Taking full-length portraits in the studio needs to pay careful attention to the lighting as the studio lacks natural lights. As such, a considerable amount of light source is needed. This requirement is often met by using large soft boxes having dimension of up to 7-foot so as to cover the full length of person. This is the most convenient method. However there are other ways to achieve the same results without using a single large soft box. One other possible method is to use two 3-foot medium soft boxes.

Since the soft boxes come with its own stand, in order to illuminate the full person, you can position one soft box on top of the other. This can be achieved by adjusting the stand of the soft box. An advantage of having two soft boxes is flexibility. If some of your model are kids having height of up to 3-foot, you can use one soft box. If they are adults, then use two boxes. Your overall investment cost is lower as well, as you do not need to invest in the large and small soft boxes.

To create a good studio portrait, you need another two gadgets. They are the reflector and the silver umbrella. One possible set-up for the three gadgets is as follows.

Firstly, set up the two soft boxes (one above the other as described above) at about a 45 degree angle to the left of the model. Next, positioned the reflector to the right and in front of the model. And finally, aim the umbrella at the model from the right and slightly behind the model.

With the reflector positioned at the front of the model, it will reflect light into the shadow areas and make the lighting more even and this will reduced the contrast as well. With the umbrella aimed at the model from the right and slightly behind the model, it helps to create a beautiful rim light on the model while some of the light still reached the background, thereby creating a more dramatic result.

The above method is by no means the best method of photographing a studio portrait. It is one of the methods that are used successfully to produce satisfying result. Try it yourself and see if you like the result.

Other possible method is to position the reflector behind and to the right of the model. The reflection will produced a nice outline around the right edge of the model which helps to separate her shadowed side from the dark background. Otherwise, the model’s right side will merged with the shadow.

Another possible position of the silver umbrella is, you can aim it towards the center of the background. This will create a bright spot behind the model thereby creating a greater sense of depth. Since the umbrella can produced a fairly wide spread of light, it adds to the rim light of the model.

With the main source of light in placed (the soft boxes), by positioning the reflector and the silver umbrella at various locations, you will be able to create stunning studio photography.

As you can see, full-length portrait photography in the studio is neither expensive nor difficult. With the required basic equipment and your willingness to experience, you will be able to achieve your desire effects.

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Advertising photography has evolved over the years and we have seen a steady change in trends in this offshoot of photography. The main reason why we see that change is constant in the styles and types of advertisements is because people change and their preferences change. It is directly related to the evolution of human beings and our standard of living.

Now the question arises, what brings about the change in advertising photography? Is it the technology that is being used for ad making? Or is it the difference in the way the layout is done? Actually both and not just that, there are other changes as well. The most significant and the most important one being the change in technology. Earlier we got the advertisements made through printing press. But now we use digital printers to get the print outs done.

Then there is a stark difference in the layout of advertisements. The use of fonts and the change in designs, the introduction and inclusion of new and more sophisticated fonts have made a lot of difference in the advertising photography of what we had in past and what we have now.

That brings us to another problem – how can someone stay in tune with the current trends? Well, many photographers, especially those who are in advertising photography, stay aware of trends and change in styles by following the current advertisements and particularly those which are shot by well known industry experts. Then some of the magazines and online zines also keep people updated about current trends.

If you are the client and you want to choose a good Advertising photography professional then you would want to select someone who is aware of the times and current trends. Now how would you select a good advertisement photographer? One way is to follow the work of various photographers and the second is to select an efficient person who would understand your product and your target audience better.

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A lot of photographers have been thinking of getting into the fine art of macro photography.

There is a whole world in macro that hasn’t been explored yet and today’s new and modern digitalized equipment is much more flexible and much easier to use in tandem with computer programs.

A lot of amateur photographers ask me to teach them what I know. Here’s a heads up. No one can teach you anything. You are your best teacher providing you follow and listen to your own advice and observations.

Anytime anyone asks me, "how", I in turn ask them, "have you gotten into reading the manual that came with your camera?" I get a lot of blank looks and even a few shocked expressions in return. If you have invested in an expensive gizmo to shoot your best photos with by now you should have noticed there are a lot of these little buttons with their associated symbols on them or near them. Those little buttons were put there to do things that command and cue your camera to do whatever your heart and brain has conceived within the moment.

