On the lookout for some portrait tips and techniques? Well look no further, sit back and check out this well paced, information packed presentation on just that.

It's easy to think that if you want to put together a great portrait shoot you need to book an expensive location and have a room full of lights, but sometimes simplicity can be more rewarding.

If you are currently stuck at home and looking for something to shoot, natural light portraits are a fantastic option, especially if you do not have any strobes or monolights in your house with you. This excellent video will show you how you can use items around your house and natural lighting techniques to take stunning portraits.

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 4.

Don't have thousands to spend on lighting gear? One of the most valuable lighting methods you could find out there also happens to be the cheapest: a window. The best part about it, is that it is free!

Walking up to a complete stranger and asking them if they would like to have a photo taken of them is a challenge for some people. This is exactly what Jessica Kobeissi set out to do, but she wasn’t alone. She decided to have the duo from Mango Street, Rachel Gulotta and Daniel Inskeep, join in on her escapades in the streets.

A while back we featured a behind the scenes video on the making of the 2011 Pirelli Calendar and people enjoyed commenting on it (especially Karl Lagerfeld's crazy gloves). If you aren't familiar with the Pirelli calendar, it's basically a glamour nude calendar that is only released to VIPs and Pirelli customers. Even though the calendar is not for sale, it has become an icon in the fine art world. A few days ago this BTS video on the making of the 2012 calendar was released and it's pretty interesting at well. It features photographer Mario Sorrenti as he and his crew scout out locations throughout Corsica in pursuit of the perfect light for each nude image. There are two video versions available below each having a slightly different perspective. While I wouldn't consider this pornography, this video is definitely NSFW so you might want to revisit this later.

I've spent the last 2 weeks in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, shooting stills and video in freezing winter conditions. Snow, ice, blisteringly cold wind and more. In this video I share what I found to be best for packing my kit, protecting it in the field, and keeping my eyes from freezing to my viewfinder.

Skater Kilian Martin sets new standards in the world of skateboarding. Mb! joined forces with Killian and filmmaker Brett Novak to create his newest video "Kilian Martin: Altered Route". Aside from the fact that Killian does things with a skateboard that I have never seen anyone else do ... ever, Brett captures each trick and angle perfectly. I especially love the way Brett juxtaposed the nostalgic clips from the water park back in it's heyday to it's current ghost-townly state. Enjoy!

I’ve always been a fan of big lights. There are certainly situations where they aren’t appropriate, but a lot of my work is centered around big, soft light. What has always drawn me to large sources of light is their versatility. Almost every subject looks good with soft light. Because large light sources cause such soft gradation in the shadows, they can be useful for both younger subjects with smoother skin, or even older subjects that may have wrinkled and scarred skin. However, there is one thing that should be cleared up: the definition of a large light source.

Each and every photographer has their own unique way of working with models, cameras, and light. It’s something that clearly shows through in the series Jessica Kobeissi has developed in which different photographers shoot the same model. In the most recent episode, she brought Dani Diamond and Brandon Woelfel back for a new shoot, but this time they added a few obstacles to make the challenge more fun.

The Canon EOS R gained Sony-like AI Servo Eye AF with a firmware update earlier in the year, and now, photographer Manny Ortiz takes a look at how it performs. The short answer is that it’s definitely way better, and he says as much, but the real reason to watch the video is to see Ortiz in action on a portrait shoot. It’s fascinating.

Whether it’s high noon, sunset or the magic hour it’s hard to beat photographs taken under the natural light of the sun. But how do you contend with the myriad of conditions it produces? Easy. You watch this video by RocketJump Film School as director of photography Jon Salmon walks you through most of the lighting scenarios you might encounter outside. There are even some helpful DIY tips on modifiers thrown in.

I always love when I get a few days to get caught up on all my YouTube subscriptions and watch what other photographers are creating. One of the photographers I always look forward to seeing new content from is Detroit-based fashion and lifestyle photographer, Jessica Kobessi.

Photographing when the sun is at its highest point in the sky is rarely desirable, but there are certainly times and places where it can make for great images. Here are some tips for that less popular time of day.

Let's face it, smartphone cameras are getting better and better with every release. Mobile photo editing software is getting better too, and with the rise in popularity of Instagram over the last four years, sharing vintage-looking photographs have become quite the trend. Online content studio Rubber Republic produced the #PictureBelfast campaign for Tourism Ireland featuring fashion and lifestyle blogger Donna Ross going head to head with Belfast based photographer Andrew Rankin. Their challenge was to take photographs showing off the best of Belfast – half with a smartphone and half shot on film – where Internet users would try to guess which method for each image was utilized.

While a ton of strobes and modifiers might be ideal for creating striking shots, it’s often best to shoot boudoir imagery using natural light to make things flow and keep your model at ease. Experienced boudoir photographer Michael Sasser offers three great tips for using natural light to capture stunning images.

If you'd like to know how to add real drama to your images in forests, such as incredible rays of light and gorgeous sunbeams, then this will be extremely helpful for you.

I never really used to take photos on my phone; in fact, I used to be really against it because I never thought the camera was good enough to capture what I wanted. Of course, it's great to always have a camera on you so you can take a photo, which makes the smartphone one of the best tools around. With today's technology, these cameras just keep getting better, and I am finally beginning to use my phone's camera just to work on my composition and angles when I see something of interest.

I don’t do a lot of gear reviews, in fact, this is my first for Fstoppers (bear with me). But Lumu is a product I’ve been following since it’s launch on Kickstarter back in 2013. I didn’t invest back then, I’ll tell you why later, but it's a great concept that has become a reality so I’m here to give you my honest thoughts and a short video we hacked together using the meter in the field.

I'm guilty. As a commercial and fashion editorial photographer as well as a writer for Fstoppers, I love lighting, bokeh, rigging, and all technicalities involved with cinematography and photography. For many months, content fell second to setup. From my experience, there are three types of photographers: those that confide in instinct and sunlight, those that rely on post processing, and those that excel at artificial lighting and formalities.

An annual award that TIME magazine started three years ago has chosen it's official 2015 winner. Stacy Kranitz is an Instagram photographer who is most famous for her work in the Appalachia area. The poverty stricken, drug and alcohol filled area is certainly an eye opening subject. But why her in particular?

Finding the best quality of light is most of our job as photographers, and a great place to start looking is window light, especially north-facing window light. This type of light creates a soft transition from light to shadow, and can be very flattering on our subjects. Sometimes, however, we need to get consistent results all day, as in the case of this menu shoot, and using a window will cause too much variation in the light.

Karl Taylor brings us this great video about natural light portraits, and the one tool he feels is essential for shooting into the light.