Articles By Topic

Black and white two light portrait setup featuring model Lizzie on dark background

How I Build a Studio Portrait From Scratch

Two lights, a roll of black paper and a portrait built from scratch: here's how I light a moody studio ...
Black and white two light portrait setup featuring model Lizzie on dark background

Two Lights And A Kiss – A Moody Portrait On Black Paper

Pattern: Short side lighting from a big soft source, with a gridded kiss light coming back from behind. Mood: Dark ...
Photographer demonstrating understanding continuous light techniques in a studio setting

Seeing Light Differently: An Evening Exploring Continuous Light

There’s a common misconception in portrait photography that better photographs come from buying better lights. Spend enough money on the ...
Woman with long hair posing on stool in natural movement portrait photography

Photographing Natural Movement – Play With Hair

Photographing Natural Movement As a portrait photographer, I'm always looking for moments that look great but are also really natural ...
A portrait of a woman with long hair, featuring clamshell lighting setup.

Clamshell Lighting Setup For Portraits

A few people have asked about the next steps for setting up clamshell lighting. This technique involves using two lights ...
Ordinary to Extraordinary: Portraits in Crappy Locations (The Societies Convention)

Ordinary to Extraordinary: Portraits in Crappy Locations (The Societies Convention)

There's a special kind of location photographers know all too well. Not a "location", really. More a "this will do" ...
Katherine: Curls, Coat & Catchlights

Katherine: Curls, Coat & Catchlights

This was part of a commission for the Sassy hair styling team. The brief was to create images for PR, ...
Portrait Composition

Portrait Composition

Discover the art and science of posing with practical insights and approachable techniques to make your subjects feel comfortable and ...
Woman holding sword surrounded by dramatic blue smoke cloud in studio

Video | How I Use Smoke for Drama, Depth, and a Bit of Magic

Discover how I use smoke in my portraits to add drama, depth, and a bit of magic. This article shares ...
Low camera angle portrait of woman in black quilted jacket and mirrored sunglasses

Katalyn, Sunglasses, and the Power of a Low Camera Angle

Discover how a low camera angle and carefully crafted studio lighting can transform a portrait. Using Katalyn's sunglasses as a ...

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