Portrait Photography How To

Have you ever left home without an external flash, only to come upon a portrait opportunity that you had to shoot with your camera’s harsh pop-up flash? Well, as long as you keep a cheap, white balloon in your camera bag, this simple hack from the wacky Koldunov brothers has you covered.

Shutterbug columnist Scott Kelby recently gave a great lecture on the ethics of portrait retouching, and offered some valuable tips on how to improve your people pictures without making your subjects look fake.

When discussing photography gear, Joe Edelman likes to say “Keep it simple, stupid.” That’s exactly what he does in this quick video tutorial that will teach you how to make dramatic portraits and beauty shots with one monolight or speedlight and a single reflector.

Chris Porsz is a paramedic and long-time amateur street photographer who came up with an enchanting project: He tracked down the subjects of the street portraits he shot almost 40 years ago, and recreated the images with the people as they appear today. 

We often turn to Joe Edelman for easy-to-follow tutorials enabling readers to shoot like a pro without a lot of fancy gear. In the video below, you’ll learn how to create beautiful bikini glamour photos in less than five minutes.

Ask a Pro is a Q&A column from professional photographer, writer, and educator Scott Kelby. Scott is here to answer all your photography-related questions, so if you have something you’d like to know, e-mail him at editorial@shutterbug.com (with “For Scott Kelby” as the subject line) and your query could be featured in the next edition of Ask a Pro.

In this episode of the Last Frame, Joe Edelman demonstrates how to capture some great fashion photos without a lot of expensive gear. As he explains in the video below, all you need is a single strobe, a 50mm lens, and a couple “gobos” or light modifiers you can easily make yourself.