One of the most useful and effective features in Photoshop, is the ability to create masks on different layers. This allows you to perform pin point and localized edits onto your image without impacting the rest of the file. For many photographers, layer masks are crucial and in my view, luminosity masks are one of the more useful ways of creating selections.
When you think of lighting for portraits in a flattering way, you probably do not immediately gravitate toward the harsh contrast of midday sun. However, you might be surprised by just what you can accomplish when shooting in the midday sun, and this great video tutorial will give you three helpful tips for creating better images with it.
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.
Off-camera flash can be a bit intimidating for a lot of photographers, but it opens an entirely new world of creative possibilities and is well worth learning. This excellent video discusses the benefits of off-camera flash over just natural light and how it can improve your work.
The inverse square law is by far one of the most fundamental and important concepts that every photographer working with artificial light should understand. If that is something you struggle with a bit or you have not heard of it before, this fantastic video will get you up and running in no time at all.
The beauty of artificial lighting is that you can create shots in just about any situation no matter the ambient light, and you can create a wide variety of looks in one location simply by varying parameters like the position of the light or its distance to the subject. This excellent video shows a photographer discussing how he got three different shots in one location with the help of artificial lighting.
One of the easiest and most beloved methods of color correction is a simple swipe of the white balance temperature slider. It can change the whole tenor of a scene. There are limits to what it can do, however.
GVM is quickly becoming the first choice for videographers looking for feature-rich, ultra-affordable lighting, but the 560AS LED panel takes things to another level.
We talk a lot about the importance of good light in photography, but on the other hand, is there even a such thing as "bad" light? This great video discusses the topic and why you might be missing out on images if you sit around and wait only for good light.
A company called Pergear sent me an LED light for review. For its size and user experience, this light is impressive.
Lighting and composition are two of the most fundamental elements of any photography. But, which plays the biggest role?
There are a lot of lights out there for filmmakers, but I can't say I've seen anything quite like this before.
Having the ability to work with off-camera flash can make you a far more versatile photographer and enable many new creative avenues that simply are not possible with natural light. This great video follows a photographer as he moves from working with natural light through to multi-light setups with a wide variety of modifiers and techniques, and you are likely to learn a lot from it.
Few creative decisions have a bigger impact on the final look of your photos than your choice of lighting. Direct sunlight, backlighting, and lighting crafted from strobes all have their place, and this excellent video comparison will show you the different images you can achieve with each.
If you've ever wanted to create more dramatic portraits with minimal effort or even completely in-camera with no Photoshop, this video is for you. In this photoshoot, I set out to create a dramatic editorial image that looks like it was shot late at night. The catch: I'm actually going to be taking the photo at 4 pm.
No matter what sort of lighting you are interested in, the subjects you photograph, or the equipment you are using, there are certain physical properties inherent to all light that are crucial to understand if you want to take better creative control of your images. Light fall-off is one of those properties, and this fantastic video tutorial will show you how it works and how to leverage it for better images.
Portrait photographers don’t always have the luxury of working in a nice large studio with loads of room to shuffle strobes and modifiers. If you’ve ever wondered how to get classic, timeless results when shooting in cramped, often improvised spaces, check out this short video.
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.
By far, one of the most common types of portraits you will be asked to shoot are those with a clean, white background. It is a simple, elegant, and versatile look that will never go out of style. If you struggle with artificial lighting, this excellent video tutorial will show you how you can easily shoot high-quality portraits with clean, white backgrounds.
Artificial lighting can be a bit tough for a lot of photographers to master, but once you understand the fundamental behavior of light and some of its basic properties, you will be well on your way to creating better images. If you are new to artificial lighting, this fantastic video details six fundamental lighting facts every photographer should know.
Macro photography is a very rich and rewarding genre, but it also comes with some of the most specific and specialized knowledge and equipment requirements of any photographic pursuit. If you are new to macro photography, check out this fantastic video that discusses a multitude of camera and light settings you need to know for macro photography.
Even with the most elegant composition and innovative creative ideas, a photo will fail if it does not employ good lighting. If that is something you struggle with, this fantastic video will show you six different lighting techniques that will improve your images.
Golden hour portraits are the favorite of many photographers who love the combination of soft, flattering, and warm light with a dramatic sky as a backdrop, and they tend to be a favorite of many clients as well. This awesome video tutorial will show you both how to shoot and edit a golden hour portrait.
