Julie Powell is a photographer, writer and educator, offers unique photographic opportunities and inspirational ideas to help YOU become the photographer you wish to be.
All in Lighting
I recently posted how I got the shot of these yummy chocolate brownies. While I had everything set up, I figured I would replicate the shot without all the high-tech gear, just some simple lights and my mobile phone.
Simple can be good. In this modern age of gizmos and gadgets, where you need to figure out what’s what, the Adaptalux studio lighting kit is a welcome bit of gear. Out of the box, it has no complex menus, it just works. You can adjust the beam and the brightness. While it looks a little alien-like, it’s a fantastic LED light source for macro and product photography. Let’s have a closer look!
Have you ever really stopped and looked at what’s out your front door? Or even your backdoor? Without ever leaving your property, sometimes it’s worth having a second look at what marvels you have. And not just for macro photography either.
Sometimes when working with natural light, you can’t always get the most flattering image, especially when it comes to food photography. That’s where using a supplemental speed light can help dramatically.
Depending on where you live it’s either Spring or Fall. Either way, chances are you’re bound to have a few days that the weather is just miserable and you really don’t feel like leaving the house and having a photography adventure. But don’t let that bring you down, why not make the most of the dreary weather and have an indoor photography adventure?
I put together exactly how I got the shot with this cool gel lighting set up in the studio with LED Light panels.
I put together exactly HOW I got the shot with this cool coffee setup in the studio with a single speed light.
Stunning food photography in natural window light is a quick and cost-effective way to capture gorgeous food images.
I put together exactly HOW I got the shot of these beautiful red tulips in the studio with my strobe lights.
Here’s a funny thing, some photographers will ONLY use natural light, claiming they don’t NEED artificial light … while some studio photographers claim they ONLY use artificial light.
There are lots of different lighting styles out there to choose from, but when it comes to simple, beautiful portraits, it's hard to go past clamshell lighting.
Occasionally I do like to capture some of the action in the studio with High-Speed Sync (HSS). But what is HSS?
Let's have a little look at photographing flowers and other things with a flash outdoors. Using a low power flash is actually very handy.
There is no secret to the fact that I adore photographing flowers, almost as much as people. Flowers are often easier subjects, they don't move (unless it's windy) and will stand or sit for hours, indeed days, without complaint. But when it's dark or very overcast, capturing beautiful flowers can be a little tricky. This is where using a flash, especially indoors really can be just a touch of magic.
Learn how to quickly and easily turn your flash or speedlight from zero to hero with these mini-tutorials.
Halloween is just around the corner, sadly I won't get all my planned shoots in this year. So I thought I would have a look at some previous Halloween shoots and have some fun with the edits. Like editing lighting to a creepy scene in Luminar
Create three moody, artistic and dramatic lighting setups with a single speedlight and a small diffuser in the studio.
When I picked up my first Speed Light I was daunted and couldn't seem to get things to work. So I put together a little introduction video on how they work
It's easy to become complacent when it comes to studio lighting, so here are three two-light setups that work on any portrait shoot.
Look at pretty much any of my previous articles and I will tell you natural light is great for still life photography. And it is. It’s free, it’s beautiful and easy to work with. But…it’s not always available. One thing I have learnt over the last 18 months is you need to be flexible. So how to shoot still life with studio strobes if that’s all you have available?
