Studio Lighting Tutorial: The Battle of the Hard Lights!
I wanted to compare three set-ups using hard light. So I set up a shoot with our models Kasan and David plus stylist Pablo Roberto.
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Lighting Handbook Tutorial – Breaking down a three light setup to show off the model’s physique
Lighting Handbook Tutorial – Breaking down a three light setup to show off the model’s physique
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ReadyLightMedia va. JohnGressMedia Photo Critique: Fashion & portrait photography tips
So I sat down with professional photographer and lighting expert Jeff Carpenter (of Ready Light Media fame), to go over 5 images from multiple genres (submitted by their makers) to give suggestions on how the photos could be improved.
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Member Exclusive Tutorial: A gelled background series with model Christopher Marrs
In this months member exclusive, go behind-the-scenes with me during my photoshoot with Christopher. I was focusing on using gels and different techniques for lighting the backgrounds. The format is a first as you will see multiple angles and my laptop and my after action commentary.
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Three ways to light a background in the photo studio
In this video, you will learn three key strategies for lighting backdrops in the studio and see the results from a test and in a real world photoshoot. Whether you’re using a paper backdrop for a fashion shoot, or a painted canvas for portrait photography, lighting and in this case gels, can make all the difference.
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WPPI 2021: Speaking and attending this year’s convention in Las Vegas
In this VLOG I take you along with me to this year’s convention in Las Vegas, including taking you behind-the-scenes and introducing you to some of my dear friends.
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Member Exclusive Tutorial: Augmenting natural light with flash
Watch in near real time as I go over three strategies for using flash on location outdoors.
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Member Exclusive: Lighting Tutorial with Christian
Member Exclusive: Lighting Tutorial with Christian
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Hard light shootout: Parabolic vs. beauty dishes for headshots
I wanted to test out which hard modifier I prefer for headshots while comparing three Mola Beauty Dishes with a Parabolix 35D.
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Softlight V. Hard light, breaking down 5 lighting setups in the photo studio
There are two main approaches you can take in the studio, or on location. And which lane you choose will have a huge impact on the outcome of your images. You could choose to emulate window light, or you could choose to simulate sunlight.
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Why I don’t like to be on camera. Plus three great interview lighting setups for video using Nanlites
Three ways to light an interview and finding the best lighting for your subjects face.
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Photo critique with James Quantz Jr.
There are two ways photographers can grow and improve — practice and critique. But the feedback we get online is often all positive and unqualified or destructive and also unqualified. So in today’s video, James Quantz Jr. and I will go over 6 images, submitted by their makers, and give suggestions on how the photos could be improved.
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How many watt-seconds do you need for portrait photography?
In today’s video I explore how many watt seconds you may need in each situation so that you can make the right choice when you’re purchasing lights for your studio and on location.
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MEMBER EXCLUSIVE – Lighting Tutorial – Gels – Part 1 & 2
This 40 minute class will cover everything you need to know about color effects gels!
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Photo Critique with Gary Hughes
After doing a critique for Gary’s YouTube channel a few weeks ago, we decided to record one for mine, which I will post publicly next week.
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Transitioning from window light to flash – a beginners guide to portrait lighting
This video will help you learn essential techniques with basic equipment to create and control artificial light, so that you don’t have to worry about the weather or the time of day.
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Soft boxes, parabolic modifiers and umbrella shootout! Which modifier for perfect portrait lighting?
Over the last 20 or so years, I have acquired about 20 different softboxes, but I have never actually sat down and tested them out in the studio, one at at a time, to determine the quality of light produced by each modifier when shooting portraits.
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Are grids worth the money? When and why should you use them in the the studio and on location?
Watch as I unbox my new Billingham 445 (https://amzn.to/32igLwq) camera bag and move out of my old Think Tank Photo Retrospective 30 2.0 (https://amzn.to/2QrsweN) messenger bag.
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Hair Light 101. Everything you need to know about hairlights.
Part of making a refined image in the studio is lighting your subject to preserve details in their hair or operate them from the background. In today’s video, I will teach you everything you need to know about hair lights. Including which modifiers to use, where and how to mount them plus how bright your lights should be.
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Behind-the-scenes and lighting tutorial – four looks from my photoshoot with Justin
In today’s lighting tutorial, I’m going to breakdown four looks that I created with our model Justin.
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4 amazing one-light set-ups in only 10 minutes!
What’s my motivation? is a refrain that we often hear from actors, but that phrase can mean a lot to photographers, too. Especially when I am trying to simulate natural light.
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Which Mola for your moolah? Comparing three different beauty dishes during a portrait photoshoot
Three years ago I bought a Mola Setti and Rayo 15″ beauty dishes, because I wanted to upgrade from my Profoto Silver Softlight. While it was a step-up, I had no idea what I really had until I tested them a few weeks ago against my friends Mola Demi with an Opal diffusion disc.
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The 10 portrait lighting mistakes that every new photographer makes
Whether your new to lighting or you have been doing it for over 20 years, everybody started off in the same place and everybody made a bunch of mistakes. So if you’re just starting out and you do any of the things I’m about to talk about I’m not mentioning these things to make you feel bad and I’ve made all of these mistakes and occasionally I still make them.
