The KOBRA is a new flash modifier that's hoping to be a "game-changer" in an already crowded market. The brainchild of photographer Paul McKelvey, the KOBRA has just been launched on Kickstarter. McKelvey was frustrated with the results of what's currently on the market, so he created the KOBRA to "paint with light, not spray."
Profoto has just announced the new Air Remote TTL-F. Fujifilm photographers will now be able to benefit from TTL (Through The Lens) and HSS (High-Speed Sync) capabilities with a number of Profoto flashes.
Need to take portraits and don’t have access to a lighting kit? No worries – this 4-minute video from Jay P. Morgan of The Slanted Lens will show you how you can turn a bathroom – or any room for that matter – into a softbox to create beautiful soft light.
This short 2-minute video from photographer Svitlana Vronska demonstrates some clever lighting tricks you can use to add some creative flair to your images with an otherwise uninteresting backdrop.
Pro lighting system maker Broncolor has unveiled the Litepipe P, which the company touts as a "real innovation in the market." The Litepipe P consists of just 5 components and is a lightweight light shaper that can be mounted and ready for use in just 60 seconds with no tools required.
British LED lighting manufacturer Rotolight has announced an update to its NEO range with the new NEO 2, which is a solution for photographers and videographers looking for both strobe and continuous LED lighting.
Spiffy Gear has just launched a new innovative LED light system called Spekular. Touted as "the Swiss army knife of LED lighting," the modular kit consists of LED light bars that can be connected and arranged in whatever shape you desire.
French photographer Philippe Echaroux recently decided to challenge himself in the area of shooting portraits of strangers. Instead of using high-end camera equipment, he decided to use an iPhone and light his subjects using a McDonald's Big Mac box.
Nearly every professional studio I’ve ever used has these "polyboards" and you‘ve probably even seen them yourself but may not have known what they’re used for. Polyboards are polystyrene boards that usually measure 4 feet wide by 8 feet high and are normally 2 inches thick. One of the other defining characteristics is that they are often white on one side and black on the other.
When it starts pouring outside, most photographers may run for cover and hide from the rain. For photographer Ilko Allexandroff, heavy rain becomes an opportunity to shoot stunning backlit portraits of subjects. Here's a 20-minute video in which Allexandroff discusses his methods, helpful tips, and 6 types of lighting setups he uses.
Here are 4 great tips for fashion photographers and videographers looking to light effective portraits. In this 3-minute video by Aputure, cameraman Kazu Okuda shares his expertise on how to work well with studio lighting.
In this article, I am going to highlight 5 key things that I see portrait photographers doing that I consider to be "in need of improvement." And although there are no hard-and-fast rules to photography, try to think of it as being similar to an instrument being slightly out of tune or a meal that's perhaps a little too salty. These are glaringly obvious errors to the well-informed but may not be so obvious to those who are just starting out.
Here's a 7-minute lesson by photographer Dustin Dolby of workphlo on how to improve your product photography shots by giving them a silky, soft, pleasant light.
Composition can make or break a photograph. Here's a 7-minute video by photographer Peter McKinnon in which he runs through three tips to help you improve the composition of your photographs.
When you’re taking corporate headshots, you often have a tight window in which to fit everything in. But usually you're also going to be expected to create more than one look. Jay P. Morgan of The Slanted Lens runs through his simple setup in this 5 minute video.
There are plenty of tutorials on the web for how to create DIY ring lights, but this build has a unique take. The 10-minute video by Caleb Pike of DSLR Video Shooter will take you through the steps required to build a triangular “ring” LED light that can be dimmed.
In this typically short and sweet 1.5-minute video from Mango Street, the photography duo run through some techniques for posing a male subject. These tips are especially helpful when posing someone who is not a model and has little experience in front of a camera.
Did you know that Amazon sells a $28 flash for Canon and Nikon DSLRs under its in-house brand AmazonBasics? If you've wanted to try your hand at using a flash without investing too much money at first, this one is an option you may want to consider.
Last month, the Chinese lighting brand Godox teased an innovative new product called the A1 that serves as both a wireless, off-camera flash/light for smartphones as well as a transmitter for triggering other off-camera flashes. Now new sample photos have emerged to show what this smartphone flash system can actually do.
