workshop view: Boston, MA « Neil vN

The recent workshop in Boston area was held at the studios of LensProToGo in Concord, MA. (LensProToGo is the company I turn to whenever I need to rent equipmentfor a shoot.) Paul, the owner of the company, kindly allowed us access to the studio for the entire day.

As mentioned with previous report-backs, I’ve expanded the material covered, and gear used, with the workshops this year. Now in addition to working with flash, we also play around with video lights as our source of light. During the practical session here, we took our models outside while using video lights. By exploiting the widely different colour balance of the tungsten light compared to the existing shaded day light , we were able to create an interesting dynamic with the colours. Using video light on our model, and with our cameras set to Tungsten WB, the background becomes an interesting shade of blue – in this case mixed with the green colours of the foliage outside.

And as always, the lighting pattern from a video light is quite dramatic ..

Thank you to everyone who attended the workshop (and our models), who made it a hugely enjoyable day!

12 Comments »

I just received your book and am slowly soaking up all the gems of knowledge. I have been thinking a lot about using a 12 volt video light, but when I tried a friend’s lowell light it was bright and made the subject squint. Do you use a modifier on the light?

Comment by Allan — September 19, 2009 @ 9:18 am
Allan, the video light is a rather harsh spotlight to shine in someone’s face.

1. That’s why I always hold it as high as I can without getting too much shadow under the eyebrows.

2. It also makes sense to bring the light from above over them … and “slide” the light into position in how you shine it on them. In other words, switch the light on while pointing it to the ground, and then in a big circular motion, bring the light into position from above.

3. Have your subject look away from where the light is coming from, and a little off to the side. That too helps.

4. Don’t use the video light for too long a period so that it doesn’t fatigue your subject.

I hope this helps.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil — September 19, 2009 @ 9:30 am
Neil,

Great workshop. Wonderful models. Fun people. You pack a lot into a one day event that is worth far more than the tuition.

I appreciated your teaching style and patience as you allowed the information to be absorbed by the whole range of people attending.

Only problem is that now you’ve got me thinking about making the switch to Nikon. Hmmmmmm.

Thanks again

James

Comment by James Hazelwood — September 19, 2009 @ 9:51 am
Neil
Very nice photo with a lot of depth,and very cool concept.
I would like to see some more with this Idea.
John

Comment by john — September 19, 2009 @ 10:36 am
John .. I do intend continuing posting more about using a video light for portraits. So check back regularly.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil — September 19, 2009 @ 9:18 pm
Neil, I went to the Boston seminar saying to my husband…I think this is going to help me decide whether or not I want to continue with photography. I have struggled with the technical aspects of lighting. The format was perfect – teach a concept, then have us try it out. I left the seminar excited about photography again. Thank you so much.

Chris

Comment by Chris — September 19, 2009 @ 11:06 pm
Chris .. wow! That’s one of the nicest compliments I’ve received about the workshops.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil — September 19, 2009 @ 11:45 pm
Hey Neil, Great workshop! I had read the book a few weeks before and it turned out to be an excellent primer to the workshop which ties everything together in a practical setting. I have already seen a difference in my work and am excited about expirimenting with other light sources as a result of the the class. Thanks again for your time and patience.

Comment by Bob — September 20, 2009 @ 8:30 am
Hello Neil,
All I can say is, “It was worth the drive all the way from Montreal”. I loved the frequent switch from theory to practice and the knowledge you have conveyed.
Thank you so much!
Angelika

Comment by Angelika — September 21, 2009 @ 8:26 am
Hello Neil,

a completely off topic question… what do you use for your editing?

A pc or a mac? I’m planning on buying a new workstation for photo editing and always hear that mac is the way to go for this kind of work, but no one seems to be able to explain just why that is.

Mac’s are very expensive compared to pc’s with the same specs (RAM, GHZ)

Also, how do you back your files up? Only on harddrives or do you also burn everything onto dvd’s?

Thanks!

Comment by Joost — September 23, 2009 @ 9:09 am
ps: planning on buying the D3x?

Comment by Joost — September 23, 2009 @ 9:20 am
Joost .. I mainly use a PC, but recently bought a top-of-the-line MacBook Pro to do editing of video clips on, and I now use it for the pre-edit of images. I still have to get used to the Mac, and at this point don’t quite see what the slavish devotion to Mac is all about, since certain important day-to-day functions are easier on the PC.

I do back everything up as I go along. There used to be pages on this site about my workflow, and I am busy updating them, so they should be up again in a week or so. Check back.

As for a D3x … as much as I would love one, I just don’t need the extra mega-pixels right now. Not for weddings anyway. And the file-size would just slow down my workflow.

Neil vN

Neil vN

Comment by Neil — October 3, 2009 @ 9:08 am