefer you email us). One of them was from Douglas Sonders who had a crazy experience with one of the original Ghostbusters Ecto 1 Cadillacs. These caddies have so many lights on them that I can't make any sense of what is going on but it looks pretty cool. Douglas does a good job explaining how he plans on using a few long exposure shots to burn in the ambient light while using spot grids to pop in just the right amount of flash for specific areas of the photo. Does anyone know if the Roscoe Fog Machine in this video is made by the same company that makes Roscoe Speedlight Gels? Either way, nice touch on bringing the smoke machine to the shoot. Check out more details about this shoot over at Douglas Sonders's Blog.
Hard Light: It's Big and Worth a Try!

Identifying trends in commercial photography is important. It helps you develop your practice and keeps you on your toes! One of those trends right now is hard light. Hit that subject hard, cast some shadows, and make it look like we're all shooting poolside, sipping piña coladas!

Motivation Slump During the Summer Months? Try This

Landscape photography during the summer months can lead to a motivational slump due to the weather conditions. Bright sunshine, clear blue skies, long daylight hours, and busy locations can often lead to a drop in productivity and creativity for the landscape photographer.

Hasselblad Goes To The Ocean

After our half disastrous sailing trip in the Charleston Harbor today, it's only fitting to feature this really inspirational video on sailboat photography. Tim Wallace is an amazing auto and commercial photographer but today he is taking his Hasselblad out on the water. Shooting large boats like this with just natural light is always a challenge but Tim makes it look like a walk in the park. Equipped with helicopters, chase boats, models, and expensive cameras most people probably can't afford, Tim creates some spectacular images in Project Genevieve. I love this shoot because it's both commercial and editorial in nature and features spectacular shots of the sailboat as well as some lifestyle images with models that aren't hard on the eyes. Be sure to check out Tim's full portfolio especially if you like automotive photography.
Pete Souza Photographs President Obama...365 Days A Year

Fstoppers Forum member DPC shared this teaser video about a new BTS series PBS is doing on US Presidental photographer Pete Souza. It's pretty interesting to hear the issues Pete faces day in and day out shooting one of the most well known figures in the world. If you are able to tune into PBS, you can check the schedule for The President's Photographer: Fifty Years Inside the Oval Office. Click on the full post to watch a very lengthy interview with Pete about the issues he faces as a photojournalist working for the US Commander In Cheif and be sure to check out the offical White House Flickr Page for a ton of Pete's images. <
How to Create Beautiful Baby Portraits Using Natural Light in Your Own Garage

If you don’t have a ton of fancy lighting gear at home, this doesn’t mean that you can’t produce gorgeous studio-style images. This in-depth video tutorial shows you how to get great results using minimal equipment from the comfort of your own garage and dives deep into how they're edited in Lightroom.