Here's a 7-minute video by photographer Dustin Dolby of workphlo that demonstrates how to photograph luxury watches in a studio setting with entry-level lighting equipment.
Here's a 3-minute video by photographer Francisco Hernandez that shows the difference diffusion panels can make for an outdoor portrait. There are both pros and cons to hard or soft light, but knowing which one to use and when is always handy.
This 12-minute tutorial from photographer Joel Grimes demonstrates two methods for creating dramatic portraits using a minimal amount of gear. Both techniques use a beauty dish; the first with a single light source and the second with the addition of 2 edge lights.
Have you ever dreamed of using an off-camera flash with your smartphone? Godox wants to make it happen. The Chinese lighting brand is teasing an upcoming product called the Godox A1. It's a "phone flash system" that's both a flash and a transmitter.
It's now official: Bowens is dead. The well-known 94-year-old lighting equipment brand has officially confirmed that it has discontinued operations, and one of the main factors in its demise was the rise of cheaper gear by Chinese manufacturers.
Want to try out product photography but can't afford a softbox? They can be expensive pieces of kit, but invisible ones cost a lot less. In this 6-minute video by Leo Rosas, learn how to use a cheap tube light as a makeshift softbox.
Digital Sputnik, creator of LED light systems that have quickly become favorites of directors behind big blockbuster movies, has released an exciting new product: Voyager. This new system packs features of their previous product line into a smaller fixture.
Chinese lighting manufacturer Godox has already released a few products in 2017 that have helped a lot of strobists build lighting kits with a modest investment. Most notably the Godox AD-200 (also sold as the Flashpoint eVolv) has become a crowd favorite for a portable and powerhouse flash.
Beauty dishes are great pieces of equipment to have in your lighting arsenal, but they come at a price. You can spend hundreds of dollars on a dish, yet using a cheap shoot-through umbrella can easily produce the same effect, as this 10-minute tutorial by Joe Edelman shows.
Looking to do product photography on a budget? The lighting setup found in the 6-minute video above by DSLR Video Shooter will cost you only $50 and involves just one light source: a 24" x 24" soft box.
Portrait and commercial photographer Zack Arias spends a lot of his time travelling and shooting on location. In the 23-minute video above, Arias goes through his bag of lights and tells you exactly what is (and isn't) in there.
Glassware makes for beautifully contrasting shapes on a white background. Taken under studio lighting, this high-key style of photography looks really impressive. If you're into product photography, then this 8-minute tutorial by photographer Dustin Dolby of workphlo is one you will want to watch.
Here's something not everyone thinks about: the intensity of light that you shoot your portraits in doesn't just affect the exposure, but it also affects the pupil size of your model.
It goes without saying that lighting is an incredible important aspect to any genre of photography. But in portraiture, light can be used to create, or enhance, emotion in a photo.
Here’s a short 5-minute video from photographer Ed Verosky focusing on lighting portraits. In 5 minutes, he walks through his top five tips to help beginners improve their portrait lighting.
A radial gradient can be used almost like a spotlight, directing the eye of the viewer where you want in an image. In this 10-minute video from f64 Academy, learn how to use the tool in harmony with blend modes and opacities to control the effect.
Shooting portraits under the midday sun is less-than-ideal because of the harsh shadows it can create. In this quick video, Manny Ortiz shows how to remove those shadows and create beautiful portraits using a single fill light.
In this useful little tutorial, wedding photographer Bob Davis demonstrates how, with just a small amount of kit, you can combine speedlights with basic light modifiers to mimic two totally different natural light 'looks' in seconds.
In product photography, using a white background can eliminate distractions and really make the product shine. But what if the product itself is white? In this 4-minute video, you'll learn how to properly expose your shot in this challenging scenario.
Here's something you might not be able to "unsee" if you've never noticed it before: during an NBA basketball game, whenever there's some exciting action around the rim, there's a good chance you'll also see a bright flash of light illuminate your screen for a split second. These are the powerful strobes installed high overhead by photographers.
PocketWizard has updated its line of E-TTL-compatible transceivers for the first time since 2009 with the new FlexTT6, which brings compatibility with newer Canon cameras such as the 5D Mark IV and EOS-1D X Mark II.