Lighting How To

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Ron Leach  |  Jun 29, 2023

All landscape shooters know that the quality of light can make or break a photo. In fact, sometimes an uninspiring scene photographed with spectacular illumination has more impact than an epic scene shot during harsh, midday sun.

Ron Leach  |  Jul 13, 2022

Whether you’re shooting your favorite pro sport team from the stands or photographing a little league game from field level, there are several techniques you can use to make the best images possible. In the video below you’ll learn five helpful tips for capturing the action.

Henry Anderson  |  Jan 25, 2022

You know the expression, "keep it simple"? Or how about this one: "less is more?" Those are words to live by for many things in life including boudoir photography, believe it or not.

Ron Leach  |  Mar 17, 2022

You’ve no doubt marveled at colorful nighttime light trail photos, and assumed they required advanced skills and special gear. As you’ll see in the tutorial below, nothing could be further from the truth.

Ron Leach  |  May 11, 2022

Shooting outdoor portraits can be a mixed bag. On the one hand, natural light photography means carrying less gear, but here’s the problem: On bright, sunny days with high contrast, it can be difficult to properly meter a scene and capture flattering images.

Ron Leach  |  May 05, 2020

If you’re looking for a simple technique to give your portraits a unique look, how about mixing natural light with colored gels on your strobes? The quick tutorial below demonstrates how it’s done.

Henry Anderson  |  Mar 02, 2022

If you've ever dreamed of doing a shoot at a photo studio that's bathed only in gorgeous natural light, here's a great video showing what it's really like. In the below clip, portrait and swimwear photographer Anita Sadowska takes you behind the scenes for a swimwear shoot she did recently at a studio in New York City.

Ron Leach  |  Nov 20, 2024

Shooting great outdoor photographs in perfect light is often quite simple, enabling us to capture impressive images that require a minimum of post processing. Unfortunately, things get far more challenging under less favorable conditions as you'll see in this quick tutorial from the Photography with Rich YouTube channel.

Henry Anderson  |  May 31, 2022

Portrait and beauty photographer Irene Rudnyk is one of the queens of the beach photo shoots on YouTube. A few months ago, we shared an awesome behind-the-scenes (BTS) video of Rudnyk’s tips for capturing backlit photos of a swimsuit model at the beach. Now she’s back with another great beach photography tutorial and BTS video on how to shoot gorgeous golden hour portraits.

Ron Leach  |  Feb 07, 2024

Are you one of those photographers who only shoots during the day? If so, you're missing out on a wide range of amazing photo opportunities, from sparkling cityscapes and dramatic light trails, to moon shots and much more.

Dan Havlik  |  Apr 17, 2018

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.

Ron Leach  |  Aug 02, 2017

Some photographers shy away from portraiture because they believe this form of photography requires a sophisticated studio with a lot of expensive lighting gear. But in this quick tutorial photographer Mark Wallace demonstrates how to make compelling portraits in a small room with just one light and a mirror.

Ron Leach  |  Oct 11, 2017

Most of us occasionally shoot portraits at home, and in the absence of a real studio rely upon a white wall as the backdrop for our shots. For those on a budget, wouldn’t it be nice to do something more dramatic without spending money on a custom backdrop or fiddling around with Photoshop?

Ron Leach  |  Dec 12, 2023

This 10-minute tutorial begins with a question for those of you see captivating backlit photos with beautiful golden tones and think to yourself, "why don’t my photos look like that?" There are a number of challenges with shooting under such conditions, and the tutorial below explains what they are and how to overcome them.

Ron Leach  |  Feb 21, 2025

Everyone loves a stunning silhouette, but do you understand how to capture one with precision? If not, stay tuned because that's what you'll learn how to do in this tutorial from the experts at C4 Photo Safaris— a group of guides, photographers and workshop instructors based in Botswana, Africa.

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