Neil vN - tangents » technique

composition for full-length portraits – step back!

Neil vN — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 04:54:11 +0000

composition for full-length portraits – step back instead of zooming wide

A comment in the article on a simple lighting setup for the family formal photos, asked why I recommended that a photographer should step back rather than zoom wide when photographing a group. The reason is that the perspective distortion that a wide-angle lens will give to your subject, is not all that flattering.

With this straight-forward portrait of Anelisa, I was shooting with the 24-70mm lens (on a full-frame camera), zoomed to 70mm. I wasn’t super-tight in my composition, so I was shooting at a distance where there is no distortion introduced on her face. (For example, a 50mm lens used as a close portrait lens on a full-frame camera, will bring unfortunate distortion to your subject’s face.)

It is a simple, pleasant portrait. Nothing complicated.

I was shooting at this distance from Anelisa for that portrait.

If I want to shoot a full-length portrait now, I have two options:
- I can zoom wider (and not move my position), or
- I can keep my lens to 70mm, and step back until I have her full-length in my frame.

Zooming wider and shooting from “above”, will give me this kind of bobble-head distortion, where her head is much larger, and her legs are much shorter. NOT flattering.

Stepping back forces a more pleasant perspective.

So when photographing someone, I fight the immediate urge to be lazy and just zoom. Instead, I keep to the longer focal length as much as I can, stepping back until I get the framing I want. Invariably, this is the more flattering perspective.

Only when I can’t safely or comfortably step back anymore, will I zoom wider. But my focal length then will still be more appropriate than if I had immediately racked my zoom as wide as it could.

And to give you an idea of the relative distances, I was standing this far from Anelisa when photographing the full-length portrait at 70mm.

Obviously there will be times when you want a more dynamic composition, or you may want to go for the crazy wide-angle shot. But for a representative portrait, it is always the better decision to step back rather than being lazy and just zooming wider.

The entire motif behind this article then, is to be aware of your own position in relation to your subject, and see how this will affect your composition … and how pleasantly this might render your subject. This is one of those things in photography where it is a good idea to just get a camera in your hand and start playing. See how zooming affects your angle of view, and how this might affect your own position if you recompose.

other articles on composition in photography

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies. Thank you!

Stay informed of new articles via the monthly newsletter.
Also join us on the Tangents forum for further discussions.

flash photography tip: find your background, then your settings

Neil vN — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 03:04:37 +0000

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.

A point that I often underline here, is that we can’t expose correctly for all the areas in our background. We have to choose which part of our background is important, and base our exposure on that.

For example, here is a street scene in Manhattan. Exposing for the sky, the street goes completely dark.

1/250 @ f11 @ 200 ISO

This is to illustrate that I can’t expose correctly for the sky and the street scene. I have to decide.

Adding flash to this to expose correctly for Alex, still leaves us with an image that doesn’t make sense. She’s lost in a pool of black surroundings.

Positioning myself so that I can shoot up and use the sky as my background, makes much more sense.

At this point, I had changed my exposure to 1/250 @ f16 @ 200 ISO to really saturate the sky. There is no specific correct exposure here for the sky. I can choose how I want to have the background / the sky appear.

Adding manual off-camera flash to this mix, immediately gives a dramatic look.

The vertical shot looks good, but half the frame is dark. It would need additional flashes, or something there to help delineate her legs against the background.

The composition just makes more sense as a horizontal photo, with Alex placed against the sky.

The final image again …

.. but with the image sweetened a bit using Topaz Adjust in an Adjustment Layer in Photoshop to give the photograph a bit more snap, as described in that article.

Here is the pull-back shot:

To get any kind of detail in the surrounding areas, and not have it appear black, I dragged my shutter to 1/15 of a second. Not a sensible shutter speed here when hand-holding the camera. It was just to illustrate where we were.

Since we were shooting with manual flash here, I couldn’t as easily change my aperture and ISO as I might have if TTL flash was an option with our setup. Therefore my shutter speed was the easiest to change and affect my ambient light only. (It’s my independent control for available light when shooting with manual flash.)

