Zach Sutton
I'm Zach and I'm the editor and a frequent writer here at Lensrentals.com. I'm also a commercial beauty photographer in Los Angeles, CA, and offer educational workshops on photography and lighting all over North America.
Posts by Zach Sutton · page 2 of 13
A Guide to Light Painting Photography
Light painting is a great way to approach photography differently, but it can be a complicated process and requires some trial and error to get it right. When done right, you can really maximize the lighting you’re using or, better yet, add a level of surreal lighting to your images. So, let’s take…
Breaking Down One-Shots in Cinematography
The Oner – A cinematographer’s boss fight that really tests one’s ability to choreograph a scene from front to back and expertly flex their skills with a camera. While the Oner (or commonly called a one-shot) was certainly always a novelty, with recent technological advances and current trends in…
Caring for Photography Gear in Changing Climates
The weather is officially changing for the summer, and there are some important rules to remember when managing your gear during changing climates. Between going from a nicely heated cabin to the wintry outdoors or from a humid area into a dry, air-conditioned house, there are a few critical steps…
Can You Differentiate AI Art From Real Photos?
It has been a year or so since we talked about AI, but with ChatGPT’s latest release and Google’s imagen 3, it was time to reapproach the conversation. I’ll pretend I am okay with AI, mainly as a workflow tool to help us create our work faster, but the art generation tools will forever concern me…
Is Medium Format Worth it?
With the recent release of the Fujifilm GFX 100RF, there has certainly been a lot of talk about whether a medium-format camera is for you. While medium format does offer superior image quality, it comes with quite a few caveats. As a medium format user for the last 10 years or so, depending on the…
The Best Lighting Kits You Can Rent for All Budgets
If you’ve followed this blog for any amount of time, you will probably know by now that I love lighting. Over the last couple of years, I’ve shared dozens of lighting diagrams and spent a lot of time deducing how lighting works. While I discuss many of the nuances and technicalities of lighting, I…
Photoshoot Breakdown – Working with Gels in Studio
Shooting with gelled or RGB lights can be a great way to expand your creativity and create new works of art. However, the process can be a bit more complicated than one might expect. Depending on the gels you’re using, you’ll lose a certain amount of light, making the process of light balance all…
How Severance Filmed One of the Best Scenes of the Last Decade
A week or so ago, my girlfriend and I sat down to watch the season two premiere of one of our favorite shows, Severance. Upon starting the show, we were met with a ~2-minute montage of Adam Scott’s character running through the narrow corridors of Lumen Industries. My girlfriend, a talented writer…
Five Photo & Video Innovations to Look Forward to in 2025
We’ve entered into a new year, and with that new year often will come speculation about what advancements we can expect. You may have noticed a couple of weeks ago when we asked our staff members about their favorite product for 2024, we also included a graph regarding the most exciting…
How Brandi Nicole’s Creative January Helps Inspire and Encourage
The start of the new year marks new beginnings and a fresh start on your goals and ambitions, so you’ll often see people manifest their resolutions for the year. By contrast, creativity is often considered something that cannot be forced but rather nurtured. However, portrait photographer Brandi…
Using Video LEDs for Photography
I’ve talked a lot on this blog about using constant lights typically aimed for videography, for photography. It’s a typical article I keep bringing up as I upgrade my lights on both the video and photo sides and look for any crossover that can be found. The reason is simple – if you’ve ever been on…
Is The Profoto Pro-D3 a Viable Alternative to Pro Packs?
I love Pro Packs and have used them for a number of years in my work. Their reliability, power ratios, and quality of light are unmatched, but so is their price. If you’re looking to get a new Profoto Pro-11 pack, you’re looking to pay about the same price as a nearly new Toyota Corrola – at the…