Product photography is a fun genre that will challenge you to really fine-tune your lighting and post-processing skills. This excellent video will show you the process of building up an eye-catching image of a black product on a black background.
One of the things I have always loved about landscape photography is the way the same scene can be rendered in vastly different ways by various types of light. This great video discusses the many different types of light you will encounter in landscape photography and offers some helpful tips for working with them along with some example images.
Product photography can be a very tricky genre with lots of specific techniques and hidden tricks, but you might be surprised by how much you can accomplish with just a single common modifier. This excellent video will show you how to create a professional product image using nothing but a single softbox.
Most photographers forgo using umbrellas for one reason or another, generally opting for other more advanced and expensive modifiers for their work. However, you might be surprised by the professional-level images you can produce with umbrellas. This excellent video will show you the stunning photos you can create using umbrellas and how they are made.
One of the most fundamental concepts any photographer or videographer needs to understand is the quality of light and how to change it to suit your creative needs. This excellent video will give you a quick lesson in hard versus soft light, both what it is and how to affect it.
If you are new to flash photography, it can be pretty tough trying to understand the combination of light behavior, technical parameters, and creative choices, but taking the time to power through and learn how it is done will open up many new avenues for your work. This great video will give you a comprehensive introduction to flash photography to get you on your way.
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.
The vast majority of studio strobes have modeling lights built in, which most of us think of as being useful for showing how the shadows are going to fall when we take a shot, but they are useful for more than just that. This quick and helpful video will give you three reasons why you should always use the modeling lights on your strobes.
Elinchrom focus has mostly been on light shapers and strobes ever since they've existed. However, the ELM8 they released last year may be a hint they are serious about getting into continuous light. After four months of use, here's my opinion on the Elinchrom ELM8.
If you are not proficient in artificial lighting, it can see a bit like its own world with its own language. Never fear, though, this great video will get you up to speed on what studio strobes are, how they work, and how to integrate them into your personal workflow.
Recently I got my hands on the new Fujifilm GFX 100 medium format camera and thought it would be fun to create a free fashion photography tutorial showing my entire workflow. The goal of this shoot was to create a bunch of different looking styled shoots using natural light in combination with a few strobes.
Are you up to a creative challenge today? No matter how many lights you have in your kit, I challenge you to shoot your next portrait or film using just one light.
Macro photography can be a fun and exciting step for a hobbyist or the full time photographer looking to shoot something different. It takes patience (in most cases if you are working with small creatures) and a keen eye for that interesting shot. So what do you need to know in order to start into macro photography?
In this video, I go behind the scenes on a drink photography photoshoot working with stylist Natalie Garforth, from set-building through to post-production with a professional retoucher.
Portrait photography requires studio strobes, softboxes, along with grip equipment like light stands, and C-stands, not to mention lots of money to acquire all the required equipment. Without this equipment, your images are going to look like your local police department’s Saturday night mugshots. Do you really need to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars to get good portrait shots?
The past several years we’ve seen an amazing amount of new and portable lighting options in the photographic industry with breakout performers like Godox taking on the giants of the lighting world like Broncolor and Profoto. One of the biggest names in North America for lighting has been ominously silent but Paul C. Buff has finally responded and just released a new mid-tier performer that is sure to make many of Buff’s lighting fans excited for what’s coming next.
When you are new to artificial lighting, it can be a bit difficult to navigate the world of modifiers — how they work and how they will render an image. Nonetheless, they are essential equipment for anyone who wants to learn how to light a photo properly. This excellent video will introduce you to five common lighting modifiers, including how they work and how they will make your photos look.
There are lots of rules when it comes to lighting, from the inverse square law, to lighting ratios, and everything in-between. But in this video, Lindsay Adler talks to us about the most important rule in lighting.
Learning the alphabet is the first step to becoming a great writer. Learning basic lighting setups with just one key light is essential for every photographer taking their first steps in portraiture.
If you’re diving into using strobes for the first time or if you are still learning how to use additive lighting in your photography, then definitely check out these three misconceptions that many photographers have about shooting with flash.
Lighting can be as simple or as complex as you make it. As someone who uses light meters myself, I struggle to articulate why using this handy tool can be a far more efficient way to light a scene. In this informative video, the simplicity of lighting a portrait using ratios is explained far better than I ever could!
Have you ever gone to the movies and was blown away by the lighting and cinematography of a certain scene and wish you could go home and recreate that look yourself? The problem usually arises that you don't have hundreds of thousands of dollars of lights accessible to you. In this quick video, learn how you can achieve a cinematic lighting scheme on any budget.
A lot of the work photographers do in modifying and controlling light for portraiture comes down to softening the light to render facial features in a more flattering way. But that does not mean that hard light does not have its place, and this quick and great video discusses three good reasons to try it out along with showing lots of examples.
