Q&A: Avoiding Cross Shadows When Rim-Lighting

Strobist reader Ed Roper asks:

I've been using a three-light setup, but running into a pesky shadow problem. Below is an example setup shot with the shadows highlighted. As you can see, I'm already using grids to try to cut down on the spill.

Are these cross shadows just a fact of life when trying to wrap full body like this?

The good news, Ed, is that you have exactly the light mods you need to do this well. And the fix is easy… Read more »

Bjorn Stopped By the House on the Way Home…

I first met photographer / retoucher Bjorn Holland in London a few years ago, just before he was to head out on a little motorcycle ride. Eighty thousand miles later, he stopped by my house for a visit on the last leg of his round-the-world trip.

Given that he did not have an official portrait from the journey, we decided to fix that with a trio of speedlights -- and one very big light mod… Read more »

If You Build This Fulgurator-on-the-Cheap, Use it for Good

I totally missed this on DIYPhotography.net until Alim Kassim clued me via Twitter.

A little bit of quick and easy DIY (and ball bungees!) turns an old film camera into a focusing strobe projector. You can actually buy these things for some models of big lights, but they will cost you some serious coin.

I'd probably use one differently than did the photog on DIYP. Like maybe painting numbers or something three-dimensionally onto someone's face or something. Great idea to keep in the back pocket, tho.

If it looks familiar, it is a simplified version of the "Image Fulgurator" created by photographer Julius von Bismark. But he used his for public mischief...

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And Now, Your NSFW Underwear Shoot BTS Video of the Day

Okay folks, we try to keep it reasonably family friendly here at Strobist. But every now and then something comes along that pretty much says, "Run me."

The video beyond the jump is NSFW-ish. As in there are nekkid people involved. You don't wanna see? Then don't click. Read more »

Michael Kelley: Two-Speedlight Architectural Photography

Photos ©Michael Kelley

Two years ago, Los Angeles-based architectural photographer Mike Kelley was 21 years old and working retail for $8.25 an hour. Today, he shoots images like the one above -- using just two Canon speedlights.

Health Warning: If you were one of the "yeah, but is it photography?" purists who hated on the Lionel Messi post, this piece will probably give you an aneurysm… Read more »

Nikon Announces Nikon 1 Mirrorless Cameras

...with a proprietary hot shoe. Oh, and a teeny tiny chip, too. It'll take your DSLR lenses, with only a 2.7x crop factor.

Really, Nikon? Clearly this thing is not a replacement for a DSLR. But what does it compete with? I use an iPhone (and a Canon G-series) for everything else.

Really hard to understand what they were thinking on this. My thoughts pretty much echo those of Charlie Sorrel at Gadget Lab.

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BC3 Assignment #4: 36 Hours

Welcome to the final -- and most difficult -- assignment for Boot Camp 3.

This one will be more involved than the other three, but the prizes have been amped up to reflect that. And I can honestly say that I do not know a single editorial photographer who would not be happy to receive this exact assignment. Read more »

Choosing Extension Cords for Plug-In Strobes

Before considering an expensive battery pack or generator for your big lights, don't overlook the obvious. Extension cords are a cheap and reliable way to get power to your studio strobes.

A couple hundred feet of power cable and a little advance scouting will solve the vast majority of your location needs. But be careful not to skimp. Here's how to choose a good extension cord for your strobes. Read more »

On Assignment: Stephanie Barnes

Shooting against sunset usually looks pretty good, even with just one light. So much so, that can keep you from experimenting with that second or third light that can give your photos more texture and depth.

Most of my sunset photos lately seem to be done with two lights, one for shape and one for detail. But the third light added to the photo of soprano Stephanie Barnes above was a great help, and will definitely affect the way I shoot portraits at dusk from now on. Read more »

Andrew Pinkham's Renaissance Pet Portraits

Photos © Andrew Pinkham

It's not often one comes across someone doing interesting photography via the Lolcats website. But that is exactly where I found out about Andrew Pinkham.

Based in Philadelphia, his work occupies a space somewhere between digital portrait photographer and Old Master painter. He is just as comfortable with a Nikon speedlight as he is with turning a photograph into a painterly illustration in post.

An interesting destination, to be sure. But how does someone go about arriving at a style like this? Read more »

Boot Camp III Assignment #3: Results

Results from Assignment #3, in which you were asked to choose a relatively large object or scene to photograph, and enhance the ambient with one or two small flashes.

Inside, four finals -- two from the U.S., one from Scotland and another from Malaysia. Read more »

A Master Class in Messi Lighting

(Photo ©Gary Land)



At only 24 years old, Lionel Messi is the best soccer player in the world, period. Anyone who tells you different (save it for the comments, folks) is probably biased toward some Messi-less team.



Photographer Gary Land photographed him for an Adidas shoe campaign, using seemingly every light mod in the Profoto catalog. And as you can see in the BTS video below, pretty much every square inch of Mssr. Messi gets its own light -- with the shoes being just a little bit brighter than everything else, of course... Read more »