"Do I still create natural light photos? Of course. A good natural light photo can be stunning. This isn't an issue of natural light versus artificial light. This is about being prepared for any situation and for expanding your creativity." - From "Learn Flash Photography - 4 Beginner Skills" by Aaron Taylor Throughout the photography community, there is a certain myth, or aura about flash photography. Many photographers use the "natural light photographer" line when they d

I’m always looking for new ways to streamline my process for assembling my gear, especially my lighting equipment. I’ve become acutely aware that if I don’t get things together quickly, I could miss a moment at a wedding (or other event), leave my clients waiting, or simply just wasting my own time. One thing that has always annoyed me when attaching a speedlight to a light stand is that it felt like I only had a couple of options. One is the typical cold shoe adapter that mo

For many years I considered myself to be a "natural light" photographer. In reality, what that meant was that I simply had not spent the necessary time to get the results I desired from my lighting equipment. A couple of years ago I decided that it was long past time to learn off-camera flash. The image above came out of a practice session with an aspiring model. We decided to meet up and spend some time working on creating different looks. Finding enthusiastic (and pati

"For school portraits, I use a blue and white multicolored mulsin backdrop. It is impossible to iron out all of the wrinkles. Most certainly impossible for me since I honestly don’t know where my iron is and don’t even own an ironing board. I don’t even bother. The backdrop stays balled up in a corner in my at-home studio (aka a small corner in my basement). Here’s why…. with the right lighting and setup, you don’t need to do anything to get the wrinkles out of the backgr