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.
Astrophysicists have successfully observed light coming from behind a black hole. This observation is the first of its kind and proves Albert Einstein's theory that huge objects can warp space since no light can pass through a black hole and come out the other side.
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).
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.
Photographer Jeremy Cowart has created what he calls a Lightograph, a patent-pending evolution of both the cinemagraph and standard photography that moves light through a still photo without adding any motion or shift in perspective.
A photographer has traveled across the world -- mainly ex-Yugoslavia, ex-Soviet, and East European countries -- and turned largely abandoned and often neglected monuments into spectacular pieces of futuristic art filled with light and color.
At some point during the history of the influencer, the ring light became an accessory de rigueur, fueled by the availability of cheap Chinese-made devices. The original ring light was invented for dentistry by Lester A. Dine in 1952 because of its ability to cast an even light with diffuse shadows in a confined space. An ideal solution for photographing teeth and gums.
Taking photos of white subjects on white backgrounds or black subjects on black backgrounds is a skill that requires photographers to skillfully bend light in various ways. Photographer Zach Sutton has shared tips on what works best in each scenario.
Light can be one of the most challenging topics when it comes to learning photography. It takes a lot of trial and error to understand light, as there are very few resources available that teach light beyond setups.
Photography, film, and art YouTube channel Chroma published this 8-minute video detailing what it takes to capture what are colloquially known as "Accidental Renaissance" photographs.
I’d argue that nearly all of us owned a speedlight at some point before we owned a studio strobe. When we’re looking to dip our toes into supplemental lighting, strobes seem like a big investment. It just makes sense to pick up a cheap speedlight to play with, right?
After shooting cities all around the globe for the past 15 years, I managed to publish seven coffee table books featuring cities like Paris, Venice, Los Angeles, and New York. I learned the hard way when was the best time to shoot and want to save you the time and effort so you can make the best photos of cityscapes possible.
There have been thousands of articles written about cheap and expensive lights, cameras, and lenses. To me, the light is not as important as the modifier.
When starting out, you will inevitably stumble upon someone telling you to use a three-light setup for portraits and a beauty dish for fashion photography. I think that’s a whole bunch of nonsense. Lighting setups don’t teach you light -- they only confuse you and derail you from progressing.
Without light, there is no picture. Knowing how to use light to your advantage can help you in any genre of photography, from landscape to portrait.
Photographer Gavin Hoey recently produced a video for Adorama TV that tackles a critically important subject for photographers: light fall off. Mathematically captured by the so-called Inverse Square Law, it's vital that photographers understand this property of light, especially when working with strobes.
The winners of the 2nd annual Minimalist Photography Awards were announced just last week, and if you're looking for proof that "less is more" when it comes to photography... you've come to the right place. Many of the winners are masterful examples of simplicity in composition.
Photographer Dan Roberts recently collaborated on an "intercontinental light painting." Using a projector and the power of the Internet, he and Frodo Alvarez captured a light-painting portrait in real time from across the world: Frodo's light from Spain ended up on Dan's camera in Denver.
Photographer Robert Hall recently released a simple-yet-brilliant explainer that uses water to illustrate the properties of light and explain a few concepts that frequently confuse beginners, including: what is a "stop" of light, how do you use the exposure triangle, and how do various flashes and flash modifiers affect your image.
Commercial photographer and educator Karl Taylor is a working pro with an impressive portfolio to his name and major brands on his CV. So it came as a surprise when he declared recently that he hasn't used a light meter in 15 years... and explained why you shouldn't be using one either.
Photography is all about light. To be more precise, photography is all about the quality of the light. This can be a particular challenge for outdoor/landscape photographers.
Back in 2015, a stealthy startup company called Light made a splash in the photo industry by announcing a point-and-shoot camera called the L16 that featured a whopping 16 separate cameras across its face. Fast forward half a decade, and now Light is no longer working to revolutionize photography at all.
Here's a simple, maybe even obvious, run-and-gun lighting tip for beginners from the YouTube Channel Run N Gun. If you find yourself using your smartphone for portrait lighting in a pinch, don't turn it around and use the flashlight—download an app or solid color image instead, and use your phone's display as a small LED panel.
If you have been shooting streets for some time or have been following the genre, you might have already thought about some of the things that I am going to talk about below. Street photography is a very volatile genre by virtue of the volatility of the decisive moments.
Earlier today, Epic Games released a "first look" at the Unreal Engine 5 video game engine, and the results are mind-blowing. Using a gameplay demo running on a Playstation 5, they showcase an environment that is so close to photorealistic that it's often hard to tell the difference.
There's no shortage of creative photography ideas that you can try while isolating, but we really like this one from the folks at Adaptalux. Using just some paper and light, they'll show you how you can capture beautiful abstract macro photography without leaving home.
Photographer Mathieu Stern has put together a simple step-by-step that will teach you how to turn your digital photographs into beautiful cyanotype prints. If you've never made physical prints at home, consider this your gateway drug.
When it comes to landscape photography, what's most important: light or composition? This question has been making the rounds in some online communities recently, so Australian photographer Andrew Marr decided to tackle the subject and share his take on how to best balance these two key elements.
Sigma officially released the Sigma fp today, confirming the leak we reported earlier this week. Available to pre-order today, the world's smallest full-frame mirrorless camera will cost $1,900 for the body-only, and will begin shipping to customers on October 25th.
Elinchrom has partnered up with Light & Motion to announce the new Elinchrom ELM8: a battery-powered continuous LED light for photo and video shooters that they're calling "the most versatile continuous LED light on the market."
Studio lighting can get hot -- so hot, in fact, that some can double a stove. Here's a humorous 14-minute video in which photographer Sweet Lou tests how well different ARRI fresnel lights fry eggs and bake cookies.
Profoto today announced the new B10 Plus, a "slightly bigger brother" to the B10 that doubles the power to 500Ws from 250Ws while only adding about 25% to the price.
That title is a mouthful, but I didn’t know how to better describe the style. Over the years, I’ve been refining and perfecting my newborn photo technique to get the specific light and airy high-key look I want. While every home I visit is different, and some are more challenging than others, these strategies have given me the best and most consistent results.
Autos is a project by street photographer Nick Turpin, who photographed the lines of cars under the glow of big city billboards.
There is an observation about stand up comedians that once they reach a certain level of fame their material becomes less about "grounded" observations and criticisms and instead becoming more about airplane food and hotel rooms.
Today we are going to talk about placing a softbox -- not the positions that you would use, like a Rembrandt, a butterfly, or a loop, but how to place it once it’s in position. Let’s talk about how to finesse the look that you want to achieve while using a softbox.
Just days after announcing a new partnership with Sony, Light has announced a partnership with the Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi as well to develop new photography tech for smartphones.
Light and Sony have announced a new partnership to advance a future of smartphones with four or more cameras on the back.
Once and again, people ask me the question "what is the most important thing in landscape photography?" Of course, this question cannot be answered unequivocally due to the many ingredients of a good picture, but there is no doubt that light is one of the essentials of many good pictures.