How to bounce flash
How to bounce flash
An elegant portrait of a delightful young woman, Supriya, taken at her Sweet 16 party. With events there isn't always the opportunity to use involved lighting setups, and to keep the interest of your subject, you need to shoot fast. Yet the results need to look top-class. For this I most often revert to on-camera bounce flash. How to bounce flash - this is a topic we have covered thoroughly here with previous articles. This time I want to I want to highlight an aspect of that - the direction of bound flash - and this is best served by showing a correct and Read more inside...Flash with small softbox, vs. Video light
Flash with small softbox - vs - Video light
There are advantages to using a video light for photography, compared to using flash with a softbox or umbrella. The spread of light with a video light tend to be more contained, and hence more dramatic. However, if you use a small softbox with a speedlight, especially if it has a grid, you can get a similar tight spread of light. With this session we had our model, Madison, laying down on this glass floor of the old Union Station. It is lit from underneath, creating these repetitive pools of light. Just beautiful. Read more inside...review: Profoto A1 flash
review: Profoto A1 flash
Profoto has a very strong reputation in the industry for making gear that are reliable, easy to use, powerful, and, well ... looks really good. When Profoto entered the market a few years ago with the portable Profoto B1 flash (affiliate), and then the Profoto B2 flash (affiliate), it was inevitable then that at some point they would make a grand entrance with a speedlight style flash. With this review of the Profoto A1 flash (affiliate), I wanted to show more how I would use it, than just cover the specs of the flash. I met up with Read more inside...Lighting styles in wedding photography
Lighting styles in wedding photography
Two interesting questions came up in the Tangents FB group - both posted by Matthew Ciscart, one of the regulars: The first question was whether a client had ever asked for a specific lighting? Such, hard light, soft light, natural, or ocf? The other question was whether any of the photographers had a specific go-to style of using lighting. That one thing they do. My reply to this, relating it to lighting styles in wedding photography, was I haven't had a client ask for any specific lighting. However, I do believe my website shows a Read more inside...Flash brackets vs Bounce Flash
Flash brackets vs Bounce Flash
A flash bracket, such as the the Custom Brackets Pro-M rotating flash bracket (affiliate), is useful in keeping the flash's orientation above the camera & lens axis, regardless of how the camera is rotated. You can see in the photo that the camera, whether horizontal or vertical, has the flash above the camera. The two photos below show the difference in results. On the left - if you just hold the camera vertically, with the flash in the hot-shoe, you get that sideways shadow. It is distracting. With a flash bracket, the flash shadow Read more inside...A home-studio setup with speedlites
A home-studio setup with speedlites
With the article on lighting a white seamless studio backdrop in the studio, the question came up how you would do that in a home-based studio where there is less space. The answer? In pretty much the same way. This tutorial video on how to set up a small home studio using speedlites, will show you that the techniques remain the same, whether it is a speedlite, or a powerful studio light. A few notes about this video: For this video, I ended up going with B&W images only of our subject, Matt. I liked the result. It worked very well with Read more inside...Easy lighting setup for headshot photography
Easy lighting setup for headshot photography
For headshot photography in the studio, I have a (flexible) default lighting setup - clam-shell lighting setup. On location (but still working indoors), I have another setup - studio lighting setup for headshots. Nothing is really specific - as long as the final results look flattering and your client loves the images. Your lighting setup should match what your client expects. Then there is also the question of logistics. I'm often asked if all that equipment is a necessity. It's not. Here is my favorite, most simple setup .... bounce 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 grids with flash for a spot of light
Using grids with flash for a spot of light
My preference is for softer, flattering light. When I use off-camera flash, I really try to use a softbox if at all feasible. It's easier to use in that you have leeway in how your subject is posed. For with a smaller, harder light source, you have to be much more specific about posing. A bigger light source is therefore easier to work with when you shoot fast - such as at a wedding. But there are times when you just want to light up a portion of the scene, or want to specifically light your subjects. The photo above is an example. I am Read more inside...- 1
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