Lighting How To

Commercial photographer Lou Freeman specializes in fashion/glamour work and in the 4-minute video below she shows you how to make great outdoor portraits in direct sunlight.

Don’t be confused by the diminutive size of the new Fotodiox Pro PopSpot LED Fresnel light. While it’s barely the size of a soda can, this little powerhouse packs plenty of punch, runs on AC or battery power, and unlike other Fresnel lights never gets hot.

Zach Smidt of Zach Alan Photography is a Houston-based shooter with a creative approach to portraiture. He recently teamed up with his girlfriend Juli to make a series of stunning outdoor images using light painting techniques.

Matthew Jordan Smith is a expert portrait shooter who has photographed some of the world’s most famous people in the U.S. and abroad. In the video below he explains how to make great portraits of women using a single light and an inexpensive white poster board.  

DIY projects are a fun way to make your own gear and save major bucks in the process, and the video below shows you how to construct a sturdy light stand for less than $5 worth of PVC pipe. If you really want to go “pro,” you can drop another $2 on a cheap PVC cutter.

For those of us who don’t have our own photo studios, tabletop photography often involves waiting for a bright overcast day and shooting outdoors with the sky as a giant softbox. While this approach works quite well, sometimes the weather doesn’t cooperate.

We like the photo how-to videos from the folks at Mango Street Lab because they're short, sweet, and eminently helpful. The below video tutorial titled "3 Mistakes All Beginner Photographers Make" is no exception.