Recent Lighting Articles

A Guide To Working With Male Models

It was something I’d been thinking about for a while. Casually admiring others and how they went about it so naturally. Watching from afar, admiring the differences between them and me and wondering if there every was going to be a day when I was comfortable enough to do it myself. The more I watched, the more interested I became. Soon, I began visiting websites, looking at the photos and day dreaming what it would be like when I had the nerve to do it myself.

How to Shoot Company Groups

Have you been booked or plan on shooting a large group for their company team photo? Not sure what you need to do or even how to start? Jay P. Morgan from The Slanted Lens is back with another video with some of his tips on how he shoots his corporate group portrait photos.

An Effective One-Light Setup for Portraits

If you look at the work of professional portrait photographers, you will probably notice that they often employ multi-light setups to achieve their desired looks. And while those are useful, you can absolutely create professional-level photos with a single light, and this helpful video will show you what you can accomplish with one.

How to Use Clamshell Lighting for Portraits

Clamshell lighting is one of the most classic and commonly used setups for portrait photography, and when done right, it can produce eye-catching and flattering results. If you have not used it before, check out this great video tutorial that will show you how to create a proper clamshell setup for portraiture.

The Inverse Square Law and How It Affects Your Lighting

The inverse square law is one of the most fundamental and important rules when it comes to lighting in photography, and understanding it can make you a better photographer. This excellent video will introduce you to the law and show you how its affects your work.

How to Take a Portrait With Shallow Depth of Field and Studio Strobes

Many photographers rely on their 50mm 1.4 and 85mm 1.4 lenses to give that dreamy, narrow depth of field look to their portraits. These two lenses have become a staple for portrait, headshot, wedding, and boudoir photographers who enjoy the soft look that comes with a narrow depth of field and natural lighting. But what happens when you want to create a similar effect in the studio, where your strobes are often too powerful for shooting wide open? Today, I'm going to share with you a fairly unconventional lighting technique that will allow you to shoot your lenses wide open in the studio.

Shooting a Martin Schoeller Inspired Portrait

Martin Schoeller is a very successful portrait photographer whose work has been featured in The New Yorker, Outside Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, Time Magazine, GQ, Esquire, and Vogue. The style of these portraits is beautifully simple regardless of the nature of the person in front of the lens, and the guys at PHLEARN wanted to try and recreate his unique style.

A Mobile Strobe with a Flash Duration of 1/25,000?!! Yes, Please.

I know the title of this article is a bit wordy, but I didn't know how to describe this beast of a lighting system in fewer words. 1/25,000th of a second! As you can see in the video, the new Profoto Pro-b4 1000 Air turns water into glass. It negates gravity. There is nothing you can't shoot with this rig. Plus it's field-ready, running off of a fast-recharging battery pack. It's almost enough to get this speedlite-only shooter to convert completely. If I could only scrape up the $10k that I would need.

One Strobe, Hold the Modifier: Crafting Portraits With a Single Hard Light

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.

A Portable and Effective Minimalist Flash Kit

Learning how to work with artificial light will make you a far more versatile photographer and enable creative opportunities that simply would not be possible otherwise. However, there are a couple of ways to approach building a lighting kit, and if you plan to be on the go quite a bit, you should carefully consider the size, weight, and power requirements of your equipment. This excellent video tutorial will show you a portable, versatile, and effective minimalist flash setup.

Recreating 1930s Photography on a Television Set [NSFW]

Ron Jaffe is the stills photographer for a multitude of popular television shows, and occasionally, he’s asked to recreate images that could have been taken decades ago. I asked him what process he goes through to take us back to pre-war USA.

Trying To Catch A Fighter Jet With 24,000 Watts Of Light

Stock Photographer Yuri Arcurs definitely went big with this experimental photoshoot, to see if it would be possible to shoot a fast moving fighter jet, and actually light it up with flashes. This behind the scenes video shows us how difficult it was to pull off, but that the end result justifies the elaborate and at times frustrating work.

Creative Ways to Photograph Wedding Rings Using Household Objects

Photos of wedding rings arranged together before they are exchanged are must-have detail shots for every wedding. Wedding photographers are always looking for creative ways to photograph rings. This video by Magic Lens Group takes us through several ways to light the rings incorporating household objects to achieve moody colors and dynamically lit backgrounds.

How to Improve Your Photography by Shooting Black and White

It is understandable that many beginners new to taking photos often get impatient when learning photography. Learning this craft is a process and involves the gradual addition of techniques that will eventually turn into second nature. We all get “the bug” and want to learn anything and everything as soon as possible, it’s natural. There are all sorts of elements that factor in to a well composed final image. The fact of the matter is, we’re all still learning new things from our experiences that we encounter.

