Flashguns and strobe lights aren't just for capturing perfectly exposed subjects, they can be valuable as creative assets too.
If you study the work of professional portrait photographers, you will probably notice a lot of them use rather complex multi-light setups, but you will also find plenty of fantastic images created with only a single light. This fantastic video tutorial will show you how to create eye-catching portraits using no more than a single light.
Lights and modifiers for them can quickly add up in cost, but one of the most useful lighting tools a studio can have is surprisingly cheap and low-tech. This excellent video tutorial will show you why v-flats are so useful and how to incorporate them into your own work.
Creating great work on every shoot you arrange is a tall order and the hallmark of an established and experienced photographer. But what areas have the most impact on the shoot's outcome?
I recently filmed a quick dance music video with famous dancer Marquese Scott. Here's how I pulled it off.
When you look at the work of professional portrait photographers, you might notice that it often employs two- or three-light setups. And while those certainly have their place, you might be surprised by just how versatile a single light and a bit of know-how can be. This fantastic video tutorial will show you five useful single-light setups for portraiture work.
Godox’s line of flashes, including the incredibly popular AD200 and V1, have become a mainstay of the on and off-camera lighting market. They’ve become so popular, in part, thanks to the surprising value and feature set offered at each price point. As a result, the AD100Pro, a new addition to the line, has quite the legacy to live up to. Has it earned a place in photographer’s bags?
A lot of photographers like to use a shallow depth of field for portraiture; however, if you are lighting your subject with flash, you will be limited by the flash sync speed of your camera. There are ways around this, however: high-speed sync and ND filters. Both come with their own pros and cons, and this excellent video discusses which is better for your work.
Nathan Elson is back with another installment of his How I Got the Shot. As always, it's the little details he shares about his process that makes tuning in so valuable.
A lot of the time, you will see professionals use two- or three-light setups for portraiture, but you might be surprised by the professional results you can get from just a single light. This fantastic video tutorial will show you how to master both the technical and creative aspects of a single-light setup for portraiture.
What happens when you take a shot and you just love the expression of your subject, but the light lets you down? You take it into Lightroom and sprinkle some magic dust all over it, and in this tutorial, I'll show you exactly how I do that.
Good communication with your subject, posing, and post-processing are all crucial skills as a headshot photographer, but you also need to have a strong grasp of lighting to make great images. This comprehensive video tutorial will show you how to create lighting setups for portraits and headshots.
Broncolor makes some of the best lights and modifiers out there, and the Siros L adds a battery-powered design, allowing you to take them on the go. This awesome video review takes a long-term look at the Siros L and how they hold up after a lot of usage.
With so many lighting setups, it can be difficult to narrow down which ones to use. One of my personal favorites is described right here, in-depth, in this behind-the-scenes video: clamshell lighting.
Sometimes photos are called high key or low key. I never thought much about it and just made the photos I liked, regardless of what it could be called. But when is it correct to name a photo high key or low key? Let’s find out.
Black and white photography will creep into every photographer's gallery at some point and it can be a powerful tool. Here are some concise tips for getting the most out of monochrome.
Portraits that combine flash with natural light are a highly popular look and a technique that will do a lot to help you gain more confidence and versatility when working with artificial light. However, when you start shooting at night, the technique becomes a little trickier. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to shoot portraits at night when using a flash.
Learning how to use artificial lighting for portraits can free you from the constraints of natural light and enable new creative opportunities that simply would not be possible otherwise. Nonetheless, it can feel very foreign when you are first starting and also trying to manage directing your subject. This great video tutorial will give you five helpful tips for better flash portraits.
When it comes to artificial lighting, your choice of modifier is one of the most fundamental and crucial creative and technical decisions in the entire process. If you are new to working with artificial lights, this excellent video tutorial will give you the sort of practical knowledge you need to know which modifier is right for each photo you wish to make, along with a variety of illustrative examples.
Using a very shallow depth of field is highly popular for portrait photography, but when you combine that with flash, you can run into a tricky situation when you bump into your flash sync speed. There are two ways around this: high speed sync and ND filters. Which is right for your work? This excellent video tutorial will explain the differences as well as the pros and cons of each.
Creating even, realistic, and balanced lighting when shooting interiors for real estate can be tough. One route is to light an interior with flash and balance it against the ambient light outside. Another option is to use HDR to blend a number of bracketed images together. Which gives better results?
There is always more you can do with photography in your own home, and I have some incredible results, but this use of a projector is up there with the best.
Nail white balance in Lightroom every time with these simple steps and techniques you can use on any photograph.
Music videos have been some of the most condensed displays of cinematic creativity for decades now, and there is a lot that can be learned. Here is a breakdown of some excellent lighting used in a music video.
Aputure has been growing and improving the lighting sector in photography for some time now, and they show no signs of slowing down. Announced today are the Light Storm (LS) 60d and 60x, two 60 watts adjustable focusing LED lights.
