Video Tutorials
One Light, Maximum Drama: What Joel Grimes' Umbrella Setup Taught Me About Controlling the Dark
I had a client last month who wanted “edgy” headshots. Motorcycle guy, leather jacket, the whole thing. My instinct was to reach for my usual two-light setup, add a rim light, keep things controlled. The results were technically fine and completely soulless. Everything was visible, which meant nothing was interesting. The image had no tension. That failure sent me back to a tutorial I’d bookmarked and never properly sat with. In this Joel Grimes behind-the-scenes video, filmed at Westcott’s Ohio headquarters, he builds a genuinely dramatic single-light portrait of a Harley-Davidson rider using nothing but a 7-foot umbrella, a front diffusion panel, and an FJ400 strobe.