Creating Gorgeous Images With Only Flashlights [NSFW]

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.

Can GTA 5 Can Teach Us To Be Better Photographers?

Grand Theft Auto 5, which launched yesterday, is the most expensive video game ever produced, at a cost of $250 million of production and marketing costs. It also set records for day one sales. Most of the short time I played over the last day was spent inside the house one of the one of the main protagonists. I moved from room to room and realized I’d just spent almost an hour trying to work out how to position the character for best dramatic lighting effect. As I stepped outside and watched the sunset and saw the lighting change, it got me thinking - can Grand Theft Auto (GTA) 5 actually help us to improve our photography?

Great Trick for Pouring Liquid in a Product Shot

Photographer Rob Grimm has posted a nice little BTS of his 'Micro Brewery Project' - where the photographs feature some various beers from the United States based on "unique bottle design, label, and/or flavor profile." The video starts out with a great, little trick for creating an even pour in a photo. The bottle itself is clamped in place, but by using twine, nail polish remover and fire, you can cleanly remove the bottom.

Lighting Basics - How To Do It Properly And Why You Should Care

You may have the newest DSLR or the fastest lenses known to man, but without even a basic understanding of light, it is going to be an uphill battle to create the images you envision. While this tutorial is directed primarily toward animators, the ideas and concepts within it are applicable to anyone who wants a better understanding of some basic lighting fundamentals.

How to Shoot a Professional Black and White Portrait With Just One Light

If you look at the work of professional portrait photographers, you will probably notice that they frequently use more complex two- or three-light setups. Such setups certainly have their place, as they enable a lot of creative flexibility, but that does not mean you cannot take professional portraits with just a single light. This excellent video tutorial will show you an effective single-light portrait setup for taking compelling images.

You Can Save Thousands on Photography Gear with These B&H Black Friday Deals

It's the time of year to save on your spending. Cameras, computers, lenses, tripods, grips, and just about any other photography related item is on sale this Black Friday at B&H. If you've been planning on buying any photography equipment this season, now is definitely the time to act with discounts and rebates being offered for hundreds of dollars.

6 Things Every Photographer Should Have in Their Lighting Kit

The more you get into working with artificial lighting, the more you will realize you constantly little gadgets and accessories besides the lights and modifiers themselves. This great video tutorial will show you six things you should have in your bag that will keep your shoots running smoothly and help you tackle any problems that might arise.

How to Make On-Camera Flash Look Natural

Photographers generally avoid on-camera flash whenever they can, but there are situations in which you will not have another option. For those situations, there are certain things you can do to make the light look more natural, and this helpful video tutorial will show you what they are.

Bored With Photography: Tips From Peter McKinnon

Usually for me it starts after the peak of fall foliage. After a busy year of spring portraits, wedding season, fall shoots, and some photographic trips sprinkled in, by the end of fall I find that it's easy to get a little bored with photography. Typically the inspiration needle on my gauge is in the red. While taking a break is never a bad idea, sometimes all you really need to do is challenge yourself. Presenting yourself with new opportunities to create photos and videos that may not normally be in your wheelhouse. Giving yourself some time to experiment can help you get back to why you started shooting in the first place.

Here's Why Natural Light Photographers Need to Learn How to Use Flash

One of the most important things a photographer needs to learn to understand is lighting. Without it, it's essentially not possible to do any kind of conventional photography. Learning how to use different kinds of light sources is also important. Although natural light can be great, being able to use flash effectively is extremely useful.

Three Steps to Make $500 an Hour in Your Photography Studio

Primarily, I'm a NYC Wedding Photographer. However, I also photograph business headshots in my NJ Studio as well. I love doing this as a side-gig that brings me extra money for practically no work at all. To be honest, I wasn't really all about it when D.C. Headshot Photographer Moshe Zusman told me I should start implementing it into my business. Seemed a bit boring and I didn't get how it would make me more money than the $10,000+ High-End Weddings that I photograph now. I was wrong.

Popular Photo Accessory Company Photoflex Just Went Out Of Business Without Warning

After 30 years in business, the popular photography and video lighting accessory company Photoflex has suddenly and without warning closed its doors. To this day, I still use and enjoy my Photoflex extra large softboxes, and I am shocked by the news considering they were just at Photokina earlier in March. Read below to learn more.

Create Amazing Food Photos With a Single Speedlight

Inspired by a recent photo book I purchased, "Creative Flash Photography" by Tilo Gockel, I set out to create a series of food photos this week as part of a Thai dinner theme my wife and I decided on. The principle here was simple: create a great image using a single speedlight and a bounce card. That’s it.