|
December 27, 2011
observing & using the available light, and maybe adding a little bit of flash (model – Alex)
When working with available light or flash or video light or any kind of additional light, the most important aspect of the light is the direction of the light. We need to take a moment and observe the light. Where do the light sources come from? What is the quality of the light?
This motif of looking at the available light has been a recurring theme here with various articles on the topic. Using this simple portrait of Alex, our model with a recent individual workshop, let’s look at a sequence of photos showing some of the thought process ..
(more…)
Comments (7)
December 22, 2011
off-camera flash photography tip – find your background, then your settings
With flash photography on location, we nearly always start off by figuring out what we want to do in relation to our available light. We might just need fill-flash, or or flash might need to do the “heavy lifting” and expose correctly for our subject in relation to the available light.
When we have our subject in (relative) shade, and need to figure out our flash exposure, we also need to decide exactly what our background is. It usually works best to be specific about our background … and how we position ourselves and our subject in relation to that.
So let’s run through that thought-process, using the image at the top. Alex was our delightful model today during an individual workshop in Manhattan.
(more…)
Comments (7)
November 23, 2011
flash photography technique – turning day into night
During the photo session with a couple, Laura & Todd, I wanted to add some variety to the images from the urban setting we were in. The sky had been overcast, but started to clear later on, leaving wispy clouds. Just perfect for a dramatic sky as the background. Of course, it is impossible to get your subject AND a bright sky equally well exposed without resorting to graduated filters or additional lighting, ie, flash. The technique with off-camera flash is quite straight-forward …
(more…)
Comments (14)
October 12, 2011
example: direct off-camera flash vs softbox (model: Ulorin Vex)
Ulorin Vex posing for us during part of the on-location session of the flash photography workshops which I presented in San Francisco earlier this year. Ulorin Vex is of course absolutely stunning, as always. While I often direct models how they should pose, this one is all her doing . Not even I can improve on that.
The image here at the top was shot with an off-camera softbox – my usual preferred Lastolite Ezybox softbox. The direction of the light here should immediately reveal the approximate position where the light was positioned. Just as comparison, we removed the two baffles of the Lastolite, to see how direct off-camera flash would compare. We kept the softbox hull in place, so it did help contain the spread of light a bit. As you’d expect, the results look more dramatic.
(more…)
Comments (10)
October 3, 2011
The photo above is of Hannah, one of our models at the workshops in Dublin, Ireland. The lighting is off-camera flash via a softbox to camera left, held up on a monopod. In this instance we used TTL flash with Radio Poppers. TTL flash makes it easy to get to great (or close to great) flash exposure immediately. But for consistency, manual flash is usually the best option.
With manual flash, there are the 4 controls for manual flash exposure:
(We should know this off by heart.)
- distance from your light source to your subject
- power of your flash (including diffusion of your light)
- aperture
- ISO
Now, in an explanation – whether in a written description like this, or with me waving my hands around in wild semaphore fashion – it all easily makes academic sense why the 4 controls would affect manual flash exposure. For example, it just makes intuitive sense that if you bring your light source closer, you get more light on your subject … and would have to adjust one or more of the other controls: exposure, ISO and power. You move the light further away, and then you get less light. But while we might academically understand how the individual controls affect manual flash exposure, it might not immediately make sense in an “oh, yes of course, I get it!” way how the 4 controls are inter-related.
practical tutorial: manual flash – distance, power, ISO & aperture
In explaining all this during flash photography workshops, I felt that the connection between those 4 controls didn’t immediately interlink in people’s mind. It needed a more direct explanation to get to that aha! moment that is necessary for it all to make sense. And to help with that, we work through a hypothetical scenario, camera in hand … and then see how it all connects.
It’s quite an elementary tutorial, so if you’re an experienced hand at off-camera flash or studio lighting, then this isn’t for you. But if you feel like you just haven’t quite made that intuitive connection yet between those 4 controls, and how it affects manual flash exposure, hang in there …
(more…)
Comments (42)
September 12, 2011
photo session: urban ballerina – Oktavia
Oktavia is the stunning model on the cover of my book on off-camera flash. We’ve intended to do another photo shoot ever since then, but busy schedules kept us from that until recently. A theme that Oktavia wanted to explore, was that of the Urban Ballerina. The idea with the urban ballerina is the contextual dissonance of having a graceful dancer in the middle of some urban setting. There’s no real meaning to it other than contrasting art & beauty against the harsher urban setting.
(more…)
Comments (8)
August 15, 2011
shooting in bright sunlight with flash
One of the most challenging lighting scenarios we’ll most likely encounter, is bright harsh sunlight. There are a couple of steps we can take to make things a lot easier for ourselves …
(more…)
Comments (33)
July 30, 2011
off-camera flash for dramatic light
During this recent photo session with a couple, Ashley and Michael, we roamed around the campus grounds of the university where they had met. In the one part of the grounds, there was this clump of trees, planted in a small rectangle with two seats. Since it was so dark there under the trees, they wondered who’d ever go and sit there. It just didn’t look appetizing. Then I though … hmmm, with some off-camera flash from behind, we can really make this place look like something.
(more…)
Comments (25)
July 22, 2011
off-camera flash – creating separation with back-lighting
Another image from the photo session with Bethany, when I was in San Francisco earlier this year. This interesting background is part of the lobby area of a San Francisco night-club. I knew the wooden panelling and subdued incandescent lighting would make an interesting background because of the repetitive pattern and glow. A slow shutter speed brought the background light in … and then I used flash to light her. I didn’t gel my flash – specifically so that the background light would go that warm. The pull-back shot will show the simplicity of the lighting …
(more…)
Comments (24)
June 30, 2011
multiple off-camera flash – adding some pop with back-lighting
Lea is a model I’ve worked with on previous occasions. With her striking looks and easy demeanor, she is just a pleasure to photograph. We spent some time this afternoon in down-town Manhattan, looking for interesting spots as backdrops. Jessica, (my infamous assistant with an attitude), spotted this dramatic gate and interesting glass front. It seemed like the perfect place to start the photo session, but it needed something extra to give the photos some drama.
The final image is shown here at the top, but let’s look at how we got there …
(more…)
Comments (14)
Older Posts »
|
|