FInally, here is the image as I preferred it to be cropped. It was sweetened a bit in Photoshop with using Topaz Adjust, but the sky was not dodged and burnt or manipulated. It appears that saturated and dramatic because that is how we exposed for it.

1/250 @ f16 @ 200 ISO … 24-70mm lens zoomed to 35mm (but image cropped square)

the metering technique used here for the manual flash:

- we decided on the aperture and ISO we want to use, based on what we wanted to do with our background.
- since we’re shooting in bright light, our lowest ISO is our best option.
- we’re shooting at maximum sync speed, since that is the most sensible shutter speed choice now.
- since manual flash was used, that means aperture and ISO has now been fixed for us.
- that leaves distance and power of our flash, as the other two controls.
- knowing we need to dump f16 @ 200 ISO worth of light from the Q-flash in a softbox with a single baffle, the flash was set to full manual output. Everything the flash could give.
- that means our power was decided for us. (Due to bright sky)
- then we just had to use a lightmeter to measure our output (in f-stop readings). Holding the monopod and softbox up, I moved forward until the other photographer read f/16 on the lightmeter. Remember, the distance here is the distance from the light-source to the subject, not the photographer’s distance to the subject.
- now all our settings for flash is correct … in relation to our chosen background.

Dec 21 – Jan 11 - online workshop: off-camera flash essentials

equipment used during this photo session:

Nikon D3S (B&H); Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 AF-S (B&H)

Quantum Q-flash T5D-R (B&H)
medium Photoflex Litedome Q39 (24×32) softbox (B&H)
Westcott Magic Slipper (B&H), Sekonic L-358 (B&H)
(2x) Pocket-Wizard Plus II Tranceiver (B&H)

description of the softbox setup used during this photo session

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies. Thank you!

Stay informed of new articles via the monthly newsletter.
Also join us on the Tangents forum for further discussions.

back-lighting with flash for silhouetted wedding portraits

Neil vN — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:12:49 +0000

back-lighting with flash for dramatic silhouetted wedding portraits

One of the easiest ways to create dramatic light for a silhouette when photographing the wedding portraits, is to add a flash behind the couple. The beauty of this is that there is a fair amount of leeway as to what would work. We need not be all that exact, but there are some a few things we should check …

1. The distance of the flash behind the couple – a few feet.

2. Set the flash to a wide zoom angle for the flash-head. Flipping the diffuser panel down, or using a diffuser cup, would also help spread the light.

3. Tilt the flash up by about 45 degrees.

4. It is best we don’t put the flash on the ground directly behind the couple, because if the flash comes from below them, the light tends to over-expose large areas of the underside of their faces and chins. Not ideal. So it helps in elevating the flash off the ground. A small tripod is best.

There is more to this. I was using the PocketWizard TT5 units, and they don’t respond well if the receiving unit is on the ground. The receiver needs to be elevated to receive the entire radio wave from the sender. So I knew from experience (and one or two test shots here), that I had best elevate the flash anyway.

In the example above, I told my assistant to crouch down behind them wile holding the flash (and wireless receiver) in her hand. My instruction was to “be small” as she crouched so that she wouldn’t appear in the frame.

5. Manual flash settings make the most sense. TTL flash metering isn’t really of help here, since your camera won’t be directly metering the area lit by the flash. The flash exposure will mostly be rim-lighting, and not lighting your subjects from the front. The manual flash settings – try 1/4 power or 1/8th power or even 1/16 power, depending on your aperture and ISO.

My settings for the photo above:
1/30 @ f4 @ 1600 ISO … lens zoomed to 30mm
My settings were based on the need to have some detail in the wedding reception venue behind the couple. Then I added flash. Simple.

My flash was gelled with a 1/2 CTS gel.

Since the building is well-lit, there was also the option to not use flash, and just have the natural silhouette, without the flash adding the rim-light.

My settings for the photo above:
1/40 @ f2.8 @ 2500 ISO - hand-held, lens zoomed to 24mm

And just for comparison, here is the same setup, but lit from the front.

My settings for the photo above:
1/40 @ f2.8 @ 2500 ISO - hand-held, lens zoomed to 24mm
My flash was gelled with a 1/2 CTS gel.

