Portrait Photography Gear: 10 Creative Tools for Artistic Results
I’ve always been a fan of portraits that go beyond a simple likeness (such as the typical headshot).
Instead, I love portraits that feel painterly, cinematic, or even otherworldly – qualities I also try to emulate in my self-portrait photography.
To achieve such unique portrait effects, you first have to get the lighting and posing right.
However, the secret ingredient for more artistic portraits is often specific creative gear to shape light, colour, and texture.
The great thing:
Most of these tools aren’t expensive, but can really help transform regular portraits into artworks.
In today’s blog post, I’ll share ten pieces of portrait photography gear for artistic results.
They are a great choice if you feel a bit stuck in a rut or would like to experiment more in your portraits.
Let’s get started with my absolute favourite piece of portrait photography gear that I constantly use in my photo shoots.
(Just so you know: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate/affiliate partner of other brands, I earn from qualifying purchases.
1. Soft Focus Filter
If you love portraits that feel cinematic, ethereal, or timeless, I highly recommend investing in a soft focus filter.
What Is a Soft Focus Filter?
Soft focus filters don’t completely blur your image; rather, they gently diffuse highlights and reduce contrast.
The result is a delicate glow, very reminiscent of the lighting in Hollywood movies from the 1940s.
These filters are perfect for fine art portraits because they make the skin look luminous and smooth.
The next thing I love about soft focus filters is that they’re not a big investment (compared to, say, a dedicated soft focus lens by Lensbaby).
Also, they enable you to create the soft focus effect in camera (as opposed to during digital retouching).
Soft focus filters are particularly great when shooting with backlight or golden hour sunlight, where the filter catches the light.
Self portrait taken with a soft focus filter.
Which Filter to Buy?
I love the brand Walking Way and would highly recommend their Pro Mist filters.
You can experiment with different strengths; lighter versions will give you just a hint of glow, while stronger ones produce a more vintage-style, dreamy haze.
You can pair the filter with a wide aperture for an even more painterly, cinematic look.
2. Coloured Gels
The next piece of portrait photography gear I love is coloured gels:
These are heat-proof sheets of plastic attached to your light source, which can help create moody, dramatic, or abstract portraits.
How to Use Coloured Gels
With coloured gels, you definitely have to experiment quite a bit to get the desired effect.
You can use a single one over your speedlight, softbox or strobe light, or even combine two or more for gradient effects.
Another nice technique is to light your background with one colour while keeping your subject naturally lit for contrast and depth.
I quite like using coloured gels for self portrait shoots abroad, as they’re easy to pack:
I simply combine them with a small LED light panel, which is a super lightweight and versatile setup.
Self-portrait taken in a hotel room using coloured gels and LED panels.
Generally, you can also use gels to mimic sunset or neon lights, to transform a generic environment into something cinematic, or to highlight textures and shapes in creative ways.
I love coloured gels because they’re very portable, super easy to use, and very cost-effective, and I highly recommend investing in a pack for your portrait work.
By the way…before I get to the next piece of creative portrait photography gear, did you know you can download my free ebook? More info below:
Free Ebook: 50 Portrait Photography Ideas
If you need fresh inspiration for your portrait photography, download my e-book which contains 50 creative ideas and projects for portrait photography.
…but now, back to the blog post!
3. Honeycomb Grid
The next piece of creative portrait photography gear I absolutely love is a so-called honeycomb grid.
What Is a Honeycomb Grid?
A honeycomb grid (sometimes called an eggcrate grid) is a lighting modifier that controls the spread of light.
Essentially, it’s a thin panel consisting of lots of small hexagonal cells (like a honeycomb) that you can attach to the front of a softbox, beauty dish, or flash.
Those little cells shape the light and prevent light spill to the sides, creating a very dramatic, controlled look (kind of like painterly chiaroscuro lighting).
Here’s an example:
Test shot from a recent self portrait shoot. The honeycomb grid provides a more threedimensional light than a regular softbox.
I love the honeycomb grid because it creates very intimate, sculpted portraits, where only some areas in the image are lit.
For that reason, it’s often used in cinematic portraiture, and particularly in fine art photography.
For example, you could use it to create moody Rembrandt lighting in your portrait (read more about Rembrandt lighting in this post).
BUY SOFTBOX WITH HONEYCOMB GRID HERE (BOWENS MOUNT)
4. Fine Art Backdrop
Even though a fine art backdrop is not a piece of camera equipment, I am including it here nonetheless, as it is, for me, an absolute photo studio essential.
What I love about fine art backdrops is that they can completely transform the mood of a portrait.
Compared to the regular plain paper rolls or digital backgrounds, a hand-painted or textured fine art backdrop adds a lot of depth and a painterly vibe to your images.
I particularly like backdrops with gradients or visible brushstrokes that make your portrait resemble a classic oil painting.
The fine art backdrop used in this portrait gives it a painterly look. Image credit: Nerf Portraits.
Another benefit of fine art backdrops is the fact that they’re usually made from heavy canvas or high-quality muslin:
These fabrics have a slight 3D texture that interacts really well with light (especially if you use more directional lighting).
You can use backdrops in neutral tones like taupe, olive, or charcoal; I really love a bit moodier colours like dark blue or burgundy.
Fine art backdrops are such a great tool for portrait photographers because they add context and atmosphere, giving you a more cinematic or painterly look.
If you need help choosing a backdrop, check out my in-depth backdrop guide here.
