Opening your own photo studio can be an incredibly large undertaking. There are many things to consider, the least of which is what pieces of gear you'll need. Having recently helped out a friend in setting up their first studio, I’d like to share a few ideas on what you may include.
There can be a lot of gear-envy among photographers when they see others with tons of expensive camera gear, lighting equipment, and modifiers. It is also all too easy to say that you can’t be creative because you don’t have access to a particular light or piece of equipment.
The use of strong and complementary colors is an ever-growing trend in photography. Many modern advertising campaigns feature bold and contrasting colors in order to draw your focus to the product or message they are trying to sell. One way to create such vibrant color in your own images is by using colored gels (also known as color filters, filter gels, lighting gels, or simply gels).
What are the ingredients of a fashion photograph? This question may be rarely asked, yet it's an important one to think about. After all, is fashion photography really about the technicalities, or is it about content?
The megapixel count of a camera is often viewed by consumers to be the benchmark number for telling whether or not that camera is "good." If that were true, however, why do photographers not just buy a 108-megapixel smartphone to use as their primary equipment? The answer: because image quality has to do with far more than just megapixels.
One of the biggest challenges for a photographer learning how to light with an off-camera flash isn't necessarily the type of lights they have but rather learning how to control it.
When Profoto released the cordless, battery-powered B1X monolight in 2017, I was rather skeptical. Why should a company release a new light if it offers mild improvements over the old model? Faster recycling, better battery life, and more modeling lamp output aren’t exactly groundbreaking. Yet the build quality, the ability to freeze motion, and the number of flashes per charge make this light worth every penny.
Light shaping tools are very expensive. What if you could take any object and turn it into a modifier? That would save you a lot of money as well as give some unique results. In this article, I will share some everyday objects that you can turn into light modifiers to get different looks.
Photography is a tech-heavy job. Camera companies do a great job of hyping up new gear and creating a fear of missing out. However, very few professionals that I know actually go and splurge on the latest and greatest equipment.
The Profoto B2 is a small, seemingly-"underpowered" light that was released back in 2015 and that has been with me for the past two years. Having bought it used and taken it on trips, shot in-studio, and photographed on-location, there are a lot of good things to say about it.
What kind of lighting do you use as a portrait photographer? Softboxes are great and popular, but that also makes them potentially overused and boring. If you want to spice up your portrait lighting, you can look into expanding your toolbox beyond the softbox and into other kinds of lighting.
Almost anything can be used as a light modifier. As long as it interacts with light in one way or another, it can be considered a light modifier. In this article, I will show you how to build a do-it-yourself (DIY) softbox with things you likely already have around at home.
Umbrellas are perhaps the most under-appreciated light shaping tool around. Due to their low price and wide availability, they are considered by some to be only for those who are beginners. This couldn't be further from the truth.
There are 365 ways to waste your time being busy instead of doing useful work. One of those is the popular concept of a 365 photo project. Let’s dive in and see why it is one of the best ways to waste your time.
There are many debates about ethics in photography. One such debate is around making money on photos that show human suffering. It could be appropriate, but there are a few caveats you should consider before selling such work.
Not everyone needs to hire a retoucher, right? Well, that may be true, but I’d like to make the case that most people probably do need one. Let’s dive into the complex world of post-production, understand the art of it, and the time it takes to do well.
As photographers, we tend to get used to doing things one way or another. Over time, these turn into habits that we rarely question. But sometimes it’s good to take a step back and evaluate our approach to the art. Here are some bad habits that I personally developed as a photographer and how I worked to resolve them.
Being a professional photographer is often a flashy “seemingly easy” career in which anyone with a camera and a lens can succeed. But why then do so many fail? Having talked to many successful photographers, I’ve noticed certain patterns that they all share.
Can you think back to a time you were taking photos in a dinner scene and they just look "flash-y"? Why does flash never look natural? Well, in order to make flash look natural, you have to make flash part of the natural lighting scenario. Here’s how.
When Profoto released the B10 and B10 Plus, they made headlines for how portable and powerful they were. That was 2018. In 2021, Profoto takes the concept of a portable powerful battery-powered strobe further by launching the B10X and B10X Plus.
Think you know the inverse-square law? How much of a "law" is it actually in the practice of photography? We are taught that the inverse-square law is the holy grail of understanding the laws of light. Some condense all the wonderful knowledge about light concepts to the inverse square law only. In this article, I want to invite you to take a step back and see how the inverse square law is wrong. Sometimes.
