Strip Lighting Lesson

In this video tutorial Scott Smith shows how to use one light source in a studio for shooting black and white and then color portraits. A strip light is very narrow and soft, it comes from a soft box. It brings very soft shadowing to your photos. He uses black background because it will eat all the light coming in and that way he does not have to worry about reflections. This particular strip soft box has the light flashed back and then reflected to the model. There are other models in which the light comes directly to the model.

Techniques for Better Photography with T1i

If you have a Canon T1i or any other DSLR camera, there basic techniques may be useful when you learn your way in digital photography.

If you have a dark situation, use the exposure compensation and dial it to +2. It will make your subject much brighter. In the opposite situation, dial it to -1 and your photo will be a bit darker.

The same way you can control your flash output power. There are situations when too much flash can make your models flat. In this case, go to the menu and dial the flash compensation to -2.

If you want to make the background out of focus, just switch to Av (Aperture priority) mode and dial the smallest figure possible for your lens (2.8 or 3.5 or ...).

It is also a very effective technique to use a white card to lighten your model's face by reflecting sun or sky light back to the face.

Top 10 Tips for Digital Photographers

Rick Sammon shares very useful tips that help you make better photographs. Tips like:

1. Learn how to see the light, the light quality, the shadows and highlights learn how to use the exposure compensation to set the correct exposure;


2. Try to create a sense of depth and dimension in your images (choose the right composition);


3. Take a hike/walk when on location to find the best angle, view;


4. Always look down, up and back;


5. Aim at telling the whole story by taking wide angle shots, medium shots, vertical and horizontal shots (shoot closer and look for details);


6. Frame your photo;


7. Beware of background, it can break your picture;


8. Fill the frame;


9. Shoot in RAW and you will have much more flexibility in post processing of your image;


10. Envision the end result, try to foresee what you will do with the photo in post processing.

All rules are not fixed and they are meant to be broken if it serves your plan.