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Entertaining in your backyard can be a great way to enjoy the beautiful weather while spending time with friends and family. Whether you’re hosting a small family gathering or a large neighborhood block party, there are a number of ways to make your backyard a fun and inviting space for entertaining. Here are several: […]
In 2006 I started a lighting blog while working full-time as a staffer at The Baltimore Sun. By early 2007, it became obvious that I didn’t have the personal resources to give 100% to both Strobist and my job at the newspaper. That’s exactly the position I find myself in today. For the past year […]
When lighting with small subjects, a speedlight is generally all you’ll ever need. Further, because of the scale and distances involved, even with a small flash you’ll be working at low power settings. For these photos of some of the resident animals at the Howard County Conservancy, we used a single speedlight generally at one-eighth […]
Apple’s new AirTags are a straight-up gift for photographers. After testing one for the past couple of weeks, I’ll be hiding an AirTag in my scooter, one in my car and another one in my camera bag. What They Are Apple AirTags are tiny little tracking devices that look like an extra-large breath mint and […]
The Paul C. Buff Link monobloc studio strobe ($895.95) delivers 800ws of portable power, and deserves consideration from anyone in the United States who is considering a big gun for use on location. Please note: This is not a full review. There have been several thorough examples already published — most notably this one by […]
Lighting with flash can give you more than just the ability to control the quality of your light. With the inherent consistency of light from (manual) flash, you can layer in slices of time as well. But first, you’ll want to lock down two things: the ambient light portion of your exposure, and your camera’s […]
As we all move into a hopefully much better 2021, here are three things you can do to improve your experience as a photographer for the coming year. Take a Moment to Revisit Your Previous Work Sometimes you’re too deep in the woods to see the forest for the trees. Like when your spouse borrows […]
Quick, guess the lighting. If you said two lights, and use of high-speed sync to get the shallow depth of field, that’s a pretty good guess. If you said zero lights and a rigid high-efficiency reflector, that’s an even better (and correct) guess. When working with an inexperienced assistant — or looking to introduce someone […]
At first glance: a simple, one-light portrait of activist gardener Janssen Evelyn. Dig deeper: a look at tonal mapping via specular highlights, stretching the range of your modestly powered flash, and how to discover your next project. My summer project this year was a series of portraits to help mark the 30th anniversary of […]
There are two main schools of thought when it comes to lighting. One is to light your subject in a way that is not grounded in reality but merely looks cool. And the other is to use lighting to translate the way your eye sees light into a way that your camera can better understand […]