Smoke Effects

How to Build a Chill Box and Make Smoke Lay on Water (A Lighting Breakdown)
Video Tutorials

How to Build a Chill Box and Make Smoke Lay on Water (A Lighting Breakdown)

Every so often a technique crosses my feed and I immediately think: I’ve been solving this the wrong way for years. That’s exactly what happened when I sat down with this tutorial from JP Morgan over at The Slanted Lens. The goal of the shoot sounds almost theatrical - a model standing on a fiberglass rock floating in a pool, smoke curling across the water’s surface, a massive painted backdrop behind her.

Underlighting, Smoke, and Backlit Horror: What This Night Shoot Tutorial Taught Me About Atmospheric Lighting
Video Tutorials

Underlighting, Smoke, and Backlit Horror: What This Night Shoot Tutorial Taught Me About Atmospheric Lighting

Halloween shoots are not my usual territory. My week typically involves a beauty brand’s new serum, a corporate headshot marathon, or a fashion editorial where the biggest drama is a wardrobe change. But atmospheric night lighting outdoors, with practical effects and monstrous characters? That’s a completely different problem set, and one I have embarrassingly little experience solving. When I stumbled across JP Morgan’s advanced night lighting tutorial from The Slanted Lens, I watched it three times, then opened my lighting journal and started sketching.