Lighting How To

Denice Duff has unique credentials for capturing beautiful portrait photos. She’s not only an accomplished photographer and video director, but has considerable experience in front of the camera as both a model and actress.

It’s easy to become intimidated by the myriad of lighting methods available, especially if you’re a photographer who likes to shoot with natural light. And if there’s only one lighting technique you need to understand, you’ll find it in the five-minute video below.

One way to increase the quality of photos taken in a home studio is to use some form of supplemental light to brighten the scene, increase depth of field, and avoid noise and other artifacts that tend to occur when shooting in low light with wide apertures and high ISO settings.

Most photographers would love to upgrade their camera every time an innovative new model with enhanced capabilities is introduced. But let’s face it: The “latest and greatest” gear seems to come around every year or two, and many of us can’t afford to break the bank whenever that happens.

If you shy away from shooting people pictures because you think low light portraiture requires a boatload of expensive lighting gear, think again. The video below corrects that common misconception, by demonstrating how to achieve stunning results using simple and affordable off-camera flash.

Just about all cameras used for serious photography, and even many point-and-shoot models, enable users to choose how light in a scene is measured. The video below will help you understand the options available, and when one works better than the others.

Photographer Gary Daniels captured this epic image during this year’s July 4th celebrations in Addison, Texas. The plane is a World War II-era B-25H Mitchell bomber from the Cavanaugh Flight Museum, which was taxiing on the runway just as fireworks were going off behind it.