Capturing the spirit of love’s celebrations demands thoughtful artistry behind the lens. In his latest tutorial, seasoned wedding shooter Pye Jirsa demonstrates essential techniques for intentionally crafting evocative engagement portraits through deliberate light shaping. Through five versatile lighting recipes, Jirsa spotlights how to create desired moods and contexts to transform setups into narrative tools.
Coming to you from Pye Jirsa with MagMod, this awesome video tutorial will show you five effective engagement lighting setups. The idea here is that by moving lighting from prescriptive formulas to purposeful design, rather than just correcting problems, potent stylistic signatures emerge. I think this is an important lesson for many photographers starting out with artificial lighting. There is a tendency for many photographers new to working with strobes to think in a rather formulaic approach. However, just like choices you make with your camera, lighting decisions can (and arguably should) come from a very creative place, rather than just being a template you apply. Once you start thinking this way and building them up organically, you'll find it much easier to feel confident in your abilities and to create the exact looks you want. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Jirsa.
If you would like to continue learning about how to light a portrait, be sure to check out "Illuminating The Face: Lighting for Headshots and Portraits With Peter Hurley!"
