I am sure the designer of this phonebox intended for it to have this distinctly cartoon-like face. When I saw this, it instantly drew my attention. It really looked to me like a constantly-surprised wide-eyed face. Something out of Disney’s animated movie, Beauty & The Beast. This then is my choice then for this week’s entry in the Alive for 365 project.
The photograph had some Photoshop work done to it to give it much more snap than the straight-out-of-the-camera version. Oh, and the lighting was bounce flash with available light …
An icy cold day in the Meatpacking District in Manhattan … and a brave model that insisted on going bare feet. That’s just a glimpse of the latest NYC Photog Shootout gathering that took place on Saturday. This shootout is part of the ongoing series of events arranged by Rob Nicholson. There were many familiar faces in today’s group amongst the new. Good opportunity to say hi to old friends, and make a few new ones.
As with the previous NYC shootout in June 2009 , I gave some instruction on some of the basics of manual off-camera flash to the groups. We worked with a Q-flash and a softbox (and sometimes without the softbox), and a bunch of Pocketwizards that I handed to anyone in the group who didn’t have. Strange thing – I ended up with one more pocketwizard than I started out with. Bonus! (Actually, if you were there and you’re missing one, let me know.)
It was a bit of the Wild West out there with the huge groups of photographers firing away.
The second group had an interesting addition to the shoot …
Francesco showed me this image on Facebook, rightfully proud of this captivating portrait. He mentioned that he used some of the techniques mentioned on this website. Since those techniques are accessible to every photographer , and the results can be so striking, I asked Francesco to expand a bit on how he shot this. He also explains a little about his post-processing in Photoshop.
Sometimes it is true that the best experiences are the result of an unplanned event. Whenever possible I always carry my camera bag with me. In it is a quick portrait setup consisting mainly of my Nikon D700 with the Nikon 70-200mm 2.8 VR lens, and a SB900 speedlight … and of course a handmade half snoot made with a black piece of cardboard velcroed to the flashgun.
The opportunity for this picture came while at work when one of my friends and former colleague decided to visit us with his beautiful little son. I do not work full time in a photo studio. Nothing was scheduled nor planned ahead, but I can say this made this picture even more rewarding …
My entry this week for the Alive for 365 project, is this image taken in Cork, Ireland during my trip there last year. I visited Cork for a few days to present two workshops on flash photography, and immediately fell in love with the historic city. It was a simultaneous pleasure just exploring the place, and taking a short break from a hectic schedule.
The reason why this image is my choice for the week? It was by request. (Check the comments at the end of that page.)
The one type of photo session where I work the most at getting my lighting just right, is with a boudoir session. I find these intimate photo sessions quite a challenge. I have to get a variety of looks in a short time. For this I have to not only concentrate on posing and angles but also concentrate on the lighting. On top of that, I have to make sure my model or client is comfortable and relaxed at all times. The session has to be fun and really show her off at her best.
I bring a variety of lighting equipment to these shoots – speedlights to be used on camera,
and as a softbox setup. I also favour video lights.
But I keep the equipment portable and compact and easy to set up .. which means that I mostly use available light where I can. By closely looking at the direction of the various light sources in a room, I can position my subject in relation to the light (eg, a window), or simply move the light source if it is a bedside table lamp.
With the light levels fairly low indoors, this necessitates fast optics and high-ISO capable cameras. The style that I prefer is sensual and romantic. Sexy without being overly sexual. With boudoir photography, I feel that a ‘hint’ works better than being more direct. But styles and tastes vary of course.
An example of where I used the soft light coming through the window as the main light source. I didn’t add any light to this. The window light was soft, and it was the dominant light source from this viewpoint. Easy to use. Now I could concentrate on directing the flow of her movement.
The image above was shot ‘with’ the direction of light, giving even light on her. It is also good to break it up a bit and shoot ‘against’ a light source, or at an angle to a main light source …
Last week, I had an interesting lunchtime conversation with a photographer acquaintance of mine. (It also happens that I’ll be photographing his wedding later this year.) We mostly talked about photography business related topics, but at some point I mentioned the origins of this website. How it came to be, and why the geeky domain name, and some of the original pages on here.
One of the first articles I wrote, was this one on the advantages of having a higher maximum flash sync speed. It is an explanation of why the Nikon D70 had an advantage over the Canon 10D. (They were the two most popular D-SLRs at the time). The Nikon D70 has a maximum flash sync speed of 1/500th, but only went down to 200 ISO. The Canon 10D has a maximum flash sync speed of 1/250th, but went down to 100 ISO. There were huge debates on the photography forums whether the D70 had the advantage or not, since many argued that 1/500th @ 200 ISO is the same as 1/250th @ 100 ISO.
