Lighting How To

Now that the days are getting longer and summer is barely two weeks away photographers are spending more time outdoors, often shooting under less than ideal light. In the video below portrait photographer Manny Ortiz demonstrates how to take amazing portraits in high-contrast situations when the sun is high in the sky.

Everyone loves to shoot outdoor portraits with natural light, but sometimes the sun and clouds simply don’t cooperate. For those of you who can’t afford expensive lighting gear to save the day, there’s a cheap and effective solution that works wonders in a variety of situations.

Some photographers are a bit intimidated by using off-camera flash outdoors, especially if they do most of their shooting with available light. If this sounds familiar, watch the five-minute video below and learn how to easily improve your portraiture in the field.

Commercial photographer Lou Freeman specializes in fashion/glamour work and in the 4-minute video below she shows you how to make great outdoor portraits in direct sunlight.

Don’t be confused by the diminutive size of the new Fotodiox Pro PopSpot LED Fresnel light. While it’s barely the size of a soda can, this little powerhouse packs plenty of punch, runs on AC or battery power, and unlike other Fresnel lights never gets hot.

Daniel Norton is a NY-based photographer with a celebrated career in portraiture and fashion photography. He’s also a respected educator, and in the video below he illustrates a quick and simple setup for shooting portraits at home or on location.

Matthew Jordan Smith is a expert portrait shooter who has photographed some of the world’s most famous people in the U.S. and abroad. In the video below he explains how to make great portraits of women using a single light and an inexpensive white poster board.