Over the last 10 years or so, I’ve used quite a few different types of ring lights for my portrait and product work. Each had its own particular benefits and drawbacks. Nothing was ever quite “perfect,” but most worked well enough in their given role. This is my review of the very affordable GIM 19” 48W Ring Light.
No doubt, any photographer who plans to work in a studio will need to learn proper artificial lighting techniques to realize their creative visions, but flash comes with its own pitfalls and challenges. If you are struggling or new to such techniques, this fantastic video will show you nine mistakes to avoid and how to fix them.
As photographers, we have a huge selection of modifiers at our disposal. Some of the more traditional ones such as a softbox or a scrim may seem somewhat dull, but they both offer very different and useful qualities of light when used correctly.
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.
Light has been fundamental to art for centuries predating the camera. However, utilizing realistic and impactful light — an objective of many photographers and artists today — wasn't always the case.
Shooting good portraits at home can be done with the simplest of setups.
You can never have too many lighting styles, so sit back for just 7 minutes, and learn a few more for future inspiration.
When you work on building a lighting setup for a portrait, you likely think about it from the perspective of adding different lights and modifiers. But as important as adding light is, knowing where and how to take it away is just as crucial to shaping your subject. This great video will show you how to use v-flats to create negative fill and improve the look of your portraits.
If you want to shoot outdoor portraits with a shallow depth of field using artificial lighting, you are going to run into issues of overexposure due to the limitation imposed by the sync speed of your camera. There are two solutions to this: high-speed sync or using an ND filter, and this great video shows you the workflow using each as well as their respective pros and cons.
If you have ever wondered how to pose your subject for headshots but are stumped at the first hurdle or perhaps you're photographing someone who is not used to being in front of the camera, then these handy techniques will improve your outdoor portraits.
This useful effect can not only help you transition between scenes, but can completely overhaul the mood or feel of it too.
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.
One of the easiest ways to enhance the story and transform a dull scene is by using lighting. In this video, learn to incorporate motivated light into your scenes to bring your story to life.
One of the worst myths in the photography industry is about how high quality gear is required in order to produce high quality results. This mostly nonsense and as you develop your skills within the industry, you'll quickly realize how gear, in general, has little to do with the quality of results you can produce.
Do you have a couple of light modifiers sitting around, but not sure how to use them? In this video, learn how you can mold and shape the face just by moving the angle and direction of your light.
In the past month, I've been reporting on the various camera brands that have been dropping the "master" and "slave" terms since the huge Black Lives Matter movement that surged after George Floyd's death. I can now confirm Leica is also dropping the terms.
It's rare that any piece of photographic equipment is versatile and affordable enough that I recommend it to everyone, but the GVM-600S Ring Light is one of those rare products. If you shoot photos or videos, you should buy this light.
Fujifilm finally adds to its flash roster, giving photographers true wireless control.
Flowers can be a wonderful opportunity for photographers to practice their camera skills. Whether receiving a bunch as a gift, or wanting to record the flowers in your own garden, there are a few things you can do to improve your flowery shots.
Too often portrait photographers obsess with key and fill lighting, and forget about the light that illuminates the background or rear of a subject. In this piece I discover the power of using the back light as my main light source.
Choosing the right lighting modifier can seem like an endlessly daunting task. In this video, I break down my thought process and show examples of how I use different modifiers for varying types of images as well as explaining the key differences in my equipment.
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.
When it comes to getting started in photography, one of the most complicated things for people to wrap their heads around is "stops of light." This phrase only leads to more confusion when paired with the aperture numbers, shutter speed, ISO, and how they form the mysterious exposure triangle. But this is the easiest way I have seen to understand it all.
It can be intimidating when you see some behind-the-scenes photos of studio setups, and there are multiple lights everywhere, and you only have one light. While sometimes, it does come in handy to have multiples, there is a lot you can do with only one light. Could you do a high-key portrait with only one light?
Photographers are obsessed with improving their work through new gear purchases, extra lighting, and better retouching, but there's one trick that's often overlooked: the power of moving 12 inches.
After the huge response to Black Lives Matter in the last month, camera companies have made it known to me that they have been dropping the terms "master" and "slave" from their photographic lexicon. Canon dropped the terms in 2017, while Nikon let them go in the early 2000s. Now, Fujifilm has joined them in dropping the use due to the negative racial connotations.
What can you learn by simply watching how a photographer and his friend do a remote portrait shoot?