Mastering Lighting Photography Techniques with Nick Saglimbeni

I’ve spent a lot of time on Instagram recently. I hadn’t planned on doing this. Far from it, actually. Like all great events in my life, I had just found myself there. I didn’t know how, but I was logged in. So I spent the next two hours peeking about.

Eventually, I was doing what everybody does. I would like a few photographs, then a few more, and when I found a photographer I really liked, I double clicked as many as of hers or his as I could. Satisfied with myself, I logged off and went to bed.

The next day, to my complete surprise, I had new followers! Well, actually, I had one new follower. But one more is one more. I’m now at 36, I said. 36. I felt a twinge of accomplishment while lying in my bed half naked and red-eyed in a dull, blue light.

But that’s not important. What’s important is the change I found in my search feed. After my first proper Instagramming, my search feed had become overrun by tons and tons of absolutely killer photos. I was stunned. Really stunned.

In this brilliant corner of the Internet, I had found hundreds of photographs that completely amazed me. I logged off—and cried. Besides finding a great source of inspiration (and interviews), I had also realized I’m still really bad at taking photos.

Yet insecurity fuels inspiration, as they say. So realizing my ineptitude forced me to discover what made these photographs great. The next day I started taking notes of what worked and what didn’t. I broke apart color, tone, eye-lines, angle.

I had a notebook written out with tables and ranks. I had a short essay drafted up. At night, I re-visualized compositions and verbalized exactly what I loved. I would wake up dreaming about the images—crazy wouldn’t even start to describe what I was doing.

This continued for a few days, until I started taking photos to re-do what I saw. Then it finally hit me. After all this, I had finally found what I was looking for. I had found the one thing that all the photographs shared and relied on.

So what had made the photographs stand out? I shouldn’t even have to answer what it is. You already know it. I know it. Every photographer knows it. The answer was light, of course.

Light is what puts everything in a frame together. Without the proper light, you’ll just have a potentially good photograph. And the only way to get the proper light is learning. That’s why I wrote this.

I think every photographer can figure out light. And I believe every photographer should be given the right education. None of the photographers I have met or interviewed have said that they just started out brilliantly.

They studied and learned. And everybody has a unique way of learning. I do it by obsessing over things. Others do it by actually putting work in. If you’ve read all this and want to learn how to work with light, I really think you’ll benefit from Nick Saglimbeni.

He might have one of the best educational products on light out there. Although I can’t give you a full recommendation since it isn’t out yet, we have sold his Slickforce products before, and you loved them. They’ve always been bestsellers and well reviewed.

So right now, if you got time, head over here to pre-order Mastering Light and you’ll receive a special $30 discount. And this only lasts until the 31st. Yes, it’s soon, but it’s just for you. You’re a rare light. And you deserve it. You read PhotoWhoa!

Also! If you have an Instagram, and if you got the courage, let’s connect and start something here. Put down your handle in the comments so that I and everybody else can add you. Let’s see the photographs you make.