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Create a beauty-light portrait with nothing but speed lights

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Why would you choose to use speedlights when so many other, more powerful options are available? Well, several reasons, actually. They are small, portable, and lightweight, and the latest versions can really pack a punch. They are fairly good value, and you don’t need an external power source or heavy battery pack. Some new models even come with modelling lights. They are simple yet still capable of giving professional results.

In this video for Adorama, photographer Gavin Hoey shows you how he creates a gorgeous beauty light effect using nothing but speedlights.

How to create winter self-portraits in the home studio using a can of fake spray snow

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While winter portraits might not be on most of our minds with Summer about to officially kick in for the Northern Hemisphere, it’s certainly been on the mind of photographer Hamza Sleem, who created these amazing winter portraits in his home studio with the help of a cheap can of artificial spray snow.

Hamza’s home studio setup is fairly simple, with just a Canon EOS 1200D and 18-55mm kit lens, a single strobe and a backdrop. But his ingenuity shows that you can get some very captivating shots with very little gear if you know how to use it well and think a little outside the box.

The easy way to turn your garage into a professional home portrait studio

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At some point or another, most people who shoot portraits get the idea into their heads that it’d be quite nice to be able to shoot them from home. But how? Well, if you’ve got a garage, it’s relatively straightforward, as portrait photographer Pye Jirsa from SLR Lounge illustrates in this video where he does exactly that by turning his garage into a home studio that gives professional results.

The good news is that you can do it fairly inexpensively and it’s not a permanent irreversible change. If you need to use your garage as an actual garage for your vehicle, you can still do that. But when you want to shoot portraits, you can empty it out and easily set it up as a studio space for shooting portraits using just natural daylight.

Super-soft lighting in small home studios

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In this article I’ll explain a beautifully soft lighting setup that can be achieved in almost any sized space – In fact, this setup actually takes advantage of very small rooms and the tight spaces of home studios!

In recent months, many of us have struggled to get back into the studio to shoot. Lock-downs and safety concerns surrounding large teams of people have made certain photoshoots pretty tricky to achieve whilst still being safe. But whilst we wait for things to get back to ‘normal’, I thought I’d share a lighting setup that actually takes advantage of small shoot spaces. Maybe you can’t get back into the studio and maybe you’d prefer to shoot in a controlled space like your own home. What are some of the disadvantages/advantages of that?

Tight quarters is one thing, but low ceilings can be a real pain too. But is there a way we can use that to our advantage somehow?

In this setup I play with a clever little setup that uses the restrictive confines of your own home to your advantage, and this technique can be achieved in almost any size space!

Here is a simple $20 studio you can set up anywhere

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If you plan to set up a home studio, there can be a lot of things on your mind and on your to-buy list. But what if I told you that you could make it so much simpler? In fact, you can set up a studio anywhere with just a few props and for some $20. Pye Jirsa teamed up with Adorama to show you an idea for a photo studio you can set up at your home or anywhere else and get professional-looking results on a budget.

DIY backdrops for home shoots and lighting setup

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Bored of being stuck indoors yet? Shooting against the same white background all the time can get tiresome, so why not switch it up with some creative DIY alternatives.

Early on in my photographic career, I spent literally thousands of hours photographing subjects in front of white walls. This was an incredibly popular look in the 90’s as we moved away from the grey and brown cloudy backdrops of the 1980’s, but times are changing once again as we tire of the stark and clinical look of a pure white backdrop.

This touching portrait reminds us why we should stay at home

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In the current coronavirus situation, it’s important that we stay at home. It’s not easy, I know. But photographer Ray Briggs has created a photo that sends a message we all need to hear right now and reminds us why it is so important to stay at home. They say that a photo is worth a thousand words, and this one sure is!

How to light and shoot portraits of yourself or your family in your home

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There are lots of videos out there on lighting and shooting portraits, but they often show huge studios, with the kind of space that no reasonable person would have available in their home. That observation was pointed out to photographer Nathan Elson on a video he posted shooting self-portraits at his studio. So, he’s made another one, to show how you can use smaller equipment to get a similar look in a small space in your home.

Here are four ideas for shooting modern Christmas portraits at home

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When I think of Christmas portraits, my first thought is a person awkwardly standing in front of a Christmas tree in an ugly sweater. Maybe because all my childhood Christmas photos look like that. But, if you’d like to avoid that, it’s time to get creative and give your Christmas portraits a professional look. In this short and sweet video, Tajreen and Chloe of Tajreen&Co will show you how. With a couple of cheap props and a simple setup, you can take modern, festive portraits even in a small home studio.

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