portrait

The Best Time of Day to Take Outdoor Portrait Photos

When is the best time of day to shoot portrait photos outdoors? Should we shoot only during the golden hours and avoid midday altogether, or is it better to use the brightest daylight hours to take our portraits with a few simple light modifiers? In this guide, we explore the best times of day for outdoor portraits.

Look Beyond the Softbox to Spice Up Your Portrait Lighting

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.

How to Shoot a ‘Day vs Night’ Portrait In-Camera

Special effects are a fantastic and fun way to tell compelling stories through images. While they may seem complicated, the truth is, many special effects are easily done in-camera using tools you likely already have. In this video, I’ll be walking through how to create one of our signature portraits, the “Day vs. Night” effect.

Is Diffused Light the Same as Soft Light?

Diffused and soft light are often used interchangeably among photographers. Indeed, to an untrained eye, the two can sometimes appear to be the same. Furthermore, modifiers such as softboxes that give both soft and diffused light make it hard to spot the difference. Nonetheless, diffused light is not necessarily soft, and soft light is not necessarily diffused.

How to Create the ‘Ring of Fire’ Effect for a Couples Portrait

You’ve likely already heard of the “Ring of Fire” photography technique. This is a visual trick popularized by famous wedding and portrait photographer, Sam Hurd. The Ring of Fire is created by using a piece of copper tubing to reflect light coming into the camera.

Review of the Fujifilm XF 16-80mm f/4 R OIS WR Lens

I’m a big fan of zoom lenses. For my photography and budget, they provide great value and versatility, and modern zoom lenses sacrifice little, if any, image quality compared to prime lenses.

Learn 21 One-Light Portrait Setups In Less Than Six Minutes

Sometimes photographers may be in a situation where they only have a single light source at their disposal during a portrait session. The good news is there are many ways you can use a single light to create unique and dramatic looks for portrait work as Dima Metkin demonstrates.

How NOT to Light Your Portrait Photos

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.

How to Shoot In Natural Light Without Modifiers Like a Pro

Shooting in natural light can be quite difficult. In fact, many photographers gravitate towards studio photography to avoid natural light completely. However, natural light can be manipulated in a way that will produce great work.

My Last Mocha: An 8×10 Polaroid Passion Project

Brzz, bzzzrrr. The rollers on the vintage Polaroid developer start to suck in the 8×10 Polaroid. Dan Bosman, a Mars Cafe barista of 14 years, and I are chatting just like we always do.

How to Fix Sitting Posing Mistakes

We’re going to walk you through common posing mistakes, particularly for sitting poses, and how to fix them. I want to cover this subject from both a masculine and feminine body language standpoint so you can see the differences and know how to fix issues on the spot no matter who you are photographing.

Photo Idea: How to Capture Creative Reflection Portraits

Capturing cool reflection portraits might seem like a breeze—you just put someone behind some glass and go ham, right? But as photographer Matt Granger explains in this tutorial, even a basic understanding of the "key variables" involved can open up more options for you.

The Building Blocks of Artistic Portrait Photography

Of the many creative photographic genres, it is perhaps portrait photography where two camps—the representative and the artistic—can be most clearly observed. Whilst the former requires context through captions and backstory to elevate it, in the later, the absence of such requires creative aptitude. Attempting to merge both camps in one photograph can often diminish its effectiveness.

How to Shoot ‘Water Hat’ Portraits On the Cheap

The temperatures have been soaring lately. Depending on where you live, you might’ve even seen record heat over the last couple of weeks. Normally, such weather makes staying indoors (so long as you have air conditioning) sound ideal. However, in this article, we’re going to share a fun, creative photography idea (inspired by Tim Tadder) that’s perfect for getting outside on hot, sunny days.

How to Photograph Darker Skin Tones with an Off-Camera Flash

I used to think that skin tone was irrelevant to lighting setups. When I photograph people with a flash, I don’t have go-to numbers for the position of my light (distance, height, and angle). My workflow is placing my light somewhere I think it’ll work and fine-tuning from there.

Co-Creating a Light Painting in Real Time with Someone Across the World

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.

This Sunset ‘Levitation’ Photo Was Captured in a Single Shot

Believe it or not, the "levitation" photo above isn't a multi-shot composite. Some lighting equipment was removed from the edge of the frame, but the main image of the woman "floating" above the water is actually a single exposure. It simply took some patience to capture it just right in-camera.

How a Snapshot from 1987 Became a Book Cover in 2020

In 1987, choreographer Margo Sappington came to Houston to set her dance "Rodin, mis en vie" on the world-famous Houston Ballet at the invitation of Artistic Director Ben Stevenson. Not knowing who she was, but attracted by her energy and persona, I introduced myself.

An Introduction to Backgrounds for Portrait Photography

Photographer Miguel Quiles has created a quick, crash-course style video that explores the different types of backgrounds you can buy as a portrait photographer, and then explains why collapsible backgrounds might be the best option if you're just starting out.

This Striking Portrait of ‘Division’ Was Captured with Non-Visible Light

Whenever something is bothering wet plate photographer Markus Hofstaetter, he captures his anxiety with striking, creative imagery. Lately, the idea of "division"—in ourselves, our societies, and our world—has been on his mind, so he set about capturing a "division" portrait. The twist: he didn't want to capture any visible light.