Lighting How To

Today we're exploring the characteristics of soft light and the different ways it can affect the impact of outdoor images, whether they're landscapes, environmental portraits, or just about anything else. This tutorial comes to us from the folks the Great Big Photography World—a YouTube community of passionate creatives with a comprehensive range of lessons for shooters of all skills levels.

Most of us have the skills to capture beautiful photos of family members, be they our spouse, kids, grandkids, or other members of the clan. And because you're a photographer it's a good bet that your friends may ask you to do that for them too—even if portraiture isn't your thing.

If you're interested in shooting alluring portraits photos without flash or complicated lighting setups, today is your lucky day. That's because this tutorial from the Alex Q YouTube channel demonstrates a unique technique that illuminates the scene with nothing more than candles and two mirrors.

OK, it's time for some honest self-reflection if you're not a fan of supplemental illumination: Do your avoid flash photography because you prefer the look of available-light imagery? Or are you under the misconception that it's too difficult to do right?

Last week we featured a beginners guide to boudoir photography from an acclaimed pro who demonstrated how to capture sensuous images without flash by using window light as the primary source of illumination. Today Yuliya Panchenko is back with another eye-opening tutorial that delivers extremely dramatic effects

One of the first challenges faced by inexperienced photographers is arriving at a correct exposure, and this can be particularly difficult when shooting outdoor scenes full  of bright highlights and deep shadows. This tutorial explains how to take advantage of a simple camera setting that enables you to control the brightness of an image by instantly increasing or decreasing exposure.

Most experienced photographers turn up their noses at the Program exposure mode, preferring to shoot in Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, or Manual. But as you'll see in this quick video from the Great Big Photography World channel, there are situations under which this "beginner" mode makes total sense—even if you have advanced skills.