Best photo umbrella for a home-studio & indoor headshots
Best photo umbrella for a home-studio & indoor headshots
When I discovered the rectangular photo umbrellas, my first reaction was, "so what's the point", but then someone explained to me that it allows you to get the center of axis closer to the ceiling (or a wall). Brilliant! It instantly made sense why a rectangular photo umbrella might be more useful indoors than the traditional, round umbrella. I would even go so far as to say that a rectangular photo umbrella is the best umbrella for a home-studio & indoor headshots. Along with my usual array of light modifiers, I now Read more inside...Buying a video light for Photography & Video
Buying a video light for Photography & Video
The use of video lights is a regular theme on the Tangents blog. Specifically, the LED video light is a versatile must-have devices in my camera bag. Not only do I use it at weddings, I also use it on location shoots. For example, while photographing the interior of one of the largest hardware stores in Manhattan, I used an LED video light to bring up some detail in the more shadowy areas in the shelves and corners. Easier to just point the hand-held video light than to set up off-camera lighting. Especially because the light is easier Read more inside...Flash Photography: The difference between a grid and a snoot
Flash Photography: The difference between a grid and a snoot
We use grids and snoots to control the light from our flashes. We want to control how the light spreads, and we want to light only a part of our scene or subject. However, strongly favoring softer light when using flash, I don't regularly use grids on my flashes. The article on using grids with flash for a spot of light, had someone ask when I would use a snoot and when I would use a grid with flash. When in the studio, I would use the Profoto 10° Honeycomb Grid (B&H / Amazon) - it is made of metal Read more inside...Using the MagMod MagBeam kit for projection effects
Using the MagMod MagBeam kit for projection effects
The lighting pattern on the background here, is 100% in-camera, created with a gobo and a light-projection kit: the MagMod MagBeam Kit (B&H / Amazon). So no Photoshop going on here (aside from mild retouching of skin blemishes.) Even that little bit of a halo around Anastasiya, is part of the effect. In-camera. With the test shots, I noticed there is a brightening of the pattern in the middle, so I placed Anastasiya directly on front of it. A bit of serendipity that I took advantage of. Several articles on Read more inside...Stella Pro 5000 & 2000 video light review
Stella Pro 5000 & 2000 video light review - continuous lighting kit
My friend Kevin, or as his friends call him, Kevin, brought along his new Light & Motion Stella Pro 225 3-Light Kit (B&H / Amazon) to the studio for us to play with. The Stella Pro 5000 video light is powerful enough that you can use a softbox with it when shooting indoors. Where continuous lights really shine, is in how they allow you to adjust your lights in a WYSIWYG way. What you see is what you get - that's just how continuous lights work. That aspect makes video lights ideal when Read more inside...Reflector for portrait & headshot photography: Eyelighter
Reflector for portrait & headshot photography: Eyelighter
I've mentioned before how much I like using the Westcott Eyelighter for headshot photography. The first time I encountered the Eye-lighter (B&H / Amazon), was at the After Dark Edu photography conventions, and I was fascinated by this lighting device and the results it produced. There is a distinctive curved high-light that it gives to the bottom part of your subject's eyes. How much of a reflection, will depend on how you rotate and position the Eyelighter. Read more inside...Gear list – Starting out with off-camera flash
Gear list - Starting out with off-camera flash
You can get great lighting with just on-camera bounce flash when shooting indoors, as shown in this related article - Lighting with bounce flash. But at some point you might want more flexibility and consistency. Or you might run into problem scenarios with bounce flash, such as colored walls and ceilings. Or you might run into a situation where you can't use any bounce flash at all, and the available light isn't ideal. Then it is time to step it up with off-camera flash. Starting out with off-camera flash photography might seem Read more inside...Softboxes with speedlights
Softboxes with speedlights for on-location lighting
Off-camera flash is the easiest way to create dynamic lighting - and using a speedlight with a softbox, is on-location lighting at its most elegantly simple. For most of my on-location portraits, I like to travel (fairly) light, and my lighting of choice is a speedlight, wireless transmitters and a softbox. The softbox is either held up by a light-stand (which I weight down with my camera bag), or held up by an assistant (with the softbox on a monopod.) I like TTL flash - it often gets us there faster than manual flash. But for Read more inside...Dramatic lighting effects for portrait photography
Dramatic lighting effects for portrait photography (model: Jessica Joy)
For this dramatic Hollywoord Glamor inspired portrait sequence of Jessica, I used two Litepanels Sola 4 LED Fresnel Lights (B&H / Amazon). But there's more that happening here with the lighting than just the main light and the rim light. There is the splash of color in the background, augmenting the blue rim-light coming from behind. Jessica's reaction to the first test shot was amusing - a surprised,"where did that come from?", when she saw the image on the back of my camera. The blue tones and Read more inside...- 1
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