Most photographers start shooting with the sun behind them. After all, it’s what many beginning photography books suggest. But, that’s really missing out on a great part of portraiture—backlight. In this video, Mike Browne offers pointers for getting beautiful backlit portraits: When the sun is behind your subject it casts a rim light over them, […]
Professional quality lighting takes a lot of time and money, right? Think again. Aaron Nace shows you how to set up a professional quality lighting arrangement for your home studio for under 50 bucks. Intrigued? Check out this video: Nace’s setup brings down the whole enigma around studio lights that seems to keep amateur photographers […]
Hair lights, back lights, and barn doors, oh my! Studio lighting can be overwhelming when you first start getting into it. Some photographers out there have thousands of dollars of accessories associated with their studio setup. The good news is that you don’t have to be rich to enter into the world of studio portraits. […]
Have you ever looked at some of the amazing portraiture on the cover of Rolling Stone or Vanity Fair and wondered how it was done? You may not have heard of Mark Seliger, but you’ve certainly seen some of his work. Actors, musicians—even presidents—have had their portraits taken by him. Iconic images like the nude […]
Looking for ways to improve your studio setup, but lack the funds for fancy lighting? Photographer Brooke Shaden has some easy, inexpensive tips for you: You’ll need an assistant or two for this technique. Shaden sets up a light behind her model and decides that the shot isn’t quite what she was aiming for, so […]
Glamorous studio lighting is not only for celebrities and models. Add a soft glow and polished finish to your own portraiture with continuous clamshell lighting. Photographer Terry White explains the potential of this simple but effective studio lighting style: Appropriately named, clamshell lighting uses two opposing light sources—one from above and the other from below— […]
“If I just had a better camera, I could take better photos.” How often have you heard someone say something like this? While it is nice to have the latest and greatest photo gear, if you are relying on expensive cameras to make your photography better, you might be in for a surprise. In the […]
There are countless light modifiers on the market designed for specific purposes. Photographer Andrea Belluso, however, goes outside the box and shows us how to be more creative with light-shaping tools. Here, he use the WideZoom Reflector, which is usually used to light backgrounds, as a main light and side light to create structure and unique, […]
When shooting outdoors, the sun often creates overly bright highlights and harsh shadows on the skin. A good portrait photographer knows just what to pull out of his camera bag to help him combat this commonly overlooked aspect of outdoor photo shoots. Join Joe McNally as he shares his setup and lighting theory with us […]
The key to great studio photography is in well-planned and well-executed lighting. It not only creates dynamic portraits, but it can dictate the style, mood, and tone of a photograph. This video seminar takes us through the steps to create dramatic high-key and low-key portrait lighting: High-Key Lighting A high-key lighting set up is a photographic style […]
