Portrait Tips: OCF with one umbrella
Levi Sim
I recently said that if I were allowed only one light for the rest of my life I’d choose a huge white umbrella. But if you’re just getting started with
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Portrait Tips: Color contrast makes all the difference
Levi Sim
I made this portrait the other day at the Out of Oregon Photography Conference. I was teaching a class on portraiture, and I had a picture like this in my
Portrait Tips: Light outside the box
Levi Sim
Making marketing pictures at schools is one of my favorites activities. There’s endless variety in subjects and every classroom offers unique challenges in lighting. Last week I was making pictures
Portrait Tips: Lighting the Hulk
Levi Sim
It doesn’t really take too much imagination when you have a muscleman in front of your lens to picture him as a green mass with purple highlights. It’s either because
Portrait Tips: Challenge conquers dread
Levi Sim
Dread: That’s the feeling that happens when you know you’re in over your head but you have to perform anyway. Dread started weighing on me and pulling my stomach into
Portrait Tips: Don’t fight the light
Levi Sim
If you give a boy a hammer, everything looks like a nail and he will pound it. If you give a photographer a flash, everything looks like it needs to
Portrait Tips: A chance with Patch
Levi Sim
The other day a fellow contacted me about a picture I made nearly ten years ago. He was an assistant to the master woodcarver and I spent a few minutes
Portrait Tips: How to use V-flats to light a group
Levi Sim
When you light a portrait, a good rule of thumb is that your light should be about the same size as your subject. That’s easy for a single individual where
First Look: Lume Cube AIR
Levi Sim
The new Lume Cube AIR is even more compact than the original and with a longer battery life. It has a powerful magnet on the back for mounting to any
Portrait Tips: How do you develop a style? Play more
Levi Sim
I’ll keep this one quick. Each time you make pictures you are developing your own style. At first, this may be mimicking the look of other photographs you’ve seen —
Gear Review: Fractals (Your New Must-Have)
Erin Holmstead
Fractals, people, are the new must-haves in my camera bag. I was introduced to Fractals at WPPI. My friend and fellow photographer, Kathy Mukhopadhyay, bought a set and mentioned that
Creating Effect and Mood with Light
Rick Friedman
When shooting a photograph, I often feel that I am creating a single frame from a movie. The star of the movie is the subject. With the use of backdrops,
How and Why to Use a Grid on a Softbox
Vanelli
In this video, I’ll show you the power of using a grid to further modify the light on a softbox. It creates mood and makes it simple to control the
Shooting with a Beauty Dish
Vanelli
From the course: Improving Your Photography and Portraits with Lighting Modifiers Shooting with a beauty dish from Improving Your Photography and Portraits with Lighting Modifiers by Robert Vanelli Course transcript
Portrait Tips: Why You Shouldn’t Use Auto White Balance
Levi Sim
I should have followed this rule the other day. I photographed 50 people in a row and I need to finish all of those pictures for delivery. It’d be a
Lights, Colors, Fractals
Rick Friedman
I shot this photograph at WPPI in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago. I was at the ClickProps Studio Backdrops booth. This company makes over 500 backdrops in various
How to D.I.Y. a Snoot & Grid
Erin Holmstead
What is a snoot? A snoot is just a funny name for a piece of equipment, generally a tube or similar objects such as a conical, cylindrical, or rectangular shape,
Portrait Tips: Include the No-Look Look
Levi Sim
You can double the unique pictures you make during every shoot by utilizing the No-Look portrait. Most portraits include the subjects looking at the camera smiling. But every pose you
Photographic Test Kitchen: 3 Light Setup
Rick Friedman
Work made with 3 speed lights Here’s the equipment used to create this photograph: Nikon D810 Nikon 105mm Macro lens 3 Nissin Di700A speedlights Nissan Carbon Fiber Light Stand Nissan
Portrait Tips: Subtle Spice Not Ketchup
Levi Sim
When people see your picture, they should say, “Wow, that’s a great photograph,” not, “Wow, that’s a well-lit photograph.” Once you start using flashes, it’s like having a hammer in
Skating The Ramps With Platypod Max And MagMod
Bryan Esler
A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a photo I selected for Photographer of the Day. It was of a skateboarder at a skate park, doing some tricks. Needless to