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Lighting setup: Textured fashion lighting with coloured gels

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I spent many, many years working in a busy studio that focused on quantity over quality. As photographers working there, we did our best to push back against this where we could, but sometimes you only had 20-30 minutes with a client to achieve a handful of different looks and sadly this invariably led to you often reverting to the simplistic, yet professional looking white background shots out of necessity.

It was ultimately the repetitive nature of this white background work that spawned my gelled lighting that many of you know today. It really was a simple case of ‘shoot something different or go mad!’.

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Here is how to fix five most common studio portrait lighting mistakes

If you’re just starting out with studio portrait photography, that’s really exciting! Still, things can get a little overwhelming since there’s a lot to learn. In this video, Kayleigh June guides you through five common mistakes beginners make when shooting portraits with studio lights. And more importantly – she helps you learn how to avoid them.

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Use this simple two-light setup for gorgeous and consistent portrait lighting

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When shooting portraits in a studio with artificial lighting, the possibilities are endless. But if you’re looking for something simple, beginner-friendly, yet very effective, look no further. In this video, Manny Ortiz shows you one of his favorite beauty lighting setups. It uses two lights, a single light stand, and gives you beautiful and consistent lighting in every shot.

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Ring light: You’re using it wrong

At some point during the history of the influencer, the ring light became an accessory de rigueur, fueled by the availability of cheap Chinese-made devices. The original ring light was invented for dentistry by Lester A. Dine in 1952 because of its ability to cast an even light with diffuse shadows in a confined space. An ideal solution for photographing teeth and gums.

The same concept can be found in make-up mirrors, which surround a magnifying mirror with a ring of light. This combination provides a pleasing contrast to overhead lighting that tends to exaggerate lines, wrinkles, and sunken eyes. The advantage of a circular design is that the subject is equidistant from the light source, providing even illumination.

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Lighting setup: Classic editorial portrait lighting

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There will always be ‘classics’ in any industry. Sure these classics may not turn heads or make the headlines and they may even take a dip in popularity for a while, but these ‘classics’ will always be a timeless safe bet.

Fashion has its ‘little black dress’ and ‘tan trench coat’, cooking has its lasagne, burger, pizza, and many, many more. They’re always going to be winners in most peoples eyes and they’re as popular today as they were years ago, plus they will undoubtedly be popular for many years to come.

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Five portrait lighting patterns you need to learn

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It seems that there are always things we “need” to learn when it comes to shooting certain genres of photography. And while many of them for a lot of genres do boil down to personal taste, when it comes to portraits, there are some things that you need to know and understand, like lighting techniques – even if you don’t use all of them all of the time.

In this video, photographer Hannah Couzens shows us five different popular portrait lighting styles that every portrait photographer should really know and understand. She also demonstrates them using both hard and soft light, so that you can see how the light actually hits the subject and how to make it more visually pleasing.

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4 steps every photographer should know to master strobe and sunlight

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Today I’m out here with Chanda AM, and Chanda will help me illustrate how to balance ambient light with strobes. I love shooting in this situation with ambient light and strobe light. I want to be able to combine the ambient light here in this beautiful area with strobes. So the way I generally do this is:

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Light, shadow, highlight: A guide to window light portraits

Window light portraits are something we all can do from the comfort of our own homes, Its quite amazing during this time of lockdown, actually having the time to observe the light around the home at different times during the day and how it can transform a room as the sun pops out from behind the clouds, so what a perfect time to learn and practice lighting during this downtime.

Using a family member, ornament or one of those polystyrene heads and spending time watching how the light falls on the subject and by turning the subject and seeing how that effects the light and shadows is priceless and the perfect way to understand lighting in our portraiture.

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How to create a classic three-light beauty portrait lighting setup

The three light setup has been a staple of portrait photographers for decades. There isn’t just one three light setup, though, there are several, with some slight variations, which can change the mood dramatically. In this photo, photographer Rob Hall used his three lights with various modifiers to create this portrait, and he’s shared with DIYP how he set them up in order to get it.

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