Here I had my assistant hold a white umbrella aloft, with the shaft of the umbrella pointing at the couple. She also held the flash aloft in her other hand, bouncing into the umbrella. While this image works, for me, it just lacks the dramatic impact of the image at the top. However, it is a photo I would include to show the couple, just to give them the option.

gelling your flash for effect (model – Anelisa)

Neil vN — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 03:09:46 +0000

gelling your flash for effect

The idea of gelling your flash for effect has been a topic here a few times. I most often use gels on my flash to correct my flash when working with tungsten / incandescent light. There are times though when I gel my flash just for effect, creating a shift between my foreground (lit by gelled flash) and my background.

In the examples shown in the several articles here, there wasn’t the type of background where the effect can clearly be seen on easily recognizable “neutral” background. In the article turning day into night, we turned the sky a dark shade of blue. With the sequence of photos of a model, Bethany, there was a reflective mirrored wall as background that we changed the color of. The effect looks stunning, but the mirrored wall might not be something that makes the color shift obvious to the casual visitor here.

With that, during a recent individual workshop in Manhattan, while working with Anelisa again, I took the opportunity to specifically take this sequence of images. They will hopefully clearly show how we can create a more dramatic effect by shifting the color balance of our flash in relation to the available light …

Here is the starting image. We’re working in the shaded area here, so my White Balance is Cloudy. Keep in mind that I inevitably will change my WB as part of my usual RAW workflow. It’s an adjust-to-taste thing. Therefore, I regard my WB as being “Cloudy RAW”.

The technique is a straight-forward one. We get our basic exposure based on the background. Keep in mind that we can not expose correctly for the shaded areas such as the ground, AND the sunlight buildings at the same time. The simplest approach here is to under-expose for our subject – the model – and then pick up the slack with flash. In this case, I used TTL flash since we could work faster. But I had to adjust my exposure in RAW, because of over-exposure. More about that in a short while.

Here is the pull-back shot to show how the light was held in relation to Anelisa. I wanted the light to come from nearly-the-front and to the side. So the softbox was held higher up so I could get the longer shot that I wanted, without the softbox getting in the shot.

Here is the image without the flash.

Knowing that I am gelling my flash with 1/2 CTS gel, I changed my camera’s WB to 3850K … but in editing the RAW files, I changed the WB of this sequence of images (incl the ambient-only shot), to 4650K. The predominance of blue tones of the available light, made the 3850K gelled flash still look too cold. Hence, my WB was … 3850K RAW. That has to become new terminology! Cloudy RAW. Daylight RAW. Incandescent RAW. 3850K RAW.

With this sequence, the flash over-exposed by 1 stop. Since it is TTL, the flash’s exposure can vary depending on composition and how much dark tones there are, and how much of the subject / scene is lit up by flash. So this ambient-only shot, and the pull-back shot above, and the following flash shots, had the exposure pulled down by 1 stop in the processing of the RAW file, than they were in-camera.

I could’ve spent the minute or two there to finesse my flash exposure with my FEC dial, but Anelisa had to leave soon, and there were cars constantly moving by, and it was cold. So sometimes I just rely on the latitude of the RAW file to help me out.

image settings: 1/250 @ f2.8 @ 200 ISO

image settings: 1/250 @ f4 @ 200 ISO

With this photo, I dropped my available light by another stop by closing down my aperture.

While I had enough leeway with my flash exposure to jump into high-speed flash sync territory with an 1/500 shutter speed, I chose to stay at maximum flash sync speed, and change my aperture. Since I am shooting in TTL mode, the change in aperture will only affect my ambient light, and not my flash exposure.

Remember the rule that aperture controls flash exposure? Well, it is only true for manual flash. Not TTL flash. TTL flash will follow your choice of settings … while you remain within range of what your flash is capable of.

