Erin Manning is a professional photographer, author, educator, and media personality. Her clear, friendly teaching style helps people understand and enjoy photography and technology.

Television viewers know Erin best as the digital photography expert and host of DIY Network’s Telly Award-winning TV series The Whole Picture. She is also author of Portrait and Candid Photography, and Make Money With Your Digital Photography published by John Wiley and Sons.

Erin spent several years working as a commercial, portrait and stock photographer, as well as completing a degree in Studio Art/Graphic Design from Loyola Marymount University. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Digital Imaging Marketing Association and is a member of American Photographic Artists, Women in Photography International, and the Los Angeles Digital Imaging Group, whose purpose is dedicated to advancing the art and science of digital imaging.

Erin Manning's Favorite Westcott Gear:

uLite Home Studio Lighting Kit
uLite Home Studio Lighting Kit

407

Pocket Box Speedlight Softbox Kit
Pocket Box Speedlight Softbox Kit

268

Collapsible 5-in-1 Reflector Kit with Sunlight Surface (40-in.)
Collapsible 5-in-1 Reflector Kit with Sunlight Surface (40")

304
 

Articles by Erin Manning

Lighting for Beginners: Portrait 1

Lighting for Beginners: Off-Camera Flash

Erin Manning
Lighting Tips
7804
In this video, photography educator Erin Manning discusses camera settings and lighting for beginners looking to capture quality studio portraits. To capture these headshots, Erin used her camera in manual mode. Her shutter speed is set to 1/80, her f-stop is set to f7.1, her ISO is 100, and her white balance is set to 'flash'.
Lighting On-The-Go with Erin Manning 3

How To Balance Daylight On-The-Go

Erin Manning
Lighting Tips
6969
When photographing children outside, it is often hard balancing daylight midday. Children are constantly on-the-go, making it hard to place typical modifiers and light stands in a single place. To fill in shadows quickly and easily, an on-camera flash and softbox is usually the best option. Using a flash will work to fill in the shadows on your subject's faces created by any harsh daylight.
Pocket Box - Photographing Children

Photographing Children with the Pocket Box

Erin Manning
Lighting Tips
7992
Professional photography educator Erin Manning takes the Pocket Box Max modifier for a spin while photographing children at the Toledo Zoo. Constructed with the same materials as larger softboxes, Westcott Basics Pocket Boxes are the simplest tools for modifying your speedlites and flashes.
Erin Manning: Product Photography

Product Photography from Home with Erin Manning

Erin Manning
Lighting Tips
9320
Professional product photography can make all the difference in your success selling crafts and goods online. Quality products are best shown through quality images, which illustrate better detail and more appealing aspects of any craft or item. Creating these superior images can be done easily in the comfort of your home with simply lighting, a diffusion tent, and softboxes.
Erin Manning discusses Lighting Ratios and a Home Studio Lighting Kit by .

Understanding Lighting Ratios

Erin Manning
Lighting Tips
10493
Westcott Top Pro Elite photographer and educator Erin Manning discusses lighting ratios and set-ups utilizing the Erin Manning Home Studio Lighting Kit in this Westcott video tutorial. Lighting ratios are the differences in contrast shown in images, displayed by highlights and shadows. Throughout this tutorial, Erin demonstrates 1:1, 2:1, and 4:1 lighting ratios with her subjects.
Erin Manning Using a Reflector – Pro Tip by .

Using a Reflector to Fill Light

Erin Manning
Lighting Tips
7983
In this video, Westcott Top Pro Elite Photographer Erin Manning shows us how to use a reflector to greatly improve the quality of her photos.  She uses a as her main source of light, with a as a fill light.  Erin also discusses what settings to use with the Home Studio Lighting Kit, as well as some basic composition tips. The contains a two light setup.