Create natural-looking portraits with Jason Lanier

Even in the midst of teaching, Rotolight Master of Light, Jason Lanier, isn't one to shy away from fun themed shoots, intriguing locations and quirky costumes that add visual interest to any shot. Teaching the Georgia Professional Photographers of America, Jason shot inside of an empty swimming pool; playing on the nautical theme with an elegant vintage gown straight from the Age of Discovery.

Shooting using the Rotolight AEOS inside of a seven-foot parabolic umbrella and bringing in a reflector when needed, Jason was able to tune the colour temperature of the continuous light to blend seamlessly with the daylight coming through the windows. Whilst the parabolic softened the light's output, Jason emphasised the importance of not overlighting the shot with the AEOS' modelling light at just 45%. It's all about balance, says Jason. Pulling down the brightness of the artificial light to match the ambient light helps to bring everything into exposure. The light weight of the AEOS at just 1.4kg meant that even with the parabolic umbrella, it was easy to manoeuvre around the set, whilst excellent battery performance means you can shoot for up to two hours on just a single 95 w/h v-lock battery.

Although the pool ladder enabled the model, Christen, to create some great, interesting poses, props like this can cause trouble if you're not using the right gear. If I were using strobes in here with this ladder, it would catch a very strong shadow, but with continuous lighting I'm getting lovely soft shadows. Jason says. This type of lighting doesn't just flatter my model; it flatters the entire environment and looks really natural. This is the way that Hollywood lights.

I've been shooting with the Canon EOS R, and mirrorless systems really do pair perfectly with continuous LEDs, Jason continues. You don't need to be using a light meter, you can shoot exactly what you see. Rotolight's continuous lighting is accessible, quick and easy to use; ready to go at the touch of a button and simply adjusted with two dials. As well as a powerful continuous output, all of Rotolight's LEDs offer High Speed Sync flash capabilities for when you need that extra power to freeze action.

Want to see first-hand how Jason uses Rotolight LED lighting to create beautiful results? Well don't miss Jason's special East Coast Master Your Lighting Tour! Dates for the West Coast, South Africa & Dubai are coming soon, so keep your eyes peeled for more information.

LINK:	https://www.rotolight.com/create-natural-looking-portraits-jason-lanie...
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