That webpage explains why the D70 would have a distinct advantage. In describing the gist of this to my friend, I realized that my explanation on that page could’ve been much simpler.
So here it is – the advantage of having a higher max flash sync speed – but explained in a way that is more concise …
My next entry in the ongoing Alive for 365 project – this vibrant image of the beach huts on Muizenberg beach in South Africa.
As mentioned in the previous post on the project, it is a one-image-a-day project shared between 7 photographer friends, myself included. We each get to contribute an image a week. Scott, the organizer of the group, is making available 10 prints of each daily photograph. These 10 prints will be sold at a very affordable $20 per print; with the profit going to the American Cancer Society. More details on the alive for 365 website. Be sure to follow us on Twitter.
Beach houses at Muizenberg Beach, South Africa; Sept ’92
In trying to find an interesting image for my entry this week in the Alive for 365 project, I went back into my archives to some colour transparencies I had scanned. It’s still too cold to venture out and hunt new photographs, so I took the comfortable way out. In going through my older photographs, I noticed that in my landscape photography, there were two common links.
The second link isn’t a thematic one, but rather based on technique. Most of them used a polarizer filter. For me this was, and still is, my most useful accessory when photographing landscapes. .
The complementary yellow and near-violet colours here are saturated to a deep colour. The red and white lighthouse is then neatly positioned between these two bands of colours.
Lighthouse at Cape Aghulas; Sept ’92
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One of my favourite landscape photos at the time was this backlit scene, taken near Fouriesburg in the Free State, South Africa. May ’95
At one point, while walking around in the veldt here, I turned around and looked back from where I had come … and saw the landscape looking entirely different when partially backlit. A simple change of viewpoint completely changed the way I saw the light fall on the landscape. What appealed to me here was the subtle way the lines and colours converged. A polarizer filter saturated the colours even more by cutting down on the glare.
I’m often asked what I would do when I encounter a situation where you need to use flash, but there is no easy way to bounce flash. My answer invariably is .. you’re screwed!
Well, not really. My advice is that you have to improvise and find some way of finessing your light. In tough situations, you still want to try and shy away from using direct on-camera flash whenever possible. Direct on-camera flash as the main source of light rarely looks good. And I only use the word ‘rarely’ there as a hedge against someone finding that single rare moment where direct on-camera flash actually was aesthetically the best choice.
Earlier in the day, working outside with the couple, we had great light. There was a changing mix of dramatic light and soft light, which made it easy getting beautiful photos of the couple:
Later in the evening, just using bounce flash was enough to work with:
However, the outside ceremony was scheduled for early evening. I knew that even if the ceremony started on time, the light would gradually fade into darkness as the event progressed.
I now had to balance the practical consideration of getting sharp images, with the artistic consideration of retaining the mood of the setting and the mood of the ceremony. I couldn’t rely on there being enough available light to carry myself and my second photographer through the time of dusk setting in. Direct on-camera flash just doesn’t look that good, but there really was no way to bounce flash there .. we were outside next to a lake.
This is where panic set in. I desperately want to give my clients images that look as great as those they saw in my sample albums or on my website. But there were the practical matters to consider.
I wanted both these things - sharp images, but also images that retained the mood …
This dramatic portrait of a model, Ambyr, comes from Mitch Todd.
Mitch attended the Dallas workshop last year, and sent me this image just a few days ago. He used a speedlight on a light-stand to give direct off-camera light on the model, but he also used a piece of black foam to flag the light, so that the spill light was contained. This caused the distinct light fall-off that you see there.
What I like about this, is the off-the-cuff improvisation during a shoot. A simple adaptation that gave different results than just bouncing flash.
Mitch’s description of the technique:
“I used some of my extra “black foamie thing” material to make a snoot for my 580 EX II strobe and shot this picture in an attempt to emulate the video light glamour shots we did at the Dallas workshop. I made the snoot made with black foam attached to the strobe with a hair band.
Shot with my Canon 7D and Canon 24-70 F2.8 lens.
ISO 100, 1/250, F9.0 – which made the lighted hallway go dark.
Lit with 1 Canon 580 EX II strobe at 1/2 or full power on a Cheetah stand in her hallway. I shot a few exposures of Ambyr and used a combination of histogram and LCD screen and crossed my fingers.
I am very happy with the results and will be using this technique again. No Photoshopping yet. The model loves it. I never would have thought of doing lighting like this before your workshop. Thanks.”
