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How to shoot stylized beauty portraits with just one light and a reflector

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Keeping the amount of kit you use at a low level can sometimes be down to simply a lack of availability. But it could also be that you’re simply limited in what you’re able to carry with you to shoot at a client’s location. Or, maybe you just want to bring things right back down to the bare minimum to really understand light and how your gear works.

Whatever the reason, Lindsay Adler is here to help. Using just a single strobe with a big softbox and a big reflector (in this case, a white v-flat) she creates a very effective and dramatic portrait. That’s the key word here, though. Big. Big light sources produce beautiful light for portraits as Lindsay demonstrates in this shot breakdown.

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How to create clean simple product shots with just one light and a bit of AI

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Have you ever wondered how you can create high-quality product shots using just one speed light? Dustin Dolby from Workphlo show us how to do just that in his latest video, and it is really very simple. I’m a huge fan of using minimal gear if you can, and I love to use just one light source when possible. As you can see from Dustin’s final images you can create a very solid looking e-commerce type image with this method.

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Follow these three tips to create dramatic portrait lighting with a single light

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Lighting is one of the key elements in photography. It can make it or break it, and it adds a lot to the story you want to tell with your image. In this video, Adorama teams up with Emily Teague who talks about the use of dramatic lighting in portraits. She tells you about how to use it, and gives you a lighting demo to show you her simple setup for dramatic, moody portraits.

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Use this simple setup for gorgeous one-light portraits

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While using one light for portraits is quite a simple approach, there are many ways in which you can use it. A single light lets you create all kinds of different setups, and Jiggie Alejandrino shows you one of them in his video. It’s a simple setup that will give you nice, flattering portrait light, and it will work great in a small studio space. Also, you can create it on a relatively small budget.

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Check out this amazing one-light portrait setup you’ve probably never even considered

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Portrait photographer Jiggie Alejandrino is a big fan of shooting with just a single light for portraits. He’s already shown us some pretty cool and dramatic one-light setups in the last few months. But now he’s back with a very interesting setup that most of have probably never even considered. And that’s bringing the softbox overhead pointing straight down.

It’s certainly not something I’ve usually considered. At least, not for portraits. It’s a technique I use often for small products to simulate a big cloudy sky, but with larger subjects like people, that cast some pretty obvious shadows, how well does it work? Well, looking at Jiggie’s demonstration, it works pretty well!

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Watch these four awesome one-light portrait setups in just 10 minutes

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Most of us end up getting so bogged down with gear at some point that it can be difficult to choose exactly what gear we’re going to want to take to a session – especially when it comes to lighting. I’m sure I’m not the only one whose bags are comprised of 20% gear we’ll use and 80% “just in case” gear that we hardly ever use.

Sometimes, though, it’s nice to bring it down to the bare basics, carry less gear, and keep things simple with just one light. And for those just starting out, perhaps one light is all you may have. But fear not! In this video, photographer John Gress walks us through four very effective lighting setups that each use only a single light.

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How to turn one light into several for dramatic black and white portraits

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When it comes to using just a single light source in the studio, there is a lot of great content out there, and we’ve covered some of it here on DIYP before. Often, when you want one light to look like several, though, you usually need to think about multiple shots and compositing in post – whether it be for stills or video. But you don’t have to.

Photographer Jiggie Alejandrino recently showed us one way to shoot dramatic portraits with just one light but now he’s back again with a new tutorial. This one adds even more drama and produces some very impressive results that most people would guess used at least two or three lights. But nope, he just uses one speedlight for these.

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How to photograph artwork like a pro with just one light

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Scanning artwork certainly has its advantages, but it also has its limitations. Brushstrokes can benefit from a more unidirectional light source. Photographing in a controlled environment allows for fine-tuning of texture and shadows.

Until the past few years, photographing artwork required either a larger sensor or stitching together multiple shots to get printable resolution. With the advent of pixel shift technology in full frame cameras, medium and some larger artwork can be reproduced allowing for better workflow and hence, better value.

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These are the best and the worst ways to use a single-light setup

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Although a single light doesn’t seem like much, there’s a lot you can do with it. From some more traditional setups to unusual horror setups, a single light can really be extremely versatile. In this video, Manny Ortiz will show you the best, but also the worst ways for using a single-light setup in only three minutes.

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