Lighting Basics First In the days of cellulose film-oriented photography books, most authors recommended the photography lighting basics of three and four light setups. These lighting setups usually included a main or key, fill, back and background light for studio...
Sometimes we look at a photograph and wonder, “How was that done?” and other times, “Oh, I could do that.” But in reality, it might look easy, but often it takes work, rarely are great shots stumbled upon and if they are, it happens more to photojournalists than...
Most agency-signed fashion models are at least five-foot-eight in height though the majority are even taller, and many glamour models are usually much shorter. It’s not that a glamour model couldn’t pull off fashion, it’s just that the major fashion model agencies...
The Smaller the Harder, the Larger the Softer When it comes to size in photography, one often thinks of lenses, and while proper lens selection makes sense, it’s often dictated by a photographer’s shooting style, not necessarily hard rules. When it comes to...
Like blood to our bodies, light is the lifeblood of an image and like blood, without light, as photographers we have nothing. Photographers rely on light to give us the ability to reproduce life in our subjects and images through the addition or subtraction of...
Light modifiers for photography come in all shapes, sizes and forms to serve a unique purpose, and while I have my favorites, there are others, like an umbrella, that just don’t cut it for me as a professional photographer. My philosophy is simple, umbrellas work...
In the photography reflector tips section of this website, we discuss subtractive lighting, specifically when it comes to the SUNBOUNCE PRO, MINI, MICRO and the Sun-Cage. But recently, I had a new experience, the Sun-Mover Black Hole. I knew of the Zebra-White,...
Recently at my Maui Photography Adventure I took the time to meet up with one of my models, Laura, that I’ve worked with for almost two decades and lives on the island. And as I did two years ago for my Photography Reflectors Keep It Simple photography tip, I promised...
One basic creative concept taught in the first level of art classes in most colleges is chiaroscuro. Chiaroscuro in photography and art simply means the intermixing of lights and darks that forms contrasts between the two to help create the illusion of depth and...
Outdoor natural lighting comes in many forms, but the two most common problems that face photographers are harsh sunlight found on bright sunny days, or boring, low-contrast light found on cloudy or overcast days. Rarely do photographers find “perfect” lighting when...
A photography studio, by simple definition, is basically a workspace where you can create beautiful photos. There is nothing that dictates it must have walls, must be indoors, or even must have electricity for that matter. In fact, the first photography studios “date...
Other than photographers that live on Caribbean, Atlantic or Pacific islands, spring and summer are the times photographers enjoy the most to capture some great outdoor photos. Like seagulls we flock to the nearest and largest body of water. Whether it’s a...
Colors in outdoor model photography can make or break your images. You can use colors to your advantage to create dramatic impact just like camera lens flare, or to minimize or hide imperfections in any photo. The key to it all, be observant and understand simple...
Wikipedia states, “Lens flare refers to a phenomenon wherein light is scattered or flared in a lens system, often in response to a bright light, producing a sometimes, undesirable artifact within the image.” Notice the subtext, “sometimes, undesirable,” which...
Any professional photographer will tell you to learn the fundamentals, principals and basics of photography — the rules — then learn how to break them. One of those photography rules you may have heard, don’t shoot in the midday, or direct overhead sunlight. So, in...
