Getting the Perfect Beauty Shot
Looking for the perfect beauty shot? In this video, Daniel Norton takes us through his way of lighting the subject in order to achieve the "beauty shot".
Looking for the perfect beauty shot? In this video, Daniel Norton takes us through his way of lighting the subject in order to achieve the "beauty shot".
As photographers, we often go through many modifiers to find the right one, and this may just be my new go-to. With its low cost, portable form factor, and ease of setup, the Aputure Lantern could be right for you too.
We spend a lot of time talking about different kinds of lights and modifiers, but once you have spent a lot of money on your setup, you will want to make sure the stand you put it on will hold it safely and allow you to maneuver it as needed. This helpful video tutorial will show you four commonly used types of studio light stands, when they are appropriate, and how to use them.
Whether it’s direct light, backlighting, or the often-overlooked blue hour lighting, understanding how to use these natural light effectively is a key skill.
I firmly believe that anyone starting out with artificial lighting should master working with a single light first, but that does not mean one-light setups can't produce versatile and professional results. This great video will show you a critique of several one-light images and provide you with a ton of helpful advice on lighting, posing, and more.
The beauty of well-lit interior situations is when you can't guess how it was set up or it looks natural, as if the practicals in the room served as light sources. In this lighting tutorial, you will learn how to create a convincing scene of a cozy night interior and a fierce thunderstorm on the outside.
For quite some time one of the only way to get color effects was through gels. However, the pain of having to carry around these different gels may be a thing of the past. The staff over at B&H tested out the Luxli’s new Timpani for color changing effects in still and video photography.
Photographers love soft light and the “wrap around” quality that large modifiers can deliver. We contemplate the large parabolic softbox we need to purchase or the huge umbrella that will help us make window light anywhere. For impactful portraits that are just as compelling maybe it’s time you took a look at hard lighting.
When we learn about lighting, we most often focus on the quality of the light and all the things that contribute to that. However, light can be more than just that which gives you the correct exposure and renders your subject in a flattering manner. It can be used to add mood and interesting atmosphere to an image. This great video tutorial will show you one such example using a fake window to complete a shot's aesthetic.
Beauty images are a wonderful chance for you to find your personal style through your choices of lighting, posing, and editing. This excellent video tutorial will show you how a photographer used two lights and gels to create a unique beauty image.
Sometimes, improving your studio portraits isn’t about adding more lights—it’s about making better use of the ones you already have. This highly useful tutorial covers five essential lighting patterns in portraiture and compares the setups. In this in-depth yet quick guide, Pye Jirsa delivers clear and practical demonstrations designed to produce bold, impactful results without overcomplicating your workflow.
Halloween might not be my favorite "holiday", but it does bring with it some fantastic photoshoots. In this video, watch as Lindsay Adler creates some stunning Medusa-themed portraits using LEDs.
YouTube filmmaking has become more common and easier nowadays, but can you make your videos stand out by making them more “cinematic?”
Optical snoots are great ways to get creative images with crisp edges, but you are limited by the horrible gobo collections. Here's how I found a way to make your own for about $11.
With gear paralysis definitely being a thing when starting out in food photography, it can result in a lot of frustrating trial and error when equipping your new home studio. This guide is definitely useful.
When it comes to artificial lighting, your choice of modifier is one of the most fundamental and crucial creative and technical decisions in the entire process. If you are new to working with artificial lights, this excellent video tutorial will give you the sort of practical knowledge you need to know which modifier is right for each photo you wish to make, along with a variety of illustrative examples.
When a photographer looks into their toolbox, typically hard light is one of the overlooked tools. In this video, learn how to light a scene using just a hard light source and create a unique mood in your images.
Lighting can make or break a fitness portrait. Our goal is to highlight the form and definition of your subject as well as the movement if the intended photo involves action. In this tutorial, I'm going to walk through a few basic fitness photography lighting techniques.
Beginning tomorrow and spanning through the weekend, creativeLIVE will be hosting their Lighting Essentials workshop with the likes of Lindsay Adler, Rick Friedman, Roberto Valenzuela, Tony Corbell, and Chuck Arlund. Spanning the remainder of the week, these five awarding winning and critically acclaimed photographers will teach you everything you'll need to know to manipulate the light in photographs. Click the more link for an entire breakdown of the schedule.
Traditionally, you probably think of using color gels to change the hue of your subjects or to add a splash of color to a backdrop, but with this clever technique, you can use color gels to change the color of the sky. This great video will show you the theory behind the technique and how to change the sky to whatever color you please.
Transforming your portraits from ordinary to extraordinary often comes down to how you manipulate lighting. Here's an effective and affordable approach.
When it comes to buying new lights, you first need to decide if you want a continuous light or flash, which can be a difficult decision if you shoot both photography and video work. But with the new Reflex S from StellaPro, you no longer need to decide.
Even if it is not your specialty, product photography is a fantastic way to practice creating precisely crafted lighting. This great video will show you how to create a versatile overhead product lighting setup that you can use on a variety of items and vary to your personal taste.
Shooting in bright, sunny conditions can be challenging, but mastering this light can add a fresh, vibrant look to your images. While many rely on golden hour’s soft tones, learning how to use harsh sunlight effectively opens new creative opportunities. It’s about working with the light rather than against it.
Remove the complications and long lists of equipment that you think you need to create stunning portraits. Look at what Irene Rudnyk can achieve shooting with this simple LED light set up in her living room.
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.
Beauty dishes and octaboxes are two of the most common lighting modifiers out there, with almost every portrait studio in existence owning at least one of the two, if not both. They are not identical, though, and each renders your subject in a unique way, which is why it is important to understand the differences so you can pick the proper one for your style and clients' needs. This great video tutorial will show you a deep look at the two options, how they differ, and which is appropriate for different situations.
You might not think speedlights are that flexible in terms of the quality of light they can output, but with a bit of ingenuity and an understanding of the basics of light, you can get both hard and soft light out of just a single speedlight. This helpful video will show you how it is done.
What can you learn by simply watching how a photographer and his friend do a remote portrait shoot?
I've recently heard this statement confidently asserted, mostly by non-photographers, when talking about lighting. I briefly mentioned that it's a little more complicated than that without delving into a whole lesson on light and how it works, but it did leave me pondering the statement longer.