Lighting How To

Shooting portraits on location with a wide aperture can result in some great images, but if, like me, you want to underexpose the ambient light for a more dramatic effect, you’ll quickly realize there’s a problem with shutter speed and off camera flash.

Daniel Norton is a NY-based photographer known for his striking portrait and fashion images, and in this quick tutorial he demonstrates one of his favorite techniques—backlighting a subject for a dramatic effect.

Manny Ortiz is a photographer who always has helpful, easy-to-understand lighting tips and his latest tutorial is no exception. In the below video he shows you how to use off-camera flash outdoors in three minutes.

It’s one of the eternal debates in photography: which is better, shooting with a flash or with just natural light? Two professional photographers who we have featured on Shutterbug many times recently tried to find in a “Natural Light vs Off Camera Flash Challenge.” The results might surprise you.

As part of his “Good Light: Learning to Write with Light and Shadow” series, photographer Sean Tucker has released this gem of a tutorial. In the short video below, Tucker shows you how to find good natural light to help you shoot stunning portraits.

Getting started running a portrait photography or headshot business can be intimidating for some photographers because it may seem like you need to spend a lot of money on lighting gear. But that’s not always true.

The video below provides a rare opportunity to pick up several valuable tips from one of the world’s preeminent nature and wildlife photographers. In less than four minutes, Frans Lanting explains how to shoot great landscape photographs any time of day, as the quality of light changes from dawn to dusk.