By changing my ambient exposure like this, under-exposing it even more, my flash is starting to dominate, giving a more dramatic effect.

equipment used during this photo session:

Nikon D3S (B&H); Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 AF-S VR II (B&H)
Nikon SB-900 (B&H); Nikon SD-9 battery pack (B&H)
PocketWizard FlexTT5 transceiver (B&H)
PocketWizard AC3 Zone Controller (B&H)
Lastolite Hot Shoe EZYBOX Kit (24″x24″) (B&H)

That compressed perspective in the images is due to the long focal length of the lens used. All images were shot at approximately 150mm focal length. The images weren’t at a consistent distance like I would have liked them to be since we had to step out of the way for approaching cars.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II

Nikon 70-200mm f2.8G VR II

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies. Thank you!

Stay informed of new articles via the monthly newsletter.
Also join us on the Tangents forum for further discussions.

finding that photo opportunity

Neil vN — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 21:35:31 +0000

finding that photo opportunity

We stumbled upon this opportunity for this portrait of Jessica, my infamous assistant with an attitude. The reception room for a wedding we were photographing had several large boxes of lights against the walls as a kind of light mural, with baubles inside that were lit up. And the back of each of these displays was a mirror …

… and if you stood close enough to photograph the reflection through the light spheres, and you carefully moved around to frame your subject, you could get captivating portraits like the one above. Magical!

An aperture of f/1.4 on the 85mm lens made sure that nothing else but Jessica’s eye closest to the camera, was in focus. Of course, I had to move as well to not get myself in the camera’s frame.

camera settings: 1/60 (handheld) @ f/1.4 @ 3200 ISO
Nikon D3S (B&H); Nikon 85mm f/1.4G (B&H)

Finally, I used a combination of filters in the RadLab action set to give the image more of a vintage look.

Simply beautiful.

You can order the RadLab or the Totally Rad action sets, via this affiliate link:
the discount code 1086NEILVN will save you 15%

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies. Thank you!

Stay informed of new articles via the monthly newsletter.
Also join us on the Tangents forum for further discussions.

making your images pop – through choice of lens

Neil vN — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 03:33:13 +0000

making your images pop – through choice of lens and technique

The immediate reaction when considering how you could make your photographs *pop* might be to juice it up in Photoshop. But the process should start much earlier – in camera. With a few easy techniques, we can consistently create images that jump off the page or screen.

The most recent photo session posted on my Facebook photography page, had some comments about the 3D look to some of the photographs, and that prompted this article on how to make your images pop …

A. technique

1. choice of lens

The way that the couple, Lindsay and Chris are isolated / separated from the background, is mainly due to my choice of lens – the 70-200mm f/2.8

Whether it is the Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 AF-S VR II (B&H), or the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II (B&H), this optic is essential for on-location portraits.

With workshops, I’ve seen attendees make a common mistake in choosing a focal length. They stand at a certain (comfortable) distance from the subject / model, and then zoom to fill the viewfinder with the composition they want. The problem here is that most often they are standing too close to the subject, and are zooming to a too-wide focal length.

A better approach is to zoom to your maximum focal length, and then step backwards until you find your composition … and then only zoom wider if necessary. Doing it this way, forces you to use the longest focal length that makes sense for a specific composition. It might seem like a trivial adjustment to your technique, but it could very well change the way your photo look by forcing a longer focal length.

details for 1st image:
1/250 @ f4 @ 640 ISO
Nikon D3S (B&H); Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 AF-S VR II (B&H) .. at 150mm

details for 2nd image:
1/250 @ f4 @ 400 ISO
Nikon D3S (B&H); Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 AF-S VR II (B&H) .. at 150mm

The longer lens also helps in eliminating distracting elements in the background because of the tighter field of view. With the image at the top, I also lay down on the grass to hide people in the background, exactly as described in this linked article. Eliminate and simplify!

2. choice of lens aperture

A wide-ish aperture with a longer focal length, will give you shallower depth of field. This shallow DoF will blur the background. With this in mind, I most often work in the f2.8 to f4 range when I use a 70-200mm lens. And to reiterate something – shallow DoF is not the same as bokeh.

3. distance to the background

Coupled with the choice of wide aperture and a longer focal length, it helps to position yourself and your subject so that your background is distant. This is why the 2nd image has such a painterly feel to the background – it is distant enough and the lens aperture is wide enough to blur it.

