Lighting

Ron Jaffe is the stills photographer for a multitude of popular television shows, and occasionally, he’s asked to recreate images that could have been taken decades ago. I asked him what process he goes through to take us back to pre-war USA.

Finding the right underwater lighting system can be tricky if you do not understand how light is absorbed. The same concepts on land can be applied, but with a few extra steps. Testing out new lights can be eye opening if you are tired of using a four-strobe setup which can be a workout on its own.

So how did one of the most admired cinematographers of all time revolutionize both cinema and television with two vastly different styles?

Are you prepared to handle a session where the natural lighting conditions are difficult and there is no shade to turn to? Here are three techniques you can use to get beautiful photos in harsh conditions.

How far can you get with a single prop inside a small studio set up? The possibilities are limitless and it starts with your imagination. Getting the most from a single prop is both challenging and exciting. It is a great way to improve your portrait photography. In this case, Gavin Hoey uses a basic black sun hat as the prop and brings out five different looks.

In this six-minute video, YouTuber workphlo breaks down a simple DIY diffuser that works especially well when going for a "glossy" look in your product photos. This technique applies to close-ups of reflective products.

Backlit portraits can be a great way to get a lighter, airier look. Traditionally, you likely think of them as being shot outside with the sun behind the subject, but it's just as easy to create them in the studio, and this helpful tutorial will show you how to do just that.

Underwater photography has become extremely popular with the increase of mermaid models. Getting the shot for a breathtaking underwater image is not as tricky as you may think.

Therukoothu is an ancient folk dance art form, almost 2,000 years old, which originated in South India. Documenting Koothu has always been my dream, and there are so many aspects to it. I wanted to start with the artist, the one who carries the soul of this art.

Do you struggle when photographing small, intimate wedding ceremonies where natural lighting is inadequate or even non-existent? As a wedding photographer, you need to have the right tools to light a venue, and more importantly, you need to know how to use them to make amazing images.

A smaller octabox is a favorite of many on-location photographers, as it provides a nice upgrade from a bare flash and is generally easy to work with in terms of heft and portability. Today only, you can get a great deal on the Westcott Rapid Box, an excellent option for such photographers.

Lighting equipment, like all photography gear, can be pretty expensive. However, with a little ingenuity, you can get soft, flattering light with the cheapest of "modifiers." This helpful video will show you how it's done.

Photography can get very expensive very quickly. Once you've invested in a body and a couple of lenses, don't expect it to stop there. For those interested in artificial lighting, the who process starts again with lights, stands, modifiers, and triggering systems. But is it all necessary?

When you're first starting out with artificial lighting, the vast array of terms to describe and quantify the various parameters of light can be a bit overwhelming. This helpful video will introduce you to the most essential terms that will allow to effectively communicate how any light source behaves.

Glitter always sounds conceptually fun, doesn't it? The word "glitter" immediately brings out visualizations of outlandish Disney characters throwing fairy dust into the air! Just me? Fine, just me.

Most simple scenes in films are lit in a very elaborate way. In this workshop, cinematographer Eric Kress shows how he lights a casual over-the-shoulder composition, making it look natural while everything is shot on an artificial set.

When you're first starting out with lighting, the natural thing to do is use your on-camera flash or a hotshoe speedlight. However, unless you're going for a very specific look, this will generally not give you the best results. This great video shows you how even just a single speedlight can give you great results when you move it off camera.

Working in studio presents a ton of lighting options, so how do you choose? Here are some examples of different light set ups that will give you variety in your work.

When looking at lighting, you have a lot of choices with companies like Profoto, Broncolor, Elinchrom, Paul C. Buff, Godox, and others. Have you asked yourself if the lights from those companies fit how and where you shoot? Does it makes sense to buy that $2,000 strobe or would a couple cheap speedlites achieve your vision?

Anthem is a new company. So we didn’t know what to expect when we sat down with their new LED light that promises to far outlast any HMI while promising the implied savings that could drive down production costs.

I always wanted to shoot the portraits of a classic Bharatanatyam dancer, but by adding a modern touch to the 2000-year-old traditional dance form. Here is how we created dramatic dancer portraits with a little technique and lots of imagination.

Light is the most important thing to photographers, it’s our job to recognize it and shape it to help us tell our story.

Sometimes, you have a great lighting setup that gives you the exact look you want, but you need to fill in the shadows ever so slightly. This great video shows you how a ring flash can allow you to fill in shadows without changing the overall look of your setup.

Color gels are a lot of fun to work with and when done well can add a certain oomph to your photo. It can also be intimidating and hard to get just right. And when I say just right, even that itself is very subjective. Some people prefer it to be subtle while others want the color to dominate in the image. There are also photographers who only use it for color balancing.

