The use of video light for stills photography has become ever more popular in recent years, as high-ISO capable cameras made it possible to shoot in lower light without having to resort to flash. The immediacy of video light - the 'wysiwyg' nature of video light - makes it an interesting light source to play with and experiment with on a shoot. The dramatic quality of the light is also quite appealing.
Broadly speaking, there are two kinds of video light out there:
- the traditional Read more inside...
photo sessions - Shawna - using a variety of photographic lighting options
Shawna is the delightful model I used while I was in Las Vegas a few weeks ago. She helped us out during the mini-workshops I offered, as well as some photos of my own. I've posted a few photos from these already, but thought it might be interesting to show a further selection of images and discuss them ... Read more inside...
It's easy enough getting nice clean open light with a single on-camera speedlight when shooting indoors. By bouncing your flash with the idea of getting directional light from your flash, you can effortlessly get portraits like this. As usual, I used the black foamie thing to flag my flash and get more light on the one side of my subject's face. In this case, more subtly so than some other examples on this site.
We were working in the same location here as shown in the previous article where I photographed Shawna using only the available light that was Read more inside...
The previous time I photographed Anna was at a pin-up photo session. I had the opportunity again to photograph her and other models again last night ... but in a completely different style and setting this time. The Valley Hudson Click group arranged a Haunted Fashion theme for this photo session. Read more inside...
When possible during a lull in the wedding reception, I like to sneak the bride and groom away for a few minutes to do romantic portraits. Since time is usually tight, and the couple wants to enjoy as much of their reception as possible, I like to work efficiently. Jessica and Michael had their reception at a venue where I hadn't worked before, so during dinner time, I quickly went around the venue with my assistant, to scout a few places to photograph the couple.
In the basement of this venue, I noticed the light shining through gates ... Read more inside...
video light for photography - positioning the light
A light source like a video light is comparatively unforgiving when you look at how easy it is to get beautiful results with flash and a large soft box. The smaller light source (video light) needs to be positioned with more specific intent than the larger soft box. Read more inside...
photography: combining video light and daylight for photography
An image from the most recent workshop, held in Jersey City - our model, Catherine, lit by a combination of daylight coming in through the window, and a video light held aloft. The careful use of the different color balance of daylight vs video light, gives this image its arresting palette. I did make sure that her face was mostly lit by video light, for a uniform color there. The camera was set to Tungsten WB - the preset appropriate for a video light.
The background is the Manhattan Skyline. It is blown out because Read more inside...