B. Lighting

The lighting here is also important to lend a certain crispness to the image and help separate the couple from the more muted background. The sky was overcast, so the light was soft … but it was top-heavy, giving shadowed eyes.

The lighting here was straight-forward off-camera flash with the Lastolite 24×24 Ezybox softbox. The off-camera flash was in TTL mode, with FEC around -2 or -3 EV.

C. Post-processing of the image

Finally, I have to mention that I did in fact use a basic Photoshop technique to give the images a bit more contrast and saturation. I did this by creating a Soft Light layer at 30% as described in this linked article.

But long before I even felt the image could need a bit more punch, the essential techniques were there to ensure that the images I got in-camera didn’t need Photoshop work to make the pop.

more images from this photo session:
- album on Facebook
- blog post – One Perfect Moment

equipment used during this photo session:

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II

Nikon 70-200mm f2.8G VR II

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies. Thank you!

Stay informed of new articles via the monthly newsletter.
Also join us on the Tangents forum for further discussions.

favorite wedding image – city lights & off-camera flash

Neil vN — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 02:36:26 +0000

wedding photography – favorite image – city lights

This photo from a event wedding received a lot of favorable comments when I posted it on my Facebook page, as well as questions about how it was shot.

For the romantic portraits, I often take a couple around the venue – the light is just different than during the day. This is where video light comes into its own. Here though, I wanted some of the city lights and light from the traffic outside the venue to appear in the background. The way I envisioned it, was as a stream of cars behind them, but in the first few test images, the cars were too distinct, even at f2.8 and 200mm focal length. Looking at how the approaching cars lined up at the traffic intersection, I decided to use that instead, and let the cars’ headlights flare out.

Then I just needed some light on the couple to complete the image …

Shortly before we went out, I was still photographing a last few family groups that we didn’t get to earlier in the day. So I had a light-stand and white shoot-through umbrella ready. (Exactly the same off-camera lighting setup as shown in this recent post where I photographed band members.) I had my assistant hold it up at camera left. I tried shooting in TTL, but the exposure varied too much as the background lights flared or not. So I settled on low-power manual flash with the speedlight. I didn’t need a lot of power since I was shooting at f3.2 and 1600 ISO. In using the PocketWizard TT5 and AC3, I could easily flip between TTL and manual exposure for the off-camera flash.

The wide aperture was to help separate the couple from the background with the thin depth of field. The high ISO was because I was shooting hand-held. I didn’t have time to fetch and set up a tripod on this cold evening. Even at f3.2 and 1600 ISO, I used 1/25th shutter speed. This is where a stabilized lens is essential.

Proper technique to steadily hand-hold the camera and lens also made the difference.
- lens supported with my left hand under the lens;
- anchoring my elbows in my sides;
- legs apart;
- breathing controlled;
- lightly pressing the shutter release.

Focusing was a problem. The strong back-lighting from the cars’ headlights made it really difficult for the camera to focus. So I had to prefocus before the cars stopped there again with the next light change.

In terms of the chosen exposure – the camera settings are guided by the ambient light. There isn’t a real way to meter for it with your in-camera meter. So it really just depends on a good guesstimate for the initial exposure, and then nudging your shutter speed, aperture & ISO to where you need them to be. But mostly you just change your shutter speed to bring in the ambient light, because f3.2 and 1600ISO are getting close to the ceiling of useful settings. Also, since I was shooting with manual flash, it just made sense to change the shutter speed before I change anything else.

The flash was gelled with a 1/2 CTS gel to bring its color temperature closer to that of the city lights and car headlights.

And that is how this image came together. It even works in Black & White:

an album of images of this wedding can be seen on my Facebook page
images from this wedding can also be seen on my wedding photography blog

equipment used during this photo session:

Nikon D3; Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 AF-S VR II (B&H)
Nikon SB-900 (B&H); Nikon SD-9 battery pack (B&H)
PocketWizard FlexTT5 transceiver (B&H)
PocketWizard AC3 Zone Controller (B&H)
Manfrotto 1004BAC light-stand (B&H)
umbrella bracket (B&H); 45″ white shoot-through umbrella (B&H)

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies. Thank you!