5. LED Light Wand or Tube
A light tube (sometimes called an LED light wand) is a super versatile lighting tool for expressive or creative portraits.
It’s shaped like a slim, portable tube and emits continuous light.
A great benefit of light tubes is that you can easily move them around and shape the light by hand.
How to Use Light Tubes
One really fun use of light tubes is painting with light trails in a long exposure; here’s an example:
Light painting effect. Image credit: Mahda Doglek.
Next, many light tubes are adjustable in regards to colour temperature and hue, meaning you can choose between soft daylight tones and more saturated colours depending on your shoot.
You can use one light tube as a main light, or try placing it behind your subject for a glowing rim effect.
You could even use several tubes to create a sculptural, geometric lighting setup (kind of like in a music video!).
I love light tubes because they’re lightweight and battery-powered, meaning you can take them anywhere!
I have a UV light tube at home, which is super fun to use in combination with UV makeup.
Tip: Painting with Light
If you want to try painting with light, here are some tips:
You’ll need a light tube, a tripod, and a camera set to manual mode.
- Set your camera to manual exposure with a slow shutter speed (try somewhere between 2–10 seconds). For darker scenes, you can go longer (up to 30 seconds).
Choose a low ISO (100–400) to keep your image free from noise. - Use a small aperture (around f/8–f/11) if you want the background to be sharp, or a wider aperture (f/2.8–f/4) for a shallower depth of field.
- Keep your camera stable on a tripod, and trigger the shutter using a remote or self-timer to avoid shake.
- While the shutter is open, move the light tube around your subject, tracing their outline or creating shapes.
Another example of light painting. Image credit: Xuan Nguyen.
6. Texture Projector (Gobo or Light Pattern Filter)
A texture projector, also known as a Gobo or light pattern filter, is a great piece of creative portrait photography gear as it will add shape, dimension, and atmosphere to your images.
It works by placing a patterned metal or glass insert in front of a focused light source, projecting designs such as window panes, leaves, blinds, or abstract textures onto your subject or backdrop.
This is particularly handy if you don’t have many backdrops available or are shooting in a very plain space.
An effect you could recreate using a texture projector. Image credit: Viktor Forgacs.
Texture projectors are perfect for creating mood in your portraits.
You can also pair them with coloured gels for a more cinematic atmosphere.
7. Cinefoil or Black Wrap
Cinefoil, also known as black wrap, is another easy piece of kit that will help you control the light.
It’s essentially a very heavy-duty, heat-resistant black aluminium foil that you can shape, fold, or wrap around your light source to block or direct light where you want it.
You can use cinefoil to create DIY barn doors, snoots (see next section), or flags that stop light from spilling to the sides.
You can even mask parts of your softbox for a more dramatic light effect.
Another really handy use case of cinefoil is blocking reflections on shiny surfaces or shaping natural window light during a shoot.
Because it’s completely opaque, it absorbs light rather than reflecting it, making it perfect for creating contrast and mood.
Another plus: cinefoil is very inexpensive and reusable, and therefore a great choice for your creative portrait photography gear collection.
8. Speedlight Snoot or DIY Tube Modifier
A snoot is one of the simplest yet most effective modifiers and great for achieving dramatic light or spotlight effects like in this picture:
What is a Snoot?
A snoot is a cone-shaped attachment that you attach to your flash or speedlight.
It narrows the light beam into a concentrated spotlight, which is ideal for highlighting a face, hair, or a specific detail/
You can buy adjustable snoots or easily make a DIY version from a rolled-up black tube or even thick cardboard.
A snoot is another piece of kit that helps you emulate classic Rembrandt lighting.
Try positioning it at a 45-degree angle for a timeless portrait glow, or behind the subject for a halo-style rim light.
9. Vintage Lens or Lensbaby
Next, you could invest in a vintage lens or a Lensbaby for your portrait photography kit.
These lenses often produce interesting optical effects, like soft edges, bokeh, or vignetting, that can lend your images more emotion and texture.
Vintage lenses (usually adapted lenses from old film cameras) will give your photos a warmth and softness you often don’t get with modern glass.
Each one has a unique character, creating beautifully nostalgic, dreamlike images.
On the other hand, lenses by Lensbaby have really cool tilt and selective-focus effects that direct your viewer’s eye exactly where you want it, leaving the rest blurred.
10. Portable Fog or Haze Machine
And finally, you could buy or hire a portable fog or haze machine to create instant atmosphere during your portrait session.
These machines introduce fine particles into the air, which catch and scatter light.
This makes light beams visible and gives your images a cinematic or theatrical quality.
Set it to fog for more dense, dramatic clouds; haze, on the other hand, will give you a subtler, more even diffusion that enhances highlights and softens transitions between light and shadow.
Studio portrait using a fog/haze machine. Image credit: Emilia Rahmatullina.
I recommend you position your light source behind the subject for a really lovely glow effect.
You can also use coloured gels for coloured mist effects.
A lot of these machines are battery-powered, meaning you can take them with you on location.
Be careful with haze or fog though:
Don’t overuse, as it can make your portraits look a bit clichéd.
And that’s it for today’s blog post! Hopefully I’ve given you some ideas for expanding your creative portrait photography gear collection.
I would love to know-which of these would you love to try first?
Thank you for visiting my blog! If you want to support my work, buy me a coffee: It’s a small gesture that makes a big difference!