Lighting Tutorials

LEARN THE BASICS

Start with light. Build from there.

You don't need to understand every lighting term or piece of equipment to get started. These lessons cover the fundamentals you'll use again and again—from building a simple portrait to shaping your light and working outdoors.
START HERE

Simple Headshot Lighting

A straightforward one-light portrait setup that shows how to create a clean, professional headshot without a complicated lighting arrangement.
SHAPE THE LIGHT

How Swapping Modifiers Changes Your Light

See how changing the modifier changes the character of the light, giving you a practical feel for softness, spread, and control.
ONE LIGHT

Simple Maternity Portraits Using One Light

A real-world example of building a flattering maternity portrait with a single light, showing how much you can accomplish without a complicated setup.
SHAPE THE LOOK

Adding Color to Rembrandt Lighting

Start with a classic portrait lighting pattern and see how adding color changes the mood and separation of the image.
WORK OFF CAMERA

How To Use Off-Camera Flash with Film

A practical look at getting the flash off the camera and controlling its direction instead of relying on straight-on light.
TAKE IT OUTSIDE

Outdoor HSS with Ryan Sims

See how high-speed sync can be used outdoors to balance flash with daylight and create portraits with more control over the background.
ADVANCED & CREATIVE

Go beyond the basics.

Once you understand the fundamentals, lighting gets much more interesting. Explore creative ways to shape mood, build a scene, freeze motion, and use light as part of the image.
DRAMA

Dramatic Backlighting

Explore what happens when the light comes from behind your subject, using placement and exposure to create separation, atmosphere, and drama.
BOLD LIGHT

Bold Lighting Setups

Push beyond conventional portrait lighting with stronger direction, contrast, and deliberate shadow to create a more graphic image.
MOOD

Moody Lighting and Shadows

Use controlled light and shadow to create atmosphere, depth, and a mood that becomes part of the photograph.
BUILD A SCENE

Making a Scene

Go beyond lighting the subject and start lighting the environment, building a complete scene where the light helps tell the story.
EXPERIMENT

Light Painting with Ryan Sims

Use a moving light source during the exposure to create an image that would be difficult to produce with conventional lighting alone.
FREEZE MOTION

Einstein Action Mode

See how extremely short flash durations can freeze fast movement, opening up possibilities for action, dance, sports, and creative motion work.

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