Lighting a group of people can be particularly tricky for new photographers, but it does not have to be, nor does it take a lot of expensive gear. In fact, it can be done with just a speedlight and a bit of know-how. This excellent video tutorial features an experienced photographer showing you how to pose and light a group portrait using just a single speedlight.
You can spend a lot of money on lights and modifiers for portrait photography, and while there are certainly reasons why professionals invest in expensive equipment, you can absolutely create professional-level portraits with the most affordable gear — even a shoot-through umbrella and speedlight. This fantastic video tutorial will show you everything you need to know.
Miguel Quiles is a studio portrait photographer specializing in creating beautifully lit portraits with lots of emotion. In this video, he walks through the setup and settings for this sci-fi-inspired image.
When you think of portraiture, you might think of large, diffused light. However, there are lots of applications of hard light in portraiture, with beauty being just one genre. In this video, watch as Lindsay Adler creates stunning portraits with harsh lighting.
There has been a lot of advancement in lighting technology for LED lights for photography recently, but are they the way to go? Check out this video for a comparison of the pros and cons of each.
Learning flash can be a scary thing, but it does not have to be. Once you understand how flash works, it will unlock a multitude of creative opportunities that simply would not be possible when working with only natural light. This great video tutorial will show you one of the most important skills you will need: how to properly set your camera when working with strobes.
No sun? No problem! Fake natural light in the studio.
As a portrait photographer, learning how to work with artificial light will enable far more creative exploration and free you from needing to rely on certain times of day, locations, and conditions. The best place to start is with a single light. This great video tutorial will show you the ins and outs of working with a single speedlight and how to use it to create a professional-level portrait.
Elinchrom has long been known for their amazing lights and modifiers. But does their newest release, the Elinchrom FIVE, live up to the hype?
A fundamental lesson in photography is the exposure triangle. Learning about ISO, shutter speed, and aperture is something all photographers should do.
Sunset portraits are a timeless look that will always be appreciated by a lot of clients, and adding a bit of artificial light can help both to balance the exposure and to add a bit of creative flair that can really take the image to the next level. If you are new to working with artificial light, check out this great video tutorial that will show you how to combine a speedlight with a sunset to create compelling and eye-catching portraits.
The beach and a good sunset make for a fantastic combination and a timeless look. There are several ways to approach such a shot, and it takes some careful technique to deal with some often tricky issues, such as large dynamic range. This helpful video tutorial features an experienced landscape photographer sharing a range of helpful advice on when and how to take the photo along with how to post-process it for the best results.
Though it fell out of use for a while, the Fresnel lens has regained popularity for portraiture work, where it can provide a sharp and impactful light quality that is still flattering on the subject's facial features. If you have not used a Fresnel before and want to learn how to employ one to create compelling portraits, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you everything you need to know.
Constant lighting has dropped dramatically in price, with companies like SmallRig making excellent products — along with accessories — that are refreshingly accessible. How good is the SmallRig RC120B, a bicolor packing a decent amount of power and coming in at just $259?
While many professionals employ the use of complex setups consisting of multiple lights, even just a single source can create vivid and compelling images when in the right hands. This excellent video tutorial will take you behind the scenes to show you how a photographer shot a striking series of full-body portraits using just one light.
When it comes to learning lighting, we often focus on how to light the subject in a flattering way, but of course, the backdrop deserves attention too. It is about more than just getting the exposure on the background right, however. With a bit of know-how, you can drastically alter the appearance of the background just by how you place your subject and source relative to it. This great video tutorial will show you how to adjust your lighting to take full control of the appearance of your backdrop.
One of the challenges of wedding photography is that you are on a tight timeline, and if conditions are not flattering or conducive to portraiture, you have no choice but to power through them and still create the best images you can. So, what can you do when the big day presents with harsh, hard light? This excellent video tutorial features an experienced wedding photographer showing you how she handles harsh light to still create flattering, memorable images.
If you look at the work of top photographers, you might be fooled into thinking that the only way to create professional images is through the use of complex setups with several lights. However, you might be pleased and surprised to discover that you can create compelling portraits with just a single light, and this fantastic video tutorial will show you everything you need to know.
Here are some helpful tips on camera settings that you should use to capture crisp movement in the studio. I made a detailed video, but here is a breakdown of the settings you need to understand to keep your images sharp.
Along with the umbrella, the softbox is one of the most affordable, versatile, and important light modifiers. Thus, every photographer who is learning to work with artificial light should spend some working with softboxes and learning how to use them to their full potential. This fantastic video tutorial will show you everything you need to know about them, including shape, size, rendering, and more.
In this video, Lindsay Adler walks through her pre-planning, shooting, and post-processing of a themed photo shoot and explains from start to finish how to recreate this image.
When it comes to creating compelling, professional-level portraits, it can be easy to think that you need a complex, multi-light setup in order to get worthwhile results. And while two or three lights can certainly give you more versatility, you can absolutely create compelling results with just one light. This excellent video tutorial will show you two effective and straightforward one-light setups for portraits.
While every portrait photographer should learn how to work with artificial light, available light is still a fantastic tool for a lot of applications and can be the better choice in a range of situations. Available light can be more versatile than you might suspect, and this excellent video tutorial five different scenarios that make for fantastic portraits.
Lighting is everything to photographers, but how much thought have you put into the place where you work? Whether you shoot in that space, record videos and vlogs, or just are in there a lot, you can use your professional lighting to improve the space.
I am going to walk you through how these dramatic food shots were created using only one flash and simple light shapers to imitate light coming through a window frame.
When starting out with off-camera flash, especially in portraiture, we don't always have access to a lot of high-tech or expensive strobes and modifiers. Here's a simple setup that will help you create stunning low-key rim lit images with very little equipment required.
Photographers who are new to working with artificial light often think that strobes always look distinctly different from natural light. And while it is true that you can shoot creative, highly stylized images that would not be possible with just sunlight, you can use strobes to emulate natural light to make subtle, natural looks. This excellent video tutorial will show you three off-camera flash lighting techniques that will allow you to create effective and compelling portraits.
When it comes to portrait photography, you might think that you need complex multi-light setups in order to create professional images, and while these certainly have their place, you might be surprised by how much you can accomplish with just a single light. This excellent video tutorial will show you three creative and effective one-light setups for portrait photography.
When you are new to photography, it can feel like professionals know exactly what they want and how to achieve it, but that is how social media can be quite misleading. The truth is that professionals make mistakes all the time; in fact, they embrace them. This excellent video tutorial will take you behind the scenes of a photographer's portrait lighting process and show you how mistakes can lead you to a great final image.
Of course, it would all be great if every portrait photographer could afford their own studio, but that simply is not feasible for most of us. That being said, you would be surprised how little space you need to make creative, compelling, and professional portraits. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to light and shoot portraits in a small hallway.
