Instant Savings
Rebate Claims
Support
Find a Dealer
In this post, professional photographer Jonathan Thorpe shares his favorite lighting and editing tips to make images pop. Whether you’re working with portraits, composites, or cinematic scenes, these practical techniques will help elevate your photography.
What you’ll learn in this post:
- Professional Lighting and Editing Tips to Make Images Pop.
- How to effectively use lighting setups to enhance your composites.
- Creating mature, cinematic portraits using simple lighting adjustments.
- Techniques to use minimal light sources for dramatic effects.
- Ways to utilize multiple lights to give depth and realism to your scenes.
By Guest Contributor Jonathan Thorpe
TIP 1
Lighting for Composites.
The “Martian” shot is one of my fav’s. While it does have some elements of compositing, we lit it to ensure post edits would seamlessly blend. A main light pointed at the actor’s back simulates the effect of a laser beam, providing a bright highlight to motivate the composite. Additional lighting from the distance and overhead helps balance the exposure and illuminate both actors. These lighting and editing tips to make images pop add depth and realism to composite photography.
TIP 2
Make a comedian grown and sexy.
For comedian Paris Sashay’s portrait, we aimed for a confident, mature, and elegant vibe not typical in comedy portraits. A pro mist filter provided a soft, vintage glow. By flooding the scene with ample lighting and complementary colors, we transformed the traditional humorous image into a stylish, sophisticated portrait.
TIP 3
Using light to create dark.
For the fighter sometimes less is more. I always envision fighting gyms to be dark, with 1 maybe 2 lights to light up the space. So, in our shot made with the Tamron 17-70mm F/2.8 we kept it fairly simple, one large light source for the fighter, and then we show my other flash off in the background. I love seeing light sources in shots like this, it gives a sense of “looking behind the curtain” and provides a cinematic feel to the image. To enhance that light, we used a haze machine which also helped bring up the dark areas of the space. This is a great tip that illustrates essential lighting and editing tips to make images pop.
For the fighter sometimes less is more. I always envision fighting gyms to be dark, with 1 maybe 2 lights to light up the space. So, in our shot made with the Tamron 17-70mm F/2.8 we kept it fairly simple, one large light source for the fighter, and then we show my other flash off in the background. I love seeing light sources in shots like this, it gives a sense of “looking behind the curtain” and provides a cinematic feel to the image. To enhance that light, we used a haze machine which also helped bring up the dark areas of the space. This is a great tip that illustrates essential lighting and editing tips to make images pop.
TIP 4
Multiple lights to bring a location to life .
Comedian Steve Byrne is one of the best in the biz, and his photo needed to have the larger than life feeling. We created this moody/Library/Den style set, that feels like something you’d find in an old mansion. The fire was composited in, but by lighting everything from the sides and from behind, it created that nice warm shadow we see on the floor, since we knew the fire would be in post, this helps to add the realism to it. I think it’s always important to show the effect of light sources we see in the shots, so that shadow is key. From there it’s a simple flash boomed overhead, and it creates a great portrait.
Final thoughts on lighting and editing tips to make images pop
By incorporating these lighting and editing tips to make images pop into your workflow, you’ll quickly see your images transform from good to exceptional. Whether you’re aiming for a cinematic style, moody portraits, or captivating composites, mastering lighting and thoughtful editing will consistently help your photos stand out. Practice, experiment, and remember: every great photo starts with understanding how to shape and control your light.
English 
Spanish 
French 
Portuguese 
