Portrait Photography How To

Some photographers shy away from portraiture because they believe this form of photography requires a sophisticated studio with a lot of expensive lighting gear. But in this quick tutorial photographer Mark Wallace demonstrates how to make compelling portraits in a small room with just one light and a mirror.

Many portrait photographers employ a portable light to boost ambient illumination and fill in shadows when shooting outdoors. In the four-minute video below you’ll see how simple diffusion panels can modify the quality of light and give you exactly the look you’re after.

Back in the “old days” of film photography, soft-focus portraits were either achieved using lenses that were not nearly as sharp as those we have today, or with more invasive measures like scratching the front element of a lens. 

Portrait lighting can be an art form in and of itself. But in the quick tutorial below you’ll learn how to create dramatic portraits using nothing more than two basic off-camera speedlights and some simple adjustments.

It’s July 5^th and a lot of folks in the U.S. are just coming back to work after celebrating Independence Day. And yes, it’s been hard to concentrate today after downing hotdogs and cold beer and watching fireworks explode over our heads the night before. So why not watch a fun photography video to lighten the back-to-work doldrums?

Now that we’re officially in the throes of summer, there’s a good chance you may confront the challenge of making a decent photograph of someone with a serious case of sunburn. You can take the sting out of this task by watching the simple Photoshop tutorial below.

A tutorial we shared yesterday suggested that one way to increase your creativity is to ignore focal length rules and “think differently” when choosing a lens for various types of photography. In the video below, photographer/educator Mark Wallace demonstrates why there’s more than one perfect lens for portraiture.