Lighting How To

There’s an easy way to make your beauty shots even more stunning: just add some colored gels to your lighting. Editorial fashion photographer Jake Hicks shows how in the below video where he shoots a portrait session at home and gets a variety of attractive looks.

There are two primary reasons that some photographers avoid supplemental light when shooting outdoors. One is that they simply prefer the look of natural light imagery—and in most cases we tend to agree. On the other hand, there are those who refuse to use even the most basic speedlight because they don’t understand how it works.

There are a bunch of misconceptions about ISO settings that can hold you back when shooting in the field. Some photographers always shoot at ISO 100 in attempt to avoid noise, while others choose the highest setting available to eliminate camera and subject movement when photographing motion.

Experienced landscape photographers understand the power of negative space when composing an expansive scene. This technique will also deliver dynamic urban imagery when shooting on the street, as you'll see in this eye-opening tutorial from the folks at New Ways of Seeing.

In 2004 I was out late one night for a walk on the beach, as I often did to de-stress from a long day at work. This night was particularly beautiful, with a full moon shining overhead, so I decided to bring my camera and tripod along to take some oceanscapes. I found the perfect location, set up my gear, and opened the shutter of my camera for a long exposure. While the exposure was running I accidentally bumped my camera. When I checked the image and saw that the light from the moon had left a streak going across the sky I had an epiphany. My mind raced at the possibilities of using my camera and the moonlight to draw images in the sky, and from that moment on I was a light painter.

Dividing his time between his New York City and Paris studios, photographer Adam Savitch specializes in still life and motion studies for advertising and editorial clients, often with an avant-garde mindset. When it comes to lighting, Savitch believes in the old adage “less is more.” He doesn’t throw a light at every nook and cranny of his tabletop sets. Instead he mostly employs only one light and finesses its effect on the subject.

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.