Recently Caleb Pike demonstrated an old trick with new tech, and it’s eye opening how much lighting one can cram into a tiny space these days.
When you are new to lighting, you might think you need a black background to take photos with, well, a black background, but you might be surprised to know that with some careful technique, you can make even a white wall into a black background. This great video video will give you a very practical lesson in lighting to show you how it affects the look of your background.
A video recently posted by COOPH, “5 Photo Hacks with Your Umbrella,” provides photographers creative inspiration for a tool that is typically seen as single purpose. Chances are, you will finish it feeling inspired.
The inverse square law is one of the most fundamental and important rules when it comes to lighting in photography, and understanding it can make you a better photographer. This excellent video will introduce you to the law and show you how its affects your work.
Softboxes are some of the most fundamental and versatile lighting modifiers out there, and they are a great tool for anyone looking to learn how to use artificial lighting and build their skills. This educational video will show you five different ways to use softboxes and give you some helpful tips for using them.
One of the most versatile techniques any photographer can learn is how to bounce light. This great video will show you an application of bounce flash to create indoor portraits with a more natural look than might be achieved otherwise.
A common challenge for many portrait photographers is shooting people in a room with very strong ambient light. This tutorial and demonstration video gives a good solution to that, as well as to the challenges of shooting in front of a mirror.
One of the funnest ways you can spice up a standard portrait is to add gels to your lights. This video will show you how to use them to create color portraits that help your subject really pop.
If you are new to artificial lighting, you might wonder why some photographers employ complex multi-light setups for some portrait work. This great video shows you the difference between what you can accomplish with a single light setup versus using multiple lights, which will illuminate why more complex setups are often preferred.
One of the most fundamental artificial lighting techniques is the use of fill flash. It is a versatile technique that can quickly and drastically improve your on-location photos. This helpful video will show you the basics of fill flash, both why and how it is used.
When you are new to artificial lighting, you might not have the equipment to tackle complex multi-light setups, but that does not mean you will not be able to produce professional results. This great video will teach you how to create professional portraits using just a single light.
Shooting interviews is the bread and butter for a lot of videographers, especially those who work in the commercial sector, from in-house corporate communications and internal marketing, to brand awareness and customer testimonials. Most of these setups would require high-key or fairly neutral lighting styles, but what if the client needed more drama?
Whether you're shooting landscapes, outdoor portraits, or even architecture, natural lighting conditions can make or break your shoot. But what do you do when the sunlight doesn't cooperate?
Using rim lighting can be a great way to create a portrait with a very different look than the more standard shot. If you have not tried it before, this great video will show you how you can use rim lighting (even in a small space) for portraits and walk you through some problem-solving associated with the technique.
Before I knew anything about flash, I ranted at everyone about how I was an available light photographer. Now that I understand flash, I can safely say that I understand available light.
How much gear is too much? And is there such a thing as having too little gear on hand?
When you're on location, being able to take great images with minimal gear makes life a lot easier; knowing what you can do with just one light is where a lot of folks start, and for good reason. Check out these great setups for when you're on the beach with a one-light setup.
In this video, Mark Wallace explains how to take high-contrast images. He also explains some key terms that you should think about when you shoot this type of portraits.
Product photography is a highly intricate and precise genre in which you have to be able to control every last angle and reflection. This helpful video discusses how the table on which you are shooting can affect the results while demonstrating on a wine bottle.
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.
You might not think there is a huge difference between the way a white and silver beauty dish will render your subject, but they can make quite distinct looks in your portraits, and it is important to know which look you want before you choose one to use. This great video explores the differences between the two.
If you have not tried light painting before, it is a fun and challenging way to experiment and create unique images or augment your existing lighting. This great video will show you how to get started with the technique.
A white backdrop is an incredibly versatile piece of equipment, and a must have for any studio photographer. But if you want to mix things up a bit, and you don't want to fork out for another background — like one of these beautiful hand-painted ones — or you just want to have some creative fun, making a gobo is a fantastically adaptable alternative.
Lighting night exteriors can be a challenging task, because to make them look real you might need quite a lot of light sources. In this lighting tutorial you will learn how this suspenseful phone booth scene was filmed.
Rembrandt lighting is one of the most classic and fundamental lighting techniques in photography, and you will still see it used quite commonly today. This great video will show you how to create a Rembrandt lighting setup for portrait work.
There are numerous articles that are discussing the advantages and disadvantages of hot lights and LEDs. Knowing these, I want to share my opinion from a practical standpoint.
Filters are an essential part of any professionals toolkit and Polar Pro has built up a great name over the past few years in the filter industry. From the ease of use, quality, and performance of their products, Polar Pro is expanding into new realms to help filmmakers and photographers at a higher level.