 |
|
|
|||
|
|
Tangentson-location portraits – the progression of an ideaAugust 26, 2010
on-location portraits – the progression of an ideaI 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 …
Filed under: flash photography,general photography,lighting,models,photo shoot,portraits,posing — Neil vN @ 12:47 pm
Comments (26)
photo-shoot – a change in plansAugust 22, 2010
progression of an idea during a photo-sessionThis 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 …
direction of light & choice of background (part 2)August 21, 2010
positioning your subject – direction of light & choice of backgroundTaking 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 …
Filed under: flash photography,general photography,lighting,models,posing,technique — Neil vN @ 11:23 pm
Comments (10)
direction of light & choice of background (part 1)August 20, 2010
posing your subject – direction of light & choice of backgroundReinforcing the ideas from a few previous posts, 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 …
Filed under: flash photography,general photography,lighting,models,posing,technique — Neil vN @ 2:59 pm
Comments (7)
sequence of photos – posing a model – OktaviaAugust 8, 2010
sequence of photos – posingThe photo above is one of my recent favorite images. Oktavia is a professional dancer and we both wanted some photos to extend our portfolios. Of the number of places we used as a backdrop, I really liked this place – an art gallery in Manhattan where we were kindly allowed to use as a setting. What I’d like to show, is some of the images leading up to this final choice – how a combination of positioning Oktavia and changing the light, culminated in this photograph.
overpowering hard sunlight with flashJuly 14, 2010
For this part of a photo session with Johannie, we worked in an alley. The light was very uneven, with some swathes of sunlight falling directly on her. (See the image below for the photo without flash.) To get rid of this uneven sunlight falling on her, we have to add at least as much light on her as the brightest areas lit by sunlight. In the example above, our exposure is set to 1/250 @ f13 @ 200 ISO and we can see from the bright patch of light on her shoulder, that we’re at the edge of acceptable exposure. Any wider on our aperture, or higher on our ISO or slower on our shutter speed, and we’ll start to lose detail in the sunlit areas.
Filed under: flash photography,lighting,models,technique — Tags: flash photography, flash photography techniques, flash photography tips, off-camera flash, off-camera flash photography, overpowering the sun with flash — Neil vN @ 2:34 pm
Comments (32)
model – CarrieJune 26, 2010
Near the end of the recent photo session with Carrie, I walked across the street to find another angle. Walking back, I noticed the sun just dipping behind the roof of this old train station. I thought it might flare interestingly if I caught the sun just on the edge there. The problem was that I had to step into the street a few times when there was a lull in the traffic. The angle was a tough one since I had to, or rather, wanted to keep my camera at ground level to shoot up. I wanted the flare, and I wanted this angle to accentuate Carrie’s legs. I resorted to stepping into the road, crouching down, pre-focusing, and then holding my camera away from my eye at ground level. There was no way I was going to lay down in a busy street! It took three tries, each with a series of images, until I “blindly” got the composition the way I wanted it .. with the right amount of flare. Playing around with the controls in ACR (similar to Lightroom), got me to a retro- faded look I liked. The processing hopefully complements the sun-kissed image and add to the overall feel of the photo. Settings: 1/250 @ f5.6 @ 200 ISO // no additional lighting
If you found this and other articles valuable, then using these affiliate links to order equipment & any other goodies, would be a welcome way of helping towards the cost of hosting this site.
resource: off-camera flash photography techniquesJune 10, 2010
off-camera flash techniquesTo keep the sprawl of articles on the topic of off-camera flash together that exists on this site, I’ve created an additional page to the main flash photography pages, Simply titled, off-camera flash, it lists all the relevant articles. A snippet from the actual article will help it from being more easy for the eye to scan and find something relevant and of interest. I will keep adding future articles posted to the blog, and keep it as a handy resource.
Filed under: flash photography,models,news — Tags: flash photography techniques, off-camera flash, off-camera flash photography, off-camera lighting for portraits — Neil vN @ 2:36 am
Comments (4)
review: Lastolite Ezybox (model: Jess B)June 6, 2010
review: Lastolite Ezybox softboxUntil recently I’ve been using a softbox setup with speedlights that is very sturdy, but can take a few minutes to set up. Several photographers have recommended I check out the Lastolite Ezybox. So I took the plunge, and got the Lastolite Hot Shoe EZYBOX Softbox Kit (24″x24″) (B&H).
The speedring simply clips into position. The setup is very simple, although we’ll have to see how durable it will be. The softbox and clamps and speedring all fits into a surprisingly compact zippered bag.
Details for the images: Here is the link if you’d like to order the Lastolite Hot Shoe EZYBOX Softbox Kit (24″x24″) (B&H)
more articles on off-camera flash …
If you found this and other articles valuable, then using these affiliate links to order equipment & any other goodies, would be a welcome way of helping towards the cost of hosting this site.
|
| |||
