Lighting 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.

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.

The trend of using continuous light sources for portraiture that I saw at last year’s WPPI show continues unabated with Westcott’s Two-Light Daylight D5 Softbox Kit being the latest offering. The kit uses fluorescent bulbs as a light source, although that word barely appears in Westcott’s early press material for the kit. Part of the reason may be that when it comes to photographs of people, fluorescent has a negative connotation but nothing could be further from the truth.

Somewhere along the line in a pro photographer’s career, or amid an enthusiast’s pursuit of picture making, you achieve a balance between geared up and weighed down when it comes to lens choices. You want versatility, but you also want to be mobile, even comfortable.

Doug McKinlay is a successful photojournalist who does a lot of street photography, and in this quick tutorial he describes two great techniques for making your images more interesting.

There’s a lot of interest in boudoir photography these days, and a recent tutorial on the subject was our most popular story over the past several months. Therefore, we decided to feature the video below, with a very basic technique for shooting boudoir photos, using simple gear and available light.