Gear

The Academy with John Gress

Gear

 

 

The 10 Best Gear Purchases of my Photography Career
08/25/2023
Gear

The 10 Best Gear Purchases of my Photography Career

You are unauthorized to view this page. Please login or visit the Academy home page for more information. Monthly memberships start at only $16,...

Continue Reading
Come along as I give a tour of my new studio! Including a lot of the gear I have in the space!
01/07/2023
Gear , Pre-Production

Studio Tour: John Gress’s Chicago Portrait Photography Studio

Come along as I give a tour of my new studio! Including a lot of the gear I have in the space!

Continue Reading
in this head to head shootout I am going to test 6 different modifer options that you can use in your next beauty shoot. Please let us know in the comments below which one you prefer close up and at 1 meter.
10/13/2022
Gear , Lighting Technique

Beauty Dish vs. Softbox – which one is better for beauty photography?

in this head to head shootout I am going to test 6 different modifer options that you can use in your next beauty shoot....

Continue Reading
In today's video I share the 6 things every photographer needs in their lighting kit besides lights and modifiers.
10/09/2022
Fundamentals , Gear

The 6 things every photographer needs in their lighting kit!

In today's video I share the 6 things every photographer needs in their lighting kit besides lights and modifiers.

Continue Reading
In countless videos and classes I have seen people misrepresent this key lighting concept. Negative fill doesn't suck light out of the shadows, it blocks light from entering. Watch as I prove it to you in three demonstrations.
10/03/2022
Gear , Lighting Technique

They have been lying to you about negative fill!

In countless videos and classes I have seen people misrepresent this key lighting concept. Negative fill doesn't suck light out of the shadows, it...

Continue Reading
Photographers have a lot of misconceptions when it comes to flash, LEDs and modeling lights. So in today's video I am going to touch on what each of these things do and in general how you can use them. I will touch on Why you would use LED continuous lights or flash, types of flashes, Flash duration, how many watt seconds you need, LED brightness, why you would use a light meter and the inverse square law.
09/18/2022
Fundamentals , Gear

What you have gotten wrong about studio lighting

Photographers have a lot of misconceptions when it comes to flash, LEDs and modeling lights. So in today's video I am going to touch...

Continue Reading
Why you need a Fresnel for Portrait Photography
08/19/2022
Gear , Lighting Technique

Why you need a Fresnel for Portrait Photography

In today's video I am going to discuss what a Fresnel is, and how it shapes light. Long a staple of the film industry,...

Continue Reading
How to create three different types of light with only one soft box
08/14/2022
Gear , Lighting Technique

How to create three different types of light with only one soft box!

In today's video I am going to show you how you can get three distinctive looks out of one softbox - a Elinchrom Rotalux...

Continue Reading
Watch as I explore how bright these LED lights are when paired with a Fresnel and a 90cm Parabolic Soft box. I’ll compare them to the Arri Sun 5 andd the M8 / 1.2k HMI, plus I will share light meter photometrics for each light with each modifier.
07/15/2022
Gear

Can the Nanlite Forza 720 blow the 500 out of the water?

Watch as I explore how bright these LED lights are when paired with a Fresnel and a 90cm Parabolic Soft box. I'll compare them...

Continue Reading
This simple cover for your soft boxes will help you create dramatic images that look like they were taken with a Maxi Brute, Audience Blinder or Mole Richardson Fay circular continuous lights.
05/26/2022
Gear

Review: Why you should buy Pro Light Mods

This simple cover for your soft boxes will help you create dramatic images that look like they were taken with a Maxi Brute, Audience...

Continue Reading
In today's video I am going to share the 10 worst photo and video purchases I have made over the course of my 20 plus year career.
05/21/2022
Gear

The 10 worst purchases I have ever made!

In today's video I am going to share the 10 worst photo and video purchases I have made over the course of my 20...

Continue Reading
After I bought the Canon EOS R5, I switched over almost all of my lenses from the EF mount to the RF mount. But now I am unsure which lens is he best lens in different situations. So in today's video, I am going to test if the RF70-200 f4 at 70mm outperforms the RF 28-70mm f/2.0 at 70mm in the studio at f4, 5.6 and f8.
05/02/2022
Exclusive Training Videos , Gear

Member Exclusive Review: Is the Canon EOS RF 70-200mm f4 or RF 28-70mm f2 a better choice at 70mm for R5 studio photographers?

After I bought the Canon EOS R5, I switched over almost all of my lenses from the EF mount to the RF mount. But...

Continue Reading