A lot of you have spent a lot of hard earned dollars on your equipment, yet you haven’t taken the time out to read the manual that came with your camera. Consider the manual as being your roadmap and guide that will help you to memorize all those task specific button functions.

A lot of you are also carrying another heavy load besides your equipment camera bag. It’s called a misconception that’s been founded upon a bag full of self limitations”. Begin emptying your bag of self limiting thoughts and words by ditching the words, "I can’t". Thoughts and words have the power to manifest what is within our minds instead of continually manifesting negative preconceptions why not turn them around into positive ones by thinking, saying and doing things that will turn your life around. (All right, enough of the Zen stuff).

Macro photography takes a lot of practice and you want to get to that point where pressing those little buttons becomes like a habit without having to look at them.

1: Get into the regular habit of pressing the button that commands the camera to adjust itself to steady mode before you take that photo. You will discover that a lot of your Photo Shop and Corel have their limitations when it comes to sharpening a photo that has a lot of blur in it. A macro shot has to be crisp, sharp and free of the blur caused by a too heavy shutter thumb or excessive breathing during a shot. Believe me when I tell you that your breathing during a shot causes your camera to rise and fall ever so slightly and that rising and falling contains just enough movement to add just the right amount of blur to your image that will ruin it. Get into the habit of denying yourself that breath during a shot especially during that critical moment of holding down the shutter half way during the critical “auto” focusing process. You will see the final results when you finally have uploaded your images into your computer to resize them. Remember, the image has to be crisp and sharp and free of blur no matter how large you increase the size of the image.

2: Lighting and composition have to be developed while you are taking the photo. There is nothing that is more drab than a flower that has no atrributes of reflecting the light. If the lighting is minimal pass it up, let it go until the ambient light becomes optimal. It adds life and fire to a photo that would otherwise be flat and non dramatic. You are the artist. You are the director who controls what goes into your camera. You control the final outcome of the shot.

3: If you have taken an exceptionally good shot never be afraid to go back to it to enhance its size and look within your computer. Photography is also about experimentation. Its about pushing your images and your camera to their limits. If it doesn’t look good after you have readjusted the size don’t get discouraged. Go back out there and keep taking those photos until they begin to get better. They will you know, because the old maxim, practice makes perfect comes into play here. Remember that macro photography is all about capturing all those fine little details that can’t be seen with the naked eye.

4: Train yourself to be very critical of your work. Always shoot to get the best photo your camera can give you.

5: Ditch trying to memorize technical jargon. Do work at memorizing your camera’s capabilities by way of its hardware. The best way to do that is to get out there and take lots of photos just to see what those buttons do and how they affect a shot. Take notes if you have to.

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This is an old timers technique used by poor mans photography to create shadow less studio works before strobe lights were available. A film camera would be set on a tripod and the photographer would use a single tungsten light. Lights were turned off in the studio, camera shutter opened and the light pointed at the subject would be waved in an ark resulting in a very subdue soft shadow. In the early days exposures were a bit of trial and error.

I revisited this technique in the late 80s using a flash strobe with a bit of a twist. In almost any environment where studio lights where difficult to place or required too many lights a single flash can exceed your expectations. The only real limitation is a need for a dark space without light.

First set you camera on a tripod and frame your subject. Next determine where you think you would use studio lights to illuminate that same scene. It’s those strategic areas that you believe a studio light is needed that a flash will be popped off. To get a meter reading I use a strobe meter that you can lock the button in to get multiple readings. (I use an inexpensive Gossen Luna-Pro F with the ambient dome over the sensor.) Pop off your flash at each predetermined location at the subject and you will get your f-stop reading.

We’re now ready to paint that object with light. Set the lenses f-stop, turn room lights off and open the camera’s shutter (I usually use the bulb setting with shutter cable). Using a pencil flash light I travel from one spot to the next triggering off my strobe and close the shutter.

There are many variations to painting with light. Once I lit up a whole row of buildings with a Lumdyne flash pack, which is capable of outputting 1200 watt seconds. It was timed at twilight and an assistant was needed. The camera was about a couple hundred yards from the subject. Communicating via radio I asked the assistant to block the lens with a black non-reflective material between flashes.

Recently I used an eight second timed exposure at twilight to capture a home and surrounding environment. Three flashes capture this event as shown with my example.

This technique may take a little practice but once learned you will no longer be limited by studio lights.

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