Lighting
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EASY Portrait Lighting – 3 Light arrangement that can also be used for a Beauty Shot
A few years ago, I did a simple beauty shot with a three-light portrait lighting setup to help a young makeup artist build her portfolio as well as to help a young model add to her book. Watch the VIDEO… The Backstory I am frequently contacted by makeup artists and hair stylists as well as…
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Create an awesome 1 Light Fashion Shot using two DIY Gobos
Here’s a one light fashion shot that I did that you can do with a few DIY gobos and a speedlight or a monolight. Plus, I’ll show you how to make this work in almost any sized space. Watch the VIDEO… Did I just hear a bunch of people ask what the heck is a…
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Studio Lighting Tutorial for AWESOME Glamour Lighting – Glamour Photography Tutorial
I have a super simple two light fun and sexy glamour lighting setup that puts all the light behind the model. Yes – I said behind the model. I was a child of the 1960’s and one of my absolute favorite sets of photos is a group of black and white images of Marilyn Monroe…
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Beauty Portrait Lighting Setup with One Light & Reflector for Dramatic Portraits and Model Shots
I have a really simple one light portrait lighting set-up that I use for beauty shots and dramatic portraits. I’ll walk you through it and show you how you can add more lights and gels to turn this simple arrangement into a bold and colorful set-up. Watch the VIDEO… Are you tired of hearing me…
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Creative Shutter Drag Technique Using Flash And Ambient Light
Shutter drag or dragging the shutter is a flash technique. You can do it with speedlights or monolights and it can be used in a studio or on location, depending on the circumstances and the results that you’re after. I’m going to show you some images that use this technique, plus I’m going to throw…
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DIY Gobos
Did you know that a dog toy, a toddler’s wheelbarrow, a house plant, a can of cheap hair spray and even a roll of toilet paper could be some of the best accessories you could own for shooting portraits and models? They can be used as gobos! You’re probably thinking I have taken this DIY…
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Direct Flash Glamour Lighting Tutorial.
Somewhere in the learning curve of lighting and photographing beautiful women, photographers are taught that direct flash sucks and you should never use it. Yet, ironically, magazines like Maxim publish several covers a year shot with one light direct flash and the model or celebrity standing in front of a white wall. Here, I’ll be…
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White Background Lighting technique with a softbox or OctoDome.
I love white backgrounds for portraits, headshots, and beauty shots. Here, I’ll be walking you through a simple and quick technique to get a pure white background for portraits or product shots. It requires minimal gear, it’s portable, and you can use it in tight space. Read on and I’ll even show you an easy way…
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Learn portrait lighting with 3D software. Studio Lighting Tutorial with set.a.light 3D
Have you ever found yourself wanting to practice your portrait lighting techniques, but you don’t have a subject available? Do you get nervous when you are shooting someone, because you are afraid that if you run into a problem with your lighting, your subject will lose faith in you? You’re not alone – these are…
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One Light Portrait Lighting for AWESOME Portraits & Headshots
Great lighting is not the result of owning lots of lights. Great light comes from learning to see light. I want to show you how you can create some awesome one light portrait lighting for portraits and headshots! Watch the VIDEO… Every single day, I receive messages asking about lighting. So over the course of…
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How to shoot a casual portrait or headshot with one light and one modifier
The casual portrait is taken in a studio… Which is not exactly a casual setting… So what does it really mean? For me it starts with an attractive subject, photographed in simple casual clothing, in a relaxed posture with simple, flattering light. Watch the VIDEO… This is a shot that I would do a variation of frequently…
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Light Blaster – Solution for Boring Portrait Backgrounds
Stop! Don’t move! Now click that “like” button, or I’ll blast you with my Light Blaster! I bet you’re wondering ‘What the heck is a Light Blaster?’ The Light Blaster is a strobe-based image projector that will let you to turn a simple backdrop into an exciting new background with color, patterns, textures, or even…
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Learn How to SEE Light. Remember the Egg!
When I started telling the egg story in my workshops many years ago, I got the sense that people were just humoring me as they sat there nodding their heads as if they understood the message. So I went ahead and recorded a video to show what I was talking about when I told the…
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How to use a REFLECTOR the right way for better portraits
Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Seriously – PLEASE STOP using reflectors to create crappy unflattering light. TV shows, movies, and unfortunately even YouTube photographers seem to think it’s really cool to do that low angle gold reflector that blinds your subject, makes ridiculously bright catchlights in the bottom of their eyes and puts shadows in…
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High Key Lighting With Three Studio Lights And A White Room
“High Key Lighting is a bright even light that is designed to eliminate most of the shadows in a photograph“ This set-up is a high key lighting arrangement that uses three studio strobes (You could also do it with Speedlight’s or hot lights) and it takes advantage of the studio space that has 4 white walls and…
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2 Light – Dramatic Beauty Shot
If you have been following my blog or my YouTube Videos you have heard me state over and over again… “Keep It Simple!” With that in mind here is a recent Beauty shot lighting technique that I did at the end of a modeling portfolio shoot. I did the shot with just 2 flash heads…
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Lighting setup for the Sci-fi Geisha Girl shoot
Sci-fi Geisha Girl! That’s the name that my makeup artist gave to her latest creation. Let’s take a peak behind the scenes at my lighting setup and I will show you how we did this beauty shot. Let me start out by saying that this is one of those pictures that an honest photographer will…
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Backlit Beauty Lighting Set-up for Portraits and Beauty Shots
Let’s take a look at how we can make a really cool portrait or beauty shot by putting ALL of the light BEHIND the subject. Wait! Did I say behind? Ok… we’ll make it work. If you have read any books or taken a class about studio lighting, you have had your head stuffed full…
