Lighting How To

It’s one of those debates photographers will probably have for eternity: is it better to shoot using only natural light or with strobe lighting? Of course, there’s no right answer but it’s always fun to put both types of lighting to the test.

As an avid photographer, paying close attention to Shutterbug’s articles and tutorials, you’ve become pretty confident about using a camera to achieve sharp, properly exposed images. Congratulations: You’re halfway there.

Many portrait photographers employ a portable light to boost ambient illumination and fill in shadows when shooting outdoors. In the four-minute video below you’ll see how simple diffusion panels can modify the quality of light and give you exactly the look you’re after.

Professional photographer Peter McKinnon admits it: He’s always been intimidated by shooting after dark, explaining that “The rules are completely different at night, and it’s a whole different ballgame.” Thus, until recently, McKinnon’s photography always ground to a halt after the sun dropped below the horizon.

On-camera flash tends to get a bum rap, especially for portrait photography. But if you want to shoot stunning people pictures at night, unencumbered by flash brackets, light modifiers, or other flash attachments, all you have to do is watch the quick tutorial below. 

The intriguing thing about lightpainting is you never know exactly what you’re going to get. And whatever you get, you won’t get it again. That’s part of the technique’s appeal: you’re creating a one-of-a-kind photograph.

Simply, a lightpainting photo is an image made with a handheld, constant light source in a dark room or environment. The camera’s sensor captures only what you choose to illuminate. Lightpainting images can range from relatively simple to fairly complicated. Striking photos can be created indoors with nothing more than a still life subject, a tabletop to put it on, and a small LED penlight to light it. Or you can think big: how about a mega-powerful spotlight illuminating prairie land in the Grand Tetons or a mesa in Monument Valley?