Lighting How To

It’s one of the eternal debates in photography: which is better, shooting with a flash or with just natural light? Two professional photographers who we have featured on Shutterbug many times recently tried to find in a “Natural Light vs Off Camera Flash Challenge.” The results might surprise you.

Most of us occasionally shoot portraits at home, and in the absence of a real studio rely upon a white wall as the backdrop for our shots. For those on a budget, wouldn’t it be nice to do something more dramatic without spending money on a custom backdrop or fiddling around with Photoshop?

Everyone loves a stunning silhouette, but do you understand how to capture one with precision? If not, stay tuned because that's what you'll learn how to do in this tutorial from the experts at C4 Photo Safaris— a group of guides, photographers and workshop instructors based in Botswana, Africa.

The first thing I did after receiving Flashpoint’s 180 battery-powered monolight was shoot a few tests to get a feel for how well the unit performed. Although impressed, more so than with some other battery-powered units I’ve used, at one point while shooting with a Canon EOS 60D, a BG-E9 battery grip, and an EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens, I thought, “Wow, why is this camera so heavy?” That was when the “Small Monolight/Small Camera” concept was born and I decided to shoot this review using a Micro Four Thirds camera. And why not, so I worked with my Panasonic Lumix G5 for the test.

The first thing most landscape photographers do when arriving at a location is reach into their bag and pull out a favorite wide-angle lens. That's because the perspective these lenses provide enables you to capture breathtaking, expansive vistas.

Your camera's Spot Metering mode is one of the most powerful options at your disposal, yet this transformative setting is often ignored because photographers don't understand how it works. And that's too bad because, when used properly, it's almost impossible to end up with disappointing images that are either too bright or too dark.

One question I’m frequently asked is, “Are you a natural-light photographer or do you use flash?” All too often that query stems from a popular misconception that using supplemental light is too difficult or confusing for mere mortals. As you’ll see in the basic tutorial below, nothing could be further from the truth.