I had a co worker convince me to take a studio lighting class at Lillstreet in Up Town, Chicago.

Everyone has a different style to their art. It's always good to venture out there and learn new things. As you can see in my photos. I wanted a dark gloomy feel. Hopefully I'm not sad in all of my art.

Lauren, my co worker, herself has a feminine touch with her photos. Even her instagram shows that. She would do wonders in the fashion world.

Some lighting tips to perfect your art:

White Balance

Do you wonder why your photos have a yellow or maybe even blue cast to it?

Light has a color and it can be measured. Your camera has a color temperature control known as the white balance. Most people will set this on auto, but depending on your camera you might get an unwanted tint. Chose to dial in the specific temperature to avoid that. Here is a quick guide on the most common:

Twilight: 1200
Daylight Shade: 7500
Overcast : 6500
Early Morning or late afternoon: 4300
Sunrise and sunset: 3000
Candle light=2000

If you notice your photo has a cast to it while you are editing, you can easily change that in your editor with color temperature or white balance tool.

Golden Hour

Shoot during the golden hour. The last hour before sunset (or during) where the light is low in the sky, very golden, and as such creates less shadows and more even lighting across your subject. It’s also great for sun flares if you are looking for that.

Clouds

Cloudy days are probably one of the best days to shoot. Clouds create natural diffused light and almost act as natural soft boxes so this can enable you to work easily without having to avoid certain situations. Plus, who doesn't love those fluffy things in the background?