Recent Lighting Articles

A Beginner's Guide to Using Lighting Modifiers for Video

Photography and video have some crucial differences between them, but perhaps the most important similarity between them is that good lighting is crucial to getting the best results. If you are new to video and working on building your skills, check out this great video tutorial that will show you a variety of different lighting modifiers and how to use them to create professional-level results.

Sculpting Style With Light: Unlocking Artistic Vision Through Multi-Flash Setups

Many photographers looking to pursue more conceptual portraiture are intimidated by elaborate lighting configurations required to achieve intensely stylized effects. However, this excellent video tutorial makes the case that venturing beyond single-source illumination opens doors for bringing unique creative visions vibrantly to life.

4 Natural Light Portrait Setups Using Only a Reflector

Shooting outdoor portraits offers a lot of creative opportunities, but it can be a bit of a pain to lug lighting to a location. Knowing how to work with natural light and a reflector can give you a lot of the versatility of an artificial light without all the inconvenience. This fantastic video tutorial will show you four different ways to use a reflector for outdoor portraits.

Transforming Rainy Day Photos With Creative Lighting

Creating stunning portraits even on challenging days is entirely possible with the right techniques and equipment. Understanding how to manipulate both natural and artificial light can transform your photos, giving you the control to achieve the desired effect regardless of the weather.

How to Add Ambiance to an Outdoor Portrait With Artificial Light

Outdoor portrait shoots can be a fantastic way to photograph couples in an organic environment that allows them to convey natural poses and emotion. However, nature does not always cooperate. Adding a smidgen of artificial light can be just what you need to really complete a photo. This fantastic video tutorial will show you how to do just that.

How To Light A Dance Music Video

I recently filmed a quick dance music video with famous dancer Marquese Scott. Here's how I pulled it off.

The Secret to Consistent Lighting in Headshots

Getting consistent results in headshots can be a challenge, especially when you're shooting in different locations with varying lighting conditions. If you've ever had to match headshots taken in different offices or on different days, you know how tricky it can be. The right approach ensures your clients get the consistency they expect without unnecessary stress.

Luminar Neo Adds an Extension With a Christmas Twist

Just in time for holiday photos, Skylum has a new extension for Luminar Neo. It's the seventh extension offered this year, and it's called Magic LightAI. The release is scheduled for December 15.

Why You Need to Understand This Lighting Technique

Even if you have no interest in lighting theories or filmmaking, you will have a good understanding of how light affects a scene or image's mood. But if you want to control the mood with precision, you need to understand the techniques behind it.
Sculpting Storytelling Light for Engagement Photos

Capturing the spirit of love’s celebrations demands thoughtful artistry behind the lens. In his latest tutorial, seasoned wedding shooter Pye Jirsa demonstrates essential techniques for intentionally crafting evocative engagement portraits through deliberate light shaping. Through five versatile lighting recipes, Jirsa spotlights how to create desired moods and contexts to transform setups into narrative tools.

What You Need to Know About Negative Fill

When you are creating a lighting setup for a portrait, you probably approach it from the standpoint of adding lights and modifiers until you get the result you want. However, while adding light is, of course, important, it is also crucial to know where to take it away. This is where the idea of negative fill comes in. However, negative fill can sometimes be misunderstood. This great video tutorial will show you how negative fill really works and how to use it for your portrait work.

2 Photographers Go Head-to-Head Shooting With Only Hard Reflectors

Profoto sets a challenge for photographers, Chris Knight and Lindsay Adler, to orchestrate a portrait shoot with some limitations: the color theme of the shoot is the Pantone Color of the Year and although each photographer can use as many lights as they like, they have to use hard reflectors.
Three High-End Maternity Lighting Setups

Maternity photography is a special genre that captures the beauty and significance of motherhood. The right lighting can transform a simple photo into an evocative image that encapsulates the beauty and strength of expectant mothers. This fantastic video tutorial will show you three such lighting setups.

Mastering Light Direction for Stunning Portraits

Understanding how to manipulate light direction is crucial for creating compelling portraits. The direction and quality of light can dramatically alter the mood and depth of an image, and this helpful video tutorial will show you how to harness those properties to maximize your image quality and creative vision.

Learn How This Dramatic Sports Portrait Was Created

James Quantz Jr is one of the best out there when it comes to sports portraiture, with his innovative lighting and eye-catching compositions making for dramatic images. If you would like to learn how to create this style of portrait, check out this fantastic video tutorial in which he takes you behind the scenes, breaking down a complex shot into easier chunks to show you how it all came together.

Create Cinematic Lighting With Tube Lights

Lighting equipment can be expensive, confusing, and cumbersome, but it doesn't have to be. Some of the most interesting and enjoyable lights to use are much cheaper than studio strobes and can unlock real creativity.

Simple Outdoor Lighting Setups for Filmmaking

If you create content outdoors, you will know that lighting can feel like a minefield. In this video, Aidin Robbins teams up with Adorama to give you some simple lighting setup options for your next shoot.
Learn How to Create This Four-Light Portrait Yourself

You can create stunning portraits with just a single light, but once you have mastered that, moving into more complex multi-light setups will open up your creative opportunities even more. If you would like to try a challenging but rewarding portrait lighting setup, check out this great video tutorial that will show you a dramatic image shot using a four separate lights.

Unlocking the Secrets of Natural Light

Natural light is often touted as the photographer's best friend, yet many struggle to harness its full potential. This disconnect stems from the oversimplification of natural light usage and the expectation that it should automatically enhance photographs.

Strobe or Natural Light? Let the War Begin.

I love watching other photographers at work. In this video, you will see one of my favorite fashion photographs, Lindsay Adler, who is known for studio lighting and Dani Diamond, who prefers natural light. They go head to head on the streets of New York with the same model.
The Photo Creators: A Boutique Conference for Hands-On Learning

Not all conferences are created equal. While I am a big fan of the large conferences, sharing a room with hundreds of people isn't always the best way to learn. So, if you still want to learn from big names such as Lindsey Adler and Joe McNally, but in a small hands-on environment, then The Photo Creators may be what you are looking for.

Could You Save This Messed-up Footage?

No doubt, modern cameras and editing software have allowed us to push edits to extremes we would never have dreamed of previously, but still, to ensure the best image and video quality and significantly reduce our work at the computer, getting things right in camera is best. That being said, there will be times when things need some work in post. This neat video challenges four colorists to correct severely askew footage and will teach you some great methods in the process.

Black vs. White Grids: Do They Really Make a Difference?

Light control is one of the most important aspects of photography. Whether you’re lighting a subject or creating mood through shadows, tools like grids can shape how your final image looks. But not all grids are the same, and subtle differences can affect the results in ways you might not expect.

The Power of Simple Lighting Techniques

Creating dramatic sports imagery requires more than just a camera and a subject; it demands a thoughtful approach to lighting and composition that elevates the final image to match the intensity of the event.

Subtle Lighting Tweaks That Make a Big Difference

Balancing ambient and artificial light is one of the most valuable skills you can develop. Understanding how to control light gives you more flexibility and precision in your work.

We Review the Zhiyun Cinepeer C100 RGB Light

As a landscape photographer, my passion is usually capturing the natural beauty of the outdoors. However, having versatile and powerful lighting is crucial when working in controlled environments, like in my studio or during indoor shoots.

Everything You Need to Know About Light Gels

Gels are one of the most versatile tools in your lighting kit, offering endless creative possibilities when used right. Whether you’re adding color to a scene or adjusting the quality of light, gels give you control over your final image.