When you are working with artificial light, you often have to think about not only controlling the flash, but the ambient light as well. That can be a bit of a mystery for a lot of us when we first start working with artificial light, but this excellent video tutorial will demystify the relationship between ambient and artificial light and show you how to take control of both for better images.
Flash can be an excellent tool to freeze motion, especially when you are working in the studio or do not have extreme amounts of available light for using ultra-fast shutter speeds. But you can get even more creative results by mixing the freezing power of a flash with a long exposure that captures motion, and this fantastic video tutorial will show you how it is done.
You might think the difference in setups that create high key and low key lighting is significant, but on the other hand, just a slight change in modifiers and light position can make a huge difference. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to create both high key and low key portraits using two strobes with almost identical modifiers.
YouTube and photography blogs seem to be all stocked up with quick BTS videos these days. We see photographers swinging lights around and talking about post, but I don’t think we see enough of their thought processes. Here, with Nathan Elson, we get a little bit of everything.
Dramatic portraits that mix the natural light of the sun behind the subject with a strobe to emphasize the model are a popular look and a fantastic way to practice lighting skills and to build your portfolio. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to shoot one such portrait to produce professional results.
Aputure is taking a step into the realm of more affordable home studio gear with the release of four new lights. This review checks out the brand new Amaran 100d and 200d, with bi-color versions also available.
Half the fun of artificial lighting is the number of different ways you can experiment with strange effects to embrace your creativity. This great video will show you how you can use common objects to create entrancing lighting effects and eye-catching portraits.
Cinematography and photography might be separate disciplines in most regards, but there are a lot of crossovers, particularly when it comes to lighting. That's an area each profession can borrow from the other.
If you haven’t had a chance to watch Julia Hart’s recent film, I’m Your Woman, make a point to add it to your list. Bryce Fortner’s photography isn’t just eye-candy, it shows what you can do when you use style along with intention.
Lighting equipment can be quite costly, but you do not necessarily have to spend a ton of money to get effective setups that can create professional-level portraits. This fantastic video tutorial will show you five different budget lighting setups you can use to create professional portraits.
Portraiture doesn't require complicated, multi-light setups to pull off beautiful and striking images. Here are four one-light setups you can learn in ten minutes.
Using strobe or flash lighting for the first time can be daunting, but it's easier than you might realize. If you're looking at trying it out, here's a beginner's guide to getting started.
Lighting equipment can quickly add up in cost, but you do not always need top-level equipment and multi-light setups with esoteric modifiers to get great results. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to get professional portraits using nothing more than a simple speedlight and an umbrella.
It’s that time for the year for celebrating togetherness and if you’re fortunate enough to be with family during the holidays of this more than challenging year, it deserves a photograph.
If you are new to photography, it can seem a bit counterintuitive that you would use a flash when shooting in direct sunlight, but it can vastly improve your portraits. This excellent video tutorial will show you why you should use a flash in such a situation and how it will improve your photos.
Speedlights and similar flashes can be a wonderful way to bring high-quality lighting on location. However, adapting a small flash to take softboxes, gels, diffusers, and other modifiers can be a bit of a slog. By the time you bring everything you need you're back up to a sizable kit. For that reason, I don't usually bother with small flashes, preferring to go with my larger setup. That may be changing.
The beauty dish and the octabox are two of the most fundamental lighting modifiers out there, but they have properties and ways of rendering your subjects that are appropriate for different circumstances. If you are new to lighting, this fantastic video will show you the differences between the two with a lot of example photos.
The look of natural sunlight streaming through a window is a classic and a great way to create both mood and visual interest in a shot. However, a window with sunlight streaming through it is not always available to us. This great video tutorial will show you how to recreate the look using cheap mirrors.
One lighting trend I've found particularly interesting has been the emergence of RGB tube lights. Godox has just launched their TL60 tube light that brings a few unique features to the space. If you're looking for a unique way to light your next photo or video shoot, are these the ones you should pick up?
Sure, the big faceless corporation is just out there to get money out of you, but hidden right in front of you could be a masterclass in lighting, production design, and short story telling. This video takes a look at how Ikea made use out of a highly skilled director and production team to create this simple yet effective advertisement.
Fashion photography often makes use of complex setups with multiple lights, but that does not mean you can't create compelling images using just a single light. This excellent video tutorial will show you four different ways to use a single light for creating fashion imagery.
Looking to shoot portraits but need to acquire some lighting gear? What should you get, strobes or continuous lights? While both offer their pros and cons, here are a few reasons why you shouldn't use continuous lights for your portrait photography.
When starting out in photography, almost everyone makes mistakes. Here are 10 mistakes when it comes to using strobes and continuous lights.
Lighting can be a challenge to learn, and you might think you need complex multi-light setups to obtain professional results. And while there will always be a place for those, you might be surprised by what you can accomplish with just a single-light setup. This excellent video tutorial will show you five different lighting setups you can create with only a single light.
Traditionally, umbrellas are considered to be the lowest end of lighting modifiers, with beauty dishes being one of the more expensive and professional options. However, you might be surprised by how close you can get to the beauty dish look using a small shoot-through umbrella, and this excellent video will show you how.
