Photography Lighting

Lighting a scene is usually associated with placing light sources of certain quality, shape, and power on various places to illuminate parts that have to be visible to the camera. There are ways to light a scene not only without any additional light sources, but also without any white or black bounce-boards.

While you are waiting for me to finish the video edit on our last Puerto Rican Photo Challenge, we have a new competition for you guys to judge. This time I take a back seat and let Lee Morris and Pye Jirsa of SLR Lounge battle head to head in the streets of Old San Juan.

An easy lighting setup for any photographer to have in their arsenal that creates a highly sought-after look would have to be three point lighting. It’s classic, it’s easy, and you can achieve several highly stylized looks in only mere seconds by moving a light or two. 

It’s one of my favorite photography tools: the simple colored gel. Not only can it improve the color balance of your image, it can dramatically boost your visual impact when used to add touches of color to your shot. 

Nathan Elson, a commercial photographer from Calgary, Canada, just posted a great no-nonsense tutorial outlining his basic lighting set-up. Oh, FYI, there's also a great contest that Elson has put together with Strobepro. Go take a look.

Dedicated monolights are certainly highly useful for portrait work, but they're also relatively expensive and rather bulky. However, almost every photographer owns a speedlight, and you might wonder if you can use it in place of a monolight for on-location portrait work. This great video shows you the benefits and drawbacks of shooting with a speedlight outside.  

For my latest photoshoot I decided to use harsh light to photograph my buddy Bart in two different ways. If you've wanted to learn how to get that vintage movie style look, you'll enjoy this full tutorial.  

Are you enjoying your macro photography but need that extra something to make it pop? Check out these simple lighting tricks to improve your macro shots! 

When I first started out using speedlights for flash photography, there weren’t many options aside from Canon and Nikon. As a result, I’ve amassed a large collection of Speedlights (and Speedlites), but now that I also shoot mirrorless bodies, are my SB-700s and 600EX-RTs any good? 

The answer is a definite yes, though with some caveats.

Want to know a secret? You know those images that look like they’re all natural light? Well, lots of the images are produced using some sort of flash or second light source. The flash isn’t used to replace the natural light, but rather to complement the natural light and fill in where that natural light just can’t pull its weight. 

Are you in need of a powerful, versatile, and compact RGB LED light that won't break the bank? I was and this might now be my favorite hot light for shooting on location.

With the light on the model's face to perfection, there's still a lot that can be done in high key, low key, and all the exposures in between. 

Mention off-camera flash and people often think about C-stands, flash heads, large octaboxes, and V-flats. Hardly what you would call portable. So how do go about assembling one?

Looking for the perfect beauty shot? In this video, Daniel Norton takes us through his way of lighting the subject in order to achieve the "beauty shot".   

The guys at SLR Lounge shot these two portraits in a dark alley, demonstrating how it’s possible to capture portraits that look like they were taken in the daytime, even at night. 

If you're stuck in a rut or just stuck inside on a rainy day, coming up with new ways to look at ordinary household objects is one way to expand your photographic mind. 

V-flats are one of those studio tools that almost every photographer should have, as their price and versatility make them almost indispensable when working with artificial light. This helpful video will show you three separate beauty lighting setups using v-flats. 

Do you want some new or different ideas on how to use your lighting when shooting a scene, a portrait, or both? Do you have multiple strobes or lighting but haven’t really put them to the test outside with a client? This set of lighting tips from B&H Photo Video and JB Sallee may be right up your alley. 

Are you looking for a new flash and intrigued by the Profoto A1? Maybe you’ve seen the internet rumblings about Godox’s V1 light and the alleged backdoor drama between the two lighting companies and wondered if this new light beats the top priced flash? Which round flash is the best bang for the buck and should you switch or stick with your square flash? 

Go behind the scenes of this awesome image and learn how to create it yourself, from lighting all the way through post-processing. 

When you're new to artificial lighting, it can be a bit overwhelming trying to understand how various setups, positions, and modifiers will produce different results, which is why it can be tremendously helpful to learn some setups that can get you off and running. This helpful video will show you five such portrait lighting setups in just five minutes. 

One of the most fundamental skills any photographer can have is the ability to mix both ambient and artificial light. This helpful video takes it a step further by using high speed sync to photograph action while still maintaining some ambient light to complete the shot. 

A Gobo is used to create shapes of light on a subject. It's usually quite a hassle, but the StrobePro Optical Snoot has changed the game.  

When you're new to lighting, it can be tempting to jump into complicated setups to try to achieve popular looks, but you might be surprised by just how much you can get out of one light. This great video discusses why it's important to stick with one light for a while while you learn the ropes. 

Working in film will often challenge your resourcefulness and creativity. While much of what we see on the silver screen these days is shot with a massive crew using huge green screen sets, and elaborate and expensive lighting, you don't need an elaborate production to create a film that's visually rich.

