John Gress Photography

08/21/2026

⏪ 1 or 2?
📝 Comment “WORKSHOP” & I’ll DM how to win a free workshop!

of Grant J. Tomlinson captured during my lighting workshop in Atlanta at Bee Fearless Studios | Production House

Lit with two Elinchrom lights.

📍 Upcoming Lighting Workshops (2026)
Chicago: Advanced Dance 9/26
Chicago: Bilingual 🇪🇸🇺🇸 10/17-18
Oakland: Intermediate 10/24
Chicago: Advanced 11/7-8
Chicago: Foundations 11/12-15

08/16/2026

⏪ More, BTS & EXIF
📝 Comment “WORKSHOP” & I’ll DM how to win a free workshop!

session with Grant J. Tomlinson during my Atlanta lighting workshop.

Lit with two Elinchrom lights.

📍 Upcoming Lighting Workshops (2026)
Houston: Intermediate 8/9
Chicago: Advanced Dance 9/26
Chicago: Bilingual 🇪🇸🇺🇸 10/17-18
Oakland: Intermediate 10/24
Chicago: Advanced 11/7-8
Chicago: Foundations 11/12-15

08/13/2026

📝 Comment “VIDEO” and I’ll DM you the full tutorial.

and featuring from my latest YouTube video, Outdoor Portrait Lighting with One Flash (My Complete Workflow).

On location, my approach is as easy as 1-2-3: choose the aperture for the depth of field you want, adjust the shutter speed until the background looks right, then power your light up or down until your subject looks right.

Lit with an 70cm Octabox and an Elinchrom FIVE while tethering wirelessly with Capture One Mobile.

studiolighting behindthescenes

08/11/2026

📝 Comment “VIDEO” and I’ll DM you the full video!

On location with comparing three ways to balance bright ambient light: high-speed sync, a variable neutral density filter, and a reflector. Lit with an FIVE.

In the full video, I compare all three approaches and break down the advantages and tradeoffs of each.

08/10/2026

Outdoor portrait lighting doesn’t have to be complicated.

In my new video, I’m taking you behind the scenes of a real beach portrait shoot and showing you the simple 1-2-3 process I use to balance flash with natural light.

I’ll also show you why I chose a 70cm Octabox for this shoot, how I handled the changing conditions, and how I used Capture One Mobile on location.

If you want to see how I actually work through lighting decisions during a real shoot, watch the full video here:

Outdoor portrait lighting doesn't have to be complicated. In this v...

08/01/2026

📝 Comment “WORKSHOP” & I’ll send you the link to win a free workshop seat.
⏪ More, BTS & EXIF

High-contrast black and white portrait of Jake Feeny from my Advanced Lighting Workshop in Chicago.

Lit with four Elinchrom lights.

📍 Upcoming Lighting Workshops (2026)
Houston: Intermediate 8/9
Chicago: Advanced Dance 9/26
Oakland: Intermediate 10/24
Chicago: Bilingual 🇪🇸🇺🇸 10/17-18
Chicago: Advanced 11/7-8
Chicago: Foundations 11/12-15

::

07/27/2026

New YouTube video!

Can you spot the portrait lighting mistakes before I do?

In this video I critique a series of portraits and explain how small lighting decisions affect catchlights, lighting patterns, fill light, edge light, and overall image quality.

There’s also one surprise I don’t reveal until the end of the video.

Watch it first… then let me know if you figured it out before I did.

Are you making portrait lighting mistakes without realizing it?In...