Light painting has been a common method for automotive photography, but it is mostly demonstrated on car exteriors. On the other hand, shooting the interior of a car, by using the light painting method can give really good results that can be qualified as a high-end image. In this video, Moe Zainal shows his process from start to finish, including the retouching.

Breathing new life into your studio space shoot after shoot doesn't have to be difficult and it doesn't have to be expensive. With just a few simple DIY tricks, it's actually pretty easy to transform a plain white studio space into a stunning set.

It can be easy to fall into using the same lighting setups over and over, and while there is certainly nothing wrong with using the tried and true methods, once you have those down, you might be itching to reinvigorate things a bit. This quick video shows you how a unique lighting setup and a little ingenuity led to these great shots.

Is it possible to portray sexuality on camera with a light setup? A new rising trend of bisexual lighting shows us how this is done.

Golden hour is great and all, but if you limit your outdoor portrait times to those narrow windows during the day, you're going to quickly be frustrated by the limitations. Learning to shoot outside with flash is an essential skill, and this great video will introduce you to it.

How about shooting a dramatic photo with overhead light inside your small home studio? In this video, you'll learn a simple setup that works for coming up with great shots.

In the evolving world of photography lighting, it can be challenging to know which lights and modifiers are best suited for maximum impact in different places and situations.

We don't all have the luxury of a wide open studio space with 20-foot ceilings that we can fit any modifier into, no matter how massive and unwieldy. This great video will show you how to get big, soft light, even when you're working in small spaces.

We talk quite a bit about how to add and shape light to sculpt the look of your subjects in your photos. However, the absence of light is just as important to shaping it as is the presence, and this great video will introduce you to one of the most important tools for reducing light selectively.

Want to know the secrets of turning any space, no matter how boring, bland, or dirty, into an awesome location for photo shoots?

If you're a wedding or portrait photographer, knowing a variety of lighting setups is crucial to overcoming environmental limitations and getting the shots you want. This amazingly comprehensive video will teach you 17 lighting setups and even give you a memorization story to remember them.

Light makes or breaks a photo, and when you're shooting natural light, being able to find the right kind is crucial to getting the shots you want. This great video talks about what to look for and how to shape natural light for a great portrait.

The Elinchrom ELB 1200 is the almost perfect battery pack for any photographer who shoots with flash. Powerful but not too cumbersome to carry, it has a lot of features to seduce you! Find out through this review if it has a place in your kit or not.

When a new and innovative product comes out, it generally demands a higher price. But does the Profoto A1 really have what it takes to justify a $1,000 price tag?

Many of us love the look of shallow depth of field portraits and strobe lighting, but when you move into the studio, this combo can present some difficulties. This helpful video will show you some good workarounds for shooting such portraits in your studio.

It’s no secret that flexible and foldable LED panels are a trend right now. Intellytech has stepped up their game by expanding their offerings, to something much bigger than we’re used to.

Achieving soft, directional light outdoors can be difficult. Sure, you can use an overcast day for soft, natural light, but often, this will not give you the most flattering light on your subject's face. In this video, we use my largest light modifier to see how you can turn an overcast day into a professional looking catalog image.

Shooting clean product images may not be as hard as you think. With the help of what-you-see-is-what-you-get LED light panels, the process is made that much simpler for getting started.

Portable LEDs are now more powerful than ever with some manufacturers claiming they can replace strobes for most outdoor flash work. We took the Rotolight AEOS into the field on a sports fashion shoot to see if these claims are valid.

When a client hands a portrait photographer their hard-earned money, they want to see a photograph of themselves they feel great about. Light is a key aspect in producing such a photo, but how is a photographer supposed to choose which lighting style works for their client?

Flash gels are a fun, easy, and cheap way to add a splash of color or get really creative with a shot. This quick video will give you some helpful tips for working with them more efficiently and getting richer color.

"Gear isn't everything." We seasoned pros say it all the time, but often when standing under a pair Profoto B1 flash heads, so it can be hard to swallow for some. Well, if ever you needed convincing, this might just do the trick.

When it comes to shooting portraits, photographers almost always reach for an 85mm lens or even the 70 - 200 mm lens. As great as these two lenses are for portraits, they often fall short when trying to capture an environmental style photograph. In this video, I'm going to show you the most widely used lens in my camera bag and how shooting wide angle can sometimes create a better photograph than shooting telephoto.

Practically everyone needs a great headshot these days. If you have a desire to get started in headshot photography, this video from Canon Technical Advisor Eric Stoner is full of great information you can use to begin.

Just when you thought zeroing in on, and staying put with the copious amount of camera and lens options was enough to alone cause sleepless nights, you then discover this wild world of high power flash photography. Good news is help is indeed on the way, depending on your needs as a photographer one of these three advanced flash options will get the job done.

It’s a simple tip, but rewards you with more compelling images. Are you paying close enough attention to the details?