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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 ...
Six year old Jess in red coat poses with Halloween pumpkin

How Jess Became Red Riding Hood | Halloween Portrait Photography Ideas

Some of the best halloween portrait photography ideas aren't planned at all. They just happen when the right person walks ...
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 curly hair surrounded by dramatic smoke effect portrait studio

Using The PMI Smoke Ninja Dry Ice Nozzle For Portraits

I love the dry ice nozzle for the PMI Smoke Ninja. What it does, essentially, is cool the smoke as ...
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 ...
Black and white portrait of a sleepy Cocker Spaniel puppy with eyes closed

Backstory: Sleepy Pup

Let me tell you about this picture of Bond, who at the time I photographed him was one of the ...
10,000 Hours of Practice

10,000 Hours of Practice

You've all heard the quote that 10,000 hours of practice is what's needed to become good at something. Well, there ...
Kinga posing in fairy light portrait photography with colorful spiral lights

Fairy Light Photography

If you're looking for something festive at this time of year, here's a lovely idea to try. Take a string ...
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 ...

Paul