Small working space doesn’t mean that you have to be limited creatively. As a matter of fact, a lack of space or tools means you need to be more creative. Mark Wallace demonstrates how you can use even the tightest of working spaces to produce creative portrait lighting: The aim in this shoot was to capture motion […]
Two photographers brainstorming over what should be the correct exposure setting for a studio athletic portrait photography session, Joe McNally and Daniel Norton join forces. McNally attempts to recreate the same lighting he used to shoot one of his iconic Sports Illustrated for Kids covers: When you have a subject like an athlete, the common perceptions […]
Modern food photography seems to have been stuck on the “one softbox motif” for quite a while now. And while shooting with a single softbox can get great results, the look is now so ubiquitous that some photographers, including Steve Hansen, believe it’s time to shake things up a bit. Hansen demonstrates how to creatively use a number […]
This image by Karl Taylor, actually a composite of two images, uses a complex four light arrangement. It involves one beauty dish, two large softboxes, a background light and a tri-reflector. Although the word complex was used to describe it, the setup is actually very easy to replicate. The diagrams below are a rough breakdown […]
Most photographers tend to ask the wrong questions when looking for lighting advice. Rather than matching their shooting style with the type of light that can handle those requirements, they go about choosing a light and then trying to make it work. In this video, photographer Joe Edelman addresses some myths and answers some basic […]
There isn’t anything you can photograph that doesn’t have a sphere, cube, or cylinder in it. Jay Morgan created this video to showcase the details you must take into account when lighting and arranging multiple objects. When placing your light, you want to take into account the height and size of each object you intend […]
Jeff Rojas is a fashion and portrait photographer who believes in a minimalistic approach. Often, that entails using just one light. For those of you who love shooting with a single light, this is an inspiring video to continue shooting with what you already have: Rojas’s go to light is the Phottix Indra 360, which […]
A cylinder is a sphere and cube combined. When lighted, a cylinder has a highlight side, an incident highlight, a core shadow and shape shadow. The light can either go around the cylinder for more or less highlight, or it can go up and down to change the darkness on top. Jay P Morgan created this […]
In this second part of a three part series on the laws of light, Jay P Morgan demonstrates the correct ways of lighting a cube. The world isn’t a flat square or a flat circle or for that matter a flat rectangle. It’s composed of spheres, cubes, and cuboids. In other words, the world is filled […]
There’s an old technique photojournalists call “flash and slash” that is used to dramatize movement. Basically, it allows you to keep the subject sharp while creating motion in the background. While typically used for high-movement or chaotic scenes, it is actually a really creative way to add an interesting element when shooting in low light. […]