The most complex scenarios one can get in lighting are black on black and white on white. These scare most photographers, regardless of the genre. If black absorbs light and white bounces, how can you achieve natural-looking results with just one light?
Fashion photography is about, well... fashion. As simple as that sounds, many photographers still get caught up in the technicalities of it without giving too much attention to the subject. In this article, I will go over some of the most common fashion terms that every photographer must know when working with fashion.
When casting a model, several factors are at play. Some cast models based on how they look, others cast them based on who they know. But, what is a good model? Are there traits that good models share? Here are some that I have noticed.
Parabolic light has become increasingly popular among fashion and portrait photographers. With so many options to choose from, a photographer may get lost or not understand the modifiers at all.
One of the most frustrating things I see is photographers limiting their knowledge of light to one modifier. So much so, that there are people who can build whole portfolios with just one single type of light. While this is not wrong, it must get boring for the viewer after some time. That is why I went searching for some of the most unusual light shaping tools.
How does renowned portrait photographer Albert Watson light his photos? With a foolproof three-light setup that makes his photos look amazing, of course! Except... he doesn't. In fact, setups are very far from what professional photographers do when they light their work. Here is what mindset photographers have when they light.
There are literally hundreds of different flashes on the market. With brands competing for attention and offering some very unique features, it is often hard to decide which flash to pick. What is more, buying a flash is sometimes like buying a whole lighting system. If someone buys Profoto they are likely to stick with it for a long time because it’s part of a lighting system, not just one flash.
Fashion photography is one of the most lucrative but also one of the hardest genres to pursue on a professional level. Good fashion work can’t be done with a one-man band. Eventually, every fashion photographer learns the importance of such things the hard way. Here are some things that I wish I knew when photographing my first fashion and beauty images.
How do photographers freeze motion? With shutter speed, of course! This is something fundamental that everyone starting out in photography learns to do. If you’re shooting sports, for example, just crank the ISO up, set a high shutter speed, and expect a good frozen-in-time image. However, when using a flash, things are a little different. In fact, shutter speed is by far the worst way to freeze motion. Here’s why.
Crazy. Ambitious. Innovative. While those may not be the first three words that come to mind when you hear about the iPhone 12 Pro Max and Profoto Pro-11, they are precisely what I think this pairing comes down to.
Reflections are the sole reason we’re able to see objects. An object that absorbs 100% of the light is invisible. Fortunately, we don’t encounter these in our daily lives. Any lighting-conscious photographer would be aware of the fact that their light positioning directly influences reflection and hence the viewer experience.
When starting out in photography, you are bombarded with terms, definitions, and a whole new universe of things you must know as a photographer. Sometimes the definitions are confusing at best, seemingly conflicting at worst. When it comes to lighting, there's a big list of terms and jargon that you need to know. Here are some of the common ones with simple definitions and explanations.
The focal length of lenses doesn't cause perspective distortion, which is often explained as "lens compression." Period. Now before you call me crazy and dismiss whatever I have to say, I’d like to invite you to take a dive into how lenses work and what actually causes perspective distortion.
What is light? This perhaps may be the most simple question with the most complex answer in photography. Light enables us to see, create, and most importantly convey meaning through our art. Light also gives us the oxygen we breathe (through plant photosynthesis).
As a fashion photographer with a degree of online presence, it is only natural to get questions about gear every now and then in Instagram DMs and email. There is a universe of gear to choose from across many different brands. As a Canon shooter, you might think that I would recommend their entry-level cameras to beginners. However, I think the opposite.
Natural light is one of the easiest ways to shoot portraits with minimal gear. More often than not natural light is soft and flattering to the face. Yet, a photographer who is able to create natural light in the complete absence of it is valued highly. That is of course with strobes. Here’s how you can easily create natural-looking light with flash.
Picking the right light modifier is often crucial to the success of the image. With hundreds of different modifiers to choose from, there is really nothing you can’t do. However, a wide choice often ends up confusing or possibly scaring photographers.
Softboxes are among the most popular light shaping tools. Few photographers have never shot with softboxes, and more often than not a softbox is a go-to modifier for beginners. In this article, I will break down the anatomy of a softbox, from physics to possible applications for it. Read on to become a master of using softboxes.
Lighting is one of the most complex topics in photography. There are literally hundreds of light shaping tools and countless scenarios they apply to. No wonder many photographers are reluctant to learn lighting, despite it being one of the core skills any photographer should have.