Lighting Techniques Archives - Digital Photo Pro

February 16, 2021

5 Classic Techniques for Using a Beauty Dish in Portrait Photography

These tried-and-true lighting setups never go out of style

By Dan Havlik

We recently published our guide to the five best beauty dishes you can buy, so we thought it was a good time for a quick refresher course on some classic techniques for using this type of light modifier in portrait photography. In the below video, portrait pro Miguel Quiles shares five ways he uses a beauty dish to take studio-style portraits. While... Read more

February 1, 2021

Try These 5 Quick Lighting Techniques to Give Your Photos Some Spark

Project light through gobos to create head-turning looks for portraits

By Dan Havlik

Lighting tips and techniques come in many forms. Some are elaborate lighting set-ups that require hours of preparation to produce a single look. Other lighting tips are fast, simple to produce, and can help you create several different styles in minutes. Manny Ortiz‘ new lighting tutorial below is of the quick and easy variety. In the video below,... Read more

January 14, 2021

LED Continuous Lights vs Strobe Flashes: Which Is Better for Studio Photography?

LED and strobes have their pro and cons but there's one clear winner when it comes to serious studio shoots

By Dan Havlik

Strobes have long been the primary lighting choice for studio photographers but that’s changing with the advent of better and more powerful LED continuous lighting systems. Thanks to their improved color accuracy, the ability to easily adjust color temperature and brightness on the fly, and their overall ease of use, LED lighting has gotten more... Read more

September 22, 2020

Modern Lighting Solutions

New technology has opened up portrait lighting possibilities

Text & Photography By Tom Bol

For this portrait, I used an ELB 500 in TTL mode with a 53-inch Rotalux Octabox. The flash was set for high-speed sync for 1/800 shutter speed. Nikon Z 7, 35mm F1.8 lens. Exposure 1/800 sec., ƒ/1.8, ISO 100. The photography industry has been rapidly transforming in recent years, and the major focus has been on camera systems. Every year, there are... Read more

October 31, 2018

Portrait Lighting With LEDs

Tips for using constant LED lighting in studio as well as mixing it with natural light (indoors and out)

By William Sawalich

With an Astra Bi-Color LED light as the key, I shifted the light’s output to tungsten while maintaining a daylight white balance in the camera. The result is a warm, glowing sunset look—and it was as easy as turning a dial. One of the biggest changes to occur in lighting technology in recent years has been the introduction—and rapid technological... Read more

October 1, 2018

Lighting Separation Anxiety

Keep the reproduction of your images in mind when shooting stock—or any images—for successful sales

Text & Photography By Mark Edward Harris

I collaborated with photographer Daihezi Ji on a lighting test to show movement yet freeze her in the same frame. I set my camera to rear sync to fire my Profoto B1s at the end of the ½-second exposure with the backdrop/hair light positioned camera right in a silver collapsible beauty dish to provide separation. The keylight, also in a collapsible... Read more

July 9, 2018

Essential Flash

Five reasons why you should never leave your flash at home

Text & Photography By Tom Bol

A Nikon SB-5000 Speedlight and orange gel were used to simulate sunlight on the model’s back and shoulders. Nikon D850, AF-S NIKKOR 85mm ƒ/1.8G, 1/3200 sec., ƒ/1.8, ISO 31 In this day and age of going ultra-lightweight, photographers discriminately minimize their photo kits to the bare essentials. After all, who doesn’t like carrying less weight?... Read more

December 26, 2017

Top Photographers Share Their Lighting Techniques

These professionals have mastered the use of light to create exceptional work, from editorial to sports to wedding photography

By The Editors Of Digital Photo Pro Magazine

These professionals have mastered the use of light to create exceptional work, from editorial to sports to wedding photography. Plus, check out Digital Photo Pro’s Portrait Lighting Essentials Guide. 1. Joe McNally: Master Storyteller The photographer balances creativity with lighting and technical prowess to tell compelling stories with his images.... Read more

October 16, 2017

11 Ways To Improve Your Photographic Lighting

With an understanding of these go-to lighting techniques, you can easily light any scene with dramatic results

The Editors Of Digital Photo Pro Magazine

Grasping good lighting is a lot like understanding the relationship between aperture and shutter speed—it’s confusing up until the moment it clicks, and then every photograph becomes a variation on that idea. These photographic lighting articles present go-to techniques, with some gear recommendations, that are the foundation on which all other... Read more

October 3, 2017

Portrait Lighting Essentials

With these simple lighting techniques, it's possible to master any scene with confidence

The Editors of Digital Photo Pro

The art of portrait lighting is the art of bringing out the essence of an individual—identifying the person’s personality and facial features, and coming up with a lighting scheme that will synchronize with them. Many photographers fall into the habit of using a stock setup for all of their work without consideration of the person they’re... Read more

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