Learning flash can feel daunting, but once you get the basics down, you will find that you can tackle a much wider range of creative needs. One of those fundamental skills is balancing flash and natural light, and this excellent video tutorial will show you the ins and out of doing that to create a compelling portrait.
The green screen effect (sometimes known as "chroma keying") is a useful tool for making easy composites. However, getting a clean effect takes very careful and precise lighting. If you find yourself struggling to get it just right, check out this helpful video tutorial that will show you how to properly light a green screen along with some common mistakes and how to fix them.
It is important to start learning artificial light with a single source, as this will allow you to better understand the properties and fundamental behavior of light. Once you have mastered that, though, adding a second light will open up a lot of creative possibilities that simply would not be achievable otherwise. This fantastic video tutorial features an experienced studio photographer sharing four effective two-light setups for working with models.
Lighting a wedding reception can be a real challenge, as you are often working in less-than-ideal environments and have to keep responding to dynamically evolving conditions, which can make it a bit intimidating for many photographers. If you would like to improve your images, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced wedding photographer sharing five tips that will help you take better control of your reception lighting.
Elinchrom has a pretty wide range of lights on offer, but their newest edition fills a gap in their lineup that users will be happy to see.
While learning artificial lighting can feel a bit daunting, it makes you a far more versatile photographer and frees you up to explore many creative avenues that would not be possible otherwise. You do not need to start with expensive equipment, though; a speedlight and small modifier are a portable and affordable way to learn. This excellent video tutorial will show you everything you need to know to photograph a portrait using a speedlight.
Flash can feel a bit daunting to photographers who have not used it before, particularly when you take it outside and have to learn to balance it with the sun. You will find it a lot easier if you master a few fundamental concepts first, and it will make you a far more versatile portrait photographer. If you are ready to start learning, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you everything you need to know.
The Stella Pro Refkex S is a hybrid light that can be both a powerful constant light as well as a strobe-style flash. And with this new update, the Reflex S just got better than ever.
Learning lighting is often considered the first step toward capturing better photos. When I began my journey, I delved into discovering various techniques and unconventional methods for creating truly unique setups that leave clients in awe. In this article, I will share my five favorite lighting hacks.
When you are working in a studio, you can have just about whatever lighting you want at your disposal, no matter how complex and cumbersome the setup. However, when you move to on-location shoots, simplicity and portability are the name of the game. This awesome video tutorial will show you an easy, compact, and effective lighting setup for on-location portraits.
There are numerous applications for soft light, from portraiture to product photography, from macro to fashion. Soft light stands as one of the cornerstones of photographic expertise.
I love light; it is the foundational component of my photography. I started off with light setups from the internet; however, I soon realized they don’t work for what I was aiming to get. This led me to come up with my own way of lighting photographs. Here is how I do it and how you can learn it.
Good lighting makes all the difference in a portrait, and knowing the different styles appropriate for different applications will make you a more versatile and capable creative. This excellent video tutorial features an experienced portrait photographer sharing two different lighting setups — a beauty setup and a more dramatic option — and sharing a lot of helpful advice on how to optimize both approaches to produce the best possible results.
When it comes to wedding photography, time is almost never a luxury, and as such, the photographer generally has to keep the lighting setups relatively simple to keep things moving. Nonetheless, if you are feeling confident in your abilities and ready to step it up to the next level, a two-light off-camera setup can give you a lot more creative flexibility. This awesome video tutorial features an experienced wedding photographer sharing her two-light setup for photographing receptions.
Tube lights are all the rage. So, when a new one comes on the market, it better have some type of stand-out feature to differentiate it from the pack.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a portable flash at the level of Profoto A2 in terms of build quality, size, weight, power, ease of use, and consistency. It is genuinely a tiny marvel for any photographer. It is almost hilariously simple to set up, and yet, it delivers terrific results. Best of all, if you buy a Profoto A2 between now and October 31, you get a Connect remote for free.
While some may stress over light fixtures, others are stressing over reflections.
Remove the complications and long lists of equipment that you think you need to create stunning portraits. Look at what Irene Rudnyk can achieve shooting with this simple LED light set up in her living room.
Lighting can make or break a portrait, and sometimes, you will be asked by a client to tailor your lighting design to accentuate specific characteristics or features of your subject. In this great video tutorial, you will see a photographer team up with a world-class barber to create images for a hairstyling competition and learn how a combination of lighting and editing came together to create the final images.
In the world of LED lights, Hobolite has once again pushed the envelope, revealing the “Micro” to their lineup. At first glance, its compactness is enchanting, promising both convenience and functionality. The real question, however, is: does it deliver?
When you are new to learning, it can be tempting to think that you need complex multi-light setups in order to create compelling professional portraits, but that cannot be further from the truth. While such setups certainly have their place, you will be surprised by just how much you can accomplish with only one light. This fantastic video tutorial features an experienced portrait photographer sharing four effective single-light setups and how to use them.
