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Home / JP morgan

Make It or Buy It, Homemade Softbox vs Store Bought Softbox

April 22, 2025 By Morgan

Excited woman holding photography softboxes with text "Make It or Buy It".

(If you want to see the video go to The Slanted Lens on YouTube!) Should I make a softbox or should I buy one? My pieces of foam core from the dollar store cost me $15 to make a softbox. My Westcott softbox cost me $70. Can I get the same quality of portrait from […]

Filed Under: Beginning Lighting Tutorials, Equipment, Photography Tutorial, Portraits, Product Review

Soft Box vs Beauty Dish, Which is Better For Portraits?

March 27, 2025 By wpengine

Two people holding Westcott lighting modifiers: a beauty dish and a softbox.

(If you want to watch the video go to The Slanted Lens on YouTube!) Hi, this is Jay P. Morgan. Today on The Slanted Lens we’re going to take a look at a beauty dish versus a softbox. Can you tell the difference? Which one looks better? Which one’s softer? Which one’s going to give […]

Filed Under: Beginning Lighting Tutorials, Lighting Tutorials, Photography Tutorial, Portraits

Make It or Buy It Photography Reflector Challenge

February 5, 2025 By Morgan

Side-by-side portraits of a woman with the text 'Reflector Challenge' below.

  (If you want to watch the video go to The Slanted Lens on YouTube!) Make it or Buy it! This 5-in-1 pop-up reflector from Westcott cost me $37.50. My homemade 2-in-1 reflector cost me $10.50. So the question is, can I match the light quality of a pop-up reflector with a homemade reflector?This is […]

Filed Under: Beginning Lighting Tutorials, DIY, Equipment, Photography & Video Lighting Articles, Photography Tutorial, Portraits

6 Stunning Portrait Techniques Using The Handheld SmokeNINJA Pro

January 21, 2025 By Morgan

A woman poses with smoke in the background, captioned 'Portraits With Smoke.'

(If you want to watch the tutorial go to The Slanted Lens on YouTube!) Handheld smoke machines like the SmokeNINJA Pro have revolutionized smoke on set. You know, they’re small enough you can get a little steam in a cup of coffee but powerful enough you can haze this entire room and give you great […]

Filed Under: Advanced Lighting Tutorials, Intermediate Lighting Tutorials, Photography & Video Lighting Articles, Photography Tutorial, Portraits, Product Review, Special Effects for Photo and Video

I’m Shocked! ISO hasn’t gotten much better in 12 years – Canon 5D vs R5

January 24, 2022 By Morgan

 Hi, this is Jay P. Morgan. Today on The Slanted Lens I’m going to take a look at ISO capabilities of everything from the 5D Mk II to the R5. Why am I doing this? It’s kind of a therapy session for me because I’m trying to get off from the 100 ISO. I […]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

50mm RF Lens Makes The R6 Better Than The a7IV?

December 21, 2021 By Morgan

Some people say we may have egg on our face because of our review of the R6 versus the a74. Are you kidding me? Well perhaps we do. Let’s take a look at these two lenses and just see. It’s December and time for our Mega Giveaway. We’re going to give away $3300 worth of […]

Filed Under: Behind the Scenes, Camera Review, Equipment, Lens Comparison, Lens Review, Photography & Video Articles, Product Review

Tamron 35-150mm 2-2.8 Zoom, Pro Lens? Let’s See!

December 6, 2021 By Morgan

Tamron 35-150mm Review

 Hi, this is Jay P. Morgan. Today on The Slanted Lens I’ve got Tatiana here with me. We’re going to take a look at a very unique lens from Tamron. It’s a 35-150mm f/2-2.8 lens. Tamron is doing very different things. This is a lens that fits right in the middle of that trinity […]

Filed Under: Behind the Scenes, Equipment, Lens Review, Product Review

Better Than A Soft Box, Inexpensive Product Lighting Solution

November 29, 2021 By Morgan

 Hi, this is Jay P. Morgan. You know what, when you’re doing product photography soft boxes are not always the solution. There’s a technique that product photographers have been using for years that gives them beautiful highlights. Highlights they can scale to what they’re photographing. And the ability to really create things in tight […]

Filed Under: Beginning Lighting Tutorials, Behind the Scenes, DIY, Intermediate Lighting Tutorials, Laws of Light, Lighting Tutorials, Photography & Video Lighting Articles, Photography Tutorial

Stop Shooting on Manual! When to use Auto ISO!

November 22, 2021 By Morgan

 Hi, this is Jay P Morgan. Stop shooting on manual. This is when you should use auto iso. That really comes into play when I’m doing sports, I want to stop children, I want to stop something that’s flying around really fast I go to auto ISO. Now remember I’ve always said “Don’t let […]

Filed Under: Behind the Scenes, Camera Settings, Photography Tutorial

10 Ways To Gain Confidence To Make Money In Photography!

August 9, 2021 By Morgan

 Hi, I’m Jay P. Morgan. I’m Jay P. Morgan. You know we’ve all got a confident side and a not so confident side of our personalities. Let’s develop and strengthen the confident side. Here’s 10 points on how you can gain confidence to know you’re ready to make money in photography. Follow these 10 […]

Filed Under: Behind the Scenes, Photography Tutorial

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