Lighting How To

As people move through different stages of their life, photographic records of these events are the mainstay of the portrait photographer’s business model. The idea of hiring a professional photographer to capture life’s important moments will never be completely replaced by relying on family or friends to “just take a picture.” 

Successfully capturing dancers with grace, style, and a certain sensibility for how they move takes a discerning and artistic eye. Equally, it takes an appreciation and understanding of how dancers do what they do to be able to capture just the right moment. And all that defines the photography and lighting techniques of Lois Greenfield.

We’re all familiar with the notion that the camera adds 10 pounds to people in our photos. Rather than debating the veracity of that claim, we’d thought we’d share the following video from SLR Lounge, describing a simple lighting technique for making portrait subjects appear thinner.

Many photographers love the look of outdoor portraits shot under natural light. But sometimes either the setting or ambient light levels don’t cooperate and off-camera flash delivers the best results.

Here’s an interesting challenge in which three photographers shot the same pretty model using off camera flash and came up with varied results reflecting their personal approach to portraiture. Francisco Hernandez of FJH Photography organized the shoot and was joined by fellow photographers Eli Enfante end Jeff Antons.

Many photographers shoot exclusively with available light because they’re intimidated by what they fear are the complexities of using supplemental light sources. And while complicated studio setups can require specialized expertise, shooting with simple speedlights or small studio strobes is actually quite simple.

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.