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How to shoot atmospheric photos of glass with just a couple of speedlights

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Photographing glass can be a very tricky topic if you don’t know how to approach it. It doesn’t react to light the way that most of the subjects we shoot do, because there’s really nothing to actually light. It’s all about the lit objects that reflect off it or refract through it.

You don’t need a lot of fancy gear to photograph glass, though, and in this video from Dustin at Workphlo, we see how we can photograph glass with a very simple setup utilising just a couple of speedlights, a small strip softbox and a diffuser.

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This video helps you master five primary lighting patterns in under ten minutes

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If you’re new to portrait photography, basic lighting patterns are a very useful thing to master. But if you want to use them efficiently, it’s not just about knowing how to create them, but also why. In this video from Adorama, Pye Jirsa explains primary key light patterns: how to create them, but also the purpose behind each of them. They work for studio light as well as natural light, so I believe many of you will find this video useful.

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Take a look behind the scenes at the amazing cinematography of HBO’s “Chernobyl”

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HBO’s series Chernobyl took the world by the storm shortly after it was first aired, and if you ask me, it’s no surprise. With the eerie atmosphere and sound effects, moving true stories, marvelous cinematography and directing – this is a series that leaves no one indifferent. Indy Mogul’s Ted Sim had a chat with Chernobyl’s cinematographer Jakob Ihre. In this fantastic video, they take you behind the scenes of this marvelous TV series and break down some of the iconic scenes.

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How to create the “Corona” lighting effect on your subjects

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I’m just gonna come clean here and say that I just made up the name ‘corona’ for this lighting setup. In fact, the word corona is a commonly used term with solar eclipses. During an eclipse, we can often see the moon silhouetted against a ring of light and the word corona is often used to describe that halo of light we see around the moon.

As we explain this lighting, my reasoning for calling this setup ‘corona’, should start to make a bit more sense because we are actually trying to achieve a similar lighting eclipse look by adding a ring of light around our subject.

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Photographers, don’t miss out on these lighting deals, ending on Saturday

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If you’re looking for a new speedlight, modifier, a transmitter, or even studio accessories – now’s the perfect time to visit B&H. There are plenty of items on a discount, especially Godox flashes, and some of these deals could save you over $100. If you order a few items… well, it adds up! I guess Black Friday came early at B&H, so check out the offer and see if there’s something for you.

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Rosco’s MIXBOOK is the “world’s first” digital gel swatchbook

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Gel and lighting manufacturer Rosco has released the MIXBOOK. They say that it is the “world’s first digital swatchbook”. If you don’t know what swatchbooks are, the physical Rosco gel swatchbooks are essentially sample books of the different gels and materials that Rosco makes.

But as LED lighting has become more popular, and particularly coloured LEDs, demands have changed. Rosco’s MIXBOOK digital swatchbook is essentially the digital LED equivalent of the original gel swatchbooks. It’s a handheld LED unit (although it has a 1/4-20″ socket, too) that can create just about any colour of light you can imagine.

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Adaptalux expands its macro lighting range with new Xenon Flash Arm units

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Adaptalux was launched through Kickstarter back in 2015, just creeping past its £100,000 goal. It was a new way to light macro easily with flexible magnetic arms and LED lights that you could get in close to your subject from all angles. LEDs aren’t typically all that bright, though, even when very close. So now, Adaptalux has announced new xenon flash lighting arms, compatible with the existing system.

They’ve taken to Kickstarter again to launch the new flash units. They’re backwards compatible with the previous modular “pods”, retain the same flexible functionality as the LED heads, and they can be controlled via a mobile app for Android or iOS.

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The DOP Choice Universal Snapbag is a softbox you can mount to any light with barndoors

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There are a lot of LED panels out there these days with no real access to add modifiers. Sure, there are some that are Bowens mount that let you use the same sorts of things you’d use with strobes, but for panels, not so much. There are also a lot of Fresnels out there, that can be a pain to attach softboxes to as well. DOP Choice’s Universal Snapbag solves that problem by attaching directly to the barndoors on the front of the light. We spoke with DOP Choice at IBC 2019 to find out more.

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Halloween is coming – Use these lighting tips to plan your spooky photo shoot

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Ok, so, we’re in the latter half of September. I think that means it’s ok to start talking about Halloween now. Christmas is still definitely off-limits, but Halloween? Yeah, I think we’re good. And you know what that means. Spooky photoshoots!

This video from the folks at Aputure goes over how to create suspense in your film with lighting. But the tricks and principles contained within it apply just as equally to shooting photos, too.

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Here are 17 light modifiers compared and how they affect your portraits

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No matter what kind of photography you prefer, there are so many light modifiers to choose from and give your photos the look you want. A wide choice is a great thing, but it can also be confusing. To help you out, Scott Choucino has compared as many as 17 of light modifiers in his studio. So, let’s see in his video how different light modifiers work and how they affect your images.

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