Two Light Executive Portrait – Photography & Video Tutorial

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From Jay P Morgan,

In today’s Slanted Lens lesson we set up on top of the roof of the East West Bank building in downtown Pasadena shooting a portrait of three executives. I wanted to get some unique portraits. I asked if we could get on the helicopter pad and shoot back at the Pasadena cityscape. It took some doing but we got permission. We were looking into the west so the setting sun was dropping into our shot. Adding strobes to light my subject, I balanced the sun and strobe light and made the sky darker by speeding up my shutter speed. We started shooting a one light portrait and then progressed into a 2 light portrait as the ambient light faded. The second light became our fill light to open up the shadows. Keep those cameras rolling and keep on clickn’.

Products used in this video:
Vanguard alta tripod:
Tamron SP 70-200mm:
Dynlaite Battery Pack:
Photoflex FlexFlash:
Kessler Stealth Slider:
Glidecam HD 2000:

38 Comments
  1. Vasia Pupkin says

    Love your videos and tutorials 🙂 Hug 🤗 from 🇬🇧

  2. Rene Pfluger says

    Great small Tutorial.. thanks!

  3. Fabio Fernandes de Almeida says

    Is that salt lake city? Are you based in slc?

  4. tenkuo tai says

    Very nice!

  5. rob says

    watching bankers fall to their death… now that would be money!

  6. Peter K says

    A little scary to see wind-catching softboxes on extended light stands on top of the roof with NO SANDBAGS to secure them! Yikes

  7. Craig Strydom says

    What a pile of total bullshit man.
    Overexposed sky's throughout. Just dreadful.
    Funny that you get it nailed it in the picture of you jumping.

  8. Epi King says

    yeahh, let these bankers know who is in charge..lol.

  9. PG Tips says

    Why is there a triangle graphic with an eye at the start of the video?

  10. Adeel Ansari says

    Question: If you were to go with high speed sync and no ND filter and lower the f-stop to get a shallow depth of field, would that have required some extra setup and changes in settings too much or can it be done easily?

  11. Jamie L. says

    This was a great instructional video.  !!What lens did you use ? Only one lens or several. It looked like you were using a wide angle lens.

  12. Ray says

    Incredible narrative and showcase, thanks for the tutorial !

  13. Eddie Lagos says

    lol the best shots were the ones you took of yourself.

  14. James Pendleton says

    JP, I"m inspired by your videos. Do you give workshops? If so do have a schedule for this year? I'd love to attend.

  15. james duophoto says

    nice work, and so typical of a shoot!

  16. your right…the background not soft enough in many of the images……….the dome structure looks like another head in some of the shots……why didn't you fix it in post ?.

  17. Jorgensen 2099 says

    Very useful vid, and your humor is simply great!! Subscribed!!

  18. Simo Freelance says

    Hello, can i plaise know what is the name of the shoulder strap you use with your dslr plaise ? thank you.

  19. Angie Haywood says

    Man want a photographer fantastic photos great job

  20. MangySquirrel says

    Nice. Thanks Jay

  21. Fil Wathen says

    Hey whats up with the hard vignetting on your pics?

  22. Mick Sandra says

    and he changed to canon 70-200 L on the fly lol

  23. Frosty Beer says

    did he throw up a little at 6:18? (I think it's called a verp.. Vomit+ burp)

  24. Gerald Foinmbam says

    HI…How many ISO, Aperture and Shutterspeed???

  25. RockYourBrain says

    Like your helpful videos! What Lens do you use for your Glidecam-Shots? Wide-Angle?

  26. furqan mahmood says

    any 1 else notice the illuminate sign?

  27. GloudinaL says

    Great informative video, thank you!

  28. Amalia Sina says

    Great vídeo!

  29. Björn K. says

    Aren't you afraid of looking directly into the sun though a light bundling system when taking these shots?

  30. Johnny says

    Never put your clients on the edge of a building roof.

  31. Printing ATLG says

    This is amazing. Actually watching this video I've learned good lessons of how to use natural light properly to get exceptional lighting expression over images.

  32. Domino Visions says

    GOD BLESS U GUYS

  33. bullsquid42 says

    The pictures look pretty neat from an artistic standpoint. But coming from advertising I have to say these portraits don't really make these people look good. They don't say: "I'm a responsible businessman who knows what he's doing" – They say: "I'm better then you, I'm megalomaniac and I don't give a fuck about you.
    Also I might jump off this ledge."

  34. The Gull says

    I love taking these kind of shots.

  35. MrYawn1 says

    do you own a lens hood?

  36. Mary Filkins says

    JP Morgan shooting Eastwest Bank Executives…hee hee

  37. U EN says

    great job!

  38. Michael Antico says

    Wonderful shots. Glad to see some executives that allowed for your creative vision. Sure looked it payed off with your finals. You've inspired me to try to get on the roof of my corporate building and see what I can see.

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