New Jersey wedding photographer
New Jersey wedding photographer - photojournalistic style
Drawing from a story-telling photojournalistic sensibility; and also from the classic style of wedding photography; with a dash of Fashion flair; and Romance ... the intention is to give you images that will forever recall this fantastic day. The images on the New Jersey wedding photographer blog will show you the style and consistency of work that you can expect for your own wedding. As an author of several books on photography, I’m definitely serious about this stuff! The domain name I chose for me wedding & Read more inside...finding (and using) interesting available light
finding (and using) interesting available light
I hope that no one thinks that the flash photography and lighting techniques that I describe on the Tangents blog are only applicable to wedding photography. In a recent post I described where I photographed a model in an alley way when I noticed a splash of sunlight (reflected from a window) falling onto the wall. In recognizing that interesting splash of light, and using it, I got an image which was different than I would've had if I had just used the even shaded light in the alley. I used this very same idea at a recent wedding in Read more inside...Exposure metering for the bride’s dress
Exposure metering - bride & the bride's dress
From a technical point of view, photographing a bride in her dress can be a challenge ... depending on the lighting. If everything is under your control as the photographer, and you're lighting the formal portraits with off-camera manual flash, then it is essentially a study of the zone system. The simplest way for me then to get accurate exposure, is to use the histogram. I place my brightest relevant tone at the edge of the histogram. All the other tones will fall into place. (It is clearly explained in that linked article, Read more inside...Using a video light for wedding portraits
Using a video light for wedding portraits
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...Photographing wedding portraits in bright sunlight
Photographing wedding portraits in bright sunlight
Hard sunlight overhead is some of the most difficult light that you can find yourself shooting in. When you aren't able to position your subjects, then your options are limited - fill-flash or working with the RAW file in post-processing. However, when you're able to move your subjects, but don't have the opportunity for off-camera lighting, then your best two options are: - have your subjects turn their backs to the sun, - use the light from the sun so that there are no harsh cross-shadows. Here are typical examples of Read more inside...Wedding day portraits – Simplifying composition for effect
Wedding day portraits - Simplifying composition for effect
With this article I want to reinforce the idea from a few recent posts about being very specific about your composition. By simplifying the image, we have greater impact. We include only what we need to include in the frame to enhance it. Just as important, is what we exclude: Read more inside...looking for the light
photography technique - looking for great light
This afternoon I walked around the Princeton campus with a couple, Renee and David, looking for cool spots to photograph them. I noticed the spread of light on a wall coming through an entrance way ... Read more inside...favorite recent images – portraits of a bride
I frequently post a favorite image from the past weekend. This time, I'd like to post a few images. All are portraits of the bride, Denise, on her wedding day. This might show some of my approach and style in wedding portraits ... Read more inside...
favorite image from the weekend
Often seen in wedding portfolios, this is always a fun setup to do with groomsmen - the Reservoir Dogs style walk towards the camera. A great group of guys, good light with a nice background, and you have the ingredients for a photograph that the couple will just love. I fired off a rapid series of shots to make sure I have at least one image where the motion and expression of everyone worked. I didn't need flash, and it would've been difficult to set up properly with a large group of people walking towards the camera. So the light depended entirely on the shot being set up like this, Read more inside...