Make your subjects look their best with our professional portrait photography tips, covering lighting setups, location scouting and tips for working with models.
In this video, Lindsay Adler presents a segment on studio lighting essentials. Everything you need to know from the equipment itself to the different uses of specific lighting, fill cards, and other various tips and tricks from the trade—you can find it here. The video is over an hour long, but it’s full of useful […]
Just because the photo shoot is casual doesn’t mean the team behind Blinq Photography took things less seriously. When photographing a pair of Ironman athletes, Blinq gave it their all to make sure that not just the subjects were well lit, but also the surrounding atmosphere. Paying attention to even the finest details, the team went […]
We all have our daily routines. They usually include things like brushing our teeth, having a cup of coffee, going to work—you know, the usual stuff that we do without fail. But, for a photographer named Noah Kalina, routines involve taking a self portrait like he’s done everyday for the past 12 1/2 years as […]
When used correctly, window light is a very flattering source to use for portraiture. In the hour long video below, photographer Bambi Cantrell takes us on informative behind the scenes look at a how to use natural light properly and shares a whole heap of tips on how you can pose your subject to make […]
Octodome, Octobox, Octobank…Whatever you happen to call the eight-sided lighting modifier, one thing remains the same: the variety of lighting effects you can achieve by using one. If you’re familiar with using a standard softbox then you’ll probably be able to make the transition to the Octodome pretty easily. In the video below, Jay P. Morgan, breaks […]
Sometimes, the simplest of setups can be the most effective. In this video from photographer Gary Fong, we see how to use two simple off-camera flashguns, a snoot, some color gels, and a plain wall to create a dynamic and interesting look for a photo shoot: To set up his simple studio Gary does the […]
Using a shallow depth of field in portrait photography can yield some great photographs; however, shooting at f1.7 can also pose a few problems. Getting the lighting correct is difficult when the aperture is wide open and even the slightest movement from the camera or subject can throw things out of focus. Luckily, Mike Wallace has made an informative video tutorial on the subject.
Taming the beast known as contrast is often a photographer’s biggest challenge. As the photographer, your task is usually to decide what’s most important and then compromise on the exposure accordingly, based on the various elements in your scene. Here’s a typical situation: you’re by a lake. It’s late evening and the sun is setting. […]
The use of a beauty dish helps to simplify the sometimes difficult task of using lighting to even out imperfections and skin tones. In addition to the appealing soft lighting the modifier produces, you can also get the added benefit of creating attractive catch lights in the eyes. As Joel Grimes explains in the following video, even slightest change of distance can make a drastic change on the way your subject is lit and the location in which you place the dish will vary depending on the facial structure of the subject.
By the request of a photographer seeking tips on how to do portrait photography with only hard lighting due to lack of equipment, this video gives tips and tricks for using basic hard lighting for portrait photography, with and without modifiers and reflectors. Outlined are the benefits of each form of lighting and accessory. Mark Wallace tells us when to avoid shadows, and when to use them to our advantage.
