John Gress Photography

05/26/2026

Most photographers are using their histogram completely wrong.

Your histogram does NOT need to be centered.

In this video, I break down:

* Why camera meters turn white into gray
* Why dark scenes naturally lean left
* How to actually judge exposure properly
* Highlight clipping and exposure warnings
* When clipped highlights are completely acceptable
* Why tethering changes everything

I’ll also walk through real-world portrait examples so you can see exactly where histograms fall apart in practical photography.

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO NOW:

Most photographers are using their histogram completely wrong.In ...

05/26/2026

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

featuring from my lighting workshop in Orange County hosted by 🙏🏼

This look was created with a 3-light setup using lights.

📍 Upcoming Lighting Workshops (2026):

Houston — Intermediate Aug. 9
Chicago — Bilingual 🇪🇸🇺🇸 Sept. 19–20
Chicago — Advanced Dance Sept. 26
Oakland — Intermediate Oct. 24
Chicago — Advanced Nov. 7–8
Chicago — Foundations Nov. 12–15

05/23/2026

💬 Comment “VIDEO” and I’ll send you the full video from this shoot where I compare a beauty dish to a parabolic reflector.

In this image with , I used the 27” silver beauty dish, a curved reflector, and a pair of strip softboxes.

Camera stand and double beam boom by 🙏🏼

05/23/2026

🇺🇸 My Memorial Day Sale is officially live! 🇺🇸

This weekend, all of my digital downloads are 30% off, including:

Memorial Day Sale Pricing:

📘 The Photographer’s Journey — $69
💡 Lighting Handbooks — $35 each
🎞️ Lightroom Presets — $21
📦 The complete John Gress Bundle — $189

https://johngress.com/downloads/

I also recently refreshed Lighting Handbook Vol. 1 for 2026 with expanded content, updated formatting, and 22 multi-light setups using 1–6 lights.

If you’ve been thinking about improving your lighting, refining your workflow, or building stronger technical skills, this is the best pricing of the season.

Sale ends Tuesday, May 26 at 11:59 PM CDT.

https://johngress.com/downloads/

— John

05/21/2026

⏪ BTS & EXIF
💬 Comment “VIDEO” and I’ll send you the breakdown on how to use CTO gels to match the color of ambient light in your photos.

and from my photowalk at featuring and at the KISS-themed miniature golf course inside the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas.

Lit with two lights, with a CTO gel added to the kicker light to blend with the warm tones already present in the scene.

05/19/2026

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

and from my CTO gel day-to-night tutorial featuring

And yes — you’ll see exactly how I built this setup.

Lighting:
Assistant:

ctogel behindthescenes creativeportrait