Alex Ventura
fstoppers.com
Spring, TX, United States
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Past articles by Alex:
Which Fresnel Is Right for Your Portrait Photography
Should you add a Fresnel-type light to your collection of gear for portrait photography? Besides looking like a great prop in your shot, is it a light you can use as your main source for photos? If you are interested in using a Fresnel for your portrait work, photographer John Gress shares three different Fresnel units that you can use in your work today. While it's not the → Read More
How to Make a Full Podcast Studio in a Box
Wouldn't it be great if all of your clients and subjects came to you? There are times when you may have to make the trip to them, and if you do podcasts, how easily can you pack up your studio of mics and other gear with you to record on the go? While packing up a complete podcast studio may be doable, how portable is it? How long will it take to set up? If you are looking for → Read More
Tips for Working With a Glamour Model
Depending on where you are at in your photography career and what genre you specialize in, you may not have a lot of experience with models on set. If you are still unsure of how to interact with a model, especially if they are a glamour model, here are some things to keep in mind. I love watching behind-the-scenes videos. I think there's always something you can learn from → Read More
How to Nail the Composition for Different Aspect Ratios
When you are shooting, do you think about what aspect ratio you need your finished shots to be in? Where will the photos go? Will they need to fit multiple aspect ratios for social, web, and other places? Here's a way you can make sure your images are perfect for each final ratio you need. Depending on what you are shooting and your client's needs, you will need to think about → Read More
Customizable Focus Options? Fstoppers Reviews the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III VXD G2 Lens
When considering what lens to buy, there are a few features and technical aspects you should consider to help make your choice. If being able to customize the way your lens focuses is important to you, you will want to check out the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III VXD G2. Before I dive into the focus customization capabilities of the lens, let's that a look at it first. If you are → Read More
Build Your Online Photography Portfolio Faster with Zenfolio
Looking for the best option to build your website or portfolio can be a daunting task with so many options out there. Are you looking for one to share your photos and videos, maybe book your clients directly online, a way to share proofs, sell prints and other products, or is there something else you need on your site? When I looked for a platform to host my digital portfolio, → Read More
Using Window Blinds for Creative Portraits in Studio
When looking for things to add to your list of gear and props for your photography studio, some items may not be as obvious as others. Are windows blinds on your list? Here's how you can use Venetian blinds to add a different look to your portraits. If you happen you have a studio with windows, chances are you have different curtains and blinds. However, if you are in a studio → Read More
Using V-Flats for Background and the Perfect Lighting
Are you looking for an easy way to achieve great lighting with minimal gear? Regardless of whether it's because you are starting off and have to stay within a certain budget or you simply do not want to carry and set up a lot of gear, here's an easy way to get perfect lighting. In this video from V-Flat World, photographer Dani Diamond shares how he uses two of their v-flats → Read More
Basic Lighting Setup for Capturing Catalog Images
Boutiques, clothing brands, and some stores usually require catalog images for their business and e-commerce websites. Would you be able to deliver clean catalog images? Here's how you can do just that! In this video tutorial from V-Flat World, photographer Dani Diamond shares his method of capturing consistent catalog-lit images on a white background. White is one of the most → Read More
One Reason Why You Shouldn't Watermark Your Images
If you look around right now, chances are, you will come across something that's branded. Brand recognition is a big thing, especially in the commercial world of products. When it comes to your photography, should you still watermark your images? Brand standards and branding are very important to many companies. When it comes to art, it's a bit different. Sure, old paintings → Read More
How I Got the Shot: Lighting Studio Portrait With Photo Backdrop
We are not always fortunate to have the perfect background that matches the total vision of a shoot. The same goes for having a huge budget to build the set, which leaves a few options. Spend the time with compositions or use a printed backdrop to complete the scene. To save time, at least in my case, I opted to go with a printed backdrop for the shoot since there would be → Read More
Three Simple Tips for Dark and Moody Boudoir Portraits
I feel like boudoir portraits, for the most part, fall within two different types when it comes to lighting and atmosphere: light and airy or dark and moody. If you are looking to step out of your comfort zone of light and airy and try taking some dark and moody portraits, here are three simple tips to help you start. In this video, boudoir photographer Michael Sasser shares → Read More
A Beginners Guide to Editing with Capture One for Portraits
Looking to give Capture One a try but just find it confusing? It can be a bit difficult when you first open it up, especially if you are accustomed to another image-processing program. Change can be tricky at first, and here's a video to help you get started. When I first opened Capture One for a trial a few years back, I quickly went back to the program I was already familiar → Read More
How To Get a Natural Look With Flash
There are lots of people who like and prefer a natural light look over flash, but sometimes the conditions outside may not cooperate with you to produce great results. Sometimes you have to grab a flash, here's a few ways you can get a more natural look when you do. You can't always reschedule a shoot if the weather isn't optimal for your lighting, or there could be other → Read More
Make Your Own Canvas Backdrop on a Budget
Hand-painted canvas backdrops are a thing of beauty, it is another form of art in itself. With that, there are many canvas backdrops out there that are not very budget-friendly. If you have the time and space, here's how you can make your own. This isn't a quick project so make sure you have plenty of time carved out in your schedule, a few hours at a minimum. Also depending → Read More
An Unusual Way to Use a Beauty Dish
Certain modifiers do tend to have some more traditional methods of use, especially when using a beauty dish. Sometimes we can get hung up on what is the "right" way to use them and lose out on creativity. Here's a different way you can use a beauty dish when shooting indoors. Using a beauty dish in a clamshell setup is pretty common, especially for beauty headshots. Sure, → Read More
10 Ways To Give Your Apple Boxes Some Character
A great way to add variety to the poses during a session is to add a prop. Having an assortment of props can be very beneficial, and some good ones to have are apple boxes. They seem to be a very popular choice in portraits, especially more editorial-styled ones. These are a must-have for any photography studio, at least in my opinion. While they come in different sizes, for → Read More
Posing Tips for Beauty Portraits
For some, having a wide variety of poses can be challenging. The model is limited by what they are wearing, what they have to hold or interact with, or even the vision or mood of the shoot. Beauty headshots provide their own limitations, here are some posing tips for your next beauty shoot. With headshots, your composition is a tighter focus on your subject, leaving them with → Read More
Tips for Finding Grungy Backgrounds
When you are scouting locations for a photoshoot, what are you typically focused on for the backgrounds? How often do you consider the textures and the colors that they could add to your shots? In this video from photographer Brett Seeley, he shares a behind-the-scenes look into an outdoor, grungy alleyway fitness shoot. While you can see how Seeley shoots and works with the → Read More
Best Export Settings for Photos on Facebook and Instagram
When you upload your image to Facebook or Instagram, are you noticing a loss in image quality? Are you uploading optimized images for social and the web? Every so often I see comments like "Facebook ruins images" or "Facebook/Instagram compression sucks" when they mentioned their photo quality sucks. Well, are you uploading images optimized for social media sites? If not, that → Read More