After our first, and very successful collaborative photo session with the Modern Gypsies, I was quite eager to meet up with them again. And today we had another series of photo sessions with them .. and it was one of those invigorating experiences you have working with truly talented and creative people. During the course of the day we photographed several set-ups and costumes and performers. I will post more of these over the next few days, showing the results … but also the progression of ideas; the setting up, and some of what went on behind the scenes …
The first performer we photographed was Martin, who is amazingly adroit on his stilts. He travels and performs across the world!
TTL flash exposure is calculated with a pre-flash signal that the flashgun emits before the main burst of light. The main burst of light is what gives you (hopefully) correct exposure. But the camera needs some way of determining what that correct exposure should be. In order to do that, the camera measures the amount of light returned from that pre-flash. Looking at this diagram of the sequence of events when your shutter opens and your flash fires, you will see the pre-flash there:
wedding photography – looking for the less obvious image
While waiting with the bride and her bridesmaids before the ceremony, their excitement made for good candid photos. But, as ever, I was on the look-out for the less obvious photo. Trying to find something unexpected …
O livro é baseado nos artigos publicados neste site, mas o material foi clarificado, para uma abordagem coerente e completo para pegar o melhor de seu flash na câmera. Houve um cuidado especial para apresentar tudo isso com um fluxo lógico, com a intenção de que tudo vai progressivamente ajudar o leitor a alcançar uma melhor compreensão da fotografia com flash.
The PhotoVision DVD series are educational DVDs that are published every other month. They contain interviews with successful photographers; news snippets and info about the photography business. The material is varied, with numerous well-known photographers, Photoshop wizards and big names in the photography industry, sharing their insights. There is always something to be learnt from every DVD of theirs that I have watched.
on-location portraits – the progression of an idea
I had the pleasure of photographing musician Anne Drummond for her promotional portfolio. (I also happen to be photographing her upcoming wedding.) The photo above is one in a progressive sequence of images, moving towards a final few photographs that will work in this setting here …
When retouching portrait photographs, I have a certain look that I (currently) like – a slightly ‘polished’ look, but still natural. Definitely not ‘plastic’. With a few steps in Photoshop, and a few steps that I may or may not add, I can easily get to the styling in post-processing that I want. Some of the steps are specific, but others are added depending on taste or ‘feel’. Some of the steps involve Photoshop plug-ins which are essential for me …
This post was going to be something entirely different – a mini-rewiew of an Elinchrom Ranger Quadra Set that I got hold of to try out. But a key part was missing. Without the Skyport that allows you to control the output of the unit from the camera itself, a review would be less useful. Having booked Priscilla as our model already, and my friend Richard along to assist, we decided to just go ahead and have fun with a photo-shoot anyway …
positioning your subject – direction of light & choice of background
Taking cover from the rain under this awning, we ended up in the same spot where I took this available light portrait of Anelisa previously. Looking along the wall at the same angle, the black paint of the wall reflected the light from behind, completely changing the character of the background. Since the available light was low level, and not flattering, we added some light from an off-camera flash in a softbox …
posing your subject – direction of light & choice of background
Reinforcing the ideas from a few previous posts,
we’re going to look at that intersect where everything comes together:
- direction of light,
- choice of background,
- posing your subject,
- positioning yourself.
When we work with our subject – whether a family member or a model or anyone we’re photographing – then we have the opportunity to control at least a few aspects to make the final photograph more successful …
