Strategic Lighting and Posing for Dynamic Portrait Photography

Lighting is crucial to portrait photography, and learning to use artificial lights will free you from the constraints of working with just the sun. This helpful video tutorial will show you how to do that. 

Coming to you from Eli Infante, this engaging video sheds light on the nuanced process of capturing portraits that tell a story. Infante's methodical approach to planning and executing a photo shoot during the golden hour illuminates the critical balance between ambient light and artificial lighting to achieve the desired mood and atmosphere in portraits. His detailed explanation of adjusting camera settings to complement the natural light, while also making the most of a strobe for fill light, offers invaluable lessons on managing light to sculpt and define the subject.

Moreover, Infante delves into the importance of composition and posing, highlighting how these elements contribute to the overall impact of a portrait. By analyzing different poses and compositions against the backdrop of a stunning sunset, he demonstrates how photographers can guide their subjects to interact with the environment in a way that brings out their personality and enhances the narrative of the shot. The tutorial also covers practical tips for ensuring the stability of lighting equipment in challenging outdoor conditions.

In addition to capturing techniques, Infante provides a thorough walkthrough of the post-processing workflow, from raw adjustments to detailed retouching. The before-and-after comparisons not only reveal the transformative power of post-processing but also encourage viewers to experiment with their creative vision in the editing phase. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Infante.

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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3 Comments

A good video on the process of shooting with flash outdoors, I learned those techniques from my mentor many years ago when you could only use leaf shutter lenses. Today, we use high speed and hypersync but one day the global shutter will change it again.