Stay informed of new articles via the monthly newsletter.
Also join us on the Tangents forum for further discussions.

“using the available light” is not random

Neil vN — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 08:43:54 +0000

to use available light is not a random thing

Since I often use flash or additional light, there was some surprise in the (favorable) comments in the Facebook album when I mentioned this photo was shot without any flash. Not even fill-flash. Just the available light. But where I posed the bride, was a specific decision. It wasn’t just random.

Now, I often get the feeling that when someone boasts they only use available light, that it is meant to disguise that they don’t know how to use additional lighting. My thought here is that unless you find yourself in great light, or alternately position your subject so that the light works in your favor … you’re very likely to find that the available light just isn’t as flattering as it could be. Ultimately, this comes down to the point that using light – whether found (ambient) light, or light added by the photographer – is best as a conscious decision by the photographer.

Of course, for many genres of photography, (sport, news, theater, and so on), these choices are out of our control. We then just best deal with whatever the situation throws at us. So there are those times where we really don’t have any say in it. But when we do have control over the shooting scenario and our subject … then, how light is used, is best as a conscious choice by us as photographers.

Back to the image at the top. This was taken during the romantic portrait session of the couple after their wedding. I have photographed in this area quite often, so I knew that this photograph would work. Especially so for someone with such natural elegance as Jen, our bride here. You may remember Jen from the rainy day photo-session with her fiance, Chris. The article was also used in my book on off-camera flash. Oh, and while we’re busy with these flashbacks, Jen and Chris were also the couple in the photograph used in the article on using on-camera bounce flash outdoors at night.

But I digress … back to the image at the top. The composition is supremely simple. Uncluttered. The receding lines lead your eye right into the middle, towards Jen. (For a final edit for an album, I’d still clone out the out-of-focus people in the background.) So the composition is straight-forward.

The way I had her pose, is also straight-forward, yet elegant. The one thing to note here, is how I had her pop her front knee towards the side. This creates a slimming effect on any one … versus popping the rear knee forward, which visually creates a larger shape.

Now, where I positioned Jen, was quite specific. I had her stand right at the entrance of the row of trees, just past the first tree. This diagram might explain it better:

In positioning her here, the light is now coming from a specific direction, and very soft. The light isn’t coming from over-head like it would’ve if we’d worked elsewhere. By having her stand there, we are in a way mimicking the effect of a massive softbox in the studio, placed 45 degrees or so, above our subject. Immediately we reduce the chance of heavy shadows under the eyes. The light is now coming from a specific angle.

I could have, if there were backgrounds that would’ve complemented this, moved to the side, and had more of a directional effect to the light. Remember, if you change your position in relation to the light and your subject, the light changes completely! It is important that the connection is seen between the way that Ulorin Vex was lit by flash in that image, and how the light in this instance would’ve changed if I had changed my position. It’s all connected. It’s all about the direction of light.

So, relating all this to the topic here – I used the available light. But it wasn’t just a random thing. It was specific, but it was also a quick decision. I knew that by positioning her there, I’d control the direction most of the light would come in from. The same idea would work by posing your subject within a doorway, for example.

camera settings: 1/250 @ f3.5 @ 400 ISO
Nikon D3; Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 AF-S VR II (B&H) … hand-held

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies. Thank you!

Stay informed of new articles via the monthly newsletter.
Also join us on the Tangents forum for further discussions.

technique – using lens flare for effect

Neil vN — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 09:25:42 +0000

technique – using lens flare for effect

While lens designers try to minimize lens flare, and we use lens hoods, we can often use lens flare for special effect. Shielding the front element of the lens from direct sun and other strong light sources helps giving a more contrasty image. But letting the lens flare take over in a controlled way, can really give impact. That golden, sun-drenched summery feel to a photograph enhances the mood.

During this recent photo session in Central Park, New York, with a couple, Alli and Scott, the lens flare was quite intentional. But as is usual, there’s a certain progression towards the final images …

As mentioned in that blog post, for their engagement photo session, Scott wanted to go back to exactly the same spot in Central Park where he had proposed to Alli, and do this fun re-enactment. Cute!