When you think of a portrait, you probably think of focal lengths mostly between 85mm and 135mm, but, of course, that does not mean you can't use wider focal lengths. A wide angle portrait outside can be a great way to add a sense of drama and adventure to the frame, but you need to ensure you are carefully balancing the light. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to read the light and ensure you get the best possible images.
Recently, a few photographers I know have been raving about Neewer’s gear. So, when given the opportunity to review their new Q4 Strobe Flash and its QPro wireless trigger, I jumped at the chance. Here’s why it far exceeded my expectations.
How do you keep yourself looking good while working from home, without turning your home into a workplace?
Flash does not have to be restricted to the studio; in fact, you can make some pretty creative and fun images by combining flash with natural light outside. If you would like to get started with working with flash for outdoor portraits, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will guide you through lighting and shooting such a set of photos.
Backlighting in portraiture offers a huge range of creative possibilities, whether adding a bit of shimmer to your subject's hair, including a dramatic sunset in the frame, or one of many other options. However, the use of backlighting takes some special considerations to ensure you get the results you have in mind. This helpful video tutorial will show you what you need to know to maximize your image quality.
Having a few simple lighting setups available at your disposal is one of the most important tricks any photographer can have up their sleeve. In this post, I'm going to share with you six of my favorite lighting setups for wedding photographers, but really any photographer can use these simple tips.
Flash can sometimes be used to create dramatic, otherworldly portraits whose lighting jumps off the screen, but other times, you want to use flash to mimic the look of natural light. This fantastic video tutorial will show you how to use flash for a subtle effect that looks like it was natural light the whole time.
Overcast days can produce rather flat light that lacks dimension and can feel rather boring, and as such, it can be a bit tricky to product images that are compelling. That does not mean you should just pack it up and head home, though. Flat light can actually lead to fantastic images, and this excellent video tutorial will show you how to find and shoot them.
The beauty of artificial lighting is that it allows you to create just about any photo your imagination can envision with total control over every last detail. And while we often aim for bright, soft, and flattering lighting in our portraits, if you want to explore your artistic side a bit more, a dark and moody look can yield some very interesting images. This fantastic video tutorial will show you how to light and shoot those dark and moody portraits.
Shooting outdoor portraits offers a lot of creative opportunities, but it can be a bit of a pain to lug lighting to a location. Knowing how to work with natural light and a reflector can give you a lot of the versatility of an artificial light without all the inconvenience. This fantastic video tutorial will show you four different ways to use a reflector for outdoor portraits.
We constantly talk about how soft light is flattering and how to find or craft it for our images. However, if we spend our careers shooting in nothing but soft light, we will miss out on countless photographic opportunities. There is no reason to be afraid of harsh, midday sun. This fantastic video tutorial will show you how to embrace that hard light and create dynamic and compelling photos.
Reflections can be some of the trickiest things to deal with as a photographer, particularly when you are working with rounded objects that can reflect light from almost any angle. Nonetheless, learning how to read and control reflections is one of the best exercises to improve your lighting technique, no matter what you shoot. This fantastic video tutorial features an experienced studio photographer showing you how to manage reflections in your images.
Outdoor portrait shoots can be a fantastic way to photograph couples in an organic environment that allows them to convey natural poses and emotion. However, nature does not always cooperate. Adding a smidgen of artificial light can be just what you need to really complete a photo. This fantastic video tutorial will show you how to do just that.
LED light panels, once used predominantly by videographers, have now become an indispensable tool for photographers. Whether you are a seasoned professional or an aspiring enthusiast, finding the perfect lighting setup can make all the difference in capturing high-quality images.
In last week’s article, I chose to talk about the joys of going small with lighting gear. In today’s article, we’ll go big, very big, with the Aputure LS 1200d Pro LED Light Kit.
The beauty of artificial lighting is that you can create looks that simply would not be possible using only the sun. One of the greatest technical challenges for a photographer is lighting a group portrait so that every individual is well lit but so the overall look is still sculpted and compelling rather than flat and two-dimensional. If you would like to really take your portrait lighting to the next level, check out this awesome video tutorial that will take you behind the scenes of a cinematic magazine cover photo shoot and show you how to do it yourself.
Today, I’ll share two new additions to my lighting kit when keeping it small.
Learning flash can be a tough endeavor; it takes a combination of a lot of technique, attention to detail, and creative vision. If you are working on mastering flash, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced photographer sharing perhaps the biggest mistakes photographers make when working with flash.
Reviewing good light modifiers is one of my favorite types of reviews to write. As I highly value light, I aim to cover light-shaping tools more than anything else. When this softbox was released, my thoughts were split in half. On one hand, I see how it is useful, but on the other, it is simply not for the majority. Read on to find out why.