While shooting portraits at the beach can be great fun, harsh lighting from the direct sunlight can result in blown-out highlights, distracting shadows, or squinting from your model. This lesson will show a technique that we like to use fo ...

The FlexDrop is a fast and easy backdrop you can take anywhere. Even outside the reversible chroma-key green/blue fabric prevents light from coming through and contaminating your shot. Here we'll show you an example of using the Flex Drop ...

This lesson shows a very effective method for shooting a full-length fashion shot in the studio using strobe lights and large soft boxes. This shot was lit with a 5-foot OctoDome3 and strobe as the main light, a large LiteDome and strob ...

The main problem with using an on-camera flash is the same as using the built-in flash, the light goes straight at the subject and flattens features and can cause red-eye. With an on-camera flash you almost always want to use a diffuser if sh ...

Hi and welcome to this edition of Workshop at the Ranch. When I get excited about a piece of equipment that allows me to make better pictures I want to tell everyone all about it and how to use it. This long and detailed Workshop at the Ranch ...

"The physical law of light states that "the angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence". The angle of incidence is the angle that light is striking a surface. The angle of reflection is the angle that the light is reflected, or bo ...

Are you happy with color in your photos? This is ultimately the driving force behind color management for most people. If you take photos with your camera, print them, give them to friends and family, and everyone thinks they look great, you ...

So, we already know that direct flash from your built-in flash gives unflattering results, to say the least. Using your speedlight in the same way won’t change much. I did mention that you can redirect the light by rotating the head of your f ...

The first thing you have to ask yourself before choosing the flash setting for your umbrella is, how big do you want your light source to be? But before we get to that, let's make sure we all know what we mean by "zoom setting." Re ...

"When shooting portraits outdoors, it is often necessary to control or modify the natural light in order to achieve the most flattering results. In a high contrast, outdoor lighting situation, many photographers resort to using fill flash to ...

How to create the high key image outdoors 1. Set up a white diffuser or diffusion panel behind your subject like a backdrop. (Make sure the sun is behind diffuser but not necessarily low in the sky) 2. Set up a second diffuser above you ...

"Have you ever sat down to a plate of food and thought, "This would make a great photograph"? When the food, setting and lighting all come together, the combination can make for a beautiful scene worth photographing. Some photographers are so ...

In the world of fashion and high-end portrait photography, lighting is the key to professional-looking images. Having the ability to control the light that falls on your subject allows you many different ways of expressing an idea photographi ...

If you are a photographer and using flash (either for studio pictures or for outdoor shooting), you are probably aware of the problems that a hot-shoe flash introduces: the shadows of an object are crisp-sharp, creating an artificial look to ...

"It's almost a magician's art: giving form to an object that's essentially invisible. Lighting and photographing clear glass objects and giving them real visual appeal is one of the hardest tasks you'll ever face in a studio." "How's i ...