For the initial test shots, I shot up towards the path where the horse-and-carriages would approach. But this meant that the background was constantly cluttered with people and bicycles and of course, the horse carriages. On top of that, the trees were shaded, and gave a too dark background. No separation.

So I decided that we should move to another spot, 90 degrees off to the side from where we were, but still facing the fountain. Now I was shooting directly towards the light. The sun-dappled leaves would create a much brighter background.

Now we have an interesting image. It just pops, and the background is simple. No clutter.

There is also an important change here, which might not be immediately obvious – I had Alli and Scott change position, with Alli now on the left-hand side of the image. The reason? The way she parts her hair. If you look at the initial test shot, her hair partially obscures her face. Turning her to the other side, leaves her face more open to the camera. This is something I immediately look for when posing a couple where the girl has long hair.

About the lens that was used, it is the new Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR (B&H). Since this engagement session was the first time I used it, I’ll post some more images in an upcoming review of the lens.

Lens flare reduces contrast, and we need to work with the image a bit to give it some punch again. Looking at the top image again, here is the comparison between the final image as posted here, and the JPG out of the raw conversion.

I used the Oh Snap! action in the Totally Rad action sets, to punch up the image some more, and also pulled the levels down a little bit.

But even before pulling the JPG into Photoshop for that little bit of sweetening, the brute adjustments were done on the RAW file to get to the image on the right.

Flare tends to wash out the image considerably, so as usual, I pulled the exposure down a lot, and also pulled the contrast way up. I often adjust the Black Point as well, but not in this case. From here I would generate a JPG, which is then retouched a bit in Photoshop if I feel like it.

And here we have it – an image which evokes just the right mood – fun, sexy and summery …

You can order the Totally Rad action sets,
or other goodies offered, via this affiliate link.

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies. Thank you!

Stay informed of new articles via the monthly newsletter.
Also join us on the Tangents forum for further discussions.

4th of July fireworks display, New York

Neil vN — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 03:48:59 +0000

photographing the 4th of July fireworks display, New York

Braving the crowds (and insane traffic) in Hoboken tonight, I had a good view of magnificent 4th of July fireworks display on the Hudson River. From this viewpoint, Manhattan is to my right, and barely visible on the edge of the frame. I wanted to include the reflections in the water as well, since the surreal blend of colors helped anchor the intricate fireworks. The photography technique was simple enough – a slow shutter speed, a low ISO … and a tripod and remote release for the camera.

Camera settings for the image above: 1/2 second @ f5.6 @ 200 ISO
but I felt that for this image and several others, the streaks of light became too much. Too ‘messy’ and with less visual impact. So for the rest of the night, I changed my camera settings to:
1/4 second @ f5.6 @ 400 ISO

White Balance for all images: Daylight. Not all images worked since the brightness of the fireworks display varied a lot! But this is where shooting a large number of images, and then picking the best afterwards, really is the best method to ensure some successful images.

I was fascinated afterwards when the display had ended, by the pall of fireworks smoke shifting over Manhattan.

camera settings: 2 seconds @ f4 @ 400 ISO; Incandescent WB

As mentioned, the technique is simplicity itself. You do need a tripod to stabilize the camera, and then the camera should be fired with a remote release (or a cable release) so that the camera doesn’t move even slightly during the exposure.

The technique extends further than this though. While I like these images, for they capture some of the magnificence of the display, what is lacking is the context – Manhattan. The classic shots of the 4th of July fireworks display, usually shows some New York landmark in the image, such as one of the easily recognized bridges. Or, the images show Manhattan’s colored lights in the background.

For this, I was in completely the wrong place – Hoboken. Far too low down on the Hudson to get the necessary perspective against the Manhattan skyline. Weehawken would most likely have been a better choice here. Well, there is always 2012.

related article: flash photography and fireworks

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies. Thank you!

Stay informed of new articles via the monthly newsletter.
Also join us on the Tangents forum for further discussions.