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Why you shouldn’t use continuous LED lights for portrait photography
I actually think the AF in this camera works quite well. And I have owned a 1, 1n, 1VHS, 1D, 1D II, 1D III, 1DX2 and every 5D camera, and I’ve used many of them to shoot sports at a very high level.
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What the hell is a kicker? What’s a key light? The names photographers use for studio lights.
Everyone has a name for every position where they place a flash on location and in the studio. But not everyone agrees on every name and this jargon can be sort of confusing.
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B&W Lighting Tutorial – Use multiple lights to create maximum contrast so your portraits stand out!
After upgrading to the Canon EOS R5 I ran into problems in Lightroom Classic so I decided to try Capture One. So far I am loving the results. This video will compare and contrast the two programs from my perspective as a commercial studio photographer.
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6 Portrait Photographers shootout in Las Vegas with the same model & Elinchrom ELC 500 / 125 lights
To celebrate the launch of the new ELC 125 and ELC 500 compact studio strobes, Elinchrom gathered together six amazing photographers and challenged them to shoot the same model in the same studio using the new ELCs.Elinchrom’s new studio flashes add High Speed Sync (HSS) and TTL to the manufactures compact monolight plug-in-the wall line-up.
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The 4 types of gels photographers can use to kill it in the studio
The sun rises in the east with a hint of yellow; it casts unflattering colorless light at its zenith and it sets with a warm amber glow. Neon accents cityscapes at night. All of which are cues to photographers on how to employ colored gels on set.
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The hard truth about softboxes
Breaking down how I use my 14 softboxes to modify my lights during my photoshoots
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DIY Cucoloris for Photographers and Filmmakers made with black foamcore, Do-it-yourself
You can buy a professionally made one, or you can make your own for just a few dollars in about an hour.
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The 9 types of portrait lighting photographers need to know-whether they’re on location or in studio
Studio lighting staples that every photographer should master.
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THREE STUNNING ONE LIGHT SETUP LIGHTING TUTORIALS USING V-FLAT WORLD V-FLATS
Creating this studio lighting series was a lot of fun! The challenge was to create three dynamic portraits using one Elinchrom light and modifier, plus two V-Flat World V Flats! Featuring model David Horton.
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The Difference Between Photography Lighting Power Packs, Monolights & Compact battery powered units!
I was recently asked what the difference is between AC Powered Studio Packs & Heads, Monolights and Battery Powered Compact photo flash heads. We will also touch on flash duration too! Hopefully this is the right answer, but if I am wrong, please comment below!
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Getting Started: a Beginners Guide to Portrait Lighting gear
If you’re new to photography or just getting into portrait lighting you’re probably wondering where to begin. This video will cover the lights, modifiers and accessories you need to get started.
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Why I love Aputure’s LED 120D and 300D lights for video
When I started shooting video I had to use fluorescent banks & giant hot lights. But when I replaced everything with LEDs, I could light like a photographer again!
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Lighting Tutorial: The Circle of Light
You never know where you’re going to find the inspiration for your next photoshoot, so it’s always best to keep your eyes peeled and your mind open.
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Lighting Tutorial: It’s a Hardbox Light
Over time, I have seen many images where a pattern is projected onto someone’s face, and I’ve always struggled to simulate this type of lighting. My attempts usually resulted in poorly defined shapes and not the sort of razor-sharp edges I was expecting.
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Light Years: How my Lighting Gear Evolved Over Time
Over the course of my career I have used White Lightning, Elinchrom, Alien Bees and Profoto lights. I wanted to share with you today why I switched and what I learned along the way.
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Fashion Photography: DIY Light Saver
Adapting the look of LED or Fluorescent tube backgrounds for still photography with a DIY approach using softboxes, a v-flat, a knife and three Profoto lights.
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Fill is not a person, but he is your friend
As photographers we might obsess about this modifier or that one, believe me I have, but often times we fall short when it comes to shadow detail. This is something I struggle with from time to time when shooting in a new room and every shoot poses its own set of problems, so the purpose of this post is to share some basic concepts that I hope will help you maximize dynamic range and develop more details in your depictions.
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Making a custom Cucoloris to create dramatic portraits
After being inspired by Sophie Palmer’s portrait depicting boredom with a Catholic priest inside the confession booth, below, I decided to try my hand at projecting divine patterns on model Alex Mitchell’s face by making a custom Cucoloris.
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Elinchrom vs Profoto: Why I Own 4 Octaboxes
If you were expecting a side-by-side head-to-head comparison of these modifiers, this review is not for you. Over the course of 10 or so years I have owned 6 different octaboxes made by Profoto, Elinchrom and Photoflex. I will discuss below why I changed horses midstream to arrive at where I am today and how I felt about using each modifier.
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Should photographers care about modifier color temperatures when shooting portraits?
After buying three new softboxes I had two questions: 1. What are the color temperatures of all of my modifiers? 2. Do Kelvin temperature shifts really matter?
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