Lighting How To

In general, taking photos, particularly portraits, in direct sunlight is considered a no-no. The light is simply too harsh and the shadows it produces are unflattering on your subject.

It's no secret that professional photographers are less concerned with cameras and lenses than they are with understanding and controlling the light that allows their images to be made.

Are you still learning how to use off-camera flash and need a few pointers? In the below video, Shutterbug's Scott Kelby shows you the best place your flash to shoot beautiful portraits with attractive lighting.

Hand-held light meters seems to have fallen out of favor as most photographers have made the switch from film to digital. But these powerful tools can be just as important today, as they were with our 35mm cameras.

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.

If you’ve ever shot portraits in front of a seamless white background or a cyclorama, you’ve probably had to deal with pesky background shadows. They’re fine if you’re going for a dramatic look in your portraits, but what if you wanted something cleaner as your background to draw attention to your subject?

The flash vs natural light debate is almost as old as photography itself. (Or at least as old as flash photography itself.) Photographer Craig Beckta recently jumped into the fray with the below video, which is titled “7 Reasons Why Flash Is Better for Portraits Than Natural Light.”