We create tons of free content on a weekly basis for our YouTube channel, but until now, we have exclusively sold our "professional" photography tutorials on the Fstoppers store. But today, thanks to a few sponsors, we've created a free 45-minute tutorial on product photography.  

I’m always on the lookout for new ideas for unique backgrounds, especially ones that work in small spaces. If the background is easy to set up and can be configured from material or gear I already have, well sign me up. So when I saw the title to Gavin Hoey’s latest video, I knew I had to watch it and if you are also looking for something small and easy, I suggest you watch this video.

When it comes to lighting your subject, there are many different ways to do so and many different tools to help create and shape the light. If you do not have a ton of modifiers for your strobe but you do have a V-Flat, here's one way you can use the V-Flat to create soft light in your shot. 

Testing lighting is usually for those photographers who are a bit more on the “nerd" side of photography, but we always need to know if we have the ability to work through or overcome a lighting situation.

Lighting large areas at night can be a serious budget challenge. Even in night interiors you can end up needing more lights and grip you might be able to afford. Here are a few solutions that can get the job done without breaking the bank.

A few months ago a company called F&V sent me their latest flagship light to test and review. Since then I've been using it regularly for some of my photography and all of my recent YouTube videos. Here are some of my thoughts on what I think could be the best LED light currently on the market. 

Profoto has introduced a brand-new wireless trigger for Profoto AirTTL lights. This new compact trigger has a button-free design and it’s compatible with the Profoto app.  

When you talk about macro photography, people instinctively think bugs, insects, and creepy crawlies up close and personal, but there is so much more you can do when it comes to macro photography. 

Commercial and fine art photographer Jan Gonzales was commissioned by Fujifilm Global to create a series of images using the GF 250mm f/4 telephoto lens for the Fujifilm GFX system. 

Photographing glass or any kind of object that is semi or fully transparent can present some serious challenges.  

While the rage may be LED lights and very portable strobes, it is still hard to beat the ease and simplicity of good old speedlights. Most of us have at least one, if not more in our camera bag, and I always carry two of them with me whenever I’m shooting. So, why not dust off those speedlights and brush up on some great ways to use them with this great video? 

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that the team at Interfit just took the crown for "Best Affordable Strobe With A Nature-Inspired Name" from the longtime champ Alienbees. First things first, let's get the introductions out of the way. Interfit has been around for what I would describe as "forever".

Photographer Aaron Anderson has once again created an amazing set of images that came from an idea he could not shake. It's often been said that anyone can do something once but to keep coming back with impressive results is what differentiates the best from the rest.

Coming from SLR Lounge and Pye Jirsa is a great breakdown on how to use a three-point lighting setup to achieve more dramatic fitness or athletic portraits.  

While drawing up a lighting diagram and some b-roll, Pye Jirsa tells a story from a fitness photoshoot he previously had shot with celebrity Tarek El Moussa that ended up going viral. 

Windows can be a great way to add some elegance and visual interest to a portrait. This great video will show you three different ways to incorporate windows into a portrait shoot using only natural light.  

Have you ever seen a mind-blowing creative shot and wondered how the artist made the image? In this very informative 10-minute behind-the-scenes video, see how Alexis Cuarezma shot these creative portraits of professional boxer, Devon Lee.  

Silverware can be really pretty, but it can also be a complete pain in the you know what when it comes time to photograph it. This great video tutorial will give you numerous helpful tips to deal with distracting reflections on silverware.  

Understanding good lighting is one of the most crucial aspects of creating elegant and compelling portraits. This great video will show you seven common and highly useful portrait lighting setups (most of which only use one light) in just 70 seconds. 

Boudoir photographers shoot in all types of lighting. Some prefer bright and airy while others tend to be more moved by the moody and darker looks. There is a creative style just in-between with harsh lighting that can be interesting to shoot and to edit. 

Nighttime portraits are a great way to shoot some very unique and creative images that can really set your work apart from others. This great video will show you five helpful nighttime portrait lighting tips and techniques.  

In today's video we take you behind the scenes in our new Fstoppers studio and show you exactly how we built and designed our latest video set. We will show you all the microphones, cameras, and lighting gear as well as our thought process in tackling this empty canvas of a room.

In certain situations, having a rechargeable and portable constant light source can really come in handy. In this review I look at the Smith-Victor Edge Light, a powerful and versatile LED light stick. 

In this video, CookeOpticsTV sits down with the acclaimed cinematographer to discuss his process. 

When it comes to flash photography, there seems to be a constantly recurring question: manual or TTL flash? So at the end of the day, which one should you really be using? 

One of the most fundamental lighting skills every photographer should possess is the ability to bounce light effectively. This helpful video will show you why bouncing light can be such an effective technique and how to use it for your own work.