Lighting How To

“I have a mantra that I live by,” states San Diego-based Tim Tadder. “I believe that I work with the best clients in the world, and that they demand the best out of me. If the job calls for equipment I don’t have, I’ll make sure that I have it available so that I’m delivering the best product I can.”

All serious photographers study their craft and practice diligently to improve their skills. Hence, the thought of losing our precious images can best be described as a nightmare. The quick tutorial below will help wipe that thought from your mind.

Light is a precious commodity in close-up and macro photography. The closer you get to your subject, the more light you lose through lens extension. Move to within inches of the subject and your camera or body may block the existing daylight. Also, the closer you get, the more depth of field you lose, so it would help to stop down. All of this translates to a need for additional light—in other words, a supplementary light source. What’s more, when shooting live critters and wind-blown plants, we may also need that light source to freeze subject movement, or at least provide shutter speeds that are fast enough to contain movement. To meet these needs, I’ve often turned to a macro ringflash and, alternatively, a macro twin flash. An economical alternative is an LED ringlight.

LED lighting is all the rage with the cool kids and why not? It’s continuous and that’s important for new photographers or anyone wishing to capture hybrid—video and still—imagery. It’s also literally cool, with no eyebrow-melting hot lights making subjects uncomfortable.

I’ve photographed seashells in various ways—against black velvet, on a beach with a sandy background and in tide pools. The most dramatic way to photograph them is with strong backlighting. When you place a bright light directly behind the shell, it suddenly seems like it is glowing from within. The colors are intense, the form of the shell is beautifully defined, and all of the detail in the structure is revealed. The results are even more dramatic when you use a black background, as I did in (#1).

We're back with another tutorial from Patrick's Boudoir Photography Secrets, a popular YouTube channel intended for those new to this unique form of portraiture. Today's video is episode #13 of an ongoing series.