Recent Lighting Articles

How To Choose the Right Godox Modifier for Your Photography

The number of affordable lighting products available from Godox has exploded in the last few years. If you’re not sure which modifier will best suit your work, check out this in-depth video to help you make your choice.

The Kick: Wirelessly Controlled LED Panel From An iPhone

Photojojo.com is well known for having a ton of fun photography related products. Their latest happens to be a LED light panel that can be controlled from an iPhone.

The Kick is a five row LED light panel that can be customized to any color temperature through a downloadable app. The unit runs on a USB rechargeable battery which is a huge plus.

How to Use High-Speed Sync for Outdoor Portraits

Shooting fall portraits outdoors comes with its challenges, from managing shifting light to balancing the subject against vibrant backgrounds. Using high-speed sync and thoughtful lighting techniques, you can isolate your subject while keeping the rich details of the season intact.

Who Else Struggles to Understand Studio Lighting? This Will Help You

As a landscape and seascape photographer who also shoots surfing, I'm not too embarrassed to say that my understanding of indoor lighting setups is not where I want it to be. This video here is extremely helpful, especially if you'd love to get those gorgeously mysterious rim light shots.

These Fantastic DIY Lighting Modifiers Cost Nothing to Make

Lighting modifiers are powerful creative tools that can drastically change the look of your photos and videos, but they can also grow very expensive quite quickly. Luckily, if you understand the basics of lighting, you can create a variety of DIY modifiers using basic items and materials you probably already own and save yourself a ton of money in the process.

How to Use Light to Communicate Emotion in Your Photographs

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.

Don't Buy the Hype: The Dome Attachment Mystery Solved!

There is a war going on in the lighting community: To dome or not to dome? Does the recessed front make a difference? Are the flat-front lights not usable anymore? Well, having had the privilege of owning a number of lighting variants, I did rigorous testing to settle the debate once and for all.

We Review Profoto Clic 2.7' Softbox – Not for Everyone

Reviewing good light modifiers is one of my favorite types of reviews to write. As I highly value light, I aim to cover light-shaping tools more than anything else. When this softbox was released, my thoughts were split in half. On one hand, I see how it is useful, but on the other, it is simply not for the majority. Read on to find out why.

Now Shipping: Phottix Odin II TTL HSS Trigger for Sony

Today Phottix has announced it is shipping its highly anticipated Odin II transceiver for Sony to their partners worldwide. The new Odin will allow Sony users with the Multi-Interface Shoe (found on the Sony a7x/a6x bodies) the ability to have TTL and HSS functionality using the Phottix Indra and Mitros+ line of flashes.

How to Change the Mood of a Photo Using Lighting

Lighting is about more than simply providing proper illumination that shows your subject off in a good way. With proper control of it, you can evoke certain moods or emotions that can go beyond simply illuminating your photo and create a more complete experience for the viewer. This great video demonstrates how this is done by showing two vastly different moods made using creative lighting.

How to Get The YouTube Video Look in Just 7 Easy Steps

Have you ever thought about starting a YouTube channel and needed to build a set to film your videos on? In this video, take some advice from the experts and learn how to craft the perfect YouTube video setup.

A Simple Guide To Creative Light Painting in Your Images

Mastering light can mean many things, from the manipulation of natural light through to how to setup multiple strobes for a specific look. However, there are a few more niche techniques that are both incredibly fun and rewarding. One of these is light painting.

Create Captivating Portraits With an LED Light Wand

Over the past few years, LEDs have become a popular choice for still photographers, and with good reason. Although LED light sources do have limitations, there are many clear benefits to using constant light for portrait photographers. In this article, I will detail five ways I use an LED light wand to create captivating portraits, both in and out of my studio.

Why Lighting Modifiers Matter

If you are someone who has worked only with natural light, one of the most foreign parts of artificial lighting might be the vast array of modifiers available. How much of a difference do they really make? This great video demonstrates why your choice of modifier matters and the difference they can make in your work.

Stunning Portraits with Simple Lighting Setups

Lighting is the backbone of portrait photography. Whether you’re shooting beauty headshots or more dramatic portraits, understanding how to manipulate light can make all the difference. The best part? You don’t need a complicated setup to achieve professional results.

How I Got the Shot: Teal and Orange

Playing with gels is always a fun time, join me as I break down how I got this photo of Toronto model and photographer Sam Yang.

Creative Problem-Solving: Lighting Techniques and Tips

Lighting is a crucial aspect of photography, often making or breaking a shoot. Understanding how to manipulate light effectively is essential. This video details a challenging scenario that was transformed into a valuable lesson on lighting techniques.

How We Built Our New Fstoppers Studio Set

In today's video we take you behind the scenes in our new Fstoppers studio and show you exactly how we built and designed our latest video set. We will show you all the microphones, cameras, and lighting gear as well as our thought process in tackling this empty canvas of a room.

Mastering Off-Camera Flash: Avoid These Common Mistakes

Learning to shoot with off-camera flash brings a whole new level of control and creativity to photography. But along with the endless possibilities comes ample room for slip-ups. This fantastic video tutorial outlines the five most common mistakes people make when first stepping into off-camera lighting, along with fixes to set you up for success.

We Review the Rotolight PRO NEO 3 and PRO AEOS 2

When the Rotolight package was delivered to my doorstep, I was apprehensively excited. I was apprehensive because light is everything in photography, and LED lights are notorious for disappointing me. But I was not disappointed. To say I had to rip myself away from playing with it in the studio to type up my review would not be an exaggeration. This light is prodigious.

Learn a Variety of Helpful Lighting Tips in Just Three Minutes

Taking the time to learn proper artificial lighting techniques and setups is crucial to becoming a proficient and versatile portrait photographer. If you are working on learning lighting, check out this fantastic video that details a wide variety of helpful tips and information in just three quick minutes.

3 Tips for Creating Dramatic Lighting in Your Portraits

Lighting holds the keys to the overall feel of an image for the most part, particularly with portraiture. In this video, you will see behind-the-scenes of a dramatic, moody portrait shoot with some tips on how to replicate the style yourself.

24 Hours Only: Save $100 Off Peter Hurley's Headshot and Lighting Tutorials

As announced in yesterday's sale, Fstoppers is having a 24 hour sale on our tutorials every day leading up to Christmas. For today's deal we have persuaded Peter Hurley to offer $100 off both of his acclaimed tutorials The Art Behind the Headshot and Illuminating the Face. This sale even beats our current "Buy both for $450" sale and marks the lowest price you have ever been able to buy both at one time. You can find the discount code

Demystifying Professional Photography Lighting Equipment

Understanding professional lighting equipment is crucial for photographers aiming to elevate their craft. These tools are indispensable for creating high-quality images with ultimate control, but their complexities and capabilities can often seem daunting to those not familiar with the intricacies of professional photography gear.

Five Common Lighting Mistakes You Might Be Making

Lighting can make or break your photos. It’s one of the most important elements to get right, yet it’s also one of the most common areas where mistakes happen. By understanding a few key missteps, you can improve your results quickly and avoid some of the pitfalls that hold many people back.