Event photography where you are photographing speakers at the event, can be challenging in its own way. The problem with taking photos of presenters, especially if they are animated, is that you have to take a LOT of photos to get a few where they look good. You don't want to give your client any photos with awkward expressions. This means you have to take so many photos just to get a few keepers. But shooting a ton of photos with flash becomes intrusive after a very short while. I therefore prefer to do the majority of photos of speakers at events, Read more inside...
Bounce flash photography - when to use maximum flash power
This photo is straightforward enough - the event coordinator here asked that I take a few photos of the models in body paint. No time to fumble or look unsure. Again, there are simple recipes to get us to ideal settings.
The reception area around the indoor pool is really large with a super-high ceiling at this casino. There's enough light to see, but it is all tainted with this strong purple and blue uplighting. Therefore flash becomes a necessity.
I need cleaner light - more neutral light - on my subjects. Skin tones Read more inside...
With the tutorials here on how to bounce flash, the questions inevitably come up - what if there is nothing to bounce your flash off? What if there are dark ceilings? Well, these limitations do affect how I use flash at events - but I still work according to a few set guidelines that give me the best results with bounce flash.
I bounce my flash into the direction that I want to come from, regardless of whether there is a white wall or ceiling. It really is all about the Direction of Light.
I also shy away from using any of the Read more inside...
A recurring topic on Tangents is how to bounce flash in pretty extreme situations. With a related article - bounce flash outdoors with a reflector - I showed some images from an event at a New York restaurant.
I intensely dislike direct, hard on-camera flash. Yet, this venue had all kinds of corners, and no place to effectively place off-camera flashes on light-stands. The venue had an interesting ceiling. And with "interesting", I mean tough. The ceiling was dark, with black panels at different angles. Here are photos of the ceiling and walls, to Read more inside...
There are occasions where you really need to work fast with flash - time might be tight, or it might just be too cold outside to linger. After photographing John's surprise 50th birthday party, John and Stacie and I went outside to Columbus Circle for portraits of the two of them. After the high of the party, I wanted to keep the momentum as well by working fast. And since it was mid-November in New York, it was nearly certain that the late night air would be nippy.
I didn't want to use direct on-camera flash - I wanted that diffused Read more inside...
Because I so often use on-camera bounce flash, one of the questions I'm regularly asked is, what if there is nothing to bounce your flash off? There is also the variant - what if there isn't enough light from the bounced flash?
In both cases, the answer is the same - you improvise!
Not only that, but you need to be prepared to improvise.
The photograph above is from a recent Bat Mitzvah, showing the big group shot of the kids. If you've photographed Bar / Bat Mitzvahs before, you know this is coming up, and you have to be prepared for Read more inside...
