Something I heard on a podcast years ago (I can’t remember which one) stuck with me until now and it’s always in the back of my mind when I’m thinking about what to shoot next. I don’t think I’ve talked about it before, so let me give you the basic concept so that you too […]
Travelling with photographic equipment can difficult, but travelling without photographic equipment could be considered a waste of a journey by any photographer who truly loves taking pictures, so here are some handy tips that should take some of the stress out of travelling with your camera equipment. It may seem like the most obvious piece […]
Here are 6 composition tips that I’ve often overlooked in the past and have to consciously remind myself of… But when I do remember, they always improve my photos, so hopefully you find them useful too. 1: Put something in the foreground and something in the background. It sounds very obvious, but it’s shocking how […]
Today’s tutorial kindly comes to us from Gim Liu, author of the new book After Dark Photography (readers outside the US can also get the book here). In this lesson, you are taught how to create a photo where the motion of hot embers from steel wool flying through the air are displayed as streaks […]
Short lighting, by definition, refers to when the main light illuminates the side of the face that is turned away from the camera. This lets light fall on the narrow side of the face leaving a shadow on the broad side of the face, which is facing the camera. The actual position of the light […]
Here’s my two cents on the “you don’t have to have expensive lights to create beautiful portraits” topic—an attempt to harness multiple catchlights in a subject’s eyes. I’ve been shooting at Dale Heise‘s studio with some awesome Profoto lighting equipment for a while. Right now, Dale is in the process of moving into another space, […]
Rembrandt lighting was named after of the great master, who often used it in his own portraits. The idea is to create a small inverted triangle of light on the subject’s cheek that is opposite the light source. This is very flattering (especially for people with prominent cheekbone structure) and was often used in old […]
The difference between a photographer and a snap-shooter is determined by the ability to consistently achieve the desired outcome through the use of tools, techniques, and artistic vision. Quite often, available light is not sufficient to fill your subject’s shadow areas, or the light may be too intense for your desired outcome. The best way […]
For those of you working on mastering photography lighting, this recently released 17-piece resource kit contains a publisher’s best material on lighting. A jam-packed kit of photography guides, cheat sheets and exercises. Beautifully hand-picked from a wide range of teachers & sources. Suited to EVERY type of learner. It is currently 94% off today if […]
Photography, and in particular nature photography, does not have to be over-complicated. Unfortunately, with so many features on a new digital camera, and a manual that is impossible to read, most beginners feel much safer with their camera set to automatic. If you read that and thought, “That